Don Larsen's Pefect Game Uniform Joins Curt Schilling's Bloody Sock on Auction Block

Don Larsen’s Pefect Game Uniform Joins Curt Schilling’s Bloody Sock on Auction Block

by NESN Staff on Mon, Oct 8, 2012 at 11:13PM

A few days ago it was reported that Curt Schilling may have to sell or give up the famed bloody sock that was a big part of the lore in the Red Sox' magical 2004 World Series run. Well, the jersey that Don Larsen wore exactly 56 years ago on Monday when he pitched a perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series for the Yankees over the Brooklyn Dodgers will join the sock on the auction block.

Word got out months ago that Larsen was considering selling the jersey to pay for his grandchildren's college funds, but on Monday Steiner Sports Memorabilia took advantage of the anniversary of the only perfect game — or no-hitter, for that matter — in World Series history to announce that the item is officially going up for sale.

"I've been thinking about it for a bit," Larsen told the Associated Press. "I'm not getting
any younger and I don't know how much longer I'll be around. I want to
make sure they can both go to college, which isn't cheap these days. So, I figured it was the right time."

There seems to be no good guess on how much the jersey will fetch, but a Babe Ruth-worn jersey sold for $4.4 million last year, so Steiner Sports has speculated that the Larsen uniform will get at least a cool million. Either way, it should be more than enough to pay for the education of Larsen's two grandchildren — and then some.

And, granted, the circumstances behind Larsen's auction are far more altruistic than Schilling's — who listed the sock as collateral in loans taken out to support his failed 38 Studios video game firm — but it still feels a little weird to have both items in the hands of private collectors than in a public museum. Of course, whoever buys them may decide to display them publicly, but should that be left up to chance with such one-of-a-kind relics of two of the biggest moments in sports history?

To quote Indiana Jones, "It belongs in a museum!"

Photo via Twitter/Yogi Berra Museum

Photo of the Night

Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol won't only be competing for touches this season, but apparently for the distinction of best pondering look, too.

Quote of the Night

"They could take away my life, they could make me out as a monster, they
could treat me as a monster, but they can't take away my heart. In my heart, I know I did not do these alleged
disgusting acts."
–Jerry Sandusky saying something most people probably won't believe.