Mantle Spare Glove to Be Auctioned
Dec. 7, 2000 -- Are you looking for that perfect Christmas gift? How about a baseball glove once worn by Mickey Mantle? Or the first issue of Playboy, featuring Marilyn Monroe and signed by her one-time husband, Joe DiMaggio?
These will be among the items up for top bids today when Sports World presents its “Fall Finale Auction 2000.” In a one-day phone auction, sports memorabilia fans will vie for items such as a 1960 Yankee jersey worn by Mantle, a 1978 Heisman trophy as well as the Mantle glove.
Sports World officials expect the Mantle glove to receive the highest bids. Since its beginning in 1984, the Florida-based memorabilia firm says it has handled some of the most cherished Mantle items, including his 1956 Triple Crown Award at the Barry Halper auction at Sotheby’s last year and the auction of a Mantle glove to comedian Billy Crystal this past October for $245,000.
Because of Mantle’s popularity and the price Crystal paid for one of Hall of Famer’s gloves, Sports World President Scott Goodman predicts the 1962 glove up for grabs today will be the most hotly contested item.
“We expect the glove to go for somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000,” said Goodman. “It’s definitely our centerpiece … we’ve already gotten bids from people in Japan and Australia.”
Sure Money for a ‘Sure Catch’?The 1962 Mantle glove is a Rawlings model that he gave to his teammate Tom Tresh that season. In a written letter, Tresh says that Mantle gave him the glove when he was suddenly moved from shortstop to the outfield. Mantle, noticing that Tresh only had a small infield glove to play the outfield, fetched his used spare glove from his locker and gave it to his teammate.
“What a thrill, how could I miss?” Tresh wrote. “I was destined to become a good outfielder because I had ‘Sure Catch, Jr.’ Mickey … had nicknamed his other glove ‘Sure Catch.’ He told me all he had to do was point ‘Sure Catch’ anywhere near a baseball, and it would just snatch it up.”
Tresh’s belief in Mantle’s spare glove paid off: with “Sure Catch Jr.’s” help, he won a Golden Glove award in 1965.
Bidding for Sure Catch, Jr. will start at a minimum price of $20,000, Goodman says. If the winner resides in the United States, Tresh will personally deliver the glove to its new owner.
Not-So-Joltin’ Joe
Other items featured include: a 1960 Yankees pinstriped jersey worn by Mantle; the 1978 Heisman Trophy awarded to former Oklahoma Sooner Billy Sims, who set a Big Eight Conference single season collegiate rushing record that year with 1,762 yards; a baseball signed by Babe Ruth that says, “Merry Christmas - 1947,” and the DiMaggio-signed Playboy.
The first issue of Playboy, published in 1953 and featuring Marilyn Monroe on the cover and in the centerfold, is the only known copy signed by DiMaggio. His estate said he agreed to sign the magazine on the condition that it not be shown in public until after death.
Goodman expects the Playboy issue to generate interest but he did not predict how much fans would pay. Last April, DiMaggio memorabilia struck out at a Christie’s auction in New York. Many collectors refused to pay the minimum bidding price on momentos such as an autographed DiMaggio Florida license plate, DiMaggio’s passport, and his golf cart. A DiMaggio Yankees jersey that auctioneers expected bring in between $150,000 and $300,000 was withdrawn after its highest bid failed to reach the minimum $120,000 asking price.
Phone bids will taken all day at Sports World’s offices in Boca Raton, Fla. Collectors must preregister and get a bidding number by 3 p.m. ET. If phone lines are busy, Goodman says, bidders may try to reach Sports World at SPORTWRLD@AOL.COM