A saddle used by jockey Red Pollard when he rode the legendary racehorse Seabiscuit, sold for $104,260 in the recently completed Lelands.com auction. Lelands also sold horseshoes worn by Seabiscuit during his famed 1940 Santa Anita Handicap win for $35,311. The complete 28-lot collection of Seabiscuit memorabilia offered in the auction brought total prices realized of nearly $200,000.
The personal scrapbooks of Joe Jackson were offered but despite a $33,637 high bid, did not meet a pre-set auction reserve.
The Lelands.com auction also featured items from the personal collections of baseball legends Lou Brock ($75,475) – headlined by a large collection of Brock signed bats ($19,455) and his Hall of Fame induction plaque ($9,727) – and Bob Gibson as well as the Joe L. Brown Signed Baseball Collection ($51,458), which included an Eppa Rixey single-signed baseball ($17,223).
Additional one-of-a-kind items sold during the auction included a James Naismith signed 1893 basketball handbook ($17,686), a cap worn by Red Sox legend Ted Williams during the 1955 All-Star Game ($9,727), a 1964 Cleveland Browns World Championship ring ($11,643), an 1890s Reach football helmet in original box ($9,727), a 1908 Honus Wagner PC760 Rose Postcard with “Greenfield’s Chocolates” advertising back ($9,983) and an 1880 Worcester Baseball Club league application ($9,376).
The auction also boasted a 1990 Mario Lemieux NHL All-Star Game worn jersey ($8,039), a Roberto Clemente game-used bat ($6,040), a 1937 All-Star Game baseball signed by Babe Ruth, Mel Ott and Jimmie Foxx ($16,472), and the 1945 “The Negro in Baseball” document by Larry MacPhail ($9,235).
An array of vintage rock and roll and popular culture memorabilia was also sold, headlined by a fringed suede vest and art nouveau coin belt worn by iconic singer Janis Joplin as well as a signed calendar book and ticket stubs ($13,614), an 1818 Declaration of Independence dedicated to Thomas Jefferson ($11,345) and a 1948 “Dewey Defeats Truman” newspaper ($4,272).
Other highlights from the auction included a 1969 Tony Conigliaro Red Sox game-worn home jersey ($5,625), a 1950s Ted Williams Lenox porcelain ashtray ($4,699) and a 1976 Topps Baseball unopened wax box ($4,594).