You already know the results of the initial offering of the “Black Swamp Find” of E98 cards, bit those were just the tip of the iceberg in Heritage Auctions’ Platinum Night auction held during the National Convention. In all, the auction totaled $4.5 million, with many top-of-the-line items. Read More
TRISTAR Productions, Inc. president Jeff Rosenberg set a record by paying nearly $400,000 for the finest Babe Ruth autographed baseball in existence. The clean, white William Harridge official American League baseball is the only PSA Graded 9.5 Ruth signed ball and drew the largest bid in Heritage Auctions’ event in Baltimore Thursday night.
The realized price of $388, 375 broke the previous record for a price paid for an autographed Ruth baseball at auction.
“This is the Mona Lisa of autographed baseballs, and it is an honor to now own it,” said Rosenberg, just moments after he won the auction, held at the 33rd Annual National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore.
The ball was originally given to a Hollywood publicist who worked on “The Babe Ruth Story” by the slugger’s widow shortly after his death. It originally entered the hobby through the publicist’s family who consigned it to Hunt Auctions where it sold for $86,000 several years ago. Since then, it’s sold a few more times, each for a successively higher amount.
Rosenberg, who founded TRISTAR in 1987, is a major collector of high-end sports memorabilia. TRISTAR is the largest promoter of autograph shows, including running the Autograph Pavilion at the annual National Convention.
TRISTAR produces the Hidden Treasures Autographed Baseball product line, which packages an unknown signed ball in a box.
When asked what his plans are for the ball, Rosenberg replied, “It would be a great Grand Treasure for our Hidden Treasures product line, or even a tremendous item to display in our retail store (TRISTAR Sports Memorabilia at the Miracle Mile Shops in Las Vegas), but for now we are just going to enjoy the thrill.”
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jim Thome’s pursuit of 600 career home runs has been a rather quiet quest.
Fighting injuries during a frustrating season for the Minnesota Twins, the 40-year-old Thome hasn’t received nearly the amount of national publicity that his predecessors who reached the milestone did. Even Derek Jeter’s accomplishment of 3,000 hits dwarfed the attention that Thome has been getting, naturally, since he plays for the New York Yankees.
But Thome is close to joining an exclusive club. With 598 home runs over his powerful 20-year career, Thome is on the verge of becoming only the eighth player in professional baseball history to hit 600. And there are all kinds of people around the game who couldn’t be happier for him.
“This guy deserves everything he gets,” said Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who first managed Thome in the minor leagues and then again with the Cleveland Indians. “When you say, ‘Nice guy,’ yeah, Thome’s a nice guy. But at the same time, he’s also been a great hitter. I think they’re going to look at him as someone who’s just totally genuine and played the game in his own way – and that was good for baseball. They’ll look at him for who he is as a person and the things that he accomplished. I mean, 600 home runs is a tremendous feat.”
Barry Bonds. Hank Aaron. Babe Ruth. Willie Mays. Ken Griffey Jr. Alex Rodriguez. Sammy Sosa. Thome is next on the all-time list, and unlike several of the other higher-profile sluggers of his era, he’s viewed as clean. No admission or suspicion of steroid use for him. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound native of Peoria, Ill., is just a down-home guy with a bundle of natural athletic ability, from a family with a father and brothers who are just as big.
“I’ve been blessed,” said Thome, speaking in his clear, drawn-out, careful voice and giving one of those aw-shucks shoulder shrugs he often does.
He’s been asked about his sterling reputation over the years more times than he can remember, realizing the skepticism toward home run totals of his time is a perception the public will probably never forget.
“I think there’s still some sour feelings around, just in general. Let’s face it. There were guys who did that. But my thing was not every guy did it. You can’t punish everybody,” Thome said, adding: “You make decisions in your life, and I guess you have to live with those decisions. But, again, not every guy did it, and that’s the unfortunate thing: Certain guys are paying that price for that time.”
Since signing with the Twins before last season, Thome has been a popular figure at Target Field – both in the clubhouse and for the paying customers in the seats. He hit 25 home runs last year in just 276 at-bats, many of them moon shots that sailed high into the Minneapolis air and caused players, coaches, fans and everyone else to shake their head in amusement and astonishment.
This season has been more of a struggle. He’s been bothered by injuries to his toe, oblique and quadriceps, and he has struck out 54 times in 169 at-bats entering Tuesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox. Thome has nine home runs this year.
