LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Babe Ruth's autographed 702nd home run
ball. Cy Young's 1903 inaugural World Series bat. A Mickey Mantle
1952 Topps rookie baseball card.
They're all up for grabs Saturday at the Louisville Slugger
Museum's seventh annual live auction.
Hunt Auctions, based out of Pennsylvania, is running the event
and supplying hundreds of historical pieces. "We're trying to have
an eclectic collection with something for everybody," said David
Hunt, president of the auction company.
He said the value the company has placed on all the items in
Saturday's auction should fall between $750,000 to $1 million with
one of the highlights being former Cincinnati Reds great Vada
Pinson's collection.
Hunt predicts that Pinson's collection - numerous signed balls,
bats, photos, trophies and his actual Gold Glove from 1961 - will
attract a lot of buyers because of the Reds' rich local fan base.
But it probably won't attract the highest price, Hunt said. That
honor would belong to Ruth's signed ball, because of the scarcity
of post-Home Run No. 700 balls that were actually signed by Ruth.
"The Ruth ball is a special piece," Hunt said. The auction
company is predicting that it should go anywhere from $50,000 to
$100,000, he said.
And, bats are always hot items due to the auction being held at
the museum - known for its famous lumber used by some of the game's
past and present stars. "We try to build the auction around the
venue," Hunt said of putting plenty of bats up for bid.
Other prized items include several autographed vintage and
present day jerseys, a signed 8-by-10 photograph of Marilyn Monroe
that belonged to Joe DiMaggio, a 1940s Ted Williams bat and a
baseball signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
There is no cost to attend the auction and tours will continue
as normal, said Anne Jewell, executive director for the museum. She
encourages anyone who is interested in baseball history and
memorabilia to come to the museum and check out some of the game's
most rare items.
"We don't want people to feel intimidated," especially when
bids in the thousands of dollars start "popping," she said. "It
gets really exciting."
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Information from: The Courier-Journal,
http://www.courier-journal.com

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)