Huggins and Scott Auctions Spring auction is now in progress and concludes on April 6, 2023! Visit hugginsandscott.com to view the 1,600+ lots. The auction features Babe Ruth signed Spaulding “Star” baseball, a 1971-1972 Willie Mays/Willie McCovey dual game-used bat, an original Type I 1938 Lou Gehrig photo by George Burke, a ticket stub from Tiger Woods’ professional debut at the 1996 Great Milwaukee Open and PSA-graded 1948 Satchel Paige Leaf rookie card, 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle and 1957-1958 Topps Bill Russell rookie card and more. The auction concludes on April 6, 2023. Interested bidders may participate in the auction online. Register and bid now at hugginsandscott.com!
Babe Ruth Signed Baseball
Every Ruth ball tells a story. This one’s story is, first, that it’s an upper mid-grade, borderline high-grade example with a minimally “7”-strength signature. All the hallmarks of Babe’s autograph artistry—from his bulbous “B” to the tall “b” to his looping “R” and crossed “th”—are here in spades. Not to mention that the elegant script is perfectly centered to boot. Next in our story comes the venerable manufacturer Spalding, whose “Star” model can often be traced to the iconic 1927 season, yet is likely later in this instance due to the absence of Ruth’s early-style quotation marks around “Babe.” The lightly toned/scuffed ball concludes its story with the seldom-seen, mostly intact retail box, which remains bright and vibrant despite heavy wear throughout. As a point of reference on value, it’s worth noting that we sold a very similar quality Ruth ball way back in 2007 for over $40,000. Full LOA from JSA. Additional information can be found at: https://s01.hugginsandscott.com/cgi-bin/showitem.pl?itemid=66614
Willie McCovey/Willie Mays 1971-1972 H&B Dual Game-Used Bat
San Francisco’s M&M Boys were the third-most prolific pair of HR hitters in history, their 801 combined homers as teammates ranking behind only Aaron/Mathews and Ruth/Gehrig. But they reigned supreme among those tandems in friendship, rooming together on occasion and even accompanying each other on Mays’ first date with his future wife! Not to mention that they led the Giants to the 1962 World Series and 1971 NLCS, as well as co-starred on the iconic 1967 Topps “Fence Busters” card.
Proudly presented here is one of the best Mays/McCovey crossover pieces that’s reached the auction block. This H&B 35″, 32.8-oz. bat was ordered by Stretch, features his engraved name, and shows his recognizable use characteristics, yet also boasts definitive game use by the Say Hey Kid. As such, it’s an extremely rare example of a double-Hall of Famer, dual-used gamer—and it comes directly from the personal collection of Hall of Fame umpire Doug Harvey to boot.
Indeed, the provenance couldn’t be more iron clad, with PSA/Taube’s letter explaining, “The first ‘4’ in McCovey’s number ’44’ on the knob has been modified to read as a ‘2’ hence the number ’24,’ which was worn during the labeling period by Giants teammate, Willie Mays. The alteration appears to be vintage. Reviewing Mays’ ordering records, we can confirm his use of 35 inch bats with weights of 32 to 34 ounces. Additionally, the W215 model was ordered by Mays in June of 1972. Both McCovey and Mays did use bats with a mid-to-upper handle pine tar application and bats of each player in our database have ball marks on the left, right and back barrel. It’s our opinion, the bat was used by both players, to what extent by each we cannot determine.”
Additional information can be found at: https://s01.hugginsandscott.com/cgi-bin/showitem.pl?itemid=65458
George Burke Type I 1938 Photograph of Lou Gehrig
So the story goes, legendary shutterbug George Burke got the job of Cubs official photographer through a case of mistaken identity, having been contacted by the team in 1929 when they intended to reach their long-term regular photographer Francis Burke! Benefiting from Chicago’s two ballparks—one in each league—Burke (later with his partner George Brace) set about photographing every single MLB player for decades. This may well be the most famous George Burke portrait photo of them all, taken early on during a quiet, intimate moment with Lou Gehrig at the tail end of his playing days. The Luckiest Man musters a winning smile despite his weakening strength and skills due to the degenerative disease that would eventually bear his name. Burke’s studio-quality, heavy-stock photo features elegant rounded corners, white margins, and his Belmont Ave. copyright stamp on the reverse. As a point of reference on value, it’s noteworthy that a small 4×6 version sold at auction in 2020 for over $2,500. This rare larger style—which has also been seen, far less desirably, with Eleanor Gehrig’s signature from after Lou’s death—is a magnificent beauty in every way. Additional Information can be found at https://s01.hugginsandscott.com/cgi-bin/showitem.pl?itemid=65274
Tiger Woods Pro Debut Ticket Stub
This August 1996 golf tournament marked the pro debut of Tiger Woods, who got off to an auspicious start by sinking a hole-in-one on the 14th hole of his final round. This prized full ticket is graded (VG 3) by PSA, which notes his winnings for the tournament as $2,544 on the label. Additional information can be found at: https://s01.hugginsandscott.com/cgi-bin/showitem.pl?itemid=65144
Other items being offered in Huggins & Scott’s Spring auction include: PSA-graded 1948 Satchel Paige Leaf rookie card, 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle and 1957-1958 Topps Bill Russell rookie card and a 1961 Marvel Fantastic Four #1 – CGC 3.0.
About Huggins & Scott Auctions
Huggins and Scott, based in Silver Spring MD and founded in 2002, is a leading catalog auction company specializing in sports and Americana collectibles. The company was founded by the late Bill Huggins, who was in the collectibles business since 1976 when he opened his baseball card store. Specializing in vintage sports and non-sports cards, autographs, memorabilia, and a wide range of collectibles for every level of collector, Huggins and Scott runs four online Masterpiece Auctions per year.
Other Highlights Include:
- 1948 Leaf Baseball #79 Jackie Robinson Rookie – PSA VG-EX 4
- 1952 Topps Baseball #311 Mickey Mantle Rookie – PSA Poor 1
- 1951 Bowman Baseball #253 Mickey Mantle Rookie – PSA VG-EX 4
- 1961 Marvel Fantastic Four #1 – CGC 3.0
- 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open Tiger Woods Professional Debut Full Ticket – PSA VG 3
- 1953 Topps Baseball #82 Mickey Mantle – PSA EX-MT 6
- Amazing Babe Ruth Boldly Signed Government Postcard – Full JSA LOA
- 1909-11 T206 White Borders Ray Demmitt (St. Louis) with Polar Bear Back – SGC 1.5 Fair
- Iconic 1938 Lou Gehrig Original Photograph by George Burke – PSA Type I
- 1947 Jackie Robinson News-Service Original Photo (PSA Type I) – Receiving Rookie of the Year Award!
- 1968 Mickey Mantle News-Service Original Photo (PSA Type I) – Hitting “Gift” HR #535 in McLain’s 31st Win Game!
- 1969 Tom Seaver New York Mets World Champions Salesman’s Sample Ring
- 1954 Topps Baseball #128 Hank Aaron Rookie – PSA EX 5
- 1933 Delong #7 Lou Gehrig – PSA Good 2
- 1952 Topps Baseball #312 Jackie Robinson High Number – PSA VG-EX 4
- 1952 Topps Baseball #314 Roy Campanella – PSA EX-MT 6
- 1952 Topps Baseball #261 Willie Mays – PSA VG-EX+ 4.5
Huggins and Scott Auctions
2301 Broadbirch Dr., STE 150
Silver Spring, MD 20904
phone: 301-608-0355
email: auction@hugginsandscott.com
Website: www.hugginsandscott.com
