Mastro Live Sports Auction Results
Published December 28th, 2008
Mastro Auctions recently announced the results of the company’s second successful live sports auction of 2008. The event, held on December 8, 2008 at The Sports Museum of America in New York City, featured two sessions, “Legends of the Diamond” which offered over 80 premium lots of high-end baseball memorabilia and “Legends of the Gridiron” that presented over 250 Hall of Fame-associated pieces of football memorabilia. While there was solid bidding in both auction sessions, it was obvious that the appeal of baseball memorabilia coupled with the iconic status of Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth, even Christy Mathewson resulted in the most significant sale highlights.
The top performing baseball item in the auction was a Mickey Mantle 1958 New York Yankees World Series game worn road jersey that sold for $216,000. Mantle donned the jersey during game 2 of the 1958 World Series when he hit two home runs. Until its appearance in Mastro Auctions’ “Legends” live sale, the jersey had never before been sold with the acknowledgement that it was worn during World Series play.
There were other Mickey Mantle items bidders found hard to pass up including his World Series home run ball #16 hit on October 1964. The ball that broke Babe Ruth’s record of 15 runs in October play sold for $96,000. Also impressive was the selling price of $66,000 for a Mickey Mantle 1951 H&B game used bat. The rare “L16″ model was only ordered in Mantle’srookie season.
Other pieces from the Donohue Babe Ruth collection will be sold in subsequent Mastro Auctions’ sale, but the Ruth item that stole the show at the Legends auction was a Babe Ruth 1927 signed photo display commemorating his 60 home run season. The unique item sold for $66,000. The display provides a visual depiction of Ruth’s signature 1927 season. It features an action photograph and 60 illustrated baseballs, one for each Ruthian hit that went out of the park. In each baseball the name of the pitcher who yielded the home run and the date is noted.
Another auction category that created considerable buzz in the “Legends” sale was baseball cards. An exemplary 1903 E107 Breisch Williams Type 1 Christy Mathewson – SGC 20 FR 1.5 baseball card, graded SGC 20 FR 1.5, took top accolades with a selling price of $120,000. Mathewson, a Hall of Fame inaugural inductee player considered baseball’s first great gentleman, died prematurely as a result of being exposed to poisonous gas on the battlefield in World War I.
For more information or a complete list of auction results, go to www.mastroauctions.com or call 630-472-1000. Mastro Auctions is currently accepting consignments for all upcoming 2009 auctions.
