T206 Honus Wagner ‘Holy Grail’ Card Leads Heritage Fall Sports Catalog Auction

One of the most famous baseball cards ever produced is returning to the auction block, with a 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner leading Heritage Auctions’ Fall Sports Catalog Auction scheduled for October 23 through October 25. The card is a T206 White Border Sweet Caporal 150/25 Honus Wagner graded PSA Authentic (Restored). Heritage describes the Wagner as the “foundational trophy of baseball card collecting,” a reputation built around both the Hall of Famer pictured on the front and the card’s famously brief production run. This example will be only the sixth T206 Wagner Heritage has ever offered.

Heritage has already seen multimillion-dollar results for the rarity. A T206 Piedmont Wagner graded SGC Authentic sold through the auction house for $5.856 million. That card is one of only three known Wagner examples carrying the Piedmont advertising back, and Heritage says the result remains the highest price ever paid for a Wagner card graded Authentic.

“The T206 Wagner is the foundational trophy of baseball card collecting,” says Chris Ivy, Heritage’s Director of Sports Auctions. “His status as one of the greatest players in the history of the game is beyond debate, and the fact that the production of the card was so brief makes it an absolute must-have for the most serious of collectors. The past results for the card at Heritage Auctions have underscored what has been known throughout the collecting community for generations: that the chance to acquire a T206 Wagner is an opportunity that simply can not be missed.”

The Wagner is joined by another piece from baseball’s earliest collecting history: a ticket from Game 1 of the 1903 World Series. Heritage says only two examples are known. The ticket comes from the first World Series game ever played, between the Boston Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates at Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds, and is connected to the first victory and first home run in World Series history.

Modern cards make up a substantial part of the auction as well. Michael Jordan is represented in 148 lots, including five different 1998 Upper Deck cards containing patches from game-worn Jordan jerseys. Each of the five cards is being offered separately and also carries Jordan’s autograph. Upper Deck produced six varieties, with the sixth version having sold at Heritage for $219,600 in September.

Shohei Ohtani appears across 97 lots encompassing signed cards, baseballs, photographs and tickets. One of the biggest is a 2018 Topps Transcendent Japan Autographs Red Ohtani rookie numbered 1-of-1. The card is graded BGS Gem Mint 9.5 with a Beckett Auto 10 and comes from a release for which Topps produced only 50 boxes. The unique Red parallel was one of the rarest cards created for the product. Other Ohtani cards highlighted by Heritage include a 2018 Topps Chrome Gold Wave Refractor Rookie Autograph numbered 50/50 and graded PSA 10 with a PSA/DNA 10 autograph, a 2018 Finest Gold Refractor rookie autograph numbered to 50, and a 2018 Bowman Chrome Rookie Autograph.

The auction also reaches well beyond baseball and basketball. A 1985-88 Intercontinental Championship wrestling belt used during the era of Tito Santana, Randy “Macho Man” Savage, Ricky Steamboat and The Honky Tonk Man is heading to auction for the first time. Heritage says the belt was also part of the celebrated Savage-Steamboat match at WrestleMania III. Other wrestling memorabilia includes a Gorgeous George match-worn robe and a signed Stone Cold Steve Austin match-worn knee brace.

Babe Ruth is represented by several pieces, including a 1933 Goudey No. 144 card graded PSA EX-MT 6, a 1920 original photograph by Paul Thompson graded PSA/DNA Type 1 and a 1946-47 single-signed baseball graded PSA/DNA NM 7.

Heritage is even offering a group of oversized promotional football “nodders” from the 1960-61 NFL season. The 14-inch papier-mache figures were created as retail displays and are described by Heritage as predecessors to modern bobbleheads. Examples representing Washington, the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers are included in the auction.

Heritage’s Fall Sports Catalog Auction runs October 23 through October 25.