Press Release June 2010

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Laguna Niguel, Ca. – Highly competitive bidding throughout numerous categories of Important Sports Memorabilia and Cards led to impressive results in SCP Auctions’ recently concluded June 10th auction.  Among the items that set the pace was the sale’s most anticipated and widely publicized item, WILLIE KEELER'S SIGNED 1896 HANDWRITTEN DIARY. The diary originates from the Keeler estate and includes daily entries documenting the entire 1896 Temple Cup Series. Touted by SCP Auctions officials as one of the most fascinating and important 19th Century baseball manuscripts ever discovered, Keeler’s diary sold for $83,713.  Among a handful of other items from the Keeler collection was WILLIE KEELER'S OWN 1895 TEMPLE CUP CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PROGRAM AT BALTIMORE that sold for $12,131. Other notable sales in the category of baseball memorabilia include a 1955 MICKEY MANTLE NEW YORK YANKEES GAME WORN AND SIGNED HOME JERSEY which commanded $125,332; a SUPERB 1918-21 BABE RUTH LOUISVILLE SLUGGER GAME USED BAT that sold for $77,820; a 1918-21 GROVER CLEVELAND ALEXANDER LOUISVILLE SLUGGER SIDE WRITTEN GAME USED BAT that sold for $28,297 and a RARE 1948 ORIGINAL PHOTO "THE BABE BOWS OUT" BY NAT FEIN (PSA/DNA TYPE 1) that realized $14,153. A HIGH-GRADE ROGERS HORNSBY DOUBLE-SIGNED BASEBALL achieved a price of $8,567 and a MEL OTT 1943-44 H&B PROFESSIONAL MODEL GAME USED BAT sold for $13,682.

A group of memorabilia items from the Cy Jones estate collection performed exceptionally well in SCP Auctions June 10th event. Cy Jones was an avid sports fan and connoisseur of history and popular culture, and as an employee of the famed New York Concessions conglomerate, Harry M. Stevens, Co., Jones established and maintained relationships with many famous athletes beginning in the 1930’s and continuing through the 1980’s. Those he counted amongst his personal friends were the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Sid Luckman, Babe Ruth, Fran Tarkenton, George Halas and Jack Dempsey just to name a few. Throughout his life Cy accumulated objects directly from many of the most prolific athletes of his day.

Highlights from the Cy Jones estate collection:

• 1914 PROVIDENCE BASE BALL CLUB ORIGINAL TEAM PHOTOGRAPH FEATURING BABE RUTH AND SIGNED BY BABE RUTH soldfor $44,428

• 1927 NEW YORK YANKEES 11" BY 14" TEAM PHOTOGRAPH INSCRIBED BY BABE RUTH AND "THE GREATEST TEAM OF THEM ALL 1927" sold for $22,039

• EXCEPTIONAL JOE DIMAGGIO AUTOGRAPHED 1946-49 H&B PROFESSIONAL MODEL GAME USED BAT sold for $80,626 

• 1951 NATIONAL LEAGUE 75TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION INVITATION SIGNED BY 11 HOFERS sold for $6,276

• THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF NOTRE DAME SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHIC DISPLAY sold for $6,222

• JACK DEMPSEY FIGHT WORN SHOES AND SIGNED PHOTO WITH HANDWRITTEN LOA FROM DEMPSEY sold for $8,294

Basketball, Football, Boxing and Golf memorabilia also saw spirited bidding, including a LOU TSIOROPOULOS 1959 BOSTON CELTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BRACELET that brought $14,351, FRED MOORE'S 1963 SAN DIEGO CHARGERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RING ($5,530), 1920 JACK DEMPSEY HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION TIMEKEEPERS POCKET WATCH ($12,000), and a VINTAGE BOBBY JONES SIGNED 8" BY 10" PHOTO that sold for $6,544.

Graded Sportscards and Sets
The sale showcased cards from nearly every vintage baseball issue, as well as the most impressive selection of football cards ever assembled by SCP Auctions to date in the form of Sets, Singles, and Group Lots. The pre-war card category featured an astonishing new discovery; a 1924 AGULITAS CIGARS COMPLETE SET OF (900) CARDS INCLUDING (44) BASEBALL PLAYERS IN ORIGINAL ALBUM. One of the most prodigious and substantive tobacco card issues ever produced in Cuba, the 1924-25 Aguilitas Segundas series includes (900) cards that feature a broad array of celebrities from various sports and entertainment fields. Most notably, the set features 44 baseball players from the Cuban Professional League. Among the rare and highly coveted selection of baseball players are several members of the Cuban and National Baseball Halls of Fame and Negro League stars. The complete high-grade set in its original 9 ¼” by 11 ¾” album realized $41,435.

Other Pre-war card highlights include:

• 1888 N162 GOODWIN CHAMPIONS BOB CARUTHERS NM PSA 7 sold for $11,844
• 1888 N162 GOODWIN CHAMPIONS JACK GLASSCOCK NM PSA 7 sold for $15,786
• 1909-11 T206 EDDIE PLANK GOOD PSA 2 sold for $25,076
• 1911-16 T216 MINO CIGARETTES HONUS WAGNER (THROWING, 2B) PR PSA 1 sold for $4,570
• 1911-16 T216 MINO CIGARETTES PSA GRADED LOT OF (7) sold for $11,262
• 1914 CRACKER JACK #30 TY COBB EX+ PSA 5.5 sold for $11,042
• 1933 GOUDEY #106 NAPOLEON LAJOIE MINT PSA 9 sold for $113,938
• RARE 1935 PEBBLE BEACH CLOTHIERS JOE DIMAGGIO AUTOGRAPHED POSTCARD sold for $7,540
• 1915 M101-5 SPORTING NEWS (BLANK BACK) #186 BOBBY WALLACE NM-MT PSA 8 (1/1) sold for $16,492

Post-war card highlights include:

• 1948 LEAF #45 KEN KELTNER NM+ PSA 7.5 sold for $5,027
• 1954 DAN DEE POTATO CHIPS MICKEY MANTLE NM-MT PSA 8 sold for $4,570
• 1955 BOWMAN FOOTBALL COMPLETE PSA GRADED SET - #3 SET ON PSA REGISTRY sold for $12,148
• 1957 TOPPS FOOTBALL #151 PAUL HORNUNG ROOKIE MINT PSA 9 sold for $5,530
• 1961-62 FLEER BASKETBALL PSA GRADED NEAR SET (59/66) 72% NM-MT PSA 8 sold for $8,494
• 1962 TOPPS BASEBALL HIGH GRADE COMPLETE SET OF 598 sold for $15,071
• 1963 TOPPS BASEBALL HIGH GRADE COMPLETE SET OF 576 sold for $10,278
• 1963 FLEER BASEBALL COMPLETE SET OF (67) sold for $4,562
• 1964 TOPPS BASEBALL HIGH GRADE COMPLETE SET OF 587  sold for $16,698
• 1969 TOPPS SUPER BASEBALL UNOPENED 10 CENT WAX PACK sold for $3,259
• 1971 TOPPS FOOTBALL COMPLETE SET - #2 SET ON PSA REGISTRY sold for $22,796

David Kohler, President of SCP Auctions, stated: “We’re thrilled with the results of this latest auction.  Once again, we saw how enthusiastically collectors respond to high-end, fresh material.  The strong prices realized throughout every category of the auction shows great vitality in the market for quality sports memorabilia and cards.”