The first contract Babe Ruth signed as a member of the New York Yankees sold for a whopping $549,000 over the weekend.
The twice-signed pact was inked by Ruth in 1922, after his original Red Sox contract had expired. It was the most ever paid for one of his Yankee contracts.
A total of 76 lots were offered by Goldin Auctions in the live event conducted at the New York Yankees Steak House in New York City. Each had a value of $10,000 or more.
In all, the auction generated nearly $3 million and that total will increase with a corresponding online auction with over 1,100 items that runs through Saturday at GoldinAuctions.com.
“We are proud 
to have once again secured record prices for our consignors and especially proud that 73 of the 76 lots were sold,” said founder Ken Goldin.
A 1955 Ted Williams Game Used Red Sox Road Jersey with Matching Pants sold for $183, 000 – a record price for any 
Williams jersey; a T206 White Border Eddie Plank graded PSA 4 sold for $100,040 – a record for a Plank card at that grade; a 1953 Bowman Color #59 Mickey Mantle graded PSA MINT 9 hit $58,560 – – the most ever paid for a ’53 Bowman Mantle); and a Larry Bird photo and vide-matched game-worn jersey from the Celtics’ May 22, 1988 Playoff Game 7 vs Atlanta hit $64,050 – a record for any Bird jersey.
A sixth record was set last month, when the company sold the 2001 Mike Piazza post-9/11 game jersey for $365,000, the top amount for any modern era jersey. The jersey was pulled fro
m the live auction and sold privately to ensure it would remain on display in New York.
Other items sold Saturday night included a circa-1912 glove said to have been used by Babe Ruth during his days at St. Mary’s Industrial School ($341,600); a 1921 agreement establishing MLB’s “Office of the Commissioner”, signed by team owners and both league presidents ($103,700); a 1997-98 Michael Jordan photo-matched game-used Bulls road jersey ($91,500); a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle graded PSA 7-ST ($87,840); a Lou Gehrig single-signed baseball ($67,100); a 1996-97 Jordan game-used jersey ($46,360) and Gary Carter’s personally owned 1986 Mets World Series trophy ($40,260).
Goldin will conduct its next live auction on Thursday, August 4, during the National Sports Collectors Convention in Atlantic City, NJ.
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