DALLAS, TX.- A 1909 T206 Sweet Caporal Honus Wagner, known as “The Garagiola Wagner,” realized $3,599,000 to lead Heritage Auctions’ Winter Platinum Night Sports Auction to $38,604,809, reinforcing Heritage’s position atop the elite sports memorabilia and trading card market.
The Garagiola Wagner, originally consigned from the collection of Hall of Famer and beloved broadcaster Joe Garagiola, remains the most iconic trading card in the hobby. Produced in limited quantity after Wagner’s refusal to permit the American Tobacco Company to use his likeness, the T206 Wagner has long symbolized rarity at the highest level, with approximately 65 examples known in the total population. This Sweet Caporal-backed example, graded SGC Authentic, carries scrapbook evidence of early preservation and ranks among the most storied copies to surface in recent years. Its $3,599,000 result is a record for any example with an Authentic grade, and the fifth-highest ever for a T206 Wagner.
“This was an exceptional auction, with multiple seven-figure results and numerous world records set,” says Chris Ivy, Heritage’s Director of Sports Auctions. “It featured many ‘firsts,’ which always are prized by serious collectors, and featured various artifacts tied to defining moments in sports history which deservedly found homes in elite collections.”
Close behind was a 1997 Ultra Michael Jordan Masterpiece (1 of 1) #23P PSA NM-MT 8, the first one-of-one card ever produced of Jordan, which brought $2,104,500. In 1997, Fleer introduced the “Masterpiece” parallel into its Ultra and Flair Showcase brands, pioneering the now-standard one-of-one chase card concept that ended up defining modern card collecting. The significance of this card lies not just in its exclusivity, but also in its role as the origin point of one-of-one scarcity in the hobby. This example is the only one in existence, and this event marked the first time it was offered to the collecting community at auction. Jordan’s card was issued across several levels: the base version, an unnumbered Gold Medallion, a Platinum Medallion (numbered to 100) and this — the singular Masterpiece parallel.
Professional wrestling history produced one of the auction’s most staggering results when Hulk Hogan’s match-worn and signed yellow boots from WrestleMania I sold for $1,037,000, smashing the record Heritage set last year for a wrestling item, as well as the pre-auction estimate of $200,000+. Photo-matched to March 31, 1985, at Madison Square Garden, where Hogan teamed with Mr. T to defeat “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Paul “Mr. Wonderful” Orndorff in the event that launched WrestleMania into mainstream culture, the boots are synonymous with Hogan’s red-and-yellow era and the transformation of the WWF, which in 2002 became the WWE, into a global entertainment powerhouse.
The auction featured 188 items from the pitcher widely regarded as the greatest New York Met of all time in The Tom Seaver Collection. Tops among them was Tom Terrific’s 1969 New York Mets World Championship Ring, which drew a winning bid of $854,122. Other prizes from the hurler known to Mets fans as “The Franchise” included his 1973 New York Mets National League Championship Ring, which drew 60 bids on its way to $201,300, and Seaver’s 1992 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Plaque, which found a new home at $170,800.
Another one-of-one Jordan rarity, the 1998 Ultra Masterpiece Michael Jordan #85P PSA EX 5, brought $625,500 to set a record for the card and for the entire issue. Produced during his final season in Chicago and carrying the “Only One of One Masterpiece Edition” designation, the card mirrors the base checklist while representing the culmination of the Bulls era. Its appeal among collectors also grew out of the fact that it is from Jordan’s final appearance at Madison Square Garden as a member of the Bulls.
Few athletes are in as much demand as Jordan, who appeared in 95 lots in the auction, including a 1997-98 SkyBox Premium Star Rubies Michael Jordan #29 PSA EX-MT 6 that fetched $329,400, a record for the card and for the entire set. He also was represented on one of 24 atop a PSA population of nearly 17,000 that drew a winning bid of $475,800 and a 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan Rookie #57 PSA Gem Mint 10 — MBA Silver that is rated among the top 15% of all Gem Mint 10 Jordan rookies and drew a winning bid of $329,400. A 1997 Upper Deck SPx Michael Jordan (Grand Finale) #6 PSA NM-MT 8 - #'d 23/50 ended at $225,700, soaring like Jordan himself past the previous record of $134,200 that was set at Heritage in 2025.
