A program from the first Baseball Hall of Fame induction, signed by all 11 of the inductees from the first three classes who were alive at the time, sold Saturday night at Lelands for a whopping $315,426.
The sale broke a 14-year-old record for the highest price ever paid for a program, which was the $241,500 a collector paid for a program from the first World Series (1903) in 2011.
The 11 players who signed the 1939 program included Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner, Cy Young, Tris Speaker, Grover Alexander, Nap Lajoie, George Sisler, Eddie Collins and Connie Mack.
The first Hall of Fame induction brought the classes of 1936, 1937, 1938 and 1939 together for the first time in Cooperstown.
Lelands said the parents of the consignor purchased two programs and raced to see who could get all 11 Hall of Famers. His mother won, as Ty Cobb, who arrived late for the ceremony, proved to be the lone challenge.
“He said ‘Yes,’” the consignor told the auction house, “but only if she gave him a kiss. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, but as she pulled away, he kissed her. When signing he said ‘Well, since I got two kisses, I’ll sign it twice.’”
This is the first time a program with all 11 Hall of Famers has surfaced. A baseball signed by all 11 sold at Lelands in 2019 for $236,389.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.