Picked up a grail from the Ted Williams auction

I took the drive from Bar Harbor, Maine to Boston yesterday for the Ted Williams auction. After 12 hours of driving/T riding and 5 hours of sitting at the auction, I was dead tired by the time I got home.

As you can imagine, the bidding was strong and fast. Tons of the items went for over auction estimate, some went WAY over. There were no shortage of bidders or money for this auction. Seeing Ted's MVP award sell for $260,000 was amazing. I've never been to an auction of this magnitude, so it was really cool to watch.

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I went with one lot in mind and after I got there and heard the prices, I never thought I would get it. There was a bat from the 1983-85 labeling period that was believed to be used by Ted while giving hitting instructions at Fenway. There is no way I could afford a Ted gamer, so this was the next best thing for someone with my collecting budget.


The bat I wanted was estimated $500-1000, but after seeing an Old Timers game uniform that was estimated $1000-2000 go for $5000 before buyers premium and tax, I thought there is NO way I will get the bat.

Well, I was wrong! I got the bat for $950 before BP and tax, a price I was very happy with. No, it's not a real gamer, but it came directly from Ted's collection, he used it and that's what matters most to me. Needless to say, I'm pretty happy.

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And just a few other pics of the items being auctioned.

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Incredible pick-up... Congrats on the nice win. I'd say that was a good price for coach-used item.

Nice pickup! Way to go in with big boys and come out of the auction with an item and your shirt still on!

Very cool!

Teddy Ballgame. One of a kind. Congratulations.

Nice pickup there for sure. Being able to tell the story ad having purchased it directly from the Williams auctions will make it worth every bit of that price.

Thanks for the pics; it must have been an awesome experience. :D

Great bat! Congrats!!

Congrats - great item. Sitting around all day at auctions can feel tedious but when the hammer falls and you are the high bidder, it is a nice feeling!

We only came away with 2 lots and had a couple dozen strong absentee bids. The prices were strong but most of the material warranted those numbers.

I do think some of the signed photos and balls sold for well above market value but buyers probably like the idea of having an item straight from the Williams Estate as opposed to a third party seller of similar material.

Thank you all for the kind words.

Going to an auction this big and being able to bid was a rush. It was fun watching the other stuff sell and seeing the prices, but when this bat came up, I was hyper focused. Butterflies in my stomach, heart pounding, palms sweaty, what a rush! For me, it was a once in a lifetime experience.

I was glad to walk out with money in my pocket. I have a small stash of cash for the National (another first for me) and this purchase came out of that stash. It was well worth it though. And besides, I can just sell a few items to make some of that money back.



I agree with you shafrancollectibles.com, the prices reflected the material being offered. I do believe that if anyone was buying to resell, they are going to have a hard time making money. I see someone is selling signed checks on Ebay already, but they are asking WAY too much for them.

That's such a great story about your splinter from the "Splendid Splinter." It's also fitting since he loved Maine so much--fitting that something of his has gone home.

Dave Silverbrand

Congrats on the great-looking bat! I love hearing about fellow collectors experiences too. Glad things worked out well for you.

Congrats a cool story to go with a great item, I only know how you feel that's great!