Cardinals Acquired Items in Gibson Auction |
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Wednesday, 30 September 2009 |
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Bob Gibson sold just about everything--Cy Young awards, World Series rings, MVP awards and his old equipment. His own team wound up with some of it after Gibson hired Legendary Auctions to find buyers.
The St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum announced several acquisitions this week, including three items from the Bob Gibson collection that were sold at Legendary Auctions' July 31 live event at the House of Blues in Cleveland.
 Among the items obtained by the Cardinals were the 1968 Cy Young Award, which sold for $84,000; Gibson's personal Baseball Hall of Fame plaque ($45,000) and one of Gibson's game used gloves ($9000).
While the Cardinals will plan to display the items at a permanent Cardinals' Hall of Fame, there is no such place at the moment. The Cards plan to build a new Hall across from Busch Stadium in an area known as Ballpark Village, but construction has not started. The club currently has over 15,000 artifacts in storage.
Gibson's 1.12 earned run average in 1968 was a landmark that remains today. It was the lowest recorded since the deadball era ceased in 1919. Gibson threw 13 shutouts, leading the Cardinals to the National League pennant. His MVP award was sold in the auction for $118,000.
"1.12 is one of the legendary numbers in baseball," said Paula Homan, Curator of the Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum, "and we're excited to add his Cy Young Award from that incredible season to our collection to share with fans for decades to come."
The Museum also acquired one of Gibson's game used gloves from his standout career and the plaque given to him by the National Baseball Hall of Fame commemorating his induction in 1981. The plaque is a smaller version of that which is hanging in Cooperstown, NY.
Earl "Sparky" Adams' 1931 World Series ring was also acquired by the Cardinals' museum. It joins an extensive collection of championship rings held by the Museum which represent every other World Series championship and National League pennant (post-1944 when league championship rings were first presented) in franchise history. |
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