Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

Personal Collection Of Bowie Kuhn Will Be Sold In March Hunt Auction Event

Exton, Pennsylvania based Hunt Auctions will be selling the personal memorabilia collection of 2008 Hall of Fame inductee and former Major League Baseball Commissioner, Bowie Kuhn, at its annual auction of Important Sports Memorabilia and Cards on March 7 and 8 at the Inn at Chester Springs in Exton, Pennsylvania. Kuhn held the senior executive title for MLB from 1969 to 1984. Expected to sell for $150,000 to $200,000, the collection of over 140 items is reflective of Kuhn’s career and the unique challenges he faced during his tenure. Kuhn died in March 2007 and was recently elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in December. The auction will mark the first occasion the personal collection of an MLB Commissioner will be sold at public auction.

“With this historic offering of selected items from the collection of Bowie Kuhn, we are honored to be representing the prestigious name of the former Commissioner of Baseball. Bowie Kuhn presided over the game with uncompromising integrity and steadfast commitment to the best interests of baseball. We have been working very closely with the Kuhn family since last summer to carefully, and thoughtfully, select the items included in this special offering. In keeping with the spirit in which Commissioner Kuhn lived his life, we are pleased that a portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to several charities that were deeply important to Commissioner Kuhn and his family. The announcement of Commissioner Kuhn’s election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame came as a wonderful surprise to us in the middle of the cataloguing process and surely promises to add even more excitement to an already significant event,” said Hunt Auction President, David Hunt.

One of the more anticipated items up for sale is Kuhn’s Major League Baseball Commissioner’s ring. Given the inherent scarcity of such a piece – only nine men have served in the Commissioner’s role from 1920 to today – Hunt Auctions expects the ring to draw significant bidding interest, listing it with an estimate of $7,500 to $10,000. Also available are eleven All-Star Game rings from the 1970’s and 1980’s, which are expected to realize $10,000 to $20,000 in total. Kuhn’s 1969 Commissioner contract, which is signed by baseball executives Warren Giles, Walter O’Malley, Gabriel Paul, Joseph Cronin, and Bowie Kuhn, will also cross the block with a presale estimate of $5,000 to $7,500. For bidders wishing to own something at a more affordable price, Hunt has listed seventy-five lots with estimates below $1,000, including signed baseballs, correspondence, commemorative black bats, baseball related jewelry, presentational awards and political ephemera.

In addition to the Commissioner Kuhn collection, Hunt is auctioning a scarce and possibly unique Shoeless Joe Jackson photographic postcard circa 1908-1909. The regionally issued postcard pictures Jackson playing for the Greenville Spinners, with a caption reading, “Joe Jackson, the Greenville Boy now with Philadelphia.” Jackson’s Major League career began in 1908 with a fitful start under Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics, who traded Jackson to the Cleveland Naps after the 1909 season. Although it is impossible to determine whether the card was originally produced in 1908 or 1909, Hunt believes the card may have been produced shortly after Jackson left South Carolina for Philadelphia in 1908. Because the postcard is a recent find within the hobby and arguably the earliest known printed card of Joe Jackson, Hunt is anticipating a final sale price of $20,000 to $30,000.

A group of historical items from Hank Aaron’s very first days in baseball is being offered by the family of a prominent collector and baseball professional. Syd Pollock signed Hank Aaron to a contract with the Indianapolis Clowns at the age of 17 and then subsequently sold the contract to the Braves. The Pollock collection consists of 39 lots of correspondence, contracts, photographs, and ledger books from Hank Aaron’s first major league team. There are also two letters from a teenage Hank Aaron accepting Syd Pollock’s offer to play Major League ball valued at $2,500 to $3,500 and $3,000 to $4,000 each.

Additional featured items include: Cecil Cole 1946 Newark Eagles Negro League World Championship ring (estimated value $15,000 to $20,000); Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig autographed baseball circa 1927-28 (estimated value $15,000 to $20,000); (12) lots of over 1,000 Zeenut Pacific Coast League baseball cards, including 1922 Jim Thorpe (estimated value $15,000 to $20,000 total); (40) Lots of high grade Leaf football cards circa 1940’s, including Sammy Baugh #34 grade SGC 95 MT (Baugh: estimated value $10,000 to $20,000); 1976 Hank Aaron Milwaukee Brewers home jersey and pants, (estimated value $7,500 to $10,000); 1954 Topps Hank Aaron #128 graded SGC 92 NM/MT+ (estimated value $5,000 to $7,500); (6) World Series trophies representing the 1960, 1971 and 1979 Pirates, 1986 Mets, 1974 Oakland A’s, and 1981 Dodgers (estimated value $5,000 to $12,500 each).

Hunt Auctions’ 2008 March Live Auction of Important Sports Memorabilia and Cards will take place on March 7 and 8 at the Inn at Chester Springs in Exton, Pennsylvania. Over 1,150 items will be sold. Bids may be made live and in person at the auction, via phone at (610) 524-0822 or online at www.huntauctions.com. More information and a list of items to be offered is available online at www.huntauctions.com.