NTD:
NEW YORK—A mint condition Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for $12.6 million Sunday, blasting into the record books as the most ever paid for sports memorabilia in a market that has grown exponentially more lucrative in recent years.
The rare Mantle card eclipsed the record just posted a few months ago—$9.3 million for the jersey worn by Diego Maradona when he scored the contentious “Hand of God” goal in soccer’s 1986 World Cup.
It easily surpassed the $7.25 million for a century-old Honus Wagner baseball card recently sold in a private sale.
And just last month, the heavyweight boxing belt reclaimed by Muhammad Ali during 1974’s “Rumble in the Jungle” sold for nearly $6.2 million. more
And thus, the fruits of income redistribution are sown. Pah.
I might have gotten serious about the “Rumble in the Jungle” championship belt, but a picture of a guy on a slice of cardboard? I think I’ll pass.
Speaking of cardboard….I’ve got about 20 copies of my uncles Payboys from the 50’s….
With the dollar growing (shrinking?) increasingly worthless, grab it while you can.
Mantle was/is still my favorite ballplayer of all time. he had it all … speed, power, switch-hitter. he was as flawless as they came, but injuries cut his career down.
my dad took me to most every game down at old Griffith Stadium when the Yankees were in town just to see Mantle play. copped me tickets to Yankee games @ RFK too.
met Mantle once at a book signing & talked to him a little after. seemed very genuine & very humble about his exploits that I happily described to him. he even signed a couple of old game programs I had from when the Yankees were in town (much to the protestations of his gorgeous, young blonde ‘handler’)
met Brooks Robinson (my second most favorite player) a couple of times. he was just as humble & down to earth & approachable as Mantle.
the players of that by-gone era were special people (well, Ted Williams was a huge prick, so was Billy Martin). they didn’t earn near what players today do … & take for granted.
if I had an extra $12.6 mill laying around, I might possibly have done the same
btw, the Capitalist System in action … value is set by what the market will bear. don’t know why people are so upset about it
I’m so mad, I just ripped the Diego Maradona jersey I bought a few months ago with the buckle on this oversized old belt I purchased last month. I wanted that card!