DALLAS, TX.- As always with one of Heritage's Sports auctions, extraordinary history and unassailable rarities draw the collector's attention every which way thanks to the more than 2,800 pieces representing every sport and every decade in which professional games have been played. And every legend, too — from Ted Williams' Sultan of Swat Crown to signed pieces from Pelé's collection to a photo-matched pair of LeBron James' rookie-season sneakers. One could crack the spine on the May 11-13 Sports Catalog Auction and start with what has long been one of The Hobby's holy-moly Holy Grails: 73 high-grade 1952 Topps baseball cards pedigreed from The Lionel Carter Collection, so named for the man who famously accumulated only the very best of the very best.

In The Hobby, at least, Carter's name is better known than most of the players on these cards – Ken Raffensberger, say, or Dick Kryhoski. He was a connoisseur among collectors, among the first to concentrate solely on well-centered, well-struck baseball cards with the highest grades. Most of his assemblage went straight from wax packs into his albums, where they remained until their auction debut 16 years ago.

Carter's 1952 Topps collection alone consisted of what was likely the most extensive single assortment of Mint and Gem Mint cards from that historic set. Sharp corners, white borders, bright colors, shiny surfaces — every one of his cards looked like it came from a 5-cent wax pack just this morning. Most of the 73 cards offered here are the highest-graded examples.

"I expect the 1952 Topps cards from The Carter Collection are going to rewrite the record books for commons cards from the 1952 Topps set," says Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage.

This wax box of 1962 Topps Baseball (First Series) cards, with 24 unopened packs, is no less dizzying. This green cardboard treasure chest is so rare Heritage has never before offered one, and the Baseball Card Exchange says this is the first 1962 Topps baseball box they can recall authenticating in a decade.

Some of baseball's rarest cards make their auction debuts at Heritage in May: a select group of signed baseball Exhibits cards from the 1920s. A father and son bought them in the 1970s and only now part with this estimable collection that includes cards autographed by Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson and a 1925 rookie card signed by Lou Gehrig that's one of just a handful known to exist. The remainder of the extensive, historic and sought-after signed Exhibits collection will be offered in the coming months.

The memorabilia is no less extensive or impressive, beginning with an astonishing assortment of collectibles, including LeBron's rookie sneakers and a lifetime's worth of memories owned by soccer's supreme legend, Pelé.

In this event are pair of sneakers making their auction debut: the very shoes on King James' feet when he played only his second game in the National Basketball Association. Photo-matching reveals James laced up these size-15 Nike Air Zoom Generations on Oct. 30, 2003, when the 19-year-old Cleveland Cavalier dropped 21 points against the Phoenix Suns, beginning his two-decade-long march toward the NBA's all-time career points record once held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

As the catalog notes of these Nikes, "This is unquestionably one of the most important artifacts of 21st-century sports ever to be placed upon the hobby's auction block."

"LeBron's second-game sneakers are just one of the incontestable highlights of the May 11-13 Sports Catalog Auction, which is rich in history," says Chris Ivy, Heritage's Director of Sports Auctions. "Collectors won't have to wait until the Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction in August to spring into action given the varied and valuable memorabilia available in May, which includes tools of the trade used by such icons as Tiger Woods and Ted Williams, with gamers worn into battle by some of the best to play any game and a historic collection spanning the extraordinary career of a man who transcended his sport: Pelé."

The Pelé Collection is more than just a great representation of his decades-long career, which spanned his first of three World Cup victories in 1958 (when he was just 17) through the 1981 film Victory, which proved soccer was big enough for Rocky to play it. As The New York Times put it upon his death in December at 82, Pele was a national treasure in his native Brazil and a worldwide celebrity who made soccer popular in the United States. This collection, available in one place for the first and last time, includes some of his rarest trading cards and other memorabilia – photos, jerseys, pennants and programs – all owned by the man born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in poverty-stricken Brazil in 1940. Pelé signed each piece with accompanying video footage; to further ensure their authenticity, PSA witnessed and slabbed each piece with a prestigious pedigree, The Pelé Collection.

Among the items autographed by Pelé: a copy of Diego Maradona's limited-edition book The Maradona Opus, making this the only known edition signed by both men; a 1966 "Best Footballer In The World" original photo; a 2022 Neymar Barcelona Football Club jersey; a 1977 New York Cosmos pennant and numerous other one-of-a-kind items.

The offerings from Ted Williams are no less notable, chief among them the Babe Ruth Sultan of Swat Award Crown awarded to the Splendid Splinter in 1957. This crown, befitting the last MLB player to bat over .400 in a season, came from Williams' estate and hasn't been seen since it was auctioned in 2012. It's a jewel among jewels, which includes the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ring presented to Ted Williams on July 25, 1966.

The ring, which comes with the original Balfour box and the cardboard packaging upon which Williams wrote, "Hall of fame ring," weighs just 30 grams, but it is heavy with such profound history. So, too, is the 35-ounce Hillerich & Bradsby bat Williams used in 1946 during his American League MVP and championship season.

Also featured here is a St. Louis Cardinals game-worn and signed jersey that has just been photo-matched to June 12, 1957 — the same game during which its wearer, Stan Musial, set the National League consecutive-games-played record when the man called The Man played in his 823rd straight game. The road-gray flannel was already significant: The Cards' outfield wore it during the last of his seven seasons as the National League's batting champion, his .351 average besting runner-up Willie Mays by 18 points. Now, befitting this majestic May auction, it's flat-out historic.