An auction house says a baseball that New York Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig hit a home run with in the 1928 World Series has sold for $62,617.
Hunt Auctions said the ball sold Tuesday at the All-Star FanFest in Kansas City, Mo. The buyer’s name was not available.
Elizabeth Gott, a Stamford, Conn., resident, said last week she decided to sell the ball on behalf of her 30-year-old son, Michael, so he could use the proceeds to pay off his medical school debt.
Gehrig hit the homer off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander while teammate Babe Ruth was on base.
A newspaper account at the time quoted him calling it his most significant home run at the time.
A circa-1920s-bat used by Ty Cobb sold for $253,000.
The ball was caught by a relative named Buddy Kurland, who was in the bleachers at the old Yankee Stadium during Game 2 of the 1928 Series.
Gehrig was disappointed that Kurland wouldn’t return the ball to him.
“I hit a lot of home runs since I been in baseball, but the grandest and most glorious and the greatest was that clout,” he told Kurland’s hometown paper, the Manchester Herald.
“The thrill that comes once a lifetime arrived for Lou Gehrig when I saw that ball fall among the center field bleacher fans. I’d like to add that ball I hit to my collection.”
The Yankees swept the 1928 Series 4-0.
With AP