But the anticipation is still there for anybody at the ballpark, each time he walks out of the on-deck circle.
“It’s an exciting thing to step to home plate and have the fans want you to hit a homer,” Thome said. “It’s pretty cool. Now I will say this: There is a little bit of pressure with that. And it’s up to you to try to relax and know that if you come here every day and you try to approach the game the same and you do your work and you’re diligent every day with your program and how you prepare for the game, then all that stuff hopefully in the end will be there.”
The Twins sure could use an emotional lift like this. Thome’s 598th, hit last week on the road against the Los Angeles Angels, was one of those no-doubters that brought the dugout to life despite a 7-1 defeat that night.
“We’re all looking forward to him hitting this next one, and then the anticipation will be unbelievable,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “So that’s something that we’ve been watching and enjoying.”
Gardenhire added: “Every time he walks up there and starts taking a swing, you know the ball can fly.”
Thome has been careful not to put too much emphasis on the milestone itself.
“You don’t ever want to fall into that trap,” he said. “Obviously every day is about winning the ballgame, and if you do something in that game, if it’s to hit a home run or to get close to a milestone, then it’s all worth it. But I don’t want to ever think of it as, ‘Oh, today I’ve got to come to the park and hit a homer.’”
He’s come a long way since Manuel taught him in the minors to open up his stance and harness his natural power. Now he’s trying to gather as many of his home run balls as he can, asking the team to invite the lucky ones to trade the memorabilia for a postgame visit, autographs and perhaps other rewards for their willingness to add to his collection of more than 100 balls.
“What a cool thing to do, if you can play long enough,” Thome said. “You’ve got to hit home runs to do it. Who knows? One day my kids might go through ‘em, and there might be a story behind each ball.”
© 2011 The Associated Press
1936 – Adolph Hitler opens 11th Olympic Games in Berlin
1945 – Mel Ott is 1st in NL to hit 500th HR (joins Babe Ruth & Jimmy Foxx)
1953 – Red Sox Ben Flowers sets then record of 8 consecutive games in relief
1957 – Gil Hodges hits his NL record 13th career grand slam
1957 – Glen Gorbous throws a baseball a record 136 m (445’10″)
1972 – Nate Colbert of SD Padres hits record tying 5 HRs in a double header
1976 – Seattle Seahawks play 1st (preseason) game (SF 27, Seattle 20)
1977 – SF Giant Willie McCovey hits NL record 18th grand slam\
1978 – Pete Rose goes hitless, ends his 44 game hitting streak
1982 – Greg Louganis, US becomes 1st diver to score 700 (752.67) in 11 dives
1987 – Mike Tyson beat Tony Tucker in 12 for Heavyweight boxing title
1993 – Reggie Jackson enshrined in Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY
2005 – It was announced that Raphael Palmeiro would be suspended for 10 days after testing positive for steroid use. Palmeiro stood by his statements to the U.S. Congress on March 17, 2005, that he had never taken steroids.
1926 – At Mitchell Field in New York, Babe Ruth caught a ball that had been dropped from an airplane flying at 250 feet.
1962 – Chic White Sox Floyd Robinson goes 6 for 6 (all singles)
1963 – Sonny Liston KOs Floyd Patterson in 1 for Heavyweight boxing title
1967 – Atlanta Braves use a record 5 pitchers in 9th inning
1990 – Greg LeMond of US wins his 3rd Tour de France
1991 – Desiree Washington, a Miss Black America contestant, charged she’d been raped by boxer Mike Tyson in an Indianapolis hotel room. Tyson was later convicted of rape and served 3 years in prison.
1993 – NY Yankee Don Mattingly hits his 200th HR
1914 – Babe Ruth debuts as a pitcher for Boston Red Sox, he beats Cleve 4-3
1923 – Harry Frazee, sells Red Sox to Ohio businessmen for $1M
1985 – Astros’ Nolan Ryan, 1st to strike out 4000 (Mets’ Danny Heep)
1987 – Orioles Cal Ripken becomes 1st to manage 2 sons, as Billy joins Cal
1987 – Bo Jackson signed a contract to play football for the L.A. Raiders for 5 years. He was also continued to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals.
