It seems like an odd combination. Baseball cards might be a natural to tie into the promotion of breakfast cereal, hot dogs and snack cakes. Dog food? Seems like you’d be barking up the wrong tree if you were the marketing guy who came up with that idea. Thankfully, someone at John Morrell Company decided it was a solid plan and 60 years after they … [Read more...]
Heritage Winter Platinum Tally: $12,985,912
High-end cards joined some game-worn jerseys from iconic players at the top of the results from Heritage Auctions’ Winter Platinum Night sale. The two-night event saw 22 different items sell for more than $100,000 and combined total sales of nearly $13 million. The four top items in the auction were all centered on two New York Yankee greats. A 1941 Play Ball Joe … [Read more...]
Micky Mantle Gamer from Historic Early 1960s Contests Set to Sell for Six-Figure Price
It appears to have seen action in two World Series and been part of one of baseball's most famous home run chases. It's seen heartbreak at Forbes Field and the struggles of a minor leaguer. Thankfully, the well-worn garb survived it all and decades after it made its debut, it's now ready to take its place as a treasured relic in someone's collection. Heritage … [Read more...]
Mickey Mantle’s Signed Rookie Card Contract Coming to Auction
Yesterday, we posted a photograph showing Joan Crosby, surrounded by Bowman Gum's baseball cards as she carried out her duties with the company back in 1953. One of Crosby's duties was to track down as many players as she could and get them to sign contracts so the company could put them on its baseball cards. One of those players was a young Mickey Mantle and in … [Read more...]
Jersey from Mantle’s 1956 Triple Crown Season Heads to Auction
A jersey pegged to Mickey Mantle’s 1956 Triple Crown season will hit the auction block next week. Mile High Card Company will offer the Yankees home flannel, which it calls “arguably the most significant game-worn item of the post-war era.” “This is likely the finest Mickey Mantle game-used jersey ever to come to market, and it originates from one of the greatest … [Read more...]
Important Ruth, Mantle Photos Top Hunt Auctions Premier Event
He hit 60 homers that season, but if you'd pulled his card out of an Exhibit Supply Company machine around that time, you might have seen Babe Ruth showcasing the other side of his game. On Wednesday, collectors had a chance to own an original copy of the same photo but you had to come with a fat wallet to be in the hunt. The 6 1/2 x 8 1/2-inch … [Read more...]
Mantle Movie Script, 1953 Look Magazine Watch Now Up for Bid
The script for a TV movie about the life of Mickey Mantle we wrote about earlier this year is now on the auction block. Originally acquired by autograph dealer Les Wolff from Mantle’s sister-in-law, the script includes several hand-written notes from the late Hall of Famer. It’s one of several items sourced to the family that are now at Goldin Auctions. In the early … [Read more...]
Ruth’s 500th Homer Bat, Lapchick Jersey, 1950s Card Sets, Player Rings Among SCP Auctions Headliners
Nothing goes better with a big Thanksgiving meal than a fresh helping of sports history and collectors are getting a chance to dig in a little early this week. SCP Auctions launched its 2019 Fall Premier Auction on Wednesday, with names like Ruth, Lapchick, Mantle and Mikan joining some high-end vintage baseball cards up for grabs. Leading off is the bat Babe Ruth said … [Read more...]
Rally Rd. Helps Collectors Take Stock In Valuable Sports Memorabilia
Sports collectors dream about owning a T206 Honus Wagner or a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. Most of us can’t afford one. But what if you could invest in a piece of one of these treasures? That is the concept behind Rally Rd., a mobile platform that allows collectors to obtain shares of valuable memorabilia — like buying stock — for a fraction of what it would cost. Just a … [Read more...]
Unmade Mickey Mantle Movie Script Uncovered; Includes His Notes
Les Wolff’s adventures in sports memorabilia read like a movie script. So, it’s only fitting that his latest find is a script for a movie project that never got off the ground. The subject? One of Wolff’s sports heroes — Mickey Mantle. Eleven years before the movie “*61,” brought Mantle back into the public spotlight, a screenplay about the Hall of Fame slugger’s life was … [Read more...]