Hundreds of pieces of baseball history found new homes Saturday in the 16th Annual Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum Auction.
Headlined by items from the long-time collection of Ohio native Bob Crotty and relics from early Pittsburgh broadcaster Rosy Rowswell, the live portion of the auction inside the museum drew a crowd of collectors.
A packed house for our 16th Annual Live Auction with @HuntAuctions! #sluggermuseum #baseballhistory #sportsmemorabilia #baseball pic.twitter.com/nQOi3eVPAw
— Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory (@SluggerMuseum) November 9, 2019
A 1960 Mickey Mantle game jersey was the top-selling item in the sale, netting $170,375 including the 17.5% buyer’s premium added to all winning bids. Interestingly, the Mantle jersey sold for a few thousand dollars more than a circa 1919 Harry Hooper Boston Red Sox home jersey, which was purchased for $164,500.
Also broaching the six-figure mark was a 1930s Lloyd Waner Pirates home jersey, which rocketed to $141,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $50,000-$70,000. It’s the only known Waner jersey in private hands with one other example residing in the collection of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Reaching the market for the first time were several items that originated with Rowswell, a radio announcer for the Pirates from the 1930s until his death in 1955. Rowswell was also a collector and his autographed bat featuring signatures of the 1927 Yankees and Pirates sold for $58,750.
Rowswell also owned a KiKi Cuyler bat that was given to him by the Hall of Famer and may have been used in the 1925 World Series. It sold for $26,438.
The auction also included a circa-1928 Babe Ruth bat which sold for $94,000.
Other items sold included:
- 1936 Goose Goslin Tigers home jersey $82,250
- 1958 Willie Mays Giants home jersey $64,625
- 1937 Earl Averill road jersey $52,875
- 1925-28 Ty Cobb bat $52,875
- 1954 Hank Aaron signed rookie contract $47,000
- 1955 Roberto Clemente signed rookie contract $47,000
- 1915 Joe Jackson signature on legal document $38,387
- 1955 Warren Spahn Milwaukee Braves home uniform $38,188
- Early 1970s Roberto Clemente game jersey $58,750
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