SCP Auctions opened its 2018 Summer Premium Auction Wednesday with several hundred items ranging from historic game-used memorabilia to rare autographs and important baseball cards inside the company’s latest catalog.
Set to run through August 11, the auction includes items from the 19th century to the present day.
Among the vintage sports card listings are a rare 1914 Boston Garter Joe Jackson (minimum bid $10,000), a 1925 Exhibit Lou Gehrig rookie card (PSA 4 MK), an M101-6 Felix Mendelsohn Babe Ruth (PSA 2), a complete set of 1952 Topps cards including the Mickey Mantle and an unopened box of 1961-62 Fleer basketball cards. There are dozens of T206s, numerous vintage complete baseball card sets from all eras including 1906 Fan Craze American and National League complete sets that were last offered to the hobby in 1999.
The auction also includes a 1967 Hank Aaron autographed and game-worn Atlanta Braves home jersey that includes a COA from Aaron and is rated 9.5 by MEARS (current bid $20,000), the second base bag from the Yankees 1977 World Series title, a single-signed Babe Ruth ball and a 1934 Yankees team-signed ball with Ruth and Gehrig; Jim Landis’ 1961 Gold Glove award, 
Knute Rockne’s 14k gold pocket watch, Jim Craig’s 1980 “Miracle on Ice” goalie pads, Bill Sharman’s personal NBA Greatest Players multi-signed lithograph, a pair of Michael Jordan Converse shoes worn during his freshman year at North Carolina and a 2001 New England Patriots Super Bowl XXXVI ring and box issued to longtime executive Bucko Kilroy.
The big-ticket items are centered around Ruth and the 1939 Hall of Fame induction class, however. A cap worn by Ruth in the 1930s and immortalized again in Yankee lore when pitcher David Wells, a Ruth fan and collector, donned it briefly on the mound in a June 1997 contest is back on the block, six years after it sold for a whopping $537,278. Manager Joe Torre made Wells take it off after the first inning because it didn’t conform to uniform standards, however the gesture made an enduring impression on Yankees fans. The cap is a size 7 3/8” and has “G. Ruth” stitched on the inside. A $100,000 opening bid was placed Wednesday morning.
“Ruth game worn material is the pinnacle of the hobby, and acquisition opportunities such as this are increasingly rare. We expect this cap to rewrite the record books once again,” said SCP Auctions’ Vice-President Dan Imler.
As Sports Collectors Daily reported Tuesday night, the auction also includes a 1939 Hall of Fame Induction autographed baseball with signatures from Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner, Cy Young, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Connie Mack, Tris Speaker, George Sisler, Eddie Collins and Nap Lajoie.
Part of the celebration that summer day in Cooperstown was an exhibition game between all-star teams representing both leagues. As the American League’s premier third baseman at the time, Marv Owen of the Chicago White Sox was selected to play on the team coached by Honus Wagner. During the course of that special day in Cooperstown Owen come to possess this ball signed by each of the 11 Inaugural Hall of Fame inductees. Well-preserved and passed down through Owen’s family after his death in 1991, SCP officials call it “one of the most significant artifacts the hobby has ever seen.” A “holy trinity” of baseball icons adorn one panel: Ruth, Cobb and Wagner.
One collector placed the $50,000 opening bid shortly after the auction went live on Wednesday.
The current auction record for a multi-signed baseball is $343,650, which was established in May 2013 for a Babe Ruth/Lou Gehrig dual-signed ball graded NM-MT+ 8.5 by PSA/DNA. The highest price ever paid at auction for any autographed baseball is $388,000 set six years ago by a Babe Ruth-single-signed ball graded 9.5 by PSA/DNA.
“The sheer greatness of this ball is simply unrivaled,” Imler stated. “Its historical importance compounded by the impeccable provenance and state of preservation elevate it to singular status as the most important and valuable autographed baseball in the world.”
To bid or register for the auction, visit www.scpauctions.com or call (949) 831-3700.
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