Photography collectors competed vigorously for the 1915 Babe Ruth Original Rookie Photograph by G.T. Murray Studios, PSA/DNA Type 1, a magnificent image originally from the personal collection of team owner Joseph Lannin that realized $585,600 — a record for any Ruth photo and the second-highest price ever paid for any sports photograph. Taken during the Boston Red Sox’s 1915 spring training visit to Hot Springs, Arkansas — just four games into Ruth’s Major League career — the image predates his first home run and ranks among the earliest known Major League photographs of the future Sultan of Swat.
A 1998 SkyBox E-X 2001 Derek Jeter Essential Credentials Now PSA Gem Mint 10 achieved $500,200, establishing a new record for the card, and for the entire set. Issued during the Yankees’ 114-win regular season in 1998, the serial-numbered insert stands as a cornerstone of both Jeter and 1990s insert-card collecting.
Fine art intersected with boxing history when LeRoy Neiman’s 1974 “The Rumble in the Jungle” Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman original painting from The Don King Collection sold for $366,000, the most paid for a Neiman in more than a decade. Measuring 48 by 36 inches, the oil-on-board original served as promotional artwork for the legendary Kinshasa heavyweight championship bout and captures Ali’s Rope-a-Dope strategy in Neiman’s signature expressionist style.
A 1950 Bowman Jackie Robinson #22 PSA Mint 9 — one of just 12 examples in this grade, with only one graded higher — drew a winning bid of $329,400 to set a record for the card and for the entire set. Bowmans from the 1950s are elusive in high grades, in part because of the amount of time that has passed but also because many are stained by the wax and gum that were included in the packs.
The only Mint 9 example of a card that ranks among the most historically significant early baseball cards ever produced, an 1888 N28 Allen & Ginter Mike Kelly PSA Mint 9 more than doubled the record for the entire set at $317,200. The N28 Allen & Ginter issue holds a foundational place in the evolution of sports cards. Released as part of a multi-sport tobacco premium set titled “World’s Champions,” it features just 10 baseball players alongside figures from boxing, wrestling, and other late-19th-century pursuits.
Rounding out the marquee offerings was a 1939 Lou Gehrig Day (Luckiest Man Speech) New York Yankees Ticket Stub, PSA VG-EX 4 (MK), which realized $280,600, nearly doubling the previous record of $164,700 set at Heritage in 2025. One of just 10 examples authenticated by PSA from the Independence Day farewell ceremony at Yankee Stadium, the stub represents a tangible artifact from one of the most enduring speeches in American sports history.
Other top results included, but were not limited to:
• A 1998 SkyBox E-X 2001 Ken Griffey Jr. (Essential Credentials Now) #10 PSA Mint 9 - #'d 6/10: $280,600 — tying the record for the card that was set at Heritage in 2025
• One of just nine examples of a 1949 Bowman Satchell Paige Rookie #224 PSA Mint 9: $256,200 — a new record
• A 1990 Topps Frank Thomas (No Name on Front) Rookie #414 PSA Gem Mint 10, the only example carrying the lofty grade: $183,000
• A Period-Signed 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente #164 PSA VG-EX 4, PSA/DNA Auto 7 from the Golden Age Collection: $183,000 — a record for any signed Clemente card
• The finer of just two known examples of a 1863 Harry Wright Grand Match at Hoboken Benefit PSA Good 2, MBA Gold from the first set of baseball cards: $152,500 — a record for the card and the set
• A 1974 Topps Dave Winfield Rookie #456 PSA Gem Mint 10, one of 10 to earn the grade out of more than 10,000 PSA submissions: $106,750 — also a record for the card and the set
• A 1971-72 Dick Butkus Game Worn Chicago Bears Jersey: $106,750 — a record for any item from the legendary Chicago Bears linebacker
