Mastro Auctions’ second live sports auction conducted at the ESPNZone August 1 set auction records and raised money for Derrek Lee’s 1st Touch Foundation. A new auction record was set for a baseball card at public auction when a 1909 T206 Honus Wagner card sold for $1.62 million. The auction total was $4.7 million and the average selling price per lot was $50,000.
“It was an incredible event in every aspect,” Doug Allen of Mastro Auctions said. “The venue was exciting, the bidding was fast-paced and the results speak for themselves.”
The last lot of the evening was the 1909 T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, graded PSA EX 5, that realized a final price of $1.62 million. The winning bidder was John Rogers of Little Rock, Ark., who calls the acquisition of the card the fulfillment of a “lifelong dream.”
As dramatic as the sale of the Wagner card was, there was also plenty of excitement generated by other lots in the auction. Allen said another big plus was that the night served to benefit a great charitable cause: all of the auction’s admission fees and the proceeds from certain auctioned items were donated Lee’s foundation that assists those affected by Lebers congenital amaurosis, an extremely rare disease that causes severe vision loss and blindness.
The selling price of $240,000 was reached by two lots that tied for second place: they included an 1888 N321 S.F. Hess California League SGC-graded near set (39/40) and a Lou Gehrig 1938 New York Yankees game-worn road jersey from his final season.
Close behind was a Babe Ruth 1920 H&B signed game-used bat, personally obtained by Buck Weaver, which realized a final price of $120,000.
Among other highlights, a 1960 Topps complete set (572) #2 on the PSA set registry went for $108,000, a rare 1903 World Series program from Boston sold for $96,000, a 1933 Goudey Sport Kings complete uncut sheet (24 cards) featuring Ruth, Cobb, Thorpe and Grange commanded $90,000, Wilt Chamberlain’s 1959‶0 “The President’s Trophy” †Podoloff Cup MVP Award from Chamberlain’s NBA rookie season went for $84,000, as did a Lou Gehrig 1938 H&B small signature game-used bat from his last full season.
Other lots that fared well were a Hank Aaron 1974 Atlanta Braves complete home uniform †worn for home run number 733 †including jersey, pants, belt, stirrups, cleats, helmet and hat, which went for $72,000.
A 1909‱1 T206 white border Ty Cobb, red portrait with “Ty Cobb” on the reverse, sold for $66,000, and a 2004 New England Patriots Super Bowl XXXIX Player’s Championship ring, won by Cedric Cobbs, also realized $66,000.
Going to $57,000 were four remarkable lots: a 1917 Collins-McCarthy #147 Babe Ruth, one of one; a spectacular single signed Babe Ruth ball; a Roberto Clemente 1958 Pittsburgh Pirates game-worn road jersey in unrestored condition and a rare 1930s Babe Ruth tri-fold “Old Gold Cigarettes” advertising display.
All prices include the buyer’s premium.
Mastro Auctions is in Burr Ridge, Ill. For information, www.mastroauctions.com or 630-472-1200.
