They may be in Indianapolis now, but the Baltimore Colts were winners in the Super Bowl LIV Auction Saturday in Miami. Two Colts items with strong historical significance were the biggest sellers in the annual live event at the Miami Beach Convention Center, conducted as usual by Hunt Auctions.
The top price went to a Certificate of Membership that signified the Colts’ acceptance as an NFL franchise in 1953. The 12” x 13” certificate, made of heavy stock with the signature of Commissioner Bert Bell, sold for $105,750. One of only a few known to exist, it was professionally restored.
The Colts’ win over the New York Giants in the 1958 NFL Championship Game is generally regarded as one of the most important games in American sports history. Receiver Raymond Berry, a key member of the Colts teams in the 1950s and 60s, consigned his championship ring from that game to the auction and it had rocketed to $82,250 when bidding ended. Berry’s 1958 championship wristwatch netted $23,500. Numerous other items from the 86-year-old Hall of Famer’s career were also sold in the auction.
Numerous items up for sale arrived through NFL Auctions, with proceeds going to NFL charities.
Other historic items sold included a 1960s Green Bay Packers game jersey donned by the late Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr, which sold for $58,750; Jim Brown’s 1957 Rookie of the Year trophy ($32,312), A 1990S Dan Marino game-worn helmet ($29,962), a game-worn Sid Luckman Bears jersey ($28,200) and Jerry Rice’s Super Bowl XXIX helmet ($25,850).
Complete results are available here.
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