GOATs, Grails and Grand Slams: Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Mickey Mantle and Shohei Ohtani Light Up Heritage's Winter Sports Auction

Golden Age collection of period-signed cards and Heritage Elite collection of 1970s Topps baseball cards also among Dec. 19-21 event highlights DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT DALLAS, Texas (Dec. 2, 2025) — A one-of-one 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman featuring Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant will take its shot at being the top lot in Heritage's Winter Sports Catalog Auction Dec. 19-21. "This 2003 Upper Deck Dual Logoman card is incredibly special," says Chris Ivy, Heritage's Director of Sports Auctions. "Because not only does it feature Logoman patches from Michel Jordan & Kobe Bryant like the 2007-08 example that Heritage recently sold for a world-record price of $12.9 million in August of this year, but it is considered to be the best card included in the groundbreaking inaugural 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite release, which was the first year that the ‘dual Logoman' was created. We expect that the attention surrounding the previous record sale will only brighten the spotlight on this card for modern basketball collectors that seek the best of the best." New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle has been one of the most coveted athletes of all time among collectors. Among the top lots in the auction featuring the power-hitting outfielder is a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 PSA NM-MT 8 that is widely regarded as the most iconic and coveted post-war baseball card. The 1952 Topps set, notable for its unprecedented 407-card checklist and larger card dimensions, represented a major leap for the hobby. But the release of the high-number series (No. 311-407), which included Mantle's card, came too late in the season to see wide distribution. With excess inventory piling up, Topps reportedly resolved the issue by disposing of unsold stock — containing untold numbers of Mantle cards — several miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. This particular card, which is remarkably preserved, is one of only 35 that has achieved PSA NM-MT 8 status, with only 14 examples surpassing it in the population report of more than 2,000.Collectors also will be drawn toward a 1961 Mickey Mantle Game-Worn New York Yankees Jersey that has been photo-matched to both the 1960 and 1961 World Series. Among the most historically significant jerseys ever to reach the collecting public, it has been linked by Photo Match Authentication to Mantle in Game 2 of the 1960 World Series and in Game 5 of the 1961 Fall Classic. It later was discovered to have been worn during the 1961 home run race between Mantle and teammate Roger Maris as they chased Babe Ruth's single-season home run record in a competition between teammates that captured the attention of baseball fans everywhere. Intermingled among the more than 3,600 lots in the auction are 20 items attributed to baseball's biggest current star: Shohei Ohtani. Dubbed "the unicorn of baseball," because of his prowess as both a power hitter and star pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani is widely regarded as the best player in the game, and enormously popular in California and in his home country of Japan. Among the treasures from "the New Babe Ruth" are: A 2024 Shohei Ohtani Game-Used & Signed Bat, PSA/DNA GU 9.5 & BGS Auto 10 that has been photo-matched to three home runs from the season in which he became the first player in Major League Baseball history to slug 50 or more home runs and swipe 50 or more bases in the same year. This Chandler SO17.4 bat — its grip now split, courtesy of then-Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried — is autographed on the barrel in perfect silver sharpie Kanji, with a notation reading, "50/50 2024." The Baseball that Ohtani crushed for his 55th and final home run of the 2025 regular season Sept. 28 in Seattle. His 412-foot bomb against Mariners pitcher Gabe Speier established a new single-season for home runs by a Dodger in a single season.A 2022 Game-Worn & Signed Los Angeles Angels Jersey, MLB Authentic A photo-matched 2021 Game-Worn & Signed Los Angeles Angels Jersey More than a dozen Ohtani cards, including a 2018 Panini Donruss (Signature Series-Black) #SS-SO PSA Mint 9 - #'d 1/1 The basketball player whose items are most coveted by collectors is Michael Jordan, who appears on 160 items throughout the auction, including on a 1986 Fleer Rookie #57 PSA Gem Mint 10 that is the most prized entry in this historic set. While Jordan is said to be the start of multiple new eras in the card collecting hobby, this card is viewed as the end to a previous era, because no standard-issue card ever has or will demand such attention or results at auction. The offered card is the most recently graded example of the 330 examples that have been graded PSA Gem Mint 10. Basketball collectors also will be drawn to a 1986-87 Larry Bird Game-Worn Boston Celtics Jersey, MEARS A10 that was photo-matched to seven playoff games and to the appearance on the June 8, 1987 cover of Sports Illustrated by the man who, along with Magic Johnson, is credited with lifting the NBA to a level of popularity never enjoyed before in league history photo-matching experts have linked this jersey to four games of the Eastern Conference Finals, as well as Game 2 in the first round series against the Chicago Bulls, Games 5 and 7 in the conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks. Los Angeles ace Sandy Koufax is widely considered one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. His ascent to the top of his profession was not immediate, making game-used items like the 1956 Game-Used & Signed Fielder's Glove from The Reggie Jackson Collection, PSA/DNA Authentic that is in play in this auction both rare and prized by collectors. Items from his tenure in Los Angeles is more readily available, but this glove is from 1956 — a year before the team headed west from Brooklyn. It is believed the glove was given to 1956 Dodgers teammate Ken Lehman, who sold it to a collector in 1983, and later was a part of the personal collection of Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson. Also offered is a 1965 Willie Mays Game-Used Fielder's Glove, PSA/DNA Authentic. Regarded by many as the greatest defensive outfielder — and on the short list of the greatest overall at the position — in the history of baseball, Mays had incredible speed and a knack for making spectacular catches look routine. He wore this glove in 1965, when he was named Most Valuable Player in the National League after a season that was one of the best in his Hall of Fame career. At the plate, he hit .317, drilled 52 home runs and drove in 112 runs, and his defensive prowess earned him his ninth career Gold Glove award, as well as his 12th consecutive All-Star Game appearance. To this day, it is considered one of the greatest overall seasons in baseball history. Part of the appeal of the Green Bay Packers is the fact that they are the only American sports team that is publicly owned. Included here is the first 1935 Green Bay Packers Stock Certificate ever offered at auction … and it is signed by George Whitney Calhoun, the newspaper editor who, along with Curly Lambeau, co-founded the franchise in 1919. When financial trouble threatened the franchise's future in 1923, local businessmen organized the first stock sale to save the team, raising $5,000 through the sale of 1,000 $5 shares. Finances dictated the need for another stock sale in 1935, this time at $25 per share, an effort that raised more than $15,000. The team currently has more than 500,000 shareholders. The certificate offered here is even more rare than the 1923 stock certificate Heritage sold in August 2025 for $152,000. The only other known example of the offered stock certificate is in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Museum at Lambeau Field. The auction includes one of just two examples of a 1984 Michael Jordan NBA Debut Chicago Bulls Ticket Stub (Season Ticket Format), PSA NM-MT 8, from the first game for the game's biggest star. He arrived in the Windy City when the Bulls were mired in mediocrity, and his arrival that began with this game forever changed the franchise, on and off the court. There is no stub from the game that is graded higher than the one offered in this auction; this and one other are graded a full two points higher the next-highest example. Retained by a family that attended the game to see the 1984 Naismith Men's College Player of the Year play in his first professional game, it is inarguably on the short list of the most important post-war tickets in existence. Collectors who want to score themselves a historically significant ticket will find themselves focused on a stub from the game in which one of basketball's all-time greats scored 100 points: a 1962 Wilt Chamberlain 100-Point Game Philadelphia Warriors Ticket Stub, PSA Good 2 (MK). The game that still stands as the highest scoring output by a player in a single NBA game also provided what is the most sought-after ticket in the basketball collecting hobby. Just over 4,000 fans were on hand to witness Chamberlain's superhuman performance in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the scarcity of surviving tickets from 63 years ago comes as no surprise. The example offered in this auction even boasts handwriting on the back that details Chamberlain's historic performance. Side note: the game never officially ended! After Chamberlain broke the century mark, fans rushed the floor, and game officials concluded there was no reason to play the final 46 seconds of the Warriors' 169-147 win over the visiting New York Knicks. Golden Age Collection The auction features several impressive collections, including The Golden Age Collection that is one of the finest troves of vintage signed sports cards ever assembled. This extraordinary collection was built over several decades by a fan who acquired signatures from almost all of the subjects who appear on the cards — and notably chased down the autographs during or shortly after the years in which the cards were offered, rather than at signing events after the athletes retired. Some he acquired when a friend would alert him to an athlete appearing at a local restaurant, others by waiting for players outside the stadium after games. The collection is headlined by a run of signed cards from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s, the era widely regarded as the golden age of post-war sports cards. The collection includes complete or near-complete signed sets from many of the most coveted baseball issues of the period, including 1948-55 Bowman and 1952–55 Topps runs, 1948 Bowman Basketball and seldom-seen autographed football sets, such as 1948-55 Bowman 1948 Leaf, and 1950s Topps sets. The collection is brimming with cards from iconic stars and Hall of Famers, with countless cards bearing period signatures that are exceedingly difficult to acquire, either due to the short lives of the players or the relative obscurity of their careers. The collection reads like a Who's Who of some of the games' biggest stars, including signed cards representing the likes of baseball legends Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Eddie Mathews and Satchel Paige; football stars O.J. Simpson and Joe Namath (on a double card), Sammy Baugh and Sid Luckman; hardwood heroes like George Mikan and Red Holzman and boxing giants like Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta. Heritage Elite 1970s Topps Baseball Collection Bold style experiments, shifting production trends and the emergence of cards featuring several proven stars and promising rookies made the 1970s a transformative decade for baseball cards. This auction includes one of the premier PSA-graded collections from the era, showcasing many of these defining issues in exceptional condition. The cards offered in this auction are just the beginning of the treasures from this incredible single-owner collection, many of which will be offered in future Heritage events. Sets like 1972 and 1975 Topps featured bright colors, creative typography and psychedelic design cues that reflected the pop culture of the era, and the hobby forever changed with the increase of action shots through improved photography. Highlights among the collection include, but are not limited to:A 1973 Topps Mike Schmidt - Rookie Third Basemen #615 PSA Gem Mint 10 that is considered one of the most important rookie cards of the decade   • A 1972 Topps Roberto Clemente #309 PSA Mint 9   • A 1972 Topps Willie Mays #49 PSA Gem Mint 10   • A 1979 Topps Ozzie Smith Rookie #116 PSA Mint 9   • A 1971 Topps Johnny Bench #250 PSA NM-MT 8   • A 1973 Topps Hank Aaron (All-Time Total Base Leader) #473 PSA Mint 9 Images and information about all lots in the auction can be found at HA.com/50081. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 2 million registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of 7,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit. For breaking stories, follow us: HA.com/Facebook and HA.com/Twitter . Link to this release or view prior press releases . Hi-Res images available: Steve Lansdale, Public Relations Specialist 214-409-1699 or SteveL@HA.com