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Icons of the Game: Historic Sports Memorabilia from the Greatest to Ever Play
On 20 July, the Summer Sports Marquee Auction closes. Here are the lots to bid on or bookmark now, all touched by the GOATs.
Whether you’re following the FIFA World Cup this summer, counting down the days until the return of football season, or still dreaming about the Knicks finally bringing a championship back to New York, summer offers something for every sports fan. But the season alone can’t bring you what our Summer Sports Marquee sale is delivering next week: memorabilia from some of the greatest athletes to ever get in the game. There's a basketball dribbled by Michael Jordan, a ring that belonged to Kobe Bryant, sneakers worn by Serena Williams, Wayne Gretzky’s gear, and a ball signed by baseball legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. This week’s Shortlist is a curated collection of items you can bid on or bookmark now—don’t let someone else beat you to the punch.
Michael Jordan's “I’m Back” Basketball
Few phrases in sports history have carried as much weight as Michael Jordan's two-word announcement on 18 March, 1995: “I’m Back.” This limited edition Wilson basketball, numbered 21/1995 and signed by Jordan, commemorates the return that reignited the Chicago Bulls dream team. After a brief retirement and a stint in minor league baseball, Jordan’s comeback transformed the NBA landscape, setting the stage for three more championships and cementing his status as the greatest basketball player of his generation.
Serena Williams's 2018 Wimbledon Sneakers
Speaking of comebacks, these NikeCourt Flare 2 sneakers tell the story of one of the most moving examples in modern sport. Worn by Serena Williams during her run to the 2018 Wimbledon final, the shoes have been photomatched to both her first-round victory over Arantxa Rus and her fourth-round win against Evgeniya Rodina. Though she lost in the final, Williams was competing less than a year after giving birth to her daughter and surviving life-threatening medical complications—how many champions can say that? Dual-signed and authenticated, these sneakers represent a defining chapter in the career of one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig Signed Baseball
Baseball has produced many great partnerships, but few have captured the public imagination quite like the one between Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. This baseball, signed by both Yankees legends, celebrates the duo that anchored the famed “Murderers’ Row” lineup. Signed during the Yankees’ legendary 1927 season, the ball commemorates a team that won 110 games and swept the World Series en route to becoming the gold standard of baseball excellence. Nearly a century later, Ruth and Gehrig remain symbols of the sport’s golden age.
Kobe Bryant's 2000 NBA All-Star Ring
Before the championships, his MVP win, and Hall of Fame legacy, a young Kobe Bryant was a rising basketball star. Presented to Bryant following the 2000 NBA All-Star Game in Oakland, this ring marks a pivotal moment in his ascent from phenom to superstar. At just 21 years old, Bryant scored 22 points for the Western Conference. Later that same season, he helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the first of three consecutive NBA championships. Accompanied by a letter from Bryant's mother, Pamela Bryant, this ring captures the beginning of one of basketball's most celebrated careers.
Gretzky: Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings Gloves
Wayne Gretzky's 1993 playoff run with the Los Angeles Kings produced some of the finest hockey of his legendary career. These game-used and signed gloves were worn during the games that propelled the Kings to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history. Gretzky saved his finest performance for the series’ dramatic closers, including a Game 7 masterpiece—that he later called the greatest game of his career—which featured a hat trick and an assist.
