Shohei Ohtani’s 300th career home run ball and a 1914 Cleveland Naps team signed baseball with Joe Jackson headline the newly opened Lelands Summer Classic Auction.
The transcendent, two-way Dodgers superstar’s 300th career home run ball – a milestone that combines Ohtani’s 48 home runs in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball with his 252 homers in Major League Baseball – was hit on June 24 in a game against the Colorado Rockies.
The consignor is Emily Sauvageau. a fan who caught it on the fly while standing below the left field seats at Coors Field in Denver and the ball has been photomatched to images taken immediately after she snared it in her glove.
The opening bid on the Ohtani ball is $25,000.
Because of Jackson’s limited ability to read and write, his signatures are rare – even more so on a baseball. Jackson’s scribble on the 1914 Naps team ball is faded but legible.
According to Lelands, the official American League ball was found at an estate sale in the 1980s in Cleveland, and originated from Bill Reidy, who was a scout for the Naps after his playing career for the New York Giants, Brooklyn Superbas, and St. Louis Browns, from 1896 to 1904.
At the estate sale, the ball was accompanied by a signed original photograph of Reidy, and that 8×10″ photo is included in the lot. It’s inscribed “To Ferd, from ‘Slow Ball’ Bill’ [sic] Reidy, Scout Cleve BB Club Season – 1914.”
A 1911 Philadelphia Athletics World Series press pin – the first ever created–was drawing significant early attention from bidders, along with a 1939
Baseball Hall of Fame induction program signed by all 11 living inductees of the time including Babe Ruth. The sale also includes Jackie Jensen’s 1958 American League MVP Award and George Foreman’s 1970s passport used for multiple fights including the “Rumble in the Jungle.”
Another auction centerpiece is a recently graded 1997 SPx Michael Jordan Die-Cut Auto, graded PSA 8 with a 10 auto – one of just three at that level. Numbered to only 100, it’s one of the rarest and most sought after ‘90s Jordan insert cards and autograph cards, with no copies graded higher by PSA.
Another modern era card on the block is a 2023 Topps Chrome LeBron James ’03 Time Machine Autograph Red Refractor #5/5.
The 1,800+ lot auction also includes multiple Babe Ruth signed items, including a Pacific Coast League ball graded 7 by PSA/DNA that is making its auction debut and likely dates to a 1940s trip to the west coast by Ruth on behalf of the Ford Motor Company.
Other items in the catalog include a 1994 Rangers Stanley Cup Championship pendant, Tony Gwynn’s career home run #112 Padres signed game-used bat (PSA GU 10), Vic Hadfield’s 1972 Summit Series Team Canada vs. Soviet Union game-worn jersey (MEARS A10), a 1978 Pete Maravich basketball uniform worn in the film, “Scoring” and a jersey from Steelers great Rod Woodson.
Also up for bid is a 1972 Roberto Clemente 3,000th hit ticket stub with program PSA EX5 (Pop 4 – One Higher), a Derek Jeter 2010 All-Star Game photo-matched, signed game-used bat (PSA GU 9.5), a 1956 Sports Illustrated with Mickey Mantle on the cover that carries his autograph and multiple inscriptions graded CGC 7.5 with a 10 autograph rating and the abt used by Gwynn in 1997 when he reached 100 RBI for the first and only time in his Hall of Fame career.
Among other items up for auction are a Cal Ripken Jr. 1981 Major League debut ticket Stub PSA NM 7 (only one higher), Larry Holmes’ photo-matched 1984 IBF Heavyweight Championship commemorative belt (Diane Holmes LOA), a Frank “Home Run” Baker bat signed four times (PSA), and Willie Mays’ personally worn and signed Bally’s Casino sport jacket – the one that got him banned from baseball.
The auction also includes Ruth’s personal set of golf clubs gifted to fellow Hall of Famer Johnny Mize, a Tom Sunkel 1944 Dodgers satin game-worn road jersey, circa 1970s Muhammad Ali worn training trunks gifted by Ali himself with photo provenance and a Kobe Bryant signed 1997 Slam Dunk Contest perfect 10 scorecard.
Collectors will also find Christy Mathewson’s 1916 motor vehicle registration card, a 1987 Michael Jordan and Bulls team-signed Type I original photograph and Ronald Acuna’s photo-matched 40th stolen base of 40/70 MVP season game-worn batting gloves matched to five games (Teammate Sourced and LOA).
The auction also boasts a Jackie Robinson 1946 Minor League debut ticket stub and Angel Cordero Jr’s 1985 Kentucky Derby jockey trophy for “Spend a Buck,” as well as the Hall of Famer’s personally owned and signed “Magic Saddle” used to win eight Triple Crown-winning races.
The auction is underway now and runs through August 16.
