Rare Hank Aaron postcard sells for nearly $200,000 at auction

ATLANTA — A rare souvenir postcard picturing Hank Aaron as a rookie with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues sold for nearly $200,000 at a baseball memorabilia auction that also included Ted Williams’ 1946 AL MVP award, which went for $528,750.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The Aaron postcard from the scrapbook of scout Ed Scott, who discovered Aaron, went for $199,750 following a bidding war that soared past the pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$10,000, Hunt Auctions said.

The auction included 280 items from Williams’ personal collection that had been held by his daughter, Claudia, who died last year. Among the other items were a silver bat awarded for his 1958 batting title, which sold for more than $270,000, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented to him by fellow naval aviator George H.W. Bush, which went for $141,000.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Hank Aaron rookie jersey sold for $2.1 million while auction company, Braves battle in court
• Stamp honoring Atlanta Braves legend Hank Aaron unveiled at Truist Park
• New tribute to ‘Hammerin’ Hank’ Aaron on 50th anniversary of record-breaking 715th homerun

The sale also included items from the collection of Rutherford Hayes Jones, the business manager of the Washington Giants, one of the earliest Black baseball teams. The trove was discovered in 2001 in a suitcase, where it had been unseen for 40 years.

A first batch of items from Claudia Williams’ collection went up for auction in 2012 at Fenway Park and garnered more than $5 million.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

©2024 Cox Media Group