T206 HONUS WAGNER AND 1952 TOPPS MICKEY MANTLE AMONG HUNDREDS OF RECORD-SETTING RESULTS
By Steve Lansdale | September 17, 2026
Heritage Auctions’ August 21-23 Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction rewrote the record books across the collecting world, realizing $62,963,254 — making it the largest sports auction ever held. The total broke the previous record for the world’s largest sports auction, set in 2024 when Heritage’s Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction, which featured the photo-matched jersey Babe Ruth wore when he hit his “Called Shot” home run in the 1932 World Series, achieved $61,645,972.
“This was a landmark event for the entire sports-collecting hobby, bringing together extraordinary material from across generations and virtually every major collecting category,” says Chris Ivy, Heritage’s Director of Sports Auctions. “The record-setting auction total and more than 200 individual auction records reflect both the exceptional quality of the offerings and the remarkable passion and confidence of collectors around the world who see Heritage as their priority destination for top sports collectibles.”
One of only three known, this 1909-11 T206 Piedmont Honus Wagner SGC Authentic sold for $5,856,000 in Heritage’s August 21-23 Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction.
More than 200 auction records were established during the three-day event, led by one of the hobby’s ultimate rarities: a 1909-11 T206 Piedmont Honus Wagner SGC Authentic, one of just three known with the prized Piedmont advertising back, which realized $5,856,000. The result set a record as the highest price ever paid for any Wagner card graded Authentic. The T206 Wagner that topped the auction occupies an extraordinary place even within the tiny surviving population of the hobby’s so-called “Holy Grail.” Nearly all known Wagners carry a Sweet Caporal advertising back.
“Every T206 Honus Wagner is a cornerstone of the hobby, but this card stands apart even within that legendary group,” Ivy says. “Its status as one of just three known examples with a Piedmont back, combined with provenance that reaches back to the earliest days of the organized baseball-card market, makes it an extraordinary artifact. The $5.856 million result confirms that collectors recognize the profound rarity and historical significance of this remarkable card.”
This 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 PSA NM-MT 8 – MBA Silver realized $3,721,000 in Heritage’s August auction.
The Wagner was followed by a spectacular 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 PSA NM-MT 8 – MBA Silver, which sold for $3,721,000, setting a record for the PSA 8 grade and surpassing the previous mark by more than $1.2 million. The card’s PSA NM-MT 8 grade already places it among the finest surviving examples of the most coveted postwar baseball card, while its additional Mike Baker “Diamond” designation further separates it within the grade. Just 14 examples have received a higher PSA grade. A PSA NM 7 example drew 53 bids on its way to $716,750.
On the heels of this summer’s FIFA World Cup, one of the most famous objects in global sports history — the photo-matched 1986 Diego Maradona “Hand of God” and “Goal of the Century” game-used soccer ball — realized $3,355,000, a record for any non-jersey soccer item. Maradona’s influence extended beyond the record-setting match ball. A 1979 Panini Calciatori Maradona #312 PSA Gem Mint 10 – MBA Silver realized $225,700, establishing a record for any Maradona card. The example stands alone at the top of PSA’s population report.
The auction’s fourth seven-figure card result belonged to Babe Ruth. A 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #181 PSA Mint 9 realized $1,525,000. Just six examples have reached that grade, with only one certified higher. The card comes from Goudey’s landmark 240-card issue, one of the foundational releases of the Bubble Gum era and a set that featured Ruth four different times.
Game-worn material also supplied several of the auction’s defining results.
A 1963 Sandy Koufax game-worn Los Angeles Dodgers jersey, graded MEARS A8.5 and photo-matched to multiple moments from one of the greatest pitching seasons in baseball history, sold for $1,311,500. The jersey has been matched to Koufax’s 20th victory of the 1963 season and to Game 4 of the World Series, when he defeated the Yankees to complete the Dodgers’ sweep. It was also matched to imagery from the filming of the classic Mr. Ed episode “Leo Durocher Meets Mister Ed.”