1988 – Mike Tyson hires Donald Trump as an advisor
1910 – Chicago White Sox Comiskey Park opens, visiting Browns win 2-0
1914 – Boston Red Sox purchase Babe Ruth from Baltimore Orioles
1936 – Phillies Chuck Klein becomes 4th to hit 4 HRs in a game
1984 – Dwight ‘Doc’ Gooden (New York Mets) became the youngest player to appear in an All-Star Game as a pitcher. He was 19 years, 7 months, and 24 days old.
1992 – US Major Soccer League folds after 14 seasons
1997 – Hideki Irabu makes his debut as a NY Yankee, he beats Tigers 10-3
1999 – The U.S. Women’s soccer team defeated China to win the 1999 World Cup tournament.
1938 – Babe Ruth is signed as a Dodgers coach for the rest of the season
1941 – Joe Louis KOs Billy Conn in 13 for Heavyweight boxing title
1948 – Phillies pitching great Robin Roberts debut, loses 2-0 to Pirates
1950 – Cleveland Indians score 14 runs in 1st inning, beat A’s 21-2
1960 – Giants hire Tom Sheehan as baseball’s oldest debuting manager (66)
1972 – US Supreme Court, 5-3, confirms lower court rulings in Curt Flood case, upholding baseball’s exemption from antitrust laws
1973 – NCAA makes urine testing mandatory for participants
1975 – Fred Lynn gets 10 RBIs in a Red Sox 15-1 victory over Tigers
1976 – Bowie Kuhn voids A’s sales, totaling $35 million, of Joe Rudi & Rollie Fingers to Red Sox, & Vida Blue to Yankees
1977 – Billy Martin & Reggie Jackson get into a dug out altercation
1986 – Don Sutton won his 300th game in major league baseball.
1991 – SF Giant pitcher Dave Dravecky’s cancerous left arm is amputated
1993 – Expo’s Dennis Martinez is 92nd to win 200 games
1839 – 1st baseball game played in America
1880 – John Lee Richmond pitches 1st major league perfect game, Worcester 1, Cleveland’s Forest City 0
1916 – Tennis legend Bill Tilden’s 1st appearance at US tennis championship
1922 – St Louis Brown Hub Pruett strikes out Babe Ruth 3 straight times
1928 – NY Yankee Lou Gehrig hits 2 triples & 2 HRs to beat White Sox 15-7
1939 – Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown NY
1957 – Stan Musial plays in 823rd game (new NL consecutive-game streak)
1975 – Hank Aaron’s 1st HR in Milwaukee since 1965
1981 – Baseball Players begin a 50 day strike, their 3rd strike
1990 – NY Yankee reliever Dave Righetti becomes 9th to record 200 saves
1990 – Oakland A’s Rickey Henderson becomes 2nd to steal 900 bases
1990 – Orioles Cal Ripken plays in his 1,308th consecutive game to move past Everett Scott into 2nd place on the all-time list
1990 – NY Mets beat Chicago Cubs 19-8 at Wrigley Field, Cubs outfielder Doug Dazcenzo pitched a scoreless 9th inning
1997 – 1st ever baseball inter-league game SF Giants beat Texas Rangers 4-3
2000 – Steve Young (San Francisco 49ers) retired from the NFL.
1895 – 1st auto race
1904 – Cub’s Bob Wicker no-hits NY Giants, wins in 12th on 1 hitter, 1-0
1911 – Tigers trailing White Sox 13-1 come back to win 16-15
1927 – Babe Ruth hits 19th & 20th of 60 HRs
1961 – Roger Maris hits 19th & 20th of 61 HRs
1967 – Chicago Cubs (7) & NY Mets (4) tie record of 11 HRs in a game
1990 – Nolan Ryan pitches his 6th no-hitter beating Oakland, in 9th he retires Ken Phelps, Rickey Henderson & Willie Randolph (all ex Yanks)
1992 – US Olympic baseball team plays 1st exhibtion game, beat Venezuela 20-0
1995 – Mark McGwire tied a major league record when he hit home runs in five consecutive games.
1995 – Lee Smith set a major league record when he got his 16th consecutive save in 16 appearances.
2010 – ESPN launched ESPN 3D.
1780 – The Derby horse race is held for the first time.
