A baseball uniform worn by New York Yankees star Lou Gehrig is among the leading lots at Heritage Auctions' sale in Chicago on August 4.
Gehrig, known as the Iron horse for his record 2,130 consecutive games, wore the specially designed uniform during a 1934 tour of Japan with many other greats of the US game.
It was saved by Gehrig's mother and then willed to Gehrig's former girlfriend who stored it in an attic until recently.
It has a pre-sale estimate of $300,000 but could make significantly more, such is the current clamour for historically significant baseball game-worn memorabilia among collectors.
A Babe Ruth jersey from the same tour made $771,095 at an auction in 2005.
A jersey worn by Yankees catcher Yogi Berra in a 1956 World Series contest, in which Don Larsen pitched a perfect game, sold for $564,930 last year at Grey Flannel Auctions.
 Iron Horse's $300,000-estimated 1934 Japan tour uniform |
A lipstick-marked baseball kissed and autographed by Marilyn Monroe, and also signed by future husband Joe DiMaggio and the 1952 World Series champion New York Yankees team, is estimated to net $20,000 at the same auction.
Other baseball items of note at the auction include Gehrig's 1928 New York Yankees World Championship wristwatch, estimated at $20,000 and a baseball mistakenly autographed "Reagan Reagan" by former US president Ronald Reagan in 1984, which is expected to make $10,000
"There are dozens of items in this auction that would, individually, be the lead lot on their own in any other auction," said Chris Ivy, director of Heritage Sports Collectibles.
"This is easily one of the finest groupings of sports memorabilia that the hobby has ever seen."
We will bring you further previews of the sale and all the main results here.
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