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Eric
04-10-2006, 12:03 PM
Here is a press release sent out be Grey Flannel....

1954 Mantle jersey; Wilt's car in Grey Flannel sale May 10
Two extraordinary Mickey Mantle items and a Wilt Chamberlain item that befits the grandeur of the legendary giant are among more than 972 items currently attracting bids on Grey Flannel Auction's current auction.

The first of many noteworthy Mantle items in the sale is a game-used Mickey Mantle home flannel from 1954. The red-stitching of Mantle's name would suggest that the jersey was worn during the World Series, as such differentiation was the custom for the Yanks. The McAuliffe brand jersey does show the wear of just a couple of games.

The second item is the Mick's 515th career home run ball. The ball came from the family of Mantle's long-time friend, former ABC news anchor Murphy Martin. Martin and his wife Joyce had a pair of cuff links made for the Yankee slugger with raised gold numerals that read “500” to signify the switch-hitting slugger's milestone achievement. Mantle so adored the cuff links that a few weeks later he presented Murphy with the Reach Cronin baseball that he hit into the Yankee Stadium stands on July 25, 1967. The solo shot versus the Minnesota Twins evened the score at one in the bottom of the ninth. Mantle signed the ball in black ink and added the notation, “Home Run #515, Left Field Bleachers, 1-1, New York & Minn.” It's also personalized, “To Murphy & Joyce, Thanks for the cuff links.”

Richard Russek, president of Grey Flannel Auctions, said, “Such are the stories that drive special collectors to purchase these special pieces of history. And there's no shortage of these examples in this sale.”

Another such item is the 1937 World Series ring by the only New York Yankee ever to wear No. 3 other than Babe Ruth. George Selkirk was called up to replace Ruth in right field. He played for five World Champion Yankees teams and batted over .300 in his first six seasons with the Yanks.

“This isn't just another piece of vintage World Series jewelry,” Russek said. “While Selkirk was clearly a respectable player, his relationship to the most famous of numbers in Yankee history makes this item something to cherish.”

And speaking of Number 3, there is an actual trunk found in the catacombs of Yankee Stadium. It bears the number 3. “We cannot prove that the Babe has anything to do with this trunk,” Russek said, “But I can think of no better place for a Yankees collector to keep and display Yankees items.”

While the auction, like other recent Grey Flannel Auction sales, punctuates the giant status of the Yankees in the world of memorabilia, the May 10-ending sale features an item that comes from another larger-than-life personality - Wilt Chamberlain.

Wilt's custom-made “Searcher 1” car has been consigned to the sale from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., and the proceeds will benefit the hoops shrine to purchase other great exhibits.

Chamberlain got Peter Bohanna, known for engineering vehicles for James Bond films, to enhance Wilt's own design with an eye-popping vehicle that would fit nicely into Donald Trump's fleet and fit into the lineup at LeMans, France, with an engine that's been tested at 467 horsepower.

“This sale also allows collectors to acquire significant game-used items from early and late stages of a single player's career,” Russek added. Reggie Jackson collectors will find one of Jackson's game-used home flannel Oakland A's jersey from 1968 and a game-used Yankees road jersey from 1977. Both are signed.

A game-used rookie Michael Jordan Bulls road jersey (1984-'85) is available as is Jordan's game-used USA Olympic blue “Dream Team” jersey and shorts from 1992, the original dream team. Both items are signed by Jordan.

Pete Maravich's career is marked in the sale by a game-worn warmup from his All-American days at LSU; and a game-used Boston Celtics road jersey from 1980.

Among other items in the sale are:
o A game-used Mickey Mantle bat from 1965-'66;
o A Babe Ruth-autographed bat, dated Jan. 22, 1931;
o A team-signed ball by the fabled 1927 Yankees;
o A photo of the 1923 Yankees that was part of the furnishings of Yankee Stadium;
o A Yankee Stadium turnstile used during the first 50 years of the House that Ruth Built, beginning in 1923;
o A game-used Derek Jeter Yankees World Series pinstripe jersey from 2003 (Letter from Steiner Sports Memorabilia);
o A game-used and signed road flannel jersey worn in 1963 by Eddie Mathews;
o A game-used Hank Aaron Atlanta Braves home flannel jersey, signed, from 1971;
o A game-used Hank Aaron road Milwaukee Brewers jersey from 1976;
o A game-used Albert Pujols home World Series Cardinals jersey from 2004;
o Gil Hodges's 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers game-used flannel jersey and pants from the team's championship season;
o Red Faber's Hall of Fame induction ring from 1964; and
o Shaquille O'Neal's LSU Tigers game-used road jersey, circa 1990.

The sale also features other game-used jerseys from basketball heroes Bill Bradley, Magic Johnson, George Gervin and Kareen Abdul-Jabbar.


Another memento honoring a basketball Hall of Famer is the plaque that hung in Springfield of the man who invented the game - James Naismith. Grey Flannel Auctions offered scores of these in its last sale, and based on the success of those plaques this one should create high interest among all collectors.

The sale also features numerous Americana items, in addition to the Chamberlain Searcher 1. Leading items include:
o An 1882 Date Back James Garfield $5 National Bank Note from the National Union Bank of New York (considered scarce);
o A
1934 William McKinley $500 Federal Reserve Note (considered very rare, crisp uncirculated);
o A
1934 Grover Cleveland $1,000 Federal Reserve note (crisp, incirculated); and
o A framed 1935 $1 Silver Certificates Uncut Sheet of 18.