The Wikicollecting Top 10 Most Expensive Historic Baseball Memorabilia On October 7 2001 Barry Bonds hit his 73rd home run of the season, a record which still stands today. To commemorate the 10th anniversary, Wikicollecting presents a list of history-making memorabilia.
News-Antique.com - Oct 05,2011 - 10. Mickey Mantle’s first contract - $19,550
Mickey Mantle’s contract, which he signed with the Ban Johnson League to enable him to play for the Independence Yankees in 1949, sold for $19,550 at Christie’s in September 1996. Mantle went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the New York Yankees.
9. Babe Ruth’s earliest known used baseball bat - $107,550
The earliest known used baseball bat by Babe Ruth sold for $107,550 at a Heritage Auctions sale in 2010.
Dating from early 1916, the Hillerich & Bradsby Co bat is thought to have been the 21-year-old’s main weapon of choice during the early part of the season.
8. Sandy Koufax’s 1963 “no-hitter “glove - $126,500
The glove Sandy Koufax was wearing when he pitched his no-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants in May 1963 sold for $126,500 in December 2004.
7. Fenway Park’s first pitched ball - $132,000
The first ball pitched at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, sold for $132,000 at Sotheby’s in June 2005.
The ball was pitched by Boston Mayor John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald , the grandfather of John F Kennedy, on April 20, 1912.
Fenway Park is beloved by baseball fans for its idiosyncratic design and wonderful history.
6. Barry Bonds’s record-breaking 73rd home-run baseball - $450,000
The baseball Barry Bonds hit to record his record-breaking 73rd home-run in the 2001 season sold for $450,000 at auction to toy manufacturer Todd McFarlane in that year.
Bonds's 73 home runs in a single season still stands as a Major League record.
5. Hank Aaron’s record-breaking 755th home run baseball - $650,000
Hank Aaron’s then record-breaking 755th and last home run in July 1976 sold for $650,000 in 1999.
In 1974 Aaron had previously surpassed Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs, despite receiving racially-motivated death threats as he approached the record.
4. Barry Bonds’s all-time home run record breaking ball - $750,000
Barry Bonds’s 756th home run ball, which broke Aaron's all-time home run record in 2007, sold for $750,000 later that year.
The ball was caught by 22-year-old Matt Murphy who was quickly ushered away from the throng of fans by police officers.
3. Babe Ruth’s 1919 New York Yankees contract - $996,000
Babe Ruth’s 1919 New York Yankees contract was sold in June 2005 for $996,000 at Sotheby's. At the time, it was the top price ever paid at an auction for a sports document.
Signed on December 26, 1919, the contract consists of five pages, yellowed through age.
The agreement details the $125,000 sale of Ruth to the Yankees from rivals the Boston Red Sox, more than doubling the previous record for a player sale.
2. Babe Ruth’s Louisville Slugger bat - $1.26m
Babe Ruth’s Louisville Slugger bat – used to hit the first run at the newly-opened Yankee Stadium in 1923 – sold for $1.26 million in 2004.
It later commanded just $537,750 at a Heritage Auction in October 2009.
