Dressed for Success: Mantle Jersey Sells for $4.6 Million

A year ago, a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card stunned the sports collectible hobby, selling for a record $12.6 million. Now, 12 months later, two more pristine Mantle pieces combined to sell for more than $9 million in Heritage’s recent Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction.

A New York Yankees jersey worn by Mantle throughout the 1958 season sold for more than $4.6 million, while another 1952 Topps Mantle card sold for more than $4.5 million to top the auction event, which totaled more than $34 million in sales.

Mantle wore the jersey on April 18, 1958, at Yankee Stadium when he was presented with the 1957 AL MVP award, his second straight MVP. Mantle wore the jersey throughout the 1958 season, and though he didn’t win a third straight MVP, he had another outstanding season, leading the league with 42 home runs, 307 total bases, 129 walks, and 127 runs scored. Mantle played his entire career for the Yankees (1951–1968) and is considered one of the best players in baseball history. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Mantle died in 1995 at the age of 63.

 

 

 

1958 Mickey Mantle New York Yankees game-worn jersey front and back.

Photos: Courtesy Heritage Auctions

Pricey Baseball Bat

A bat that belonged to Lou Gehrig sold at a Heritage auction in 2020 for $1,025,000. The early bat was made by Hillerich & Bradsby and was used by Gehrig playing for Columbia University, the Hartford Senators, and the New York Yankees. His name is stamped on the side. Bidding did not reach the reserve price but there was buyer interest after the sale.

 

Babe Ruth Signed Baseball Hits High Price

Babe Ruth memorabilia still hits high prices. A baseball that Ruth signed the night before he died sold for $183,500 at Grey Flannel Auctions in Arizona. It’s the record high price for a single-signature personalized baseball.

 

Baseball Bats

A game-used cracked baseball bat should sell for less than one-quarter of the price of a game-used cracked stick that does not have a crack. Sometimes a crack is invisible. Test bats before you buy. Bang the knob on the floor. A bat without a crack gives a solid ring. A cracked one gives a tinny ring.

 

Baseball Cards

Baseball cards have been printed since the 1880s, and billions of cards have been produced. The first cards were issued by tobacco companies, but by the 1920s tobacco companies were no longer using the cards as promotions. Candy and gum companies began issuing cards in the early twentieth century. Topps Chewing Gum Company started inserting […]

Factors Affecting A Baseball Card’s Value

Newer cards must be in near-perfect condition to have any value. Older cards in less-than-perfect condition sell, but those in excellent condition bring the best prices. Unopened packs of cards sell better than opened packs. Sometimes the cards have been stained by the bubble gum or packaging—an unwelcome, price-reducing surprise. One way to make sure […]

Ted Williams Card Co.

Q: I have several baseball cards made by the Ted Williams Card Co. in 1993 and 1994. Most of them picture retired players. What are they worth?

A: The Ted Williams Card Co. was founded in 1992 by Ted Williams’ son, John-Henry Williams, and Brian Interland, hoping to promote interest in Ted Williams memorabilia and to cash in on the boom in baseball card collecting. Ted Williams (1918-2002) played for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960, with time out for service as a Naval aviator in World War II and the Korean War. The baseball card sets included pictures of players in the former Negro Leagues and in women’s baseball leagues, as well as future stars in minor leagues. The company wasn’t authorized to produce cards of current players and could only include two current players in each set. The sets included a letter of authenticity. Interest in baseball card collecting was at its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s. Billions of cards were produced each year. By 1994, the year the World Series was cancelled because of the baseball strike, interest in baseball cards began to decline. Online sites sell individual cards made by the Ted Williams Card Co. from 15 cents to about $12.

 

Don’t Trim a Baseball Card

By Michael Osacky 

Trimming a card is the same thing as altering it.  The value is essentially nill.  Collectors do NOT want a trimmed card under any circumstance.  The best investment I have ever made was to buy a ten cent ruler at Target.  I know the dimensions for every baseball, football, and basketball card.  If I believe a card to be trimmed, I simply take a measurement to determine.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, people glued their cards into scrapbooks.  That is how they stored their cards.  They would also hide the scrapbook somewhere in the home in case of a break-in.  I have seen beautiful scrapbooks today with tobacco cards glued in.  If I try and remove these cards, the entire back of the card may be removed.  Therefore, glue also impacts value negatively.