DALLAS, TX.- It seems as if every time a milestone is deemed forever out of reach, Shohei Ohtani rises above and beyond it like one of his towering home runs.
Such was the case in Heritage’s March 29 Spring Sports Card Catalog Auction, in which a 2024 Topps 50/50 Shohei Ohtani (Dynasty Black-Autographed Relic Card) #SOD1 PSA Mint 9, PSA/DNA Auto 9 - #’d 1/1 soared to a record $1,067,500 to lead the event to $8,975,518.
The result crushed the previous record for an Ohtani card, nearly doubling the previous mark of $533,140. The card celebrates Ohtani becoming the first player ever to hit 50 or more home runs and steal 50 or more bases in the same season, and features the Major League Baseball logo from the pants he wore September 2024, the month in which he hit his 49th, 50th and 51st home runs and stole his 50th and 51st bases to establish a standard as the game’s greatest dual-threat weapon — a mark many assumed never would be achieved.
“Shohei Ohtani is baseball’s biggest star, and what he did when he reached 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season is one of the most remarkable accomplishments in the history of the game,” says Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage Auctions. “Many of the top results for sports cards are for a player’s rookie year, commemorating the start of a legendary career, but this card celebrates an accomplishment from his seventh season, which spotlights the enormity of his 50/50 season and his popularity as a global icon in the sport.”
In addition to the spectacular Ohtani card, the event included 12 more cards that reached six figures.
Ohtani is the game’s top current draw, but the greats of years past also fared exceptionally well in the auction.
A 1909-11 T206 Hindu Red Ty Cobb (Red Portrait) PSA VG-EX 4 that is tied for the highest grade among just six known examples climbed to $317,200. Even the Honus Wagner T206 is not as elusive as this card, which is prized in part because of the über-rare red “Hindu” advertising back, and even more scarce than the celebrated “Cobb/Cobb back” card.
This card was the headliner for a robust selection of 177 lots in the auction featuring T206 cards, a trove that also included the only PSA-graded example of a 1909-11 T206 Broad Leaf 460 Ty Cobb (Portrait-Red) PSA Poor 1 (MK) that reached $225,700, a 1914 Cracker Jack Honus Wagner #68 PSA VG-EX+ 4.5 ($79,300), a 1909-11 T206 White Border Partial Set (311 Different) With all Four Ty Cobb cards ($39,175) and one of the highest-graded examples of a 1914 Cracker Jack Napoleon Lajoie #66 PSA EX 5 ($15,250).
“The T206 set is one of the most important sets in all of sports card collecting,” says Ivy. “At 524 cards, the set is lovingly referred to as ‘The Monster’ and it represents the backbone of card collecting for the early 20th century as it is chock-full of early Hall of Fame players with beautiful lithographic images and scarce rarities.”
The finest example of a 1903 E107 Breisch-Williams Cy Young SGC EX 5 achieved $213,500 — a result befitting the hurler whose record of 511 career victories still stands as the all-time standard, a fireballer so dominant that the award given to the finest pitcher in each league bears his name.
A 1932 U.S. Caramel Lou Gehrig No. 26 PSA NM-MT 8 that is tied for the highest-graded example drew 49 bids before it closed at $152,500. Like the Yankees legend celebrated for his durability on the field, this card can be viewed as something of an Iron Horse of the caramel card league, surviving in magnificent condition when so many others that were affected by the included sweets before the packages were even opened.
One of just six examples of a 1973 Topps Nolan Ryan No. 220 PSA Gem Mint 10 sold for $124,440. Of more than 6,500 examples of this card celebrating the fireballer who holds the MLB records for strikeouts (5,714) and no-hitters (seven) in the PSA Pop Report, this example is one of just six carrying a GEM MINT grade.
Not surprisingly, the card that soared above the non-baseball offerings was a 1984 Star Co. Michael Jordan Rookie No. 101 BGS Mint 9 that leapt to $103,700. This card represents the true beginning of his career, predating the widely recognized 1986 Fleer release by two seasons, and is the only NBA-licensed Jordan rookie card from his debut season, solidifying its stature as one of the most historically significant basketball cards ever produced.
Jordan’s 1997 Upper Deck SPx (Grand Finale) #6 BGS NM-MT+ 8.5 - #'d 14/50 reached $88,450, as did a 1977 Topps Basketball PSA Graded Complete Set (132) - Ranked #4 All-Time Finest on the PSA Set Registry that included the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Wes Unseld, Bill Walton, Pete Maravich and John Lucas.
Other hoops heroes in the auction included LeBron James, whose 2007 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection (Limited Logos) #LL-LJ PSA Gem Mint 10 - #'d 02/50 drew a winning bid of $79,300, while his 2003 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection (Autograph) Rookie #127 PSA Gem Mint 10 - #'d 170/250 reached $61,000.
An extraordinary collection in the auction was the Clarke Hockey Dream Collection, a trove assembled by Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist Fred Clarke, who spent years supporting minor (amateur) hockey across the Canadian province of British Columbia. The collection includes more than 50 complete hockey card sets that were released over nearly four decades, and include cards featuring names that are considered rink royalty, with players like Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull, Henri Richard, Phil Esposito and Mario Lemieux.
Top lots from the collection included, but were not limited to:
• A 1951 Parkhurst Hockey Complete Set (105) : $41,480
• A 1964 Topps Hockey Complete Set (110): $14,640
Other top lots in the auction included, but were not limited to:
• A 1914 Cracker Jack Honus Wagner No. 68 PSA VG-EX+ 4.5: $79,300
• A 1951 Bowman Willie Mays Rookie No. 305 PSA NM 7: $46,360
• A 2004 Upper Deck SP Authentic LeBron James and Michael Jordan (SP Dual Signatures) #SP2JJ PSA Gem Mint 10: $45,140
