DALLAS — Heritage Auctions’ Fall Sports Catalog Signature® sale on November 17-19 was led by a 1910-14 Ty Cobb game used and signed bat from the Eddie Maier collection, a hefty slab of age-toned ash that contains the most productive five consecutive seasons of the man whose .366 career batting average stands among the most untouchable in the full expanse of professional sports. The bat sold for $1.62 million, significantly contributing to the auction’s total of more than $22 million. Cobb’s handwritten statement of authenticity, an inscription in remarkably bold black fountain pen ink reads, “To Mr Maier From Ty Cobb, Sept. 18th, 14.” Maier was perhaps the earliest pioneer of game-used bat collecting of the owner of the Vernon Tigers of the Pacific Coast League, representing a small railroad town five miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Maier ultimately sold the club to silent film star and accused murderer Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle in 1919. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.