The grey flannel Detroit Tigers uniform worn by the iconic Tyrus R. Cobb in 1922 for Tigers road games headlines the largest ever Heritage Sports Collectibles Signature® Auction, taking place Nov. 10-11. “Only two Ty Cobb Detroit uniforms are known to have survived to this day,” said Chris Ivy, Director of Heritage Sports Collectibles. “This one is the earlier of the two, and worn during Cobb’s final season surpassing the .400 batting mark. It’s unquestionably one of the most important game used artifacts in private hands.”
While Cobb earned his baseball immortality among purists with singles and stolen bases, the long ball is usually of greater interest to baseball fans at large and within this auction Heritage has plenty to offer those collectors, including a Boston Braves cap worn by Babe Ruth during his final playing season, possibly the very one worn as he slugged his 714th and final home run over the roof of Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field.
Cooperstown-quality uniforms abound in this event, with jerseys provided from such Hall of Fame legends as Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Bob Feller, Duke Snider, Warren Spahn,Chuck Klein, Joe “Ducky” Medwick, Steve Carlton and many more.
One of the auction’s key highlights, in the form of an incredibly rare 1950s era “Shoeless Joe” Jackson signed baseball, is also one of the great autograph finds of the last year. It was obtained by the son of a former manager in the Tri-State League, likely after an early 1950s game in Greenville, SC, home of the reclusive Chicago Black Sox player.
“Our consignor recounted his father’s story of how slowly the functionally illiterate Jackson signed his baseball,” said Ivy. “Jackson’s aversion to signing and long absence from the public eye has served to make his one of the rarest autographs in baseball, and this newly-found orb provides a stunning Near Mint example, the finest known.”
Several consignments of elite golf memorabilia establish this event as the most noteworthy for collectors of great golf collectibles in recent memory. The earliest Bobby Jones Championship medals in private hands will be offered, as will PGA Championship medals from golfing legends Walter Hagen and Paul Runyan. Heritage will also present several golfing artifacts from the Duke of Windsor Collection, trophies awarded to former King Edward VIII who famously abdicated his throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson in 1936.
The first session of the auction will close on Nov. 10 with an Internet-only auction of high-value trading cards, closing in an Extended Bidding format.
In this session, Heritage builds upon its reputation for significant “fresh to the hobby” finds with the first public offering of the 1887 N690 Kalamazoo Bats Ed Cushman card, and a very impressive full set of the famed 1933 Goudey Baseball issue compiled by a Depression-era collector.
Taking a rare step into the modern card market, Heritage will also offer the 2010 Leaf Sports Icons “Shoeless Joe” Jackson Signed Cut Signature Trading Card, providing one of just a handful of known autographs from the banished legend.
Further highlights include, but are not limited to:
1959 Mickey Mantle All-Star Game Used Bat, PSA/DNA GU 8.5.
1933 Goudey Napoleon Lajoie #106 SGC 84 NM 7.
1939 Hall of Fame Induction Program Pages Signed by Most Honorees
1901 Boston Red Sox Stock Certificate Number One – The Birth of a Franchise
2011 Hideki Matsui 500th Home Run Baseball
1953 Carl “Bobo” Olson World Middleweight Championship “Ring Magazine” Belt
1924 World’s Colored Championship Official Program, 1st Negro League World Series
1941 Nile Kinnick Handwritten Signed Letter
Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $750 million, and 500,000+ online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.
