When Willie Mays died on June 18 at 93 years old, the “Say Hey Kid” left a massive void in the baseball community and sports world. Tributes poured out across the country and during MLB’s game at Rickwood Field, intended to honor Mays’ storied career and the Negro Leagues.
When it comes to collectibles, there are not many Mays pieces out there, but some rare items exist from the MLB legend’s playing days. A Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) Type I photo of a 20-year-old Mays during his debut with the New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants) in 1951 sold at Goldin Auctions for $12,063 with Goldin’s 22% buyer premium. Twenty-one bids were placed on the photo, and the buyer has not been revealed. Bidding on the photo ended June 29.
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An auction for a game-used MacGregor KC1P glove Mays used from 1970-72 did not meet its reserve—the minimum price a seller would accept from the buyer—and was not sold. That minimum price is unknown at this time. Five bids were placed on the glove, with the highest being $85,000 without buyer premium. The glove auction concluded July 14; the date was delayed a day “most likely” because of the shots fired during former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Penn., Saturday evening, which has classified as an assassination attempt, a Goldin Auctions spokesperson told Sportico via text.
In consideration of recent breaking news with today’s events, we are changing our “King of Collectibles” Auction close date to tomorrow night, Sunday, July 14th. Open Extended Bidding will now start tomorrow night at 10 PM ET. pic.twitter.com/WC1coQXmer
— Goldin (@GoldinCo) July 13, 2024
Ken Goldin, CEO and founder of Goldin Auctions, believes Mays memorabilia has been historically undervalued.
“When a player passes away, the value of their memorabilia will typically increase and in many instances, that value is maintained,” Goldin wrote in an email. “Autographed memorabilia is more common but there is now a finite amount of items that will ever include a Mays signature, and it is critical to make sure any signatures are authenticated.”
The Mays photo—which, according to the item description, was the first Mays rookie debut photo to hit the market—fell below Goldin’s estimate of $25,000. Type I photos are rare because they are known for being the original image. PSA calls a Type I image “developed from the original negative, within approximately two years of when the picture was taken.” While condition matters, so does the image itself.
“This one comes from Mays’ first Major League game. Debut photographs are some of the most sought-after photos and are similar to trading cards in this way,” Goldin said. He added the photo came to the auction house as part of a larger Mays collection before his passing.
Goldin estimated the glove—which came from the personal collection of MLB Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who consigned it with Goldin Auctions—would have sold for $150,000. It sits on a wooden podium that lists Mays’ accolades of being a 1954 World Series Champion, two-time NL MVP, 1951 NL Rookie of the Year, 24-time all-star, 12-time Gold Glove winner, two-time all-star game MVP, a 1979 hall of fame inductee and owner of 660 career home runs.
Mays and Jackson never played on the same team—except during All-Star games—but faced off several times during their careers. Goldin said collectors would “truly appreciate” that the glove came directly from Jackson, but it may not have affected the overall value.
Goldin Auctions’ experts have never seen a rookie debut photo of Babe Ruth (1914), Lou Gehrig (1923), Joe DiMaggio (1936) or Ted Williams (1939) for sale. Auction house Lelands sold a Type 1 Ruth photo from 1915 when the “Bambino” was on the Boston Red Sox for $99,822, including buyer premium, on June 29.
Trading cards of Mays have always circulated and Ryan Hoge, PSA president, said via email that PSA has graded more than 170,000 Mays cards to date. He believes the value of a Mays card has increased since he’s passed.
“He did sign a ton of cards relative to others,” Hoge said. “What’s unique is that his autograph changed from early career to late. His early career signature cards command a premium from collectors.”
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