Winning bids totaling more than $1.2 million on nearly 2,000 memorabilia pieces – with the 1953 World Series Championship ring of late, legendary Yankees Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra the top-seller at $159,720 – highlighted the Steiner Sports Memorabilia Fall Classic Auction on-line, which concluded yesterday (Monday, October 24). In all, gems from the Berra Collection sparked the auction, garnering $493,855 in total bids on 81 lots.
The auction began on September 13th.
A bidder who wished to remain anonymous made the fourth and final bid on the ring that was said by Yogi’s son Dale to be the “only one of 10 title rings that Berra wore after winning five straight World Series.”
Here are the high bids on the items from the collections of Yankees icon Berra, which had the three leaders and four of the top five highest bids, Yankees Perfect Game pitcher Don Larsen, Giants Super Bowl MVP Ottis Anderson, and Rangers Stanley Cup Champion coach Mike Keenan, as well as signed collectibles by Yankees immortals Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle, and basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.
$159,720: Berra’s 1953 World Series Championship ring, which was the only one of his 10 title rings that the legend actually wore after winning five straight Fall Classics from 1949 through 1953;
$90,000: Berra’s 1972 Hall of Fame induction ring;
$71,874: Berra’s 1961 Game-Worn World Series jersey;
$60,000: Anderson’s Vince Lombardi Trophy from Super Bowl 25;
$36,300: Berra’s 1972 Hall of Fame Induction plaque;
$27,584: Gehrig OAL signed baseball inscribed to the best man in his wedding;
$21,013: Jordan’s game-worn and signed 1989 Air Jordan IV sneakers;
$20,724: Keenan’s 1994 Stanley Cup Trophy;
$14,153: Ruth De Beers signed baseball;
$12,545: Larsen’s personal 50th Anniversary Perfect Game ring;
$10,900: Mantle’s #7 Diamond “Career” ring;
$6,000: Keenan’s 2006 Harley Davidson Motorcycle