Michael Jordan remained one of the auction’s strongest draws. A 2006 Fleer Michael Jordan 1986 Rookie Buyback Autograph #57 BGS NM-MT+ 8.5, BAS Auto 10, numbered 11/23, realized $1,204,750. Fleer originally issued Jordan’s iconic rookie unsigned before selecting 23 examples for a 2006 autograph promotion, creating one of the most coveted signed versions of the card. Another extraordinary Jordan rarity, the 2004 SP Game-Used Authentic Fabrics Dual Michael Jordan/Isiah Thomas Dual-Logos 1/1, realized $869,250. The one-of-one card pairs game-used NBA logo patches from the two Hall of Famers whose Bulls-Pistons rivalry defined the Eastern Conference in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
This 2004 SP Game-Used Authentic Fabrics Dual Michael Jordan/Isiah Thomas Dual-Logos 1/1 sold for $869,250 in Heritage’s August 21-23 Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction.
A 1915 Cracker Jack Joe Jackson #103 PSA NM-MT 8 brought $747,250. Only two examples have ever graded higher, underscoring the difficulty of finding the fragile issue in such remarkable condition. That same price, $747,250, was realized by a photo-matched and signed 2006-07 Kobe Bryant game-worn Los Angeles Lakers jersey from his first season wearing No. 24. MeiGray matched the jersey to numerous games during Bryant’s 31.6-point-per-game campaign, including contests in which he scored 45 against Washington, 35 against Philadelphia, and 34 against San Antonio.
Modern baseball supplied another major result when a 2024 Topps Now Shohei Ohtani Inscribed Autograph Gold #722B PSA Gem Mint 10, numbered 1/1, realized $686,250. The card commemorates Ohtani’s September 19, 2024, performance in Miami, when he became the first player in Major League Baseball history to reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season. Ohtani inscribed the card “50/50 Club 9/19/24.”
Fight-worn, signed, and photo-matched, this 1975 Muhammad Ali ‘Thrilla in Manila’ robe realized $549,000 in Heritage’s August auction.
One of boxing’s most significant garments also delivered a heavyweight result. Muhammad Ali’s photo-matched robe from the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila” against Joe Frazier, signed twice by Ali, realized $549,000. The white satin robe with blue trim was worn into the ring for the exhausting 14-round bout that remains one of the defining fights in boxing history.
Football produced many of the new records, including a one-of-one 1998 Metal Universe Barry Sanders Gem Master #20 PSA NM 7 — MBA Gold that realized $512,400, setting a record for any item associated with the Detroit Lions legend. The card was issued during Sanders’ final NFL season and represents the pinnacle parallel from one of the defining football-card products of the 1990s. A one-of-one 1998 SkyBox Metal Universe Peyton Manning Gem Master Rookie #189 PSA NM-MT+ 8.5 – MBA Silver ended at $414,800, establishing a record for any Manning collectible. And a 1935 National Chicle Bronko Nagurski #34 PSA NM 7 drew a winning bid of $402,600, more than doubling the previous record for any other card from the landmark football set.
Other records were set on the diamond, including a 2024 Bowman Chrome Rookie Autographs SuperFractor Yoshinobu Yamamoto “Glove Down” #CRAYY BGS Mint 9 that drew $500,200, a record for any Yamamoto item, and a 1981 game-worn and signed Baltimore Orioles rookie jersey photo-matched to Cal Ripken Jr.’s 1982 Topps Traded rookie card that realized $280,600, setting a record for any item associated with “The Iron Man.”
Records also were set on the hardwood. Among them: a photo-matched 2018-19 Luka Dončić game-worn Dallas Mavericks rookie jersey that reached $414,800, setting a record for any Dončić item. The jersey was matched to nine games during his Rookie of the Year season, including the January 27, 2019, game against Toronto in which the teenage Dončić recorded 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. Finally, a 2025 Cooper Flagg game-worn Dallas Mavericks rookie jersey, photo-matched to multiple games including a 35-point performance against the Los Angeles Clippers, sold for $329,400, a record for any Flagg item.
