ROSE'S HIT RECORD BAT: $109,808
BOHEMIA, N.Y. — The bat Pete Rose used to set the all-time hit record (4,256) sold for $109,808 in a Leland’s auction that closed July 9. Next in the hit brigade was George Sisler’s bat purportedly used to strike his 257th hit of the 1920 season. It sold for $59,591.
Aside from these big-hit items, an assortment of game-used jerseys perhaps drew the heftiest auction action. Roberto Clemente’s 1959 game-used Pittsburgh Pirates home jersey sold for $41,772; Dizzy Dean’s 1938 Chicago Cubs game0used jersey sold for $31,384; Robin Roberts game-used, autographed Phillies road jersey from 1958 sold for $28,531; an Al Kaline-signed Tigers home jersey from 1970 sold for $10,357; a 1951 Monte Irvin Minneapolis Millers jersey worn sold for $15,835; and a 1972 Hank Aaron Atlanta Braves game-worn home jersey sold for $11,392.
One of the most intriguing collections in the catalog were LIFE magazine items, in which the photographers were virtually as famous as the subjects they shot. Among the LIFE magazine photos that sold:
• An Alfred Eisenstaedt photograph of Willie Mays sold for $805;
• An Eisenstaedt photo showing Mays batting sold for $1,139;
• A photo of Satchel Paige on the Cleveland Indians mound by George Silk sold for $856;
• A photo by George Strock of Paige as a member of the New York Black Yankees sold for $707.
FORD '61 CY AWARD AT HUNT AUCTION
EXTON, Pa. — Whitey Ford’s 1961 Cy Young Award from 1961, when the lefty won 25 games, struck out 209 and had a .862 won-loss percentage, is on the block for a Hunt Auction that ends July 13.Other history in the sale includes a single-signed ball by Roberto Clemente that was signed on Christmas, one week before the Pirate Hall of Famer’s death. The ball was marked “Circuito Superior, Baseball Aficionado de Puerto Rico.” The ball comes with a handwritten letter from the original recipient who obtained the ball on Christmas Day, while bringing food to aid Nicaraguan earthquake victims. Of course, Clemente died in a plane crash that was en route to deliver its own aid.
Another interesting item is a Joe DiMaggio bat given to a contractor between 1940 and 1942. The bat, given the contractor by DiMaggio, is accompanied by plenty of baseball lore. The widow indicates that the bat was used during DiMaggio’s famous 56-game hit streak in 1941.
Among other items in the sale are:
• A ball signed by Babe Ruth and Mel Ott;
• Kirby Puckett’s 1991 World Series Minnesota Twins road jersey;
• Chili Davis’s 1998 and 1999 Yankees World Series trophy. Both trophies, offered in separate lots, come with a letter from Davis;
• A game-used Jackie Robinson bat dated to 1953;
• A game-used Mickey Mantle bat from 1951, his rookie season; and
• An autographed Roberto Clemente pro model glove dated to 1967.