Spring Premier Auction 2017
Wed, May 24, 2017 04:00PM EDT - Fri, Oct 6, 2017 11:00PM EDT
Timed Auction
Lot 144
WILLIE STARGELL'S BABE RUTH SULTAN OF SWAT CAREER CROWN AWARD (STARGELL COLLECTION)
Sold for
$10,269.60
Sold Price includes BP
Bid Increments
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| $0 | $10 |
| $200 | $25 |
| $500 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $3,000 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $30,000 | $2,500 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 | $20,000 |
| $300,000 | $25,000 |
| $500,000 | $50,000 |
Addendum: Willie Stargell's Career Crown Award came without its original forehead diamond piece when it was presented to us from the Stargell Estate. The original piece is missing and not included. A trophy repair company is in the process of restoring the crown by replicating the original forehead piece for display purposes. They were waiting on one part from a supplier and it will be ready by the end of the auction. The restored version will look very similar to the 1973 version once complete.
From the private personal collection of late Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Willie Stargell comes this impressive piece of royal hardware which is among baseball’s most coveted awards. This Career Crown Award was presented to Stargell by the Maryland Professional Baseball Players Association after his long and illustrious career. Created in 1956 in honor of Maryland’s favorite son Babe Ruth it was originally called the “Sultan of Swat Award” to honor the player with the greatest “slugging average”— combining home runs and runs batted in. At age 42 Stargell retired from Major League Baseball after 21 seasons (all with the Pirates) with a total of 475 home runs and 1540 RBI to his credit.
The elegant crown is fit for a king with five of its original six be-jeweled baseball diamonds circling the golden metal headband and red velvet head covering. Missing is the Maryland Professional Baseball Players Association's main forehead diamond piece which is in the process of being replaced with a replicated version. The centerpiece of the crown is a golden nameplate engraved with “Babe Ruth Crown Presented to Willie Stargell for Outstanding Batting Achievements Maryland Professional Baseball Players Association.” There are three sections of engraved text on the back of the crown reading: “NATIONAL LEAGUE M.V.P. 1979 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES 1979 WORLD SERIES M.V.P. 1979” “BASEBALL HALL OF FAME 1998 ALL-STAR GAMES 1964-65-66-71-72-73-78” “LIFETIME BATTING AVG. .282 HOME RUNS 475 RBI 1540 TOTAL HITS 2232.” This is the actual 1-of-1 Career Crown award given to Willie Stargell and no duplicates to our knowledge were ever authorized by Stargell.
Includes Letter of Provenance from Margaret Weller-Stargell.
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