Back from a long vacation to the news that Kirk Gibson’s historic bat, which clubbed his Game 1 home run in the 1988 World Series, sold for $575,912.40 early this morning in a special event by SCP Auctions. The unwashed home jersey that Gibson wore when he hit the legendary homer sold for $303,277.20 and his grimy batting helmet sold for $153,388.80.
Holy cow. I’m not sure what SCP Auctions and Gibson were looking for these items to fetch, but $1.08 million for the entire slate seems like a healthy haul.
In addition to the premiere items mentioned above, Gibson’s NL most valuable player award sold for $110,293.20, his World Series trophy went for $45,578.40 and his World Series road uniform brought in $9,664.80. The Kirk Gibson Foundation benefited from the proceeds generated from the sale of his World Series trophy and MVP award (a total of $155,871.60), but no word from Gibson on how he plans to use the funds from the sale of the other items ($931,950) or why he chose to sell in the first place. I suspect Gibson sold in order to establish a new legacy now that he’s been named the official manager of the Diamondbacks, but it’s an odd move nevertheless.
Frankly, I’m more interested in who purchased these items rather than the amounts they sold for. SCA Auctions did not reveal any names, or if the items were purchased by different bidders or if one bidder managed to scoop up the majority of the memorabilia. Here’s hoping a mysterious Dodgers benefactor stepped up to purchase the collection and return the Gibson items to where they belong…at Chavez Ravine.
Photo Credit: Credit: John Iacono