1883 – 1st night baseball under lights, Ft Wayne Indiana
1901 – Benjamin Adams arrested for playing golf on Sunday (NY)
1903 – Pirates win a triple header from Dodgers
1925 – NY Yankee Lou Gehrig begins his 2,130 consecutive game streak
1935 – Babe Ruth, 40, announces his retirement as a player
1942 – Red Sox star Ted Williams enlists as a Navy aviator
1958 – Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford fans 6 in a row to tie an AL record
1991 – Seppo Raty of Finland improves his world javelin record to 318′ 1″
1992 – Former NFL NY Giant Coach Bill Parcells undergoes open heart surgery
1996 – 51st US Women’s Open Golf Championship won by Annika Sorenstam
1997 – Albert Belle’s Chicago White Sox tying 27-game hitting streak ends
1859 – Philadelphia A’s organize to play “town ball” became baseball 20 years later
1935 – Babe Ruth grounds out in his final at bat
1937 – Brooklyn Dodgers snap NY Giant Carl Hubbell’s 24-game winning streak
1950 – Due to rain, Indy 500 shortened to 345 miles, Johnny Parson wins
1956 – Mickey Mantle HR just misses clearing Yankee Stadium’s roof
1964 – SF Giants beat NY Mets, 8-6, in 23 innings (2nd game) (7 hrs 32 mins)
1985 – New Orleans Saints are sold for $70,204,000
1994 – Padres scores 13 in 2nd vs Pirates
2002 – The New Jersey Nets defeat the Boston Celtics 96-88 in Game 6 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Championship, winning the series 4 games to 2 to advance to their first NBA Finals appearance.
1894 – Bobby Lowe is 1st to hit 4 HRs in 1 baseball game
1911 – 1st Indianapolis 500 car race, Ray Harroun wins at 74.59 MPH (120 KPH)
1922 – Cubs swap Max Flack for Cards Cliff Heathcote during middle of doubleheader. Both play for both teams that day
1927 – Walter Johnson records 113th & last shutout of his career
1931 – Phillies Chuck Klein homers off Ben Cantwell (Braves) in both ends DH
1935 – Babe Ruth’s final game, goes hitless for Braves against Phillies
1937 – 61,756, 2nd-largest crowd in Polo Grounds history, sees Dodgers ends Carl Hubbell’s consecutive-game winning streak at 24
1938 – Yanks sweep Red Sox 10-0 & 5-4 in front of 83,533 at Yankee Stadium
1946 – Braves Bernard Malamud HR shatters Bulova clock in Ebbets Field
1948 – Schenectady Blue Jays Tom Lasorda strikes out 25 in 15-inning game
1953 – 1st major league network baseball game-Cleveland 7, Chicago 2
1967 – Yankee Whitey Ford, nearing 41, announces his retirement from baseball
1971 – Willie Mays hits his 638th HR, sets NL record of 1,950 runs scored
1986 – Bobby Rahal is 1st to avg over 170 mph in Indianapolis 500
1992 – Minnesota Twin Bert Blyleven is 2nd to win as teenager & 40 year old
1992 – NY Yankee Scott Sanderson becomes 9th to beat all 26 teams
1896 – 1st American intercollegiate bicycle race, Manhattan Beach NY
1911 – 1st Indianapolis 500 auto race is run
1917 – Walt Cruise hit 1st HR out of Braves Field
1923 – 1st Le Mans Grand Prix d’Endurance is run
1925 – Babe Ruth is finally out of bed, 5 weeks after ulcer surgery
1925 – Tigers’ Ty Cobb is 1st to collect 1,000 extra-base hits (ends 1,139)
1946 – 2-for-42 & hitting .048 for 1946, Mel Ott stops playing baseball
1972 – Joe Frazier TKOs Ron Stander in 5 for Heavyweight boxing title
1973 – Chicago White Sox beat Cleveland Indians, 6-3, in 21 inn (game complete 5/28
1980 – Dietmar Mogenburg of West Germany ties High Jump record at 7’8″
1980 – Phillies Steve Carlton is 1st NLer to record 6, 1-hitters
1983 – LA Lakers set NBA playoff game record of fewest free throws
1990 – Philadelphia Phillies retire Mike Schmidt’s uniform #20
1997 – Sammy Sosa (Cubs) & Tony Womack (Pirates) hit inside the park HRs
1900 – Eyre M Shaw, 78, becomes oldest gold medalist in Olympics
