They won’t say who, but the 1956 Yogi Berra Yankees uniform sold for over $500,000 last week by Grey Flannel Auctions was purchased by a private collector.
The uniform is believed to have been the same one worn by Berra while catching the 1956 World Series perfect game thrown by Don Larsen.
The coffee pot was working overtime during the 1,072-lot absentee, phone and Internet auction, which ran until 7:00 the following morning, when the books closed with a total auction take of $2,139,321.
“The interest in game-used artifacts, uniforms and awards from all major sports – not just baseball – was tremendous,” said Grey Flannel’s Richard Russek. “Auctions are a highly accurate way of gauging which players and teams hold the public’s fascination. A case in point would be the late NBA superstar Dennis Johnson, who was a phenomenal player and, in the minds of many, greatly underrated. Everything in the sale that had a connection to Johnson went sky high.”
Johnson’s 1979 NBA/Sports Magazine Most Valuable Player Award from the World Championship Series was offered with a family letter of authenticity and scored a closing bid of $84,422 – more than 33 times its reserve. His 1979 Seattle SuperSonics World Championship player’s ring was bid to $71,548; while Johnson’s boxed 1986 Boston Celtics World Championship player’s ring was nothing but net at $44,427.
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