A lawyer by day, American Bobby Jones (1902-1971) was also the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete on a national and international level, and also co-founder of the Masters Tournament and Augusta National Golf Club.
 Golf's greatest-ever amateur, |
Needless to say, Jones' legacy in golf is well-cemented - and you'll have a rare chance to help preserve it yourself at Heritage Auctions' upcoming August 4 sale, which is being held in conjunction with the Chicago National Sports Show in Rosemont, Illinois.
Among the historic memorabilia lots for sale is Jones' green jacket. According to Heritage, it dates to 1937 when Augusta National members began to wear them to make them more identifiable and approachable by guests.
Masters winners began receiving the jacket in 1949. According to Heritage, the provenance of this piece can be traced to when Jones gifted the jacket to the artist who painted his portrait which hangs in the Augusta National clubhouse.
The jacket will appear in Heritage's auction with a $100,000 estimate, and a letter tracing its provenance.
Aside from the historical significance of Jones and the jacket itself, it is highly valued because the Augusta National restricts the jackets from being taken off club grounds except for when the winner of the Masters gets to keep it for a year.
Consequently, they rarely appear for sale - and this jacket will likely attract the bids of collectors and alternative investors from around the world when it goes up for sale, next month.
 The Augusta National normally restricts the sale of these jackets |
The auction should mark the continuation of golf memorabilia as a lucrative collecting niche. Recent big sales include the auctioning of a gold putter once owned by Steve Ballesteros following his death, earlier this year.
The gold putter was bought for $90,000 by British golfer and keen collector Ian Poulter.
- Click here to view our current stock of sporting memorabilia
- Learn how you can get pleasure and profit from rare sports collectibles
- Click here for all the latest Memorabilia news
Join our readers in over 200 countries around the world - sign up for your free weekly Collectibles Newsletter today
