A sampling of the treasure that had been untouched for 100 years was sold Thursday night during the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore. The 37 baseball cards featuring the likes of Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Honus Wagner fetched $566,132 in brisk online and live bidding. They were expected to bring about $500,000.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, which conducted the sale. “The room was packed.”
He said two lots were sold to Internet bidders and the third went to a live bidder. The auction house declined to identify the winning bidders.
Family member Karla Hench, who helped find the cards, said the cards brought “fantastic prices and we’re very excited that we can all share in this find. It’s like a gift from our grandfather to keep passing on.”
What made this find so special was that the 700 cards were nearly pristine, the finest examples anyone had ever seen from an extremely rare series given out with candy around 1910.
The best of the bunch was sold in three lots – one, which sold for $286,800, was a nearly complete E98 set, the name of the series the cards were issued under, and another was a Honus Wagner card that was judged to be in perfect condition.
PHILS PLACE CLIFF LEE ON WAIVERS
The Phillies have placed Cliff Lee on waivers, reports Yahoo! Sports.com. The Phillies were expected to waive Lee this month, when waivers are revocable. Teams routinely place high-profile players on waivers in August to determine other teams’ interest. Executives expect the left-hander to clear waivers Friday afternoon, Passan reports.
The 33-year-old Lee earns has about $7 million left on the $21.5 million he will earn this year, and he’s guaranteed $25 million in each of the next three seasons.
SHORT HOPS
The Rangers brought up top hitting prospect Mike Olt and optioned utility player Brandon Snyder to Triple-A Round Rock. Olt’s contract was selected Thursday from Double-A Frisco, where the corner infielder was hitting .288 with 28 homers and 82 RBI in 95 games. Olt’s homer total is tops in Double-A. … The Rockies recalled right-hander Alex White from Triple-A Colorado Springs, and he started Thursday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. White was 3-3 with a 3.61 ERA in 10 starts at Colorado Springs since being sent down on June 24. … Scott Podsednik has declined to accept assignment to Triple-A Reno and has been released by the Diamondbacks. The 36-year-old former Mariners outfielder, along with reliever Matt Albers, were acquired from Boston at the trade deadline for reliever Craig Breslow.
