Michael Jordan’s autographed Converse sneakers worn during the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials, an historic award winning baseball photograph, a T206 Honus Wagner and a trio of important home run balls from the 2021 World Series share the spotlight as SCP Auctions kicks off its Winter Premier Auction on Wednesday.
The auction includes some valuable pieces from the country’s biggest sports icons, starting with Jordan’s signed shoes, originally gifted to the son of the USA team physician following the final tune-up game in San Diego. Worn throughout the games that led to the formation of the squad that won gold, the shoes are dual signed by Jordan in red ink. Teammates Chris Mullin, Alvin Robertson, Vern Fleming and the late Wayman Tisdale also added their autographs as a keepsake to the young fan.
The lot carries a $20,000 opening bid.
Another top Jordan item in the auction is a signed 1984-85 Star Co. rookie card and is being offered in a BGS NM-MT+ 8.5 grade with a 10 autograph. Jordan autographs on Star Company cards are rare and the higher grade example has a $15,000 opener.
Also in the auction is a signed photo of Kresimir Cosic, one of the rarest autographs from basketball’s Hall of Fame.
Step back a few decades and the catalog offers up a unique copy of the famed T206 Honus Wagner card. One of the first cards ever graded by PSA in the early 1990s and still encapsulated in the original holder, the card was torn almost in half at some point long ago. In the consignor’s collection for more than 20 years, it will be sold without a reserve price. Last October, SCP sold a restored copy of the hobby’s most famous card for $1.1 million.
The auction also features a triple crown of Atlanta Braves lots, all home run balls smacked in the clinching Game 6 of the 2021 World Series. Perhaps the most talked-about homer of the three was World Series MVP Jorge Soler’s three-run, 446-foot moonshot that went straight out of Minute Maid Park in Houston. That bomb was followed by a two-run, 411-foot blast from Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson in the fifth inning. The Braves were still shutting out the Astros 6-0 in the top of the seventh inning when Freddie Freeman put the cherry on top of the victory with a solo shot to put the Braves up 7-0, a lead they would never relinquish en route to the team’s first title since 1995.
This auction includes a large group of original photographs, the vast majority of which have been encapsulated Type 1 by PSA/DNA. One of these lots is a June 13, 1948, photo of “The Babe Bows Out,” believed to be the actual print used for the Herald Tribune the night photographer Nat Fein took his famous image of a dying Ruth bidding farewell to baseball at Yankee Stadium.
Among the many other Type 1 lots: a 1920 Shoeless Joe Jackson news photo, a signed and inscribed Lou Gehrig photo (George Burke) from the Earle Combs Family Collection, a shot from Sandy Koufax’s 1954 rookie signing with the Dodgers, a February 1988 image of Michael Jordan winning his second-consecutive Slam Dunk Contest, and a Martin Luther King Jr. photo from his protest speech in Selma, Alabama.
In addition to the signed ’84-85 Star Jordan, the auction also hold an autographed copy of Mickey Mantle’s 1952 Bowman card, graded PSA 4 with a 9 autograph grade.
Another key card the sale is a 1933 Goudey #92 Lou Gehrig graded SGC Mint 9—the highest graded example on the company’s population report.
There are some high-end modern cards available in the sale as well. A 2017 Bowman Mega Box Chrome Prospects Shohei Ohtani rookie is the only example in the PSA population report with two Gem Mint 10 grades for both the card and the auto. A variety of Patrick Mahomes cards are being presented, including a 2017 National Treasures Rookie Colossal Material Signatures graded BGS Mint 9 with a 10 auto. For those looking to get their hands on a rookie example of an NFL player on the rise, look no further than the two Mac Jones rookie patch autos offered — both numbered out of 5.
Fans of the late Arnold Palmer will see a unique piece: an 18-karat gold presidential Rolex engraved wristwatch engraved on the case back with Palmer’s monogram “ADP,” for Arnold Daniel Palmer.
The watch was later included by Palmer as part of a black-tie charity dinner and auction held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, NY on June 13, 1995, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the U.S.G.A. (United States Golf Association).
One long-time basketball collector has consigned a collection of 30 game-used items includinga Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Lakers jersey, a Bob Cousy game-worn Celtics warm-up jacket and a Barry Liebowitz Pittsburgh Pipers 1960s warm-up jacket and pants.
Other significant game-used memorabilia include the cap and sunglasses worn by Fernando Tatis Jr. in his 2019 MLB debut, a circa 1970 Pele Brazil match-worn shirt, and Joc Pederson’s 2021 bat he “stole” from Anthony Rizzo and used to hit three postseason home runs.
Championship jewelry on the block includes a 1957 Milwaukee Braves World Series ring, 2010 Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup championship ring, 2006 Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl XLI ring, and a 1995 Atlanta Braves World Series ring.
The sale is set to run through February 5 at SCPAuctions.com.
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