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Earliest Known Babe Ruth Pinstripes — 4/13/1921 Babe Ruth NY Yankees Opening Day Game-Used Flannel Pants (Multiple Photomatches)(5-for-5 Performance)

These are without question the earliest Babe Ruth game-used pinstripe uniform article ever offered, therefore making them quite iconic as the man himself. Inside the rear waistband of these enormous pants is the “A.G. Spalding Bros” manufacturer’s tag. Directly below is the player’s name, “Ruth” embroidered in red chain stitch script-style lettering in single-ply indicating early 1920’s (In the mid-1920’s, the embroidery was done in a much thicker manner). The pants measure to a size “42” waist and are 38 inches in length. They were worn in The Babe’s “skinnier” days as Ruth is often visualized as robust, to say the least. The rear pockets are fully intact. The front left belt loop is detached at the top. The front right belt loop was also detached and repaired at an angle. There is one belt loop covering the top button which makes the pants an undeniable photomatch as pinstripes are like fingerprints. There is heavy sweat staining inside the rear waistband and two large team period repairs as well as one smaller team repair visible on the rear of each leg. There is also evidence of dirt staining on both legs. Eight and a half inches of additional matching pinstripe flannel material has been added to the length of each leg by the Yankees, custom-made for Ruth. The extra length was needed so The Babe could roll them up and tuck them into his navy blue stirrup socks. This is evidenced by a photo of Ruth wearing these very pants tucked into his stirrups posing with Frank “Home Run” Baker on April 13, 1921, Opening Day at the Polo Grounds. The Bambino went 5-for-5 with two RBI that afternoon in an 11-1 rout of the Philadelphia Athletics. Multiple photos from this era show Ruth wearing these pants, clearly indicating that they were a staple of his early years as a New York Yankee. The provenance of these pants is impeccable; they originally came from Claire Ruth in 1974. The pants show outstanding game-use and other than the aforementioned, appear to have no further alterations of any kind. A true piece of American and baseball history that you can reach out and touch; directly linked to the greatest player of all time—George Herman “Babe” Ruth.

We will be holding our seventh annual live auction at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. on Friday, September 7^th, 2012. The auction is part of the weekend of ceremonies honoring the new class of Hall of Fame Inductee’s which include Reggie Miller, Don Nelson, Jamaal Wilkes, Phil Knight and several others. Featured are 120 lots of the finest collection of Premier basketball treasures ever assembled at auction. Each lot sold in this sale will be accompanied by a letter from the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Leading the pack are ten game-used jerseys from the 1991 NBA All-Star Game, each being accompanied by a letter of authenticity hand-signed by NBA Commissioner David Stern. Players game-used jerseys included are Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, each already surpassing their respective reserves of $25,000. The jerseys were purchased at half time of the 1991 NBA All-Star Game with the proceeds going to help our troops overseas; impeccable provenance to say the least.

Another incredible lot is the game-used jersey of Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer, Jerry West. The jersey was worn by “Mr. Clutch” during the early 1960’s and features a rare script-style “Los Angeles” front. With a reserve of $10,000, this gem is sure to attract a lot of attention.

An extremely rare treasure is up next: Walter Davis’ 1976 Men’s Basketball Olympic Gold Medal. The United States defeated Yugoslavia to take home the Gold during our bicentennial. The provenance is absolute, being accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Walter Davis himself. The reserve is $10,000 on this featured lot.

There will be no shortage of bidders for the 1967-68 Connie Hawkins Inaugural ABA Season Rookie Pittsburgh Pipers Game-Used Home Jersey. This may be the crown jewel for American Basketball Association (ABA) collectors as this shirt is photomatched to Hawkins’ Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and World Championship Season of 1967-68 with the Pipers and is sourced from the team’s trainer. Carrying a reserve of $10,000, it’s a true piece of basketball history nearly half a century old.

The personal collection of Minneapolis Lakers Great and NBA Hall of Famer Vern Mikkelsen is offered featuring several iconic pieces; his 1951 NBA Western Conference All-Star Game-Used Jersey from the Inaugural All-Star Game and his Early 1950’s Minneapolis Lakers Worn Road Shooting Shirt with "10,000 Lakes" on back, an extremely rare style. Each has a $5,000 reserve bid. The collection comes to Grey Flannel from Mikkelsen himself and in turn, each lot featured will be accompanied by his letter of authenticity.

Championship jewelry is well represented with Robert Parish’s Boston Celtics Championship Ring from 1983-84. The ring was presented to the Hall of Fame Center upon the team defeating the Los Angeles Lakers and giving the Celtics franchise its fifteenth Championship. The reserve on this one of a kind item is $10,000, being accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Robert Parish.

While we are speaking of Boston Celtics legends, Sam Jones 1964-65 Celtics Championship Trophy is featured in this blockbuster auction. Originating from the man himself and accompanied by his letter of authenticity, this incredible trophy was presented to the Hall of Famer by the team and carries a reserve of $5,000.

Among the remaining lots are a photomatched 1974-75 Bill Walton Rookie Portland Trailblazers Game-Used & Autographed Home Uniform, a Circa 1968 Dave Cowens Florida State University Worn Shooting Shirt accompanied by a Cowens Letter of authenticity, a photomatched Circa 1966 Rick Barry Rookie Era San Francisco Warriors Game-Used Home Jersey accompanied by a Rick Barry letter of authenticity and a 1977-78 David Thompson Denver Nuggets Game-Used & Autographed Road Jersey Attributed to his 73 Point Performance on April 9, 1978.

Absentee bidding is currently underway at www.greyflannelauctions.com. Bidding will culminate live at the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, September 7^th with each lot closing in succession beginning at 1pm EST. For additional information or to receive an auction catalog, please call 631-288-7800, ext. 223 or e-mail info@GreyFlannelAuctions.com.

Press coverage of Grey Flannel Auctions' 7th Annual Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Catalog and its 1976 Gold Medal have gotten the attention of some of the biggest and most prestigious media outlets in the world.

Ex-NBA All-Star Walter Davis to auction Olympic gold medal | Going once, going twice ... Here's your chance to join Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and even Christian Laettner as an Olympic men's basketball gold medalist. Walter Davis, a six-time NBA All-Star and the Phoenix Suns' all-time leading scorer, is auctioning off the medal he won as part of the 1976 U.S. gold medal team. It's part of Grey Flannel Auctions' Seventh Annual Basketball Hall of Fame induction Auction, which will take place live from Springfield, Mass... (By Ben Golliver | NBA Blogger)