Bids Heating Up on Babe Ruth Cap and Other Auction Items

If you want a own a piece of sports history, you better get moving.

The 930s Yankees game-worn cap owned by former Yankees’ pitcher David Wells and Major League Baseball All-Star Dmitri Young’s high-end baseball card collection is expected to heat up this week, as collectors scramble to secure these coveted pieces of sports history before SCP Auctions’ spring auction comes to a close this weekend. 

The Young collection ends on Friday, May 18 while the rest of the auction ends on Saturday, May 19 at Laguna Niguel-based scpauctions.com. 

The Ruth jersey sits at $1,148,754 with the buyer's premium – a world record for a game worn jersey in the history of sports collectibles. The jersey, exhibited for years at The Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum in Baltimore, Md., has taken 15 bids with five days remaining in the auction.

According to baseball-reference.com, the bid for this jersey is more than Ruth’s 22-year career earnings of $911,000.

Additionally, Wells’ 1930s Ruth cap is currently at $208,868 and the bidding is anticipated to reach fever pitch as the auction comes to a close. Few Babe Ruth collectibles in the category of “game worn” can match the appeal of this cap. Only a handful of Ruth New York Yankees game-worn caps have survived the three-quarters of a century that has passed since the Babe last played in the Bronx, ranking them on the rarity scale above all team issued garments, including jerseys.

The cap’s present owner, the irreverent Wells, added to the lore of the cap when he famously wore it on the mound during a game on June 28, 1997 in homage to his idol, Ruth.

Other top bids come from the including  the only 1955 Roberto Clemente Topps rookie card ever graded PSA 10 Gem Mint ($185,030); a 1954 Hank Aaron Topps Rookie card PSA 10 Gem Mint ($139,015) and the only 1963 Pete Rose Topps rookie card ever graded PSA 10 Gem Mint ($98,525).  The offering includes nearly 500 individual cards, including every Baseball Hall of Fame rookie card from 1948-90 and many other prominent player rookie cards.

The auction proceeds will allow Young to begin the Dmitri D. Young Foundation that will host baseball and softball camps and clinics, support of Boys and Girls Clubs and sponsor programs and scholarships for student athletes and their families in Young’s home area, Ventura County. 

Bids (as of May 14) on other prominent items in the auction include:

• 1968 Mickey Mantle autographed NY Yankees game-worn road jersey – current high bid $142,659.
• 1969 Reggie Jackson rookie card from Dmitri Young Collection – current high bid $96,035.
• Bobby Thomson’s 1951 “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” cap – current high bid $74,022.
• 1972 Thurman Munson NY Yankees home uniform – current high bid $75,959.
• 1954 Ernie Banks rookie card from Dmitri Young Collection – current high bid $67,188.
• 1938 Babe Ruth Brooklyn Dodgers game-word road uniform – current high bid $73,205.
• 1924-28 Babe Ruth H&B professional model game-used bat – current high bid $73,205.

Collectors can bid by logging on to scpauctions.com or calling (800) 350-2273.  The initial-bidding period ends at 7 p.m. PST, with the auctions ending after 15 minutes has elapsed without a bid on the entire auction.

Each of the more than 1,000 items is featured in the SCP Auctions’ website at SCPAuctions.com.