1948-49 Joe DiMaggio NY Yankees game-used flannel road jersey, $256,858. Grey Flannel Auctions image.

WESTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Joe DiMaggio may have retired his bat in 1951, but the legendary Yankee Clipper continues to slam in home runs at auction. A game-used road jersey with the team name “New York” on the front and DiMaggio’s long-retired Yankee number “5” on the back commanded $256,858 in Grey Flannel’s Nov. 30 Holiday Auction. (All prices quoted are inclusive of 20% buyer’s premium.)

DiMaggio wore the jersey in 1948 and possibly into 1949. Its left sleeve shows evidence of a black armband worn through the end of 1948 to memorialize Babe Ruth, who died on Aug. 16th of that year. In addition to a chain-stitched “DiMaggio” nametag inside the rear collar, the DiMaggio jersey retained its original Wilson manufacturer’s label and size 44 flag tag. It was entered in the sale together with a photo-match of DiMaggio wearing the jersey, the picture overwritten with “$100,000,” a reference to the fact that he was the first baseball player in history to earn six figures in a single season.

“Joe DiMaggio is one of baseball’s immortals,” said Grey Flannel Auctions’ president, Richard E. Russek. “The DiMaggio jersey we sold was an outstanding example and will always rank among the most important mementos of professional baseball history.”

1927 NY Yankees ‘Murderers Row’ World Championship team-autographed baseball, $86,581. Grey Flannel Auctions image.

Grey Flannel’s $2,360,499 auction total was bolstered by another iconic Yankee treasure – a baseball signed by the 1927 World Championship team powered by the fearsome lineup of batters known as “Murderers Row.” The signatures on the ball include those of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, which, together, would be quite a prize even without the addition of their other teammates’ autographs. Entered in the auction with a $5,000 reserve, the ball flew out of the park with a winning bid of $86,581.

The West Coast had a strong presence in the sale as well, and was led by a 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers flannel road jersey game-worn and autographed by pitching ace Sandy Koufax. Representing the World Series season in which Koufax won his third Cy Young Award by unanimous vote, the jersey was described in the auction catalog as “immaculate” and “all original.” Against a $10,000 reserve, it was competitively pursued to $131,770.

1967 Bill Russell NBA All-Star Game-used uniform, $88,826. Grey Flannel Auctions image.

Hardcourt highlights were topped by Hall of Famer Bill Russell’s NBA All-Star Game-used uniform from 1967. Exhibiting a bold color motif of royal blue with gold felt lettering, red stars and a distinctive image of the Golden Gate Bridge, the jersey with matching satin-type shorts sold for more than eight times the reserve, at $88,826.

Other notable basketball lots included Bobby Jones’ 1983 Philadelphia 76ers Championship ring, $71,544; and Dennis Johnson’s 1977-78 Seattle SuperSonics NBA Finals game-used road uniform, $58,465.

1983 Tony Caldwell Los Angeles Raiders Super Bowl XVIII Championship player’s ring, $33,600. Grey Flannel Auctions image.

Gridiron winners included Tony Caldwell’s 1983 Los Angeles Raiders Super Bowl XVIII Championship player’s ring, which sold for $33,600; and a circa-1968 Gale Sayers Chicago Bears game-used home jersey that concluded its bidding run at $22,796.

“Once again, collectors helped make our annual Holiday Auction an exciting and very successful event,” said Russek. “We look forward to a full house and a lot of fun on February 11th, when we host our Babe Ruth Auction at the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Sports Legend Museum at Camden Yards in Baltimore.” Absentee and online bidding will precede the live auction. Additional details will be announced soon.

The fully illustrated Nov. 30 auction catalog, complete with prices realized, may be viewed online at www.GreyFlannelAuctions.com. To contact Grey Flannel, call 631-288-7800, ext. 223; or email info@greyflannelauctions.com.

Auction 6 December 2011 4PM
450 Park Avenue, New York

Viewing 22 November – 6 December
10am – 6pm 22 November –23 November
10am – 6pm 28 November – 5 December
10am – 4pm Tuesday 6 December

Thursday, December 15 | 12pm

Preview

Sunday, December 11 | 10am – 4pm
Monday, December 12 | 10am – 5pm
Tuesday, December 13 | 10am – 7pm
Wednesday, December 14 | 10am – 5pm

In what is one of the richest and most varied Old Master Drawings sales for years, perhaps the most remarkable single sheet is the exceptional, large-scale portrait head of a young man, executed in the late 1460s or early 1470s, and attributed to Piero del Pollaiolo.  An exceptionally well preserved masterpiece of Florentine Early Renaissance draughtsmanship, nothing like this drawing has appeared on the market in recent years.

Representing a totally different artistic world are the 38 lots from a Distinguished European collection, a wonderful group of drawings, most but not all of them 18th-century French, which encapsulate both the milieu in which they were created and the very personal and refined taste of the collector.  The leading lights of this great moment in French art – Watteau, Fragonard, Boucher, Robert, Natoire – are all represented by very appealing works of the highest quality, but there are also extremely good drawings by less familiar artists, as well as three fine Tiepolos to add an international flavour.

Additional property from the Collection of Dodie Rosekrans will be offered in the following sales:
Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale
Contemporary Art Evening Sale
Contemporary Art Day Sale
Old Master Paintings
Old Master Drawings
Egyptian, Classical, and Western Asiatic Antiquities

This December Sotheby’s will offer Property from the Collection of Dodie Rosekrans. A celebrated philanthropist, style icon and patron of both fine and decorative arts, Dodie Rosekrans was known internationally both for her sense of adventure and unfailingly generous spirit. A trailblazer and trendsetter in fashion, the arts and society, she made a name for herself in each of the cities in which she lived with her late husband John Rosekrans: San Francisco – where she was born to Michael Naify, founder of the movie chain that became United Artists – Paris and Venice. Mr and Mrs Rosekrans’s charitable contributions were numerous, highlighted by their efforts to support the museums of San Francisco and Paris, the latter of which earned Mrs Rosekrans France’s Légion d’Honneur.

See some of the fantastic items in this sale, beautifully shot to capture all their details at:

www.fellows.co.uk

On November 28th, Wille Faust’s painting at the Indianapolis airport was removed to be replaced with an LED screen. Antique Helper is lucky to debut a brand new collection of Wille Faust’s work amidst the controversy.