1906 – After 20 straight wins, Boston Pilgrims lose to Chicago White Sox 3-0
1919 – Casey Stengel releases a sparrow from under his baseball cap
1922 – Babe Ruth suspended 1 day & fined $200 for throwing dirt on an ump
1935 – Babe Ruth hits his last 3 home runs, Boston Braves vs Pirates
1939 – Carl Storck becomes 2nd NFL president
1941 – Ted Williams raises his batting avg over .400 for 1st time in 1941
1951 – NY Giants Willie Mays 1st major league game (goes 0 for 5)
1953 – Braves Max Surkont strikes out record 8 Reds in a row
1959 – Supreme ct rules La prohibiting black-white boxing unconstitutional
1963 – Early Wynn wins his 300th baseball game
1965 – Muhammad Ali KOs Sonny Liston in 1 for Heavyweight boxing title
1972 – Heavyweight Joe Frazier KOs Ron Stander
1981 – Bobby Unser becomes 1st Indy 500 winner to be disqualified
1981 – Carl Yastrzemski is 4th to get 3,000 hits (Cobb, Musial & Aaron)
1983 – Kirk Gibson (Tigers) & Jorge Orta (Blue Jays) hit inside park HRs
1984 – Det Tigers lose to Seattle 7-3 ends record tying 17 consecutive wins
1984 – Red Sox trade pitcher Dennis Eckersley to Cubs for Bill Buckner
1986 – KC Royal George Brett gets his 2,000th hit
1992 – NY Yankees score 9 runs before 1st out in 8th inn, beat Brewers 13-7
1997 – Minnesota Twins retire Kirby Puckett’s uniform #
1902 – Cleveland’s Bill Bradley is 1st ALer to hit a HR run in 4 consecutive games, not duplicated until Babe Ruth does it June 25, 1918
1929 – Detroit Tigers beats Chicago White Sox, 6-5, in 21 innings
1935 – 1st major league night baseball game, in Cincinnati (Reds 2, Phil 1)
1940 – 1st night game at NY’s Polo Grounds (Giants 8, Braves 1)
1940 – 1st night game at St Louis Sportsman Park (Indians 3, Browns 2)
1940 – NY Giants rip Boston Bees 8-1 in 1st night game at Polo Grounds
1951 – Willie Mays begins playing for NY Giants
1967 – AFL grants a franchise to Cincinnati Bengals
1976 – Muhammad Ali TKOs Richard Dunn in 5 for Heavyweight boxing title in Munich
1979 – Billy Martin issues a public apology to Reno sportswriter Ray Hagar
1981 – Bobby Unser wins, loses, & wins a controversial Indy 500
1984 – Detroit Tigers win AL record 17th straight road game
1987 – Al Unser Sr, 47, wins his 4th Indy 500
1988 – Power outage in Boston Garden in NHL’s Stanley Cup finals
1989 – NY Yankee hurler Lee Gutterman sets record of pitching 30-2/3 innings before giving up his 1st run of season
1990 – Andre Dawson receives a record 5 intentional walks in a game
1992 – Despite trailing 7-1, NY Yankees tie Milwaukee Brewers & then score 1 in 9th to avoid 5th straight extra inning game
1819 – 1st bicycles (swift walkers) in US introduced in NYC
1881 – US Nation Lawn Tennis Association forms
1891 – Boxers Peter Jackson & Jim Corbett fight to a draw in 61 rounds
1926 – White Sox Earl Sheely hits a record 6th consecutive double
1930 – NY Yankee Babe Ruth hits 3 consecutive homers
1943 – Fastest 9 inning AL baseball game (89 mins), White Sox beat Senators
1948 – NY Yankees Joe DiMaggio hits for cycle (single, double, triple, HR)
1952 – Brooklyn Dodgers score 15 runs in 1st inning & beat Cin Reds, 19-1
1966 – Muhammad Ali TKOs Henry Cooper in 6 for Heavyweight boxing title
1968 – Cubs Billy Williams sets outfielder record of 695 straight game
1969 – After 9,015 at bats Hank Aaron is lifted for a pinch hitter, Mike Lum, who doubled in a 15-3 victory over NY Mets
1977 – SD Padres beat Mont Expos, 11-8, in 21 innings
1994 – Reds bat out of order against Dodgers in 2nd inning
1996 – Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens beats Yankees for his 200th win
2006 – The Swedish ice hockey team Tre Kronor takes gold in the World Championship, becoming the first nation to hold both the World and Olympic titles separately in the same year.