Yankee Hall of Fame legend Mickey Mantle’s original signed contract for the 1960 season will go on the auction block with proceeds donated to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, chaired by Mary Pat Christie, wife of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. The announcement was made by Steiner Sports Memorabilia, and Danny Mantle, Mantle’s son. The on line Steiner “Ground-Breaking Auction” gets underway on May 1 and concludes on June 2.
A press conference was scheduled for Monday at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center on the campus of Montclair State University on Monday to showcase the contract, and other rare artifacts.
“My mom (Merlyn) deserves all the credit for saving my father’s contracts in a file cabinet to preserve them,” says Danny Mantle. “The 1960 contract is in perfect condition and looks brand new.”
The Mantles lived in River Edge, NJ for part of his career. Among those who were impacted by the storm is one of Mantle’s former teammates, Joe Pepitone, whose Massapequa, Long Island home was ripped in half and destroyed by the powerful storm.
“Even though it’s six months later, the devastation of Hurricane Sandy is still severely impacting many people,” said Danny Mantle. “We decided to take the contract and put it to good use to raise some money for the victims.”
The auction ironically begins on May 1, 62 years to the date in 1951 that Mantle hit his first of 536 career home runs (ranks 16th all-time) in Pinstripes.
The contract is signed by Mantle and Henry Roy Hamey, a long-time employee of the Yankees who he reached the pinnacle of his career when he was appointed the general manager in November 1960. Although he inherited a pennant winner from his predecessor, George Weiss, Hamey maintained the Yankee standard. He produced three additional American League champions and two World Series champions in his three full seasons in the GM chair, before retiring in the autumn of 1963.
Minimum bid is $25,000.
George Weiss 1939 Yankees World Series Ring
The auction also includes the 1939 Yankees World Championship Ring of Weiss, the prolific baseball executive whose Bronx Bombers teams won 10 pennants and seven World Series Championships, including five straight. One of the most successful baseball executives in history, Weiss was the Yankees GM from 1947-60. He was known for developing the Yankees f
ertile farm system, producing such players as Mantle, Phil Rizzuto and Joe DiMaggio. He was also the first president of the Mets. He was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1971.
The gold ring features a single diamond on the center. Around the diamond it reads New York Yankees World Champions. On both sides of the ring an eagle is depicted and it reads New York 1938.
A 1929 New York Yankees team signed baseball is in the auction, with clear signatures of such greats as Babe Ruth, Earle Combs, Tony Lazzeri, Lou Gehrig, Leo Durocher, Miller Huggins, and Jacob Ruppert.
Jackie Robinson Glove and Bat
One of the most historic artifacts from the career of the immortal Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson – a newly-discovered, authentic game-worn baseball glove used during both the 1955 and ’56 World Series (his final season) – will go on the auction block May 1 through June 2.
It was examined by noted glove expert Dennis Esken who says the glove “shows extensive wear and aging on the leather attributed to three years of use. The photo match and the ability to see the Rawlings labels aided me in getting the exact date of the glove. One of the highlights in this BD model glove is Jackie’s iconic jersey number ‘42’ written in black felt tip on the intact wrist strap also, signifying that this glove belonged to him as proven by the ‘42’ pictured in the photo match.”
Accompanying the glove is another vintage item: a Louisville Slugger Jackie Robinson Professional Model Bat, believed to be from the 1956 season. The bat is authenticated by John Taube and Vince Malta from PSA/DNA and is graded a GU 9.
Also on the block are hundreds of baseball, basketball and football artifacts which will be announced at a later date.
For more information contact Steiner Sports at 914-307-1000.
