Auctions
Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente cards headline Summer Rarities Auction at Memory Lane
With pennant races heating up and postseason baseball just around the corner, it brings to mind some of the greatest World Series heroes of all time.
Baseball legends like Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, Ted Williams, and even the infamous Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Cards and collectibles of those baseball legends and more are featured in the Summer Rarities Auction at Memory Lane Inc.
The auction, which runs from Sept. 10-26, is headlined by a 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax rookie card and a high-grade 1916 Sporting News Joe Jackson. There is also a collection of Clemente cards.
The 1955 Topps #123 Koufax rookie is graded PSA 9 and includes the only MBA Gold Diamond sticker on a PSA 9 Koufax rookie. It has a minimum bid of $50,000.
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The 1916 M101-4 Joe Jackson blank-back card (PSA 7) is one of just 22 examples graded by PSA and among the highest graded examples. It has a minimum bid of $10,000.
The auction also features complete sets of 1951 and 1952 Bowman Baseball cards, including a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie graded PSA 7. There is also a 1953 Topps Mickey Mantle (PSA 8), and a 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie (PSA 8).
The Clemente material includes dozens of cards, including scarce regional and food-issue singles, complete Post Cereal box backs featuring Clemente, and high-grade Topps cards from across his career.
Unopened material includes a 1959 Fleer Ted Williams box as well as 1964 and 1974 Topps football vending boxes, and a 1976 Topps baseball vending box.
One of the most unique items up for bid is a near-complete set and two key singles from a 1916 BF2 Ferguson Bakery pennant collection assembled over more than three decades. In 1916, the Ferguson Bakery company of Massachusetts issued miniature felt pennants featuring 97 baseball players and a handful of Hollywood celebrities. The pennants were produced in multiple colors with each measuring about 3-by-6 inches with the player’s team across the top and his name screened beneath a black-and-white 1916 Sporting News M101-4 photograph. The images were taken by noted photographer Charles Conlon.
The set of 97 pennants features 26 Hall of Famers—all but Jackson and Honus Wagner, which are offered separately. According to Memory Lane, the near-complete set is likely the only such run ever offered at auction. Condition is mixed but generally strong, with many pieces in the Very Good to Excellent range.
Another unique item is a complete 1934 Butterfinger (R310) set ranked No. 1 on the PSA Set Registry with a GPA of 3.60. The fragile black-and-white cards, which were issued with Butterfinger candy bars by the Curtiss Candy Company of Chicago, measure about 7¾-by-9¾ inches and were printed on thin stock. Highlights include Charlie Gehringer (PSA 6), Jimmie Foxx (PSA 5), Babe Ruth (PSA 1.5), and other high-grade rare cards of Dizzy Dean, Rogers Hornsby, Chuck Klein, Paul Waner and Mel Ott.
The auction also features early-century tobacco and cabinet cards, such an autographed 1911 Turkey Red cabinet card of Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown; a 1910 T215 Red Cross Cy Young; and high-grade T205 Gold Border cards of Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Cy Young and Tris Speaker.
Top basketball lots include a 1984-85 Star Company Chicago Bulls team bag set with Michael Jordan as well as other Star Company sets from the 1980s, all still in their original sealed bags. An uncut 1985-86 Star sheet contains two Jordan cards. Other key cards include multiple copies of the 1980-81 Topps Larry Bird/Magic Johnson/Julius Erving card signed by all three players.
Key memorabilia includes a 1929 Babe Ruth single-signed baseball on a Home Run Special ball; a 1963 Chicago Bears World Championship ring presented to defensive tackle Doug Atkins; Bronko Nagurski’s original 1933 NFL Chicago Bears players contract signed by Nagurski and head coach George Halas; and a 1930 Chicago Bears Type 1 panoramic team photograph featuring Nagurski.
Dozens of historic tickets and stubs are also available, including a near-complete run of Mickey Mantle’s World Series home run games (minus #18); a Tiger Woods professional debut entry pass for the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open; and dozens of historic events presented as individual pieces and small groups.
