: On December 2, in an overflowing salesroom, Sotheby's and
Sportscards Plus sold Babe Ruth's signed bat used to slam the
first home run in Yankee Stadium for $1,265,000, a record for a
baseball bat at auction. Applause erupted in the room when a
representative of the Chicago-based MastroNet, Inc, a sports and
collectibles auction house, purchased the bat on behalf of an
anonymous East Coast collector.
Coined the "The Holy Grail" of sports memorabilia, the bat is one
of only three pieces of sports memorabilia to eclipse the $1
million mark. It was included in a sale of important baseball
memorabilia, which brought a total of $4,687,486.
Lee Dunbar, director of Sotheby's collectibles department, and
David Kohler, president of SportsCards Plus, said, "The sale was
a home run. This bat has the distinction of being the second most
valuable piece of sport memorabilia ever sold, tying the price
achieved for Honus Wagner T206 Baseball Card PSA 8. The success
of the sale reinforces the fact that baseball is still America's
national pastime."
The Babe's spectacular home run in Yankee Stadium's first game on
April 18, 1923, is often recalled as one of the most dramatic
moments in sports history. Doug Allen, president and chief
operating officer of MastroNet, Inc, who purchased the bat on
behalf of the private collector, noted: "Every now and then
there's an item that makes me forget it's a business and brings
me back to being a collector and a fan. This is one of them and
it's worth every penny." Allen continued, "The bat will be
featured in the most comprehensive and valuable New York Yankees
and Babe Ruth collection known."
After his home run, Ruth, always supportive of kids and young
ball players, donated the bat to The Los Angeles Evening
Herald newspaper to be awarded as the top prize in a high
school home run hitting contest. On the bat, the Babe inscribed,
"To the Boy Home Run King of Los Angeles 'Babe' Ruth, N.Y. May 7,
1923." The bat was awarded to Victor Orsatti by the Herald
on June 7, 1923. Upon his death in 1984, Orsatti willed the bat,
along with all of his personal effects, to his caretaker. She
kept it in her possession, under her bed, until now.
In honor of Orsatti, and in the spirit of Babe Ruth's inclination
towards helping children, she intends to use a portion of her
proceeds from the sale of this bat to fund a baseball program at
an orphanage in Mexico, where she now spends a great deal of her
time.
Together with the bat is a telegram from Ruth congratulating
Orsatti on his win, as well as an album of newspaper cuttings and
other mementoes relating to the contest.
A complete review of the sale will appear in a future issue.
