Ty-Cobb
The remarkable backstories behind rare, vintage memorabilia from Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Cy Young
One of the greatest things about sports collectibles is the remarkable stories behind the most rare pieces of sports memorabilia.
Heritage Auctions has dozens of intriguing items in its the Nov. 16-18 Fall Sports Catalog Auction, many of them with remarkable backstories.
Like Jackie Robinson’s 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers equipment bag, which he gifted to a would-be Dodger during a 1964 tryout — in this case, the consignor’s father.
When 19-year-old rookie Mike Mathwig was invited to the
Dodgers Rookie Stars of Tomorrow tryout on June 23, 1964 in Los Angeles, he showed up with a glove, shoes and a uniform. When Robinson saw him without an equipment bag, he offered him his — a blue Dodgers bag stenciled with his famous number 42.
According to Heritage, Mathwig played eight years in the minors, including six in as a Dodgers prospect, before becoming a high school coach. The blue bag was stored in Mathwig’s garage, where it sat for decades until his son-in-law discovered it in 2013. When asked where it came from, Mathwig said, “Oh yeah, Jackie gave that to me,” according to a letter provided by his daughter and the bag’s consignor, Sarah McKay.
Or, how about the bat Ty Cobb signed in 1947 for Juanita Jennings, the mother of Babe Ruth’s daughter Dorothy. Dorothy Helen Ruth Pirone was introduced for decades as Ruth’s adopted daughter with his first wife, Helen. But in her 1988 biography, “My Dad, The Babe,” Dorothy revealed she was indeed Ruth’s biological daughter — the result of an affair with Jennings in 1920. According to Heritage, Cobb knew nothing of the backstory, only that Jennings was a close friend of Ruth’s.
Another Babe-related relic featured is a Babe Ruth photograph signed by the Babe on June 28, 1947 and gifted to young player Paul DeKovessey. According to Heritage, Ruth had been diagnosed with throat cancer the year before and DeKovessey’s mother was Ruth’s nurse at New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital. The photo comes from the DeKovessey family’s collection.
Also featured is a signed 1893 Cy Young Cabinet Card made by Pifer and Becker, one of Cleveland’s most renowned photo studios.
In the photo, Young is wearing the uniform of the Cleveland Spiders, for which he recorded 241 of his record 511 career victories. The same studio portrait also was used for Young’s highly-coveted 1893 “Just So Tobacco” card. The Pifer and Becker photo studio documented the 1893 Spiders roster.
Only six of the cabinet cards have ever come to auction, and this is the only known Young card and the only autographed example. The card, which Young signed twice and has an estimated value of $250,000, was traced to Young’s own collection through a brown paper mailing envelope addressed by the Hall of Famer, according to Heritage.
“This relic is an absolute unicorn,” Heritage’s Executive Vice President of Sports Joe Orlando said. “The provenance is remarkable, as is the rarity and quality. There has been a massive surge in the popularity of signed cards, but signed cards from this era are so few and far between.”
Another item with an incredible backstory is the “magic saddle” that Hall of Fame horse racing jockey Ángel Tomás Cordero Jr. used to win eight Triple Crown races. According to Cordero, the saddle, which he signed, was made specially for the jockey in 1978 and was first used “in winning the 1978 Stuyvesant Handicap on Seattle Slew in what was the last race of his career.” According to Heritage, Cordero used the saddle until 2020, by which time, Cordero writes, it had become “the most famous saddle in horse racing history.”
Other impressive items featured in the auction include:
• A 1958 game-worn Sandy Koufax jersey from his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The white home flannel jersey is also signed by Koufax and stitched with “Koufax 58” below the manufacturer’s label.
• More than 110 offerings of Topps Venezuelan baseball cards (1959-1968), including a 1959 Venezuela Topps Mickey Mantle card (PSA 5) and a 1960 Venezuela Topps Carl Yastrzemski Sports Magazine Rookie Star (PSA 5).
Modern card gems in the auction include:
• Card No. 41 of the 100 signed Tom Brady 2000 Playoff Contenders rookie cards.
• The only 2017 Panini Contenders Patrick Mahomes Super Bowl Ticket autographed rookie card (BGS Mint 9, Auto 9).
• The 1-of-1 2011 Bowman Chrome Bryce Harper Prospect Autograph Superfractor (BGS Gem Mint 9.5 Auto 10).
