DALLAS, TX.- Fred Clarke is many things: a successful Canadian accountant, entrepreneur and philanthropist ... and a loyal supporter of minor hockey, the farm system of teams across Canada that has fed the NHL’s talent pool for generations.

The founder of the Clarke Group in Mission, British Columbia, Clarke purchased a collection of hockey sets in 1992 for $200,000. While the sets went on loan to the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame, the money from the transaction went to support minor (amateur) hockey across the province. “All the money went to support minor hockey in British Columbia,” says Kacie Clarke, Fred’s granddaughter. “My grandfather, who’s now 90, has always been a hockey fan and an advocate for his community. The money he spent to acquire the [card] sets was used to help finance equipment and travel expenses for various minor hockey organizations.”

Those sets will be back in play March 29 when the Clarke Hockey Dream Collection crosses the block in Heritage’s Spring Sports Card Catalog Auction.

“The collection offered in this auction is one of the most remarkable troves of hockey cards ever assembled,” says Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage Auctions. “It features more than 50 complete hockey card set that were released over nearly four decades, and include some of the most sought-after rookie cards of players like Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux. These aren’t just star players — these are hockey royalty, and their rookie cards can be exceedingly difficult to find.”

The Clarke Hockey Dream Collection is an extraordinary group of rarities, but far from the only highlight in the auction. The baseball season is rapidly approaching, and as always, the game is in the spotlight in this auction, including a Circa 1860 Brooklyn Atlantics Farach & Lalumia Studio CDV SGC VG 3. The finer of just two known examples, it is possibly the only team baseball card printed before the American Civil War. The card features the Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn, an organization considered the game’s first champion and dynasty. The Atlantics served as a founding member of the sport's first organized league, the National Association of Base Ball Players, and held the Championship from 1859 through the war-shortened season of 1861 before finally surrendering supremacy to archrival Eckford of Brooklyn in 1862.

Also up for grabs is one of the most important baseball cards ever made: a 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson Rookie No. 79 PSA NM-MT 8 that celebrates player who forever changed professional sports when he became the first Black player in Major League Baseball. Among athletes who took on the second role of social activist seeking racial equality, Robinson has no peer in the history of sports. Although he made his debut in 1947, this card is from what is considered his rookie season, an event that marked a long-overdue step toward racial balance. Other than the short-printed representations celebrating Satchel Paige and Bob Along with the short-printed representations celebrating Satchel Paige and Bob Feller, the Robinson is far and away the set’s most significant component.

The auction represents the biggest stars, old and new. Included are 14 lots featuring Shohei Ohtani. The game’s most dangerous multi-faceted star because the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season — milestone event that can be celebrated through a 2024 Topps 50/50 Shohei Ohtani (Dynasty Black-Autographed Relic Card) #SOD1 PSA Mint 9, PSA/DNA Auto 9 - #’d 1/1.

“Shohei Ohtani is the biggest star in the game, an icon in the United States and in Japan, and what he did last year was previously thought to be impossible,” Ivy says. “Keep in mind, only 47 players have had 30 homers and 30 steals in a season, and when you go to 40 and 40, that number shrinks to six. But 50/50 is a one-man club — he’s it. It’s fitting that a group of one is commemorated on a 1-of-1 card, and this is that card.”

Cards depicting Ty Cobb always are in high demand, but the interest in a 1916 Tango Eggs Ty Cobb PSA Good 2 should soar, considering it is the only example in the PSA population. One of the rarest of the early 20th-century trading card issues, the 1916 Tango Egg set was unknown to the modern hobby until a small hoard was unearthed in 1991, and nearly 35 years later, the full population of this issue slabbed by PSA numbers fewer than 400. The portrait captures the batting stance that earned the player known as “the Georgia Peach” his spot as the game’s most prolific hitter, a record he held until it was broken by Pete Rose in 1985.

So prolific is the demand for Cobb cards that collectors also will be drawn to the only PSA-graded example of a 1909-11 T206 Broad Leaf 460 Ty Cobb (Portrait-Red) PSA Poor 1 (MK) and a 1909-11 T206 Hindu Red Ty Cobb (Red Portrait) PSA VG-EX 4 that is tied for the highest grade among just six known examples.

One of the truly remarkable lots in the auction is a Signed 1954 - 1976 Topps “Hank Aaron Basic Autographed Set (24 cards)” - Ranked No. 1 Current and All-Time Finest on the PSA Set Registry — a lot with two dozen cards featuring one of the premier sluggers of all time, each autographed by Hammerin’ Hank. Part of what makes this lot unique is the fact that it is not yet determined how it will sell; a competition-style auction format will determine whether the set sells as a complete unit or as individual cards. The collection — one of 53 lots in the auction featuring Aaron — ranks as the No. 1 Current and All-Time Finest on the PSA Registry set.

Some of the greatest baseball stars of the 1970s are back for a curtain call in a 1971 Topps Baseball PSA NM-MT 8 Near-Set (721/752). This set is from the season in which Aaron reached 600 career home runs, Frank Robinson hit No. 500 and Roberto Clemente was named MVP in the World Series. This collection, in which each card carries a PSA NM-MT 8 grade, represents a chance to strengthen or even complete a 1971 set with legends like Aaron, Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Ernie Banks, Carl Yastrzemski, Pete Rose, Steve Carlton, Rod Carew, Johnny Bench and so many more.

Unopened material from the early 1970s is exceptionally rare, making a 1971 Topps Baseball (Third Series) Wax Box With 24 Unopened Packs a prize from one of the most condition-sensitive issues in modern collecting. Each pack potentially holds cards in Mint to Gem Mint condition from a set that includes the likes of Ted Williams, Brooks Robinson, Rollie Fingers, Juan Marichal, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Bob Gibson.

Basketball collectors will find plenty from which to choose in the eighth offering from the Yeow Exquisite Hidden Collection, a 34-lot assemblage of 2003 and 2004 Upper Deck Exquisite basketball cards that was virtually unknown until it emerged in 2023. The group contains many of the top players of the early 21st century, including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming and Michael Jordan.

Another rookie card for one of the biggest sports stars in the world is a 2003 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection LeBron James (Autograph) Rookie No. 127 PSA Gem Mint 10 - #’d 170/250. Not only is James in the discussion of the greatest players of all time, he also arrived with as much hype as any prospect in the history of the NBA, chosen first in the 2003 NBA Draft and saddled with the expectation of saving his home-state Cleveland Cavaliers. This 2003 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Autographed Rookie, No. 127, is one of his most prestigious and sought-after rookie cards, featuring an on-card autograph from his debut NBA season. One of James’ most significant cards, this card was produced in extremely limited quantities, solidifying its status as a premier modern basketball collectible.

The array of top offerings in this auction ranges as widely as the collectors who will end up adding them to their collections. Other top stars from the diamond, hardwood and gridiron who can be found in the auction include, but are not limited to: Cy Young, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Michael Jordan, Lou Gehrig, Honus Wagner, Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Patrick Mahomes, Gretzky, Sandy Koufax, Wilt Chamberlain, Jim Brown ... and so many more.