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Auction results: Sports

Above: 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers World Championship Ring. Sold by RR Auction for $45,049.

First auction all about sports reaped great results

RR’s inaugural dedicated Sports auction saw enthusiastic bidding into the night, and record amounts of new-to-RR bidders. Here are the results.

Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics Torch. Sold by RR Auction for $19,327.

Buoyed by much anticipatory press from around the country, more than a dozen sports items reaped five-figure payouts for consignors. Many were attached to important stories from sports history – The only baseball championship ever won by the borough was represented in the sale of a 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers World Championship Ring (main image), which was the top seller, garnering $45,049. Another item with a significant story was a 1966-68 Brian Piccolo game-worn Chicago Bears road jersey (graded MEARS A8). The tear-away shirt (at right) belonged to the football player who was the tragic inspiration for the film “Brian’s Song”; it achieved $25,200. A Babe Ruth signed baseball sold for $21,013; and the long-“cursed” Boston Red Sox continued their upward climb with another 21st century World Series 4-0 sweep win, as represented in a 2007 Boston Red Sox World Series Championship ring, which soared to $17,400.

PSA-graded baseball cards finished strongly, with individual cards and sets selling high, representing pre-1900s, pre- and post-war, Topps, Cracker Jack, tobacco and cabinet cards. The top-selling individual card in the auction was an 1895 N300 Mayo’s Cut Plug Ed Delahanty (graded PSA EX-MT 6), shown at right, which achieved $16,414. The most successful set was a 1909-1948 large pre-war collection (with two Babe Ruths), which went for $12,613.

Olympics memorabilia did well, with torches, winners’ medals and badges leading the category. The top item for Olympics was a Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics Torch, which garnered $19,327, followed by a Stockholm 1956 Summer Olympics Bronze Winner’s Medal that sold for $18,710, and several silver and gold winners’ medals. RR’s reputation for autograph items was represented in a candid vintage autograph photo of Muhammad Ali (which he signed as Cassius Clay), when the athlete was at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games. The encapsulated image went for $10,161.

1966–1968 Brian Piccolo Game-Worn Chicago Bears Road Jersey MEARS A8 RR Auction
1966–1968 Brian Piccolo Game-Worn Chicago Bears Road Jersey MEARS A8. Sold by RR Auction for $25,200.
1895 N300 Mayo's Cut Plug Ed Delahanty PSA EX-MT 6 RR Auction
1895 N300 Mayo's Cut Plug Ed Delahanty PSA EX-MT 6. Sold by RR Auction for $16,414.