Retired pitcher and current ESPN baseball analyst Curt Schilling owns a couple of famous pieces of baseball memorabilia but money trouble may force the former ace to put them up on the auction block. Last month Schilling put a game-worn Lou Gehrig cap, World War II memorabilia and the famous ‘bloody sock’ from his victory in the 2004 World Series up as co
llateral pledged to lenders. He may be forced to sell the items to pay off millions of dollars in debt incurred by his failed video game company, 38 Studios.
Documents filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office show Schilling listed the Gehrig cap, dating from the late 1920s or 30s, the sock and the World War II items as well as other assets.
SCP Auctions’ President David Kohler, whose company purchased a Gehrig cap for $74,500 on behalf of a private client in 2009, told ESPN Thursday that he believed Schilling could get $200-250,000 for it at auction, but only $75,000-100,000 for the bloody sock.
Suffering from a torn tendon in his ankle, Schilling pitched through pain during the sixth game of the 2004 American League Championship Series as TV cameras captured the blood from newly removed sutures soaking through to his socks. He threw that one away after the game, but pitched again in Game 2 of the World Series and the bloody sock became somewhat of a symbol for the gritty Red Sox overcoming all odds to win a championship for the first time since 1918. It wound up at the Baseball Hall of Fame where it currently resides on loan from Schilling.
“We’re eight years out now,” Kohler said. “It would have brought a lot more money in and around the time of that World Series.”
Another auction company representative concurred with the estimate of value on the Gehrig cap.
It could be a long road back for Schilling, whose company showed $150 million in debt but only $22 million in assets. He has a home on the market for $3.45 million. The state of Rhode Island, where 38 Studios is based, is first in line to recoup money it loaned for Schilling’s start-up.
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[…] Feb. 23 Platinum Night Sports event in New York next month. Consigned by Schilling, who is facing financial stress after his gaming company failed last year, carries a pre-auction estimate of $100,000+. You could call it the Bloody Sock Auction, but […]