One of Joe DiMaggio’s last game-worn uniforms and the lone Bobby Orr 1966 Topps USA Test #35 graded PSA Mint 9 are among the headliners in the Lelands Winter 2019 Classic Auction.
Lelands says research shows DiMaggio wore the uniform for two of his home runs during the 1950 championship season, including his first that year. The company says photos from six different games match the jersey being offered. The uniform has been rated A8 by MEARS, with flannel expert Dave Grob subtracting two points for soiling, patch replacement, and the tear in real tail. It also comes with two full detailed LOAs from Resolution Photomatching. The auction opened Friday with the high bid passing $66,000 during the weekend.
The PSA 9 Orr USA Test #35 is the highest-graded Orr rookie card from fewer than 100 that have been graded by PSA to date. The Test issue was released in California gauge U.S. interest in hockey prior to the NHL expanding from six to 12 teams for the 1967-68 season. The card had already soared past $40,000 in early bidding.
The auction also fields a large lineup of pro football game-used jerseys highlighted by a fresh group of Pittsburgh Steelers shirts directly from the team’s archive including one donned by Jerome Bettis 18 seasons ago. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Steelers archive jerseys will be donated to the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research.
Additional one-of-a-kind gridiron collectibles up for auction include the 1968 original bronze commissioned by the NFL for the “Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award” created by Daniel Schwartz, a 1958-59 Lou Groza game-worn Browns jersey, Tom Hutchinson’s 1964 Browns championship ring, a 1981 Lawrence Taylor Giants game-worn, photo-matched “rookie” jersey, a vintage Lynn Swann Steelers and Le’Veon Bell’s jersey from when he scored his first career NFL touchdown in 2013. The Swann and Bell jerseys are not from the Steelers Archive.
Cy Young Awards won by Denny McLain and Gaylord Perry (his second one in 1978) are up for grabs, along with the ball from Jose Bautista’s epic bat flip homer in the 2015 ALDS, an item that’s been grabbing national headlines over the last few days.
Collectors of vintage cards and memorabilia will find a PSA-graded 1948 Leaf complete set with all variations, a 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle PSA 2, the greatest 1967 Topps Baseball Beckett graded set, a 1946 Jackie Robinson Minor League debut ticket stub, key documents from the life and times of Babe Ruth including several of his income tax returns and a 1942 check written to the Yankees, as well as the earliest piece of Lou Gehrig game-used memorabilia: a football from the 1920 season when he was a star fullback in high school.
Other baseball items up for bid include Jim Palmer’s 1977 Rawlings Gold Glove Award, a 1972 Athletics World Series “Owners Trophy,” a Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and Hank Aaron signed ball, a 1937 Hank Greenberg Tigers game-used and team-signed bat, a 1924 Babe Ruth barnstorming real photo postcard, a 1923 Yankee Stadium inauguration program, Paul Waner’s 1952 Hall of Fame Induction Plaque, a 1954 Roberto Clemente contract with his fingerprints, a Frank Robinson 1976 Indians game-used jersey, a 1909 Pirates’ Forbes Field “cornerstone” façade piece, a Stan Musial 1957 Cardinals game-worn uniform, a Satchel Paige 1940s game-worn glove, a game-worn Ken Dryden Canadiens jersey, a James “Cool Papa Bell” 1932 signed, game-used bat and a Buck Leonard signed, game-used bat from the year (1948) he led the Negro Leagues in hitting.
Additionally, the Lelands Winter Auction boasts a collection of high-grade early boxing card sets and the number one rated 1910 T218 Champions set on the PSA Registry. Other boxing memorabilia includes Mike Tyson’s WBC Lifetime Achievement Award belt and a 1964 Cassius Clay vs. Sonny Liston I signed full ticket.
Horse racing items include Summer Bird’s 2009 Belmont Stakes Trophy, a 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify-worn halter, Willie Shoemaker’s 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand race-worn saddle, and a 2009 Zenyatta track-worn halter. bat used during948 Negro National League batting title season. This
“This is certainly one of the most eclectic and interesting offerings we’ve had in years,” said Lelands founder and chairman Josh Evans.
Lelands.com will also be auctioning off an impressive array of pop culture and political memorabilia including Whitney Houston’s signed bible, a George Washington lock of hair emanating from the family of Alexander Hamilton, a 1983 Brett Kavanaugh Georgetown Prep yearbook – a crucial piece of evidence in the Supreme Court nominee’s hearings – President George H.W. Bush signed baseballs including a perfect 10, an 1861 Abraham Lincoln signed handwritten letter, Colleen Kay Hutchins 1952 Miss America Trophy and a stock certificate issued to Bernie Madoff in 1969 by Joe Namath’s “Broadway Joe’s” restaurant and bar.
Bidding will continue through February 1 at Lelands.com.