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Babe Ruth signed baseball sells for six figures; 19th century baseball portraits top $500K in Lelands auction
A Babe Ruth single-signed baseball sold for $137,620, while a one-of-a-kind collection of 19th century baseball CDVs sold for a total of $528,848 in the Lelands Fall Classic Auction.
The Babe Ruth autographed baseball, graded PSA 8, was signed by Ruth across the sweet spot. The ball came from the personal collection of ex-Boston Braves catcher Phil Masi. Ruth signed the ball when he visited the Braves spring training facility during the late 1940s.
The CDV collection dating from the 1870s featured more than 40 hobby-fresh individual portrait images of many of the game’s earliest stars. Originating from an unprecedented find of early photographs recently discovered in a 19th century photo album, the collection included a CDV of the game’s first home run champion and the sport’s first great Jewish ballplayer, Lipman Pike ($131,971), and a CDV of Hall of Fame pitcher Albert Spalding ($63,750).
Top-selling memorabilia from the auction included: a 1995 Greg Maddux Braves World Series game-used glove ($41,094); a Sandy Koufax game-worn Los Angeles Dodgers cap from his 1965 Cy Young and Triple Crown season ($39,137); Mike Tyson’s fight-worn mouthpiece ($3,894) and Tyson’s gloves from his 1986 fight vs. Reggie Gross ($28,072); an Andy Pettitte-signed Yankees game-worn jersey from his last career win at Yankee Stadium ($36,210); a Babe Ruth signed baseball cutout graded a PSA 9 ($39,922); and a Lou Gehrig-signed baseball cutout graded a PSA 9 ($38,021).
Additional highlights include: a 1960 Jerry West-signed original Type 1 photo used for his 1961 Fleer Basketball rookie card ($34,924); a 1990-91 Anthony Munoz Bengals season-long, game-worn, photo-matched jersey ($25,180); a 1957 Topps Basketball #1 Nat “Sweetwater” signed rookie card ($19,914); a 1996 Kobe Bryant first NBA point ticket stub ($8,666); a Cliff Levingston 1990-91 Bulls game-worn uniform ($8,413); and the finest known Honus Wagner-signed index card graded a PSA GEM MINT ($8,070).
For full results of the Lelands 2023 Fall Classic Auction, visit lelands.com.
