He was still the greatest attraction in sports and paid like it, but even Babe Ruth fell victim to the Great Depression. The Bambino took what for him was unprecedented—a pay cut. That $75,000 pact he signed with the New York Yankees in 1932 just sold for a lot more. Boston-based RR Auctions has sold the “George Herman Ruth” signed contract, dated March 16, … [Read more...]
Ruth’s Richest Contract Set to Hit Auction Block
It wasn’t an easy time for a baseball player to ask for a salary increase. Not with the nation plowing through some of its most challenging economic times. Babe Ruth, though, was no ordinary player and not afraid to ask his boss to pay him like the extraordinary gate attraction he was. Now, the contract that inspired one of his most famous quips is on headed … [Read more...]
Trout, Judge, LeBron Join Ruth and Mays Among Top Sellers in Goldin Sale
It was truly a mixture of something old and something new at the Goldin Auctions 2018 Spring Premium Live Auction on Saturday night at the NYY Steakhouse in New York City when final prices realized for historic items from Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, LeBron James, Wayne Gretzky and Mike Trout turned heads and signaled that collectors are still enamored with rare … [Read more...]
Past Meets Present in Goldin Auctions’ Two-Part Catalog
Items from long ago icons join memorabilia from sports’ biggest current stars in Goldin Auctions’ new catalog. A total of 629 lots of sports, entertainment and historical artifacts opened for bidding Monday. The 53 premium lots will be sold at a live auction on April 28 at the NYY Steakhouse in New York City with the remaining items to be sold … [Read more...]
Talking Ruth Ring, Contract on CNBC
The Red Sox copy of the agreement that spelled out details of Babe Ruth's sale to the Yankees in 1919 sold for$996,000 in 2005. A dozen years later, the Yankees version, signed by owner Jacob Ruppert, is expected to fetch even more. Bidding opened last week on the six-page document that had an enormous impact on both franchises--and baseball in general. It … [Read more...]
1919 Pact Selling Ruth to Yankees, 1927 Series Ring Highlight Leland’s Sale
Babe Ruth’s 1927 World Series Championship ring and one of two copies of the 1919 agreement documenting the sale of of Ruth from the Red Sox to Yankees contract headline the Lelands.com 1st Annual Invitational Auction. Both items are owned by actor Charlie Sheen. The ring has never before been offered publicly. Shen bought it in a private … [Read more...]
Signed 1920 Ruth Cuba Tour Contract Soars to $118,750
The contract Babe Ruth signed in 1920 to take part in his first foreign barnstorming tour sold for $118,750 Saturday night in an auction of Ruth memorabilia conducted by Goldin Auctions. After a breakthrough season in which he smashed 54 homers, Ruth was paid $1,000 per game for the 10-game tour with John McGraw’s Giants against Cuban squads. Although the … [Read more...]
Early Photos, 1920 Barnstorming Contract Part of Babe Ruth Auction
Seventy years after cancer claimed his life at the young age of 53, dozens of items from the life and times of baseball's greatest icon are on the auction block. Goldin Auctions has launched its second Babe Ruth Auction, with bidding underway through February 18. Five percent of each winning bid will be donated to support the Babe Ruth Birthplace & … [Read more...]
O-Pee-Chee Gretzky Rookie Now Most Expensive Hockey Card
After the National Sports Collectors Convention closed Thursday evening, the action shifted to a hotel ballroom where bidders spent over $3.1 million on over 90 high-end sports cards and sports memorabilia with Goldin Auctions. As expected, the O-Pee-Chee #18 Wayne Gretzky Rookie Card PSA 10 established a new standard for hockey trading cards by selling for $465,000 -- … [Read more...]
Ruth’s 1935 Braves Contract, 1948 Letter Coming to Auction
The last contract Babe Ruth signed as an active player with the Boston Braves and a thank you letter to the New York Yankees after Babe Ruth Day in 1948 will hit the auction block later this month. Goldin Auctions is offering the items in its upcoming live auction at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Atlantic City on August 4. The auction, which begins accepting … [Read more...]