Have you ever thought of becoming an athlete before, maybe in your high school days or even when you finished college?
As for me, I have always had it in mind from a very tender age. So many things fascinate me about athletes, from the fame to the comfortable and luxurious life they live. My interest grew when I surfed the Internet for real money pokies to stake on my favourite sports games. I would stumble on an athlete’s post and be like, wow!
Auctions: What Are They?
Of all the spotlights in an athlete’s career, the craziest one is when companies auction athletes’ items at ridiculously high prices. The athletes would have used these items at some point in their career years, but due to the fame, these items are sold at high prices to people who want to have them probably as a souvenir.
I used to see auction stories only in movies, but I was amazed when I heard it happens in reality. So this is how it works:
1. Some items are put up for sale by offering them in bids.
2. People bid for the items, i.e., they bid against each other.
3. As people continue to bid, someone in the gathering raises the bar by making a higher bid.
4. After some calculated time, the item is sold to the highest bidder.
This way, these athletes’ items are sold at very high prices to interested buyers. Athletes are one of the most influential people globally, so auction processes are familiar with their properties. In this article, we want to look at the most expensive athletes’ items that have been auctioned – record-breaking ones.
Let’s dive in!
Pele No. 10 Soccer Shirt at the 1970 World Cup Final
Pele is unarguably one of the best football players to have graced the planet Earth. People do not talk about his dribbling skills and goal-scoring ability about enough. The Brazilian forward is nicknamed ‘the greatest’ by FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association).
He is one of the most successful players of the 20th century. He won so many minor and major awards as a football player, including FIFA Player of the Century in 2000. These awards made him one of the most sought-after personalities in the sports world.
Pele, who wore the No. 10 shirt for Brazil during his playing years, participated in the 1970 world cup tournament. Brazil played against Mexico in the final round. The famous soccer player scored the first goal in the historical game.
After the game, Brazil defeated Mexico with a 4 to 1 scoreline, and he exchanged shirts with Roberto Rosato. The shirt was auctioned at Christie’s Auction House in England.
This shirt was sold at three times its predicted price. The final bid was $225,109, making it Guinness World Record’s most valuable soccer shirt.
Michael Jordan’s Final Game Shirt with Chicago Bulls
Michael Jeffery Jordan, popularly called MJ (his initials), is an American Basketball Player and businessman. On the official NBA website, MJ is called the greatest basketball player of all time. Even to date, fans still regard him like that because his contribution to the sport is unrivalled. His basketball career will go down as one of the most influential ever.
He captured the attention of lots of people to the sport. The 58-year-old man has dozens of major awards in basketball, some of which are in the Guinness Book of Records.
Jordan’s final basketball game with the Chicago Bulls was played against the New York Knicks. The game was played on April 18, 1998. In that game, MJ scored a total of 44 points. The jersey he wore in that match, with the iconic number 23, was auctioned for a final bid of $173 240.
Paul Henderson’s No. 19 Jersey at the Final Game in the 1972 Summer Series
Paul Garnet Henderson, a 78-year-old Canadian, is a professional Ice Hockey player. The left-winger played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and Atlanta Flames.
He played over a thousand games in two major leagues in the NHL. He has a total of 376 goals and 785 points to his name. Henderson is one of the most influential hockey players to have ever played the game.
Paul Henderson is highly recognized for leading Team Canada to victory in the 1972 summer series where they played against Soviet Russia. He made history the moment he scored the winning goal against the opponents.
His No. 19 jersey, worn during the legendary game, was auctioned at $1,270,000. Guinness World Records confirmed that the jersey was the most expensive hockey kit in the world at that time. Also, it was stated the most expensive jersey auctioned throughout the sports world at that time.
Muhammad Ali 1965 Fight Gloves against Floyd Patterson
Muhammad Ali – born Cassius Clay Jr – was an American Boxer, Entertainer, and Philanthropist, to mention a few. He is one of the most recognized famous figures in the 20th century. The popular activist is nicknamed The Greatest and ranked the best heavyweight boxer of all time. He won the world heavyweight championship in the year 1964.
Muhammad is sometimes regarded as the most famous athlete of all time. He was crowned the ‘Sports Personality of the Century’ by BBC and ‘Sportsman of the Century by Sports illustrated.
On November 22, 1965, Muhammad defended his title as the heavyweight champion against Floyd Patterson. It was a historic fight that lasted 12 rounds and ended in a technical knockout. The gloves Muhammad wore during their fight were auctioned for $1,100,000. It currently stands as the most expensive Muhammad’s items ever sold during an auction.
Muhammad had other fight gloves from historic clashes estimated to cost more than the Patterson fight gloves, but they are not available for auction yet, so those fight gloves still hold the record.
Babe Ruth’s 1923 Yankee Stadium Run Bat
George Herman Ruth was an American Baseball player who played for 22 seasons in the Major League Baseball (MBL) from 1914 to 1935. He is nicknamed ‘Babe,’ ‘The Sultan of Swat,’ and ‘The Bambino.’
He started his career as a left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox team. He rose to fame as an outfielder for the New York Yankees team. Babe Ruth has over a dozen career awards and is considered the best baseball player of all time. Babe Ruth has so much memorabilia that he ranks as top expensive athletes’ items for auction.
The bat used by Babe Ruth in the first-ever game in the Yankee stadium has the record of the most expensive bat of all time by Guinness World Records. Surprisingly, it is the first and the only bat to make this list. The bat was auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York for $1,265,000.
The bat is iconic because it hit the first home run in the stadium against Ruth’s former team and rivals. That game popularized Yankee stadium worldwide, and today, it is recognized for its immense success.
