A single signed Walter Johnson American League baseball with the original box sold for $315,426 early Sunday as Lelands closed out its Spring catalog auction. The price is the most ever paid for a ball signed by Johnson, who died in 1946 at age 59.
Signed by the Hall of Fame pitcher in black fountain pen, likely more than 90 years ago, the ball was making its auction debut after being unveiled on an episode of Antiques Roadshow last year. The autograph was given an 8 rating by PSA–the highest grade ever afforded a Johnson signed ball.
Another single signed Johnson ball, possibly from the final out of the 1924 World Series, sold for $180,000 in November 2021.
The highest priced item in the auction was also making its first appearance on the open market–a 1925 Exhibit Lou Gehrig card, which sold for $387,257. Graded 4.5 by PSA, the card originated with an Ohio man who amassed a large collection of Exhibits at a penny arcade decades ago.
Up until December of 2022, the collection was tucked away in the attic of his house and was discovered when family members sorted through his belongings.
A total of 43 of 1925 Exhibit Gehrig rookies have been graded by PSA with nine grading higher than the one sold by Lelands.
A workbook with handwritten notes and calculations by Gehrig when he was a high school student in New York sold for $193,644. Inside the book were 20 instances in which Gehrig scribbled his name.
They are almost certainly the earliest-known Gehrig signatures in the hobby, dating approximately three years prior to his 1923 MLB debut with the Yankees.
A circa 1928-1930 Babe Ruth bat was the second highest priced item sold in the auction, with the winning bidder paying $312,036 inlcuding the buyer’s premium.
The only known authenticated and graded ticket stub from Roberto Clemente’s major league debut rocketed to $121,334. Clemente’s debut came in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ fourth game of the season on April 17,1955. He played in both games of a doubleheader against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
A stub from Bill Russell’s December 22, 1956 NBA debut with the Boston Celtics authenticated by PSA brought $27,506.
Several items associated with the 1919 “Black Sox” World Series sold, including Roy Murphy’s 1919 Red championship pin ($60,043) and a Reds team signed ball ($47,106).
LeBron James’ jersey from the night in 2017 in which he passed Kobe Bryant to become the youngest player to reach 28,000 points sold for $101,589.
Additional highlights included Ray Bourque’s 1991 Penguins Stanley Cup championship ring ($67,562), a Pete Rose original limited edition silkscreen by Andy Warhol ($48,712), a 1951 Hank Aaron handwritten and signed questionnaire ($34,619), a 1972 Jim Palmer Orioles signed game-worn jersey ($24,025), and a Mickey Mantle 1952 signed PSA Type 1 photo ($22,882).
Complete results can be found here.
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