Game-used bats from baseball legends Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Ernie Banks, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and many others are up for bids in the 2015 Goldin Auctions Summer Auction, set to open Wednesday. Several of the historic bats will be sold at the Premium Live Auction on July 31, during the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, while others will be open for bids from July 8 through August 8 on the company’s website.
Headlining the collection is a bat from a player better known for throwing fastballs than hitting them. For the first time ever, Christy Mathewson’s 1905 World Series game-used bat, signed and dated by his teammates and manager immediately following the 1905 World Series, is going on the block. A minimum bid of $100,000 has been established with a pre-sale estimate of $500,000 and up.
After leading the Giants to a 4-1 win over the A’s in the 1905 World Series by pitching three complete game shutouts and even getting two hits in the series, Mathewson passed his bat around during the locker room celebration and had several of his teammates sign it, including Red Ames, George “Hooks” Wiltse, and Billy Gilbert. To cap it off and assure collectors of its authenticity, Hall of Fame manager John McGraw signed and dated the bat “Oct. 14 -05″.
According to Goldin Auctions, Mathewson commonly distributed his game-used items among friends and family after arriving back home following each season. At some point the bat was handed off and for decades, was in the possession of a family in
until it was recently obtained by collector Terrence R. Zastrow.
Goldin Auctions says it is the only game used Mathewson bat in existence, is believed to be to earliest World Series game used bat and it represents the first World Championship in the history of professional sports in New York. A notarized letter from Zastrow documents the provenance.
MEARS and PSA/DNA have each rated the bat a 10. Additionally, the signatures were certified by JSA (X56499) and PSA/DNA (U04226). The lot comes with 23 pages of research and documentation.
“We are thrilled to make this rare bat available during our Premium Live auction during the 2015 National Sports Collectors Convention,” said Ken Goldin, Founder of Goldin Auctions. “When an historic fresh find such as this is made available for the first time, the sky is the limit as all of the hobby’s serious collectors take notice.”
To register for the auction and receive a free catalog, visit www.GoldinAuctions.com.
Related Stories:
