$4 Million Babe Ruth Card Leads Heritage Fall Sports Catalog Auction to $25.8 Million

Game-worn Sandy Koufax jersey, signed Star Co. Michael Jordan rookie card and ‘Lil Penny’ puppet also among event highlights DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT DALLAS, Texas (October 27, 2025) — The first card ever produced for the biggest star in baseball history sold for $4,026,000 to lead Heritage’s Fall Sports Catalog Auction Oct. 24-26 to $25,757,571. The 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth Rookie SGC VG 3 in this auction captured Ruth before he became the biggest of all of the stars to suit up for the New York Yankees, and before he threw is first strike as a lanky left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. This card shows Ruth where he started his professional career: as a member of his hometown Baltimore Orioles. “Collectors often prioritize finding the first of anything, whether it is a card or a jersey or anything else,” says Chris Ivy, Heritage’s Director of Sports Auctions. “This is the first card ever produced for the game’s first genuine superstar, and one of the finest of his rookie cards in existence.” The card atop this auction is just the second time that a Baltimore News Ruth card has reached the auction block in the last decade. A photo-matched 1966 Sandy Koufax Game-Worn and Signed Los Angeles Dodgers Jersey, SGC Superior prompted 33 bids before it closed at $869,250, which is the highest price realized for any Koufax jersey outside of the $1.8 million that Heritage achieved at auction for Koufax’s rookie jersey in 2024. The jersey is photo-matched to the final season in the career of the Dodgers southpaw legend who is universally regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in the history of baseball. Forced to retire from the game at just 30 years old, Koufax was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame just six years later, becoming the youngest player ever enshrined among the legends of the game. Demand for a Signed 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #144 PSA Good 2, Auto 7 soared like one of the Bambino’s monstrous home runs, bringing 52 bids before closing at $585,600 — a record for a signed version of the card. This incredible card is one of just nine signed examples, and one of 29 from all four Ruth entries in the 1933 Goudey issue. A year after his final World Championship season, one best remembered for his legendary “Called Shot” home run that helped the Yankees cruise to a four-game Series sweep of the Chicago Cubs, he was the biggest star in the sport. Signed pre-war cards are scarce, which helps explain the massive interest generated by this treasure of the most iconic of all baseball stars. A Signed 1984 Star Co. Michael Jordan Rookie #101 PSA EX-MT 6, PSA/DNA Auto 8 nearly tripled its pre-auction estimate at $439,200, also a record for a signed version of the card. Jordan is featured on this card, which is widely regarded as his true first NBA-licensed issue. The popularity of the card has surged over the past year, with demand reaching critical mass as collectors recognize its place as Jordan’s first true rookie. Originally distributed in team bags and regional channels rather than traditional packs, these cards were not available in standard retail outlets, which only adds to their mystique and rarity. His autograph has also seen a remarkable rise in demand, with collectors increasingly chasing authenticated signatures as supply dwindles. Another Yankees great proved he still is a big hit at the auction block when a 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle (Gray Back) #135 PSA Mint 9 achieved $414,800, smashing the previous record for a PSA 9 by nearly $200,000 and setting a record for the card in any grade. His 1952 rookie card is the most coveted card of the post-war era, but this 1956 model unquestionably was more popular at the time of its original sale, and this is one of the finest known examples, with just four others earning higher grades. Baseball legends like Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson and Cy Young stepped into the spotlight one more time when a 1909-11 T206 White Border SGC Graded Near Set (518/524) brought a winning bid of $268,400. The set is just six cards shy of completion and ranks third-highest among all such sets graded by PSA. Unless otherwise noted, each card in the offered set displays a Piedmont or Sweet Caporal brand on the reverse. Reaching the same $268,400 was one of just two examples of a 1996 Select Certified Mirror Gold Derek Jeter #100 to receive a PSA Gem Mint 10 grade. The 1996 Select Certified release from Pinnacle marked a turning point in the hobby, helping to establish the now-standard chase for parallel cards and complete “rainbow” collections. The Mirror Gold parallel stood out as the most elusive of six different parallels, with an estimated print run of just 30 copies per card. Cards from outside the sports world also fared well in the auction, as a 1977 Topps Star Wars #1 “Luke Skywalker” #1 PSA Gem Mint 10 sparked 59 bids on its way to becoming the event’s third lot to end at a record $268,400. Topps recognized the cultural impact of the film that became one of the defining movies in the history of cinema and launched a series of collectible trading cards. This card is from one of the finest 1977 Tops Star Wars sets, ranked No. 4 on the PSA Set Registry. Out of more than 4,000 graded by PSA, just nine — including this example — have been graded Gem Mint. That Skywalker card was one of 379 Star Wars lots in the auction, many of which brought out-of-this-world results. Other record-setting cards from the collection included, but were not limited to:   • A 1977 Topps Star Wars “Princess Leia Organa” #5 PSA Gem Mint 10: $50,020   • A 1977 Topps Star Wars “Space Pirate Han Solo” #4 PSA Gem Mint 10: $47,580   • A 1977 Topps Star Wars #8 “Grand Moff Tarkin” PSA Gem Mint 10: $37,820 Heritage Auctions has made a habit of producing exceptional results for set breaks, and this auction was no exception. Among those that produced record results, in addition to the Star Wars set which sold for a total of $726,122, surpassing its pre-auction estimate of $290,000 by more than double, were the 1967 Topps baseball that sold for a staggering combined total of $1,041,787 and the 1978 Topps basketball set that also dwarfed its pre-auction estimate of $42,000 when it sold for an incredible $94,269. Another set that offered record results was the selection of 17 fresh-to-market 1968 Topps 3-D cards from a single consignor. Among those that stood out:   • One of just three known examples of a 1968 Topps 3-D Prototype Brooks Robinson PSA Authentic: $134,200   • The only PSA encapsulated example of a 1968 Topps Visual Panographics Inc. 3-D Prototype Captain America PSA Authentic: $52,460   • The only PSA example of a 1968 Topps Visual Panographics Inc. 3-D Prototype Bart Starr (Blank Back) PSA Authentic: $40,260 While he and his teammates perform on baseball’s biggest stage in the World Series, it is no surprise that the game’s biggest star, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani, enjoyed enormous success at the auction block in 47 lots that drew numerous bids and fared exceptionally well. Among them:   • A 2024 Topps 50/50 Shohei Ohtani (Autograph Relic FoilFractors) 1/1 #SOAR1 BGS NM-MT+ 8.5: $164,700 — more than quadrupling the pre-auction estimate   • A 2018 Topps Heritage Shohei Ohtani (Real One Autographs-Red Ink) Rookie #ROA-SO BGS Gem Mint 9.5, Beckett Auto 10 - #'d 13/69: $73,200 — nearly five times the pre-auction estimate   • A Signed 2013 BBM Japan Shohei Ohtani (Rookie Edition) #RP19 BGS Gem Mint 9.5, Beckett Auto 8: $70,150 — more than seven times the pre-auction estimate Continuing the surge in demand for tickets from the first games of sports legends, a 1979 Wayne Gretzky NHL Debut Ticket Stub, PSA Mint 9 nearly doubled its pre-auction estimate when it closed at a record $158,600. The legend known simply as “The Great One” played for four NHL teams, but is known best for his nine incredible seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, the team he helped win four Stanley Cups. His spectacular NHL career began in the game that produced this ticket, an Oct. 10, 1979, visit to Chicago — a game in which he helped set up a first-period power play goal with the first of his NHL-record 1,963 career assists and 2,857 points. Other standout debut tickets included:   • A 1984 Michael Jordan NBA Debut Chicago Bulls Ticket Stub, PSA VG-EX 4: $109,800 — a record for the grade   • A 1952 Topps Willie Mays #261 PSA NM-MT 8: $106,750   • A 1984 Michael Jordan NBA Debut Ticket Stub (Box Office), PSA/DNA, Authentic (Reinforced-Tape): $39,040 One of the most captivating items in the entire auction was the star of one of the most memorable of all sports marketing campaigns, a 1995-97 “Lil Penny” Ad Campaign Production Puppet that reached $64,050. Launched in 1994 by Nike, the campaign featured a miniature puppet of NBA star (and current University of Memphis head coach) Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway in a series of commercials in which the character was voiced by comedian Chris Rock. Complete results can be found at HA.com/50080. 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