It wouldn’t be long before his mug became world famous but in the late winter of 1916, not even those whose sole job was to cover baseball knew what he looked like. There’s proof of that in a 102-year-old copy of The Sporting Life—a publication that billed itself “The Loyal Champion of Clean Sport.” They may have been pure in spirit but they didn't always know … [Read more...]
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Jackie Robinson Rookie Jersey Sells Again; Auction Buyer Nets Tidy Profit
Five months after it sold at auction, the only known Jackie Robinson rookie year game jersey has sold again, this time for $2.6 million. The company says its “Make Offer to Owner” program recently closed a deal between the winning auction bidder and the new buyer, who paid $550,000 more than what the jersey sold for in November, when it hammered for $2.05 million. … [Read more...]
Historic Game-Used Items; Rare T206 Cobb Top $9.3 Million Heritage Auction
High-end game-used memorabilia and some iconic sports cards helped push Heritage Auctions’ latest catalog tally to $9.3 million. The auction, which closed with two sections on Saturday and Sunday nights, set several records across game-used jerseys, bats, and rare sports cards. Kept in a closet for decades by the Wisconsin man who’d received it as a young boy … [Read more...]
New 1902 W600 Wagner Could Fetch Six-Figure Price
The Sporting Life billed itself as “The Paper That Made Baseball Popular”. How true that big of boastful pride may be is hard to say but it certainly didn’t hurt. The company brought sports news to the public starting in the 1800s and in the early 1900s, produced some of the most attractive baseball cards of the pre-War era through various mail-in offers. Now, … [Read more...]
Evans Archive Launches Weekly Auction
It runs in the family. Andrea Evans-Young, the sister of Lelands Founder and Chairman Josh Evans, has launched a business offering online sports and pop culture memorabilia auctions via eBay. “Evans Archive” will hold weekly events with a variety of vintage sports cards and memorabilia. Like her brother, Andrea Evans-Young is a long-time fixture in the collectibles … [Read more...]
Connie Mack’s Eight Decade Career in Cardboard
Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, known as Connie Mack, spent part of eight decades associated with Major League Baseball as first a player, then a manger, and finally an owner. For 50 years he served as manager and owner of the Philadelphia Athletics where he set records that will likely never be matched in wins (3,731), losses, (3,948), and games managed (7,755). One of … [Read more...]
New Stash of High-Grade W600 Sporting Life Cabinets Graded
They weren’t hiding in someone’s attic but their emergence proves there are still plenty of great cards that have yet to be graded. PSA recently received a submission of numerous W600 Sporting Life cabinet cards from the famous series produced in the first decade of the 1900s. Included in the valuable group were several Hall of Famers. Scarce in any condition, they newly … [Read more...]
Consignment of the Week: W600 Wagner
Unless you’re a serious collector of pre-War baseball cards, you may not realize the famous image of Honus Wagner that serves as the face of the famed T206 tobacco card was actually made from a photo taken a few years earlier. The same Carl Horner portrait photo of Wagner was used in the Sporting Life cards including the ultra-rare W600 cabinet. One of the higher … [Read more...]
Rare W600 Lajoie Coming to Auction
A record-breaking salary. A jump to a new league. A court challenge. It may seem like the elements of a story you’d fine in the pages of a recent sports media website but actually, it was part of the baseball landscape in 1902. Philadelphia star Nap Lajoie was offered big bucks to sign with the new American League in 1901 and for a salary of $4,000 (the equivalent … [Read more...]
More Big Prices for Vintage Cards as Auctions Near Close
A new rush of spring catalog auctions heads for the finish line with more eye-popping bids already pushing prices of vintage baseball cards to previously unseen levels. Memory Lane’s Spring catalog closes Saturday night with a 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie card graded PSA 9 topping all bids as of late Wednesday. The card is part of what was the top Aaron basic set on PSA's … [Read more...]
