Note to Arthur Ashe fans: Sotheby’s in New York, the mac-daddy of auction houses, is holding its sports memorabilia sale on June 10. The sale includes a number of items from the estate of Ashe, including the silver Head “canoe paddle” racquet he posed with for the Sports Illustrated “Sportsman of the Year” magazine cover (estimated to go for between five and seven thousand bucks), his 1975 World Championship Tennis ring (WCT was an ill-fated pro tour), and a pair of Haggar solid gold presentation trophy tennis balls, weighing a total of 372 ounces (they’re expected to bring over six figures), which were presented to Ashe by WCT in 1975.
I can vouch for their authenticity; I was there when Ashe got them. . . . My, how time flies!
Incidentally, if you’re a New York Yankees fan who wants to take tormenting a Red Sox fan to a new level, you might want to bid on the most intriguing item in the sale, the source of “the Curse of the Bambino”—the original contract selling Babe Ruth from Boston to New York.
Start saving your lunch money, though, the contract is likely to bring around half a million dollars.