It seemed extraordinary. 70 home runs? In one season? America wasn’t asking many questions in 1998 and Phi Ozersky was in the right place at the right time. The Cardinal fan who scooped up Mark McGwire’s 70th home run baseball made big money after the Cards tried to play hardball but he’s still a fan…with no money problems.
He didn’t catch it on the fly. It bounced off several fans before Phil Ozersky picked it up. Any Mark McGwire ball was a valuable souvenir but when #70 was the final home run in a record-breaking binge we thought would stand for ages, it became the focal point of an auction.
Todd McFarlane made it one of his $3 million purchases in an auction after the season. Ozersky, a major Cardinals fan, took home a good share of it, even after the auction house commission and taxes.
Nine years later, he’s convinced he made the right call by selling the ball but he’s not the only one who benefitted from the sale.

Vintage signed baseballs on eBay