The Detroit Tigers uniform worn by Hall of Fame outfielder Ty Cobb during the 1922 season sold for $358,500 on November 11 in HA.com's (Heritage Auctions) Vintage Sports Collectibles Signature® Auction, notching the fourth six-figure price commanded by the category for a game worn jersey in 2011.
A rare "Shoeless Joe" Jackson signed baseball topped all autograph results at a price of $77,675, bringing the auction total to just more than $5.3 million.
All of HA.com's prices include 19.5% Buyer's Premium.
"This event was a testament to the depth of the Heritage bidding clientele," said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports at Heritage Auctions. "It's no small feat to achieve consistently strong prices for $10 million worth of collectibles in a three month period, but the top collectors continue to turn out in force."
The $358,000 bid for Cobb uniform earned ownership of one of just two Detroit Tigers uniforms worn by Ty Cobb known to survive to present.
"This is the type of piece that top collectors dream about, and the type made me want to get into this business in the first place," said Ivy.
 The Detroit Tigers uniform worn by Hall of Fame outfielder Ty Cobb in 1922 |
"It's humbling to think we've been handed a Cobb, a Cy Young, a Lou Gehrig and a Hank Aaron rookie jersey in a single year."
The legend and the value of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson continued to climb in this auction with the $77,675 price realised for the finest known autographed ball from the banished Black Sox star. The ball was consigned by the son of a minor league manager, who once met Jackson, requested an autograph and watched as he slowly signed his name on the ball.
"We'll likely remember 2011 as the year of the signed baseball," said Ivy.
"This is the eighth ball to top $50,000 in this year's Signature auctions." Heritage further cemented its position as the leading auctioneer of rare vintage golf collectibles with stunning results for some of the links' most important artefacts.
See our previous report: 'Ty Cobb' eBay tobacco tin bids jump from $1,000 to $40,000 in two hours.
