Everyone wants a Babe.
From game bats to cards to signed baseballs and everything in between, the top name on the list of auction sold prices is Ruth more often than not. Late Sunday night, it proved true again with some fabulous Babe-a-bilia topping the Robert Edward Auctions Spring Catalog Auction. In all, auction sales totaled $7.85 million.
A game model bat dating from 1918-1922 was the top selling item at $156,000 including the buyer’s premium. Right behind was a 1916 M101-4 Sporting News Ruth rookie card. Off-center and grading PSA 2, it still netted $132,000, a record price for the grade. Another Ruth card–a PSA 8 example of his 1933 Goudey Sport Kings–sold for $60,000. A single-signed Ruth baseball graded 7.5 by PSA realized $39,000. In all, the auction included over 90 Ruth items, 16 of which sold for at least $10,000.
Auction bidding was heavy and there were more participants than ever before. REA’s Brian Dwyer says 44,708 bids placed, which comes to 107 bids per hour, every hour, day and night, during the auction, on average.
Another item that stretched past the six-figure mark was a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle graded PSA 7, continuing a streak of such sales for the hobby’s most popular post-War cards. It closed at $120,000.
Other top trading card-related sales included:
- 1948-49 Leaf Jackie Robinson SGC 8.5 $72,000
- 1977 Topps unissued Reggie Jackson proof card cut from sheet SGC 9 $66,000
- 1914 Cracker Jack Ty Cobb PSA 4.5 $54,000
- T206 Ty Cobb Green Portrait version PsA 6 $54,000
- 1925 Exhibits Lou Gehrig rookie card PSA 2 $45,000
- 1951 Bowman Willie Mays rookie card PSA 8 $42,000
- 1970 Topps football wax box $22,800
Other memorabilia sold included:
- 1960 Roberto “Momen” Clemente bat $72,000
- 1913 Joe Jackson Type 1 photo by Charles Conlon $66,000
- 1960 Roger Maris game-worn road jersey $60,000
- 1940s Josh Gibson photo as seen on his 1950-51 Toleteros card $60,000
- Paul “Daffy” Dean 1936 Cardinals road jersey $33,000
A total of 137 items sold for $10,000 or more. REA’s next auction is slated for mid-summer. Complete auction results are available here.
