A football used by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots during the infamous “Deflategate” game is being offered as part of the Lelands 2015 Vintage Sports Auction, which is now underway. Bidding for the football – used by the Patriots when they scored a rushing touchdown in the third quarter of the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts – starts at $25,000.
Near the end of the third quarter, Darrelle Revis of the Patriots intercepted a pass by Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and returned it to the Colts 13 yard line. On the next play, Brady handed off to LeGarrette Blount, who ran the ball in for a score to give the Patriots a 38-7 lead. As Blount exited the back of the end zone, he dropped the ball to celebrate. Patriots receiver Brandon LaFell picked up the ball and handed it to a fan sitting in the stands who has consigned the ball to the auction.
The Deflategate game-used football hits the auction block at www.lelands.com just days before Brady is set to appeal his four-game suspension for his alleged role in the scandal, in which the Patriots were accused of purposely using under-inflated footballs during the AFC title game. In addition to Brady’s suspension, the Patriots were fined $1 million and docked two draft picks.
The auction also features the jersey worn by hockey legend Bobby Orr during the 1971 NHL All-Star
Game, baseball great Satchel Paige’s 1971 Hall of Fame ring, the jacket worn by Babe Ruth when he managed the 1945 Esquire Magazine All American Boy’s Baseball Game, Willie Mays’ 1961 Rawlings Gold Glove Award, a 1939 Cooperstown Hall of Fame induction class complete signed first day cover, and a 1978 Penn State Beaver Stadium architectural model dedicated to Joe Paterno.
In the wake of American Pharoah’s Triple Crown, Lelands is also offering a large collection of horse racing memorabilia. Several Secretariat collectibles are up for grabs including a 1972-73 workout saddle cloth, his 1973 Marlboro Cup winner’s blanket, a 1979 halter and a race-worn horseshoe, as well as Man O’ War’s saddle from his 1920 “Race of the Century” against Triple Crown winner Sir Barton, the saddle cloth worn by Sunday Silence during his last ever race, a horseshoe worn by Seattle Slew and a Phar Lap 1930 Melbourne Cup-winning horseshoe nail.
Collectors of vintage sports cards will find an 1869 Peck & Snyder Cincinnati Red Stockings card CDV (graded PSA Authentic), a 1937 OPC complete set and dozens of other complete sets, important rookie cards and pre-War issues.
“From the Deflategate game football to the Bobby Orr NHL All-Star Game-used jersey to the Babe Ruth game-worn jacket, Satchel Paige Hall of Fame ring and the amazing collection of horse racing memorabilia, this auction is truly special,” said Joshua Evans, founder and chairman of Lelands.com. “We are excited to bring these terrific offerings to the collecting public.”
Boxing memorabilia includes the robe worn by Muhamad Ali during his 1976 bout – and 50th win – against Jean-Pierre Coopman, Ali’s U.S. passport, a 1974 Joe Frazier fight-worn robe vs. Jerry Quarry, the earliest known boxing book (circa 1790), letters Mike Tyson wrote while imprisoned and a 1920s Jack Dempsey life-like porcelain statue.
Additional auction highlights include gold medals from the Summer Olympics in Berlin (1936) and London (1948), Juan Gonzalez’s 1993 Babe Ruth Home Run Crown, a circa 1912 Harry Hooper Boston Red Sox game-worn hat, the earliest known Chinese baseball photograph, the jersey worn by Derek Jeter when he tied Hall of Famer and fellow Yankee Dave Winfield on the all time hits list, a 1959 Willie Mays game-used and signed All-Star bat and a 1940s Memphis Red Sox game-worn jersey and cap.
Lelands will also be auctioning off a wide variety of vintage music and Americana memorabilia headlined by a postcard signed by all four members of The Beatles while they were staying at a Miami Beach hotel just days after their legendary performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” the 1926 Miss America first prize trophy, a 1939 Sigmund Freud TIME magazine cover painting, a Harper Lee handwritten letter with “To Kill a Mockingbird” content, and an outfit worn on stage by James “Godfather of Soul” Brown.
The auction closes July 17 at Lelands.com.