Heritage Auctions’ $62.9 Million Summer Platinum Night Becomes Highest-Grossing Sports Auction of All Time

Heritage Auctions has set a new record for the sports collectibles market, with its August 21-23 Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction realizing $62,963,254 to become the highest-grossing sports auction ever held.

The three-day sale broke the previous record of $61,645,972, which Heritage established with its own Summer Platinum Night auction in 2024. That sale was headlined by the Babe Ruth jersey photo-matched to his famous “Called Shot” home run in the 1932 World Series. Heritage said this year’s auction also established more than 200 individual auction records across sports cards, game-worn memorabilia and other collectibles.

“This was a landmark event for the entire sports-collecting hobby, bringing together extraordinary material from across generations and virtually every major collecting category,” said Heritage Director of Sports Auctions Chris Ivy. He added that the number of individual records reflected the quality of the material and the confidence of collectors competing for high-end sports pieces.

The biggest price of the weekend came from one of the most famous cards in the hobby. As previously reported by CollectiblesNews.com, a 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner with the rare Piedmont advertising back sold for $5,856,000. The SGC Authentic card is one of only three known Piedmont-backed Wagners and established a record for a Wagner carrying an Authentic grade.

Another hobby heavyweight followed close behind. As also reported by CollectiblesNews.com, a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 graded PSA NM-MT 8 sold for $3,721,000, setting a record for the grade and beating the previous high by more than $1.2 million. The card also carried an additional Mike Baker designation that helped distinguish it within an already small group of high-grade examples.

The auction’s biggest soccer result came from the Adidas Azteca ball used during Argentina’s 1986 World Cup quarterfinal against England. Photo-matched to both Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” and “Goal of the Century,” the ball sold for $3,355,000. Heritage said the price established a record for any non-jersey soccer item.

Babe Ruth supplied another seven-figure card sale. A 1933 Goudey Ruth #181 graded PSA Mint 9 realized $1,525,000. Heritage said only six examples have reached PSA 9, with just one graded higher.

Game-worn memorabilia was a major part of the record total as well. A 1963 Sandy Koufax Los Angeles Dodgers jersey sold for $1,311,500 after being photo-matched to several moments from his historic season, including his 20th victory and Game 4 of the World Series. A signed Kobe Bryant Lakers jersey from his first season wearing No. 24 brought $747,250, while Muhammad Ali’s photo-matched robe from the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila” sold for $549,000.

Michael Jordan was responsible for another of the auction’s seven-figure card results. A 2006 Fleer Michael Jordan 1986 Rookie buyback autograph card, numbered 11/23 and graded BGS 8.5 with a BAS 10 autograph, sold for $1,204,750. Fleer had taken 23 original examples of Jordan’s famous rookie card and turned them into signed buybacks for the 2006 promotion.

Other notable sales included a basketball net photo-matched to Michael Jordan’s legendary 63-point playoff performance at Boston Garden sold for $164,700, and a Hulk Hogan WWF World Heavyweight Championship belt from the height of Hulkamania sold for $414,800.