Signed 1927 Yankees photo sets sales record
A PSA/DNA-certified, near-mint condition photograph signed by 30 members of the legendary 1927 New York Yankees team has been purchased for a record $350,000.
The price is the most ever paid for a vintage sports photograph and is nearly 70 percent higher than the last time this item was auctioned in 2006.
The purchase by an anonymous buyer from an also unidentified seller was brokered by Memory Lane Inc. of Tustin, Calif. The company first sold the autographed photo for $206,000 in a December 2006 auction.
“The team-signed photograph of the 1927 Yankees players was purchased by a New York metro area collector who told me he now wants to share it with other fans and make arrangements for publicly displaying it at the new Yankee Stadium,” said Joe Orlando, President of PSA/DNA, in a news release.
Signatures include Babe Ruth Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Herb Pennock, Waite Hoyt, Earle Combs, Benny Bengough, Bob Meusel and manager Miller Huggins.
The autographs originally were obtained by Yankees pitcher George Pipgras who passed it down to his daughter, LeMorn Pipgras Simpson. She later sold it for $80,000.
I have a complete, yet to be authenticated, autographed team photo. Photo was taken within moments of the cited high sale photo, same people in the background, players in the same positions with slight changes in facial expression or posture. Signatures appear to be all accurate and complete, virtually identical to record photo although likely not an “8” due to some crinkles. Was given to a family member by a friend within the Yankees organization as a gift. Was found among my grandmother’s effects when she passed in 1982. Plan to authenticate this summer.