Auctions | March 18, 2021

Lou Gehrig Manuscript Letter up for Auction

Courtesy of RR Auction

Boston — Important sports cards, autographs, and memorabilia fill RR Auction's spring sports auction with online bidding March 11 through March 25.

Top lots include a rare handwritten letter by Lou Gehrig, on Andrew Jackson Hotel letterhead, dated April 6, 1936. Rarely made available to the public market, handwritten letters from Gehrig are virtually nonexistent, with this neatly penned example—written a week before Gehrig would embark on his final MVP-winning season—representing the first our company has ever offered.

A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card. Graded by SGC EX 5. One of the most recognizable and premiere cards within the hobby, SGC has conservatively assessed this appealing example. With slightly higher graded examples realizing prices in excess of six figures, this card offers a tremendous alternative while giving up virtually nothing in the way of aesthetics.

A gold medal from the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Gilt silver, 55 mm, 97 gm, designed by Giuseppe Cassioli, minted by Whitehead & Hoag. A wonderful example of this classic design, and the only first-place 1932 LA prize we have ever offered.

And high-grade complete sets of most Topps baseball issues from the 1960s–70s.

A special section offers items from the collection of early Yankees captain and one-time AL MVP Roger Peckinpaugh, including his game-used 1918 New York Yankees uniform, his 1924 World Series watch fob, and a check signed by Babe Ruth.

Ruth and Peckinpaugh were teammates on the New York Yankees in 1920 and 1921, just as Ruth emerged as baseball's premiere home run hitter. On the day Peckinpaugh wrote this check, the Yankees squared off against Ty Cobb's Detroit Tigers at the Polo Grounds. Bank of Washington Heights counter check, filled out and signed by Roger Peckinpaugh, "R. T. Peckinpaugh," payable to Geo. H. Ruth for $1000, August 4, 1921, endorsed on the reverse by Babe Ruth, "Geo. H. Ruth.”

The Sports Auction featuring the Roger Peckinpaugh collection at RR Auction began March 11 and will conclude March 25.  For more information, go to www.rrauction.com.