On the same day the 71st Heisman Trophy award winner was elected, Sotheby’s and SCP Auctions sold the original plaster cast of the Heisman Trophy sculpture, cast in 1935, that was used as the model for the most famous individual award in college football. The original plaster trophy sold for $271,360 in an auction of Important Sports Memorabilia and Cards.

Voted on by more than 1,000 sportswriters and announced every December in New York City, the Heisman Trophy has been awarded annually for 70 years. The winner of the 71st Heisman Trophy, announced December 11 shortly after the auction, was USC’s Reggie Bush. The cast was consigned directly from the family of the artist, Frank Eliscu, who completed it at the age of 23.

Lee Dunbar, director of Sotheby’s collectibles department, said, “This is the first time there will be two Heisman winners in one day. The Heisman is the most recognizable trophy in sports and I think the spirited bidding reflected the esteem in which this trophy is held.”

David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions, added, “We were proud to have offered this important sports sculpture the same day that the 2005 Heisman Trophy was announced.”

Members of the Downtown Athletic Club originally conceived the idea of an annual award to honor the most outstanding college football player. Artist Frank Eliscu, a then 23-year-old New York native, was commissioned for the work. Ed Smith, a leading player on the 1934 New York University football team, assisted Eliscu as his model. After preliminary sketches of the statue, the DAC suggested that the artist move the outstretched arm to the side, as it would be more natural in how a runner would push away a tackler. Eliscu’s finished product was used to create the mold for the bronze trophy that is handed out each year. He was paid $200 for his work.

The trophy is now an icon in the world of sports. The first award of the DAC Trophy was made on December 9, 1935, to Jay Berwanger of Chicago. Following the first DAC director John W. Heisman’s death in 1936, the DAC Trophy was renamed the Heisman Memorial Trophy. Heisman is credited with effecting more change in the game’s development than anyone else, including the advent of the forward pass.

In addition to the Heisman Trophy sculpture, Eliscu, who died in 1990, compiled a prominent list of works throughout his career, including the creation of President Gerald Ford’s inaugural medal and a state gift for the late Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. His “Cascade of Books” is mounted on the front of the James Madison Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

There were several other highlights of the December 10 auction, including some rare baseball card “finds.” Recently discover was a group of eight autographed 1871-72 Boston Red Stocking Cabinet Cards from Warren Studios including Al Spalding and Harry Wright, from the very beginnings of baseball. The group sold for $144,000, twice its high estimate, to a West Coast collector over the telephone. Another collection of 48 early autographed Hall of Fame postcards, which had laid dormant in a safe deposit box for the almost 65 years since they were signed, brought $86,400.

Within a cache of circa 1903-04 E-107 Breisch Williams cards was a Type-1 Honus Wagner SGC 40, which commanded $111,200, many times over its high estimate, selling to a bidder in the room. Nearly tossed into a trash can in recent months, this group is another remarkable “find.” Also from this series was a Type-1 Group of 25 (SGC 40), which sold for $57,600 to an Internet bidder.

A number of the game used bats commanded strong prices as well: Babe Ruth’s H&B Model 125 “Dash-Dot-Dash” Bat, circa 1917-1921, which sold for $122,400, and Mickey Mantle’s H&B Bat, circa 1966, which brought $57,600.

All prices quoted include the buyer’s premium of 20 percent.

For information, www.sothebys.com or www.scpauctions.com.