With thousands of collectors convening in Chicago at the National Sports Collectors Convention during the first week of August, it’s not surprising that Goldin Auctions’ annual live auction is loaded with historic collectibles of Chicago athletes. The most buzz-worthy lot includes both of the gloves worn by Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo when they combined for the final putout of the 2016 Word Series. With an opening bid of $250,000 for the pair, the company believes it will set a record for modern-day baseball gloves.
In addition to the gloves, the live auction also features three historic Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls jerseys including: a 1997-98 game-worn NBA Playoff road jersey; a 1984-85 rookie season game-worn road jersey; and a Bulls home white jersey Jordan held up at his introductory press conference on 9/12/84 after signing his rookie contract.
The Goldin Auctions 2019 Summer Premium Live & Catalog Auction, featuring more than 1,600 lots of sports, entertainment and historical memorabilia opened for bidding Tuesday morning. Lots #1-82 will be sold during a live auction on August 1 during the National, while the remaining lots will remain open for bidding online through August 10.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights of the auction. The complete catalog is available at GoldinAuctions.com.
LIVE AUCTION (August 1)
Lot #39 – Kris Bryant & Anthony Rizzo World Series Game Used & Signed Pair of Rawlings Fielder’s Glove Used for Game 7 Final Out (MLB Authenticated & Fanatics) — Bryant’s right-handed Rawlings PRO200-6K model glove, used to field that last ground ball off the bat of Cleveland’s Michael Martinez is a tan glove with “Kris Bryant” embroidered in blue on the outer thumb. Bryant signed his name in black marker on the lower outside thumb below the “R” patch.
He inscribed vertically on the outer webbing “2016 World Series Champs” and “Last Out!!”. Rizzo’s glove, which caught the final out of the game, is all black with blue laces. His left-handed Rawlings PROCMHO model glove is 12 ¾ inches with “Anthony Rizzo” embroidered in blue along the outside of the thumb. Rizzo has signed his name in silver marker on the palm and inscribed “2016 World Series Game Used” and “Game 7 last out”.
The players had a game-worn equipment deal with Fanatics, which originally sold the gloves to a Chicago area collector who has now consigned them to auction.
Goldin Auctions says both gloves display heavy game use. Both come with holograms from MLB Authenticated and Fanatics.
Lot #4 – 1916-17 Honus Wagner Louisville Slugger Model 125 Bat (PSA/DNA GU 8.5) –Coming to auction for the first time, it’s one of only two Wagner non-40K Louisville Slugger bats that have ever been graded. It is also the only Wagner 125 model that features his signature on the barrel and is the only known 125 signature model to be graded by PSA/DNA. The Louisville Slugger Museum concurs with the PSA/DNA opinion that this is a bat ordered by Wagner during his final two seasons (1916-17) in the majors. It carries a $100,000 minimum bid.
Lot #28 – Jersey from Jordan’s Rookie Contract Signing with Bulls-9/12/84 — Rod Thorn presented Jordan with the jersey after signing his first Bulls contract. The jersey has been photo matched to the introductory press conference from September 12, 1984 by Sports Investors Authentication, who have provided a LOA. The current high bid is $15,000.
Lot #35 – 1997-98 Michael Jordan Playoffs Game Used & Signed Chicago Bulls Road Jersey (Bulls LOA, Resolution Photomatching & UDA) — This red Bulls road jersey was worn during Jordan’s final championship season in Chicago. It is photo matched to the Bulls 94-80 victory in Game 4 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Charlotte Hornets. Jordan led all scorers with 31 points, adding three rebounds and four assists as the Bulls took a commanding 3-1 series lead. Chicago would close out the series in five games three days later. The current high bid is $34,000.
Lot #41 – Christy Mathewson ONL Heydler Baseball with Lou Gehrig & Frank Frisch (JSA) – Mathewson’s name is in bold black pen across the sweet spot with the date of “Sept. 30, 1921” handwritten below. The stampings on the 1920-24 era Spalding ball are still clear and it has red and blue stitching.
Lot #42 – Babe Ruth Single Signed Baseball (PSA/DNA GEM MT 10) — The original owner of this ball has carefully recorded the circumstances surrounding how it was obtained by inscribing “Houston Texas 7-10-47 Buffalos Stadium” on one side panel and “Game Between Houston + Fort Worth Score 1 to 1 11 innings.” A perusal of newspapers from that time indicate Ruth was touring the Southwest as a representative of the American Legion baseball program. Bidding opens at $25,000.
Lot #47 – 1949 Pee Wee Brooklyn Dodgers Home Jersey Palm Beach Variant MEARS A10) — While at first glance it appears to be a regular Dodgers home flannel, this jersey is unique in that it is of the “Palm Beach” style. The only surviving “Palm Beach” Dodgers jersey in the hobby and also the earliest known game used Reese jersey known. This jersey has also been photo matched by Resolution Photo-matching to July 4 and August 23, 1949 in which Reese hit a home run in the second game of the double-header on July 4. As of Tuesday, bidding hard reached $18,000.
CATALOG AUCTION (closing August 10)
Lot #83 — 1955 Jackie Robinson Game Used World Series Bat (PSA/DNA GU 9.5 & Letter of Provenance)- – This Hillerich & Bradsby R115 is fresh to the hobby. There is some checking from repeated ball contact found on the back barrel which has been stabilized as well as numerous ball marks on the left, back and right barrel, the majority grouped on the left side. The model number “R115” is stamped into the knob end.
Weighing in at 34.5 ounces and measuring 35 inches, the auction house says the bat matches the R115 models ordered by Robinson during the 1955 and 1956 seasons, with the nod given to 1955 due to the provenance. The bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA for the game use and has been graded a near-perfect GU 9.5. It has a current high bid of $43,000.
Lot #93 – 1910 E98 “Set of 30” Ty Cobb, Red – SGC MINT+ 9.5 – High-grade card of the popular E98 series, created by an anonymous manufacturer. Bidding starts at $40,000.
Lot #107 – 2003-04 “Ultimate Collection” #127 LeBron James Signed Rookie Card (#005/250) – BGS PRISTINE 10/BGS 10 – The card’s BGS condition report: Centering 9.5, Corners 10, Edges 10, Surface 10. Serial-numbered 5/250.
Lot #103 – 1999 Pokemon 1st Edition PSA GEM MT 10 Complete Set (103) Featuring #4 Charizard Example — A similar-conditioned complete set of these (all in PSA GEM MT 10) sold for nearly $100,000 in Goldin Auctions’ December 2017 Holiday sale.
Lot #101 – 1993 Upper Deck SP Foil #279 Derek Jeter Rookie Card – SGC GEM MINT 10 – Among a total of 2,189 copies in SGC’s census reporting, just two have been rated 10 by SGC.
Lot #109 – 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Mike Trout (Orange Refractor) Signed Rookie Card (#18/25) – BGS GEM MINT 9.5– Among the 25 copies recorded in BGS’s census reporting, just one example has achieved a higher tier. Centering: 9.5, Corners: 9.5, Edges: 9.5, Surface: 9.5. Another 9.5 fetched $186,580 in Goldin Auctions’ Winter, 2019 Auction, making it the most valuable Orange Refractor Trout collectible ever sold at auction.
Bidding had climbed to $72,000 in the first few hours of the auction after opening at $25,000.
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