Auction Item Details
Lot 394
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Lot Number: 394
Description: 1961 New York Yankees World Champions team auto. baseball. To date, the aura of the legendary home run race between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris has been at best only equalled by the 1998 McGwire and Sosa home run contest. Battling hostility of many fans and the press, Maris achieved what was thought to be impossible 61 home runs to break Babe Ruth's hallowed record of 60 in the storied 1927 season. Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick had ruled in July that any record set after 154 games had been played would carry an asterisk in the record books, which was only removed, leaving Maris in sole possession of the season home run record, after Maris' tragic death in 1985. His record would stand until 1998, when Mark McGwire hit 70. Since Mantle hit 54, the duo still holds the two-man season record with 115, eclipsing the mark of 107 set by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in 1927. As for the team, the Yankees, also paced by Whitey Ford's 25-4 record, compiled an amazing 109 regular season wins and then overpowered the Cincinnati Reds 4 games to 1 to win the 1961 World Series. The offered item is a Cronin Official American League ball with (25) strong (8-10 out of 10) blue ballpoint signatures including Mantle, Maris (MVP), Ford (Cy Young Award), Berra, Howard, Terry, Kubek, Skowron, Houk, Arroyo, and Boyer. It is particularly noteworthy that the Mantle and Maris signatures are genuine-not the clubhouse versions almost always seen on 1961 Yankees team balls. Includes LOA from PSA/DNA J.Spence-S.Grad: EX/MT-NM
Estimated Price: ($10,000.00-$15,000.00)
