Ruth items drawing big auction bids

Two items that can be considered theHoly Grail of Babe Ruth memorabilia are up for auction.

Ruth’s 1927 World Series ring and the 1919 contract of Ruth’s sale from the Red Sox to the Yankees are part of the first Lelands.com Invitational Auction, which takes place through June 30.

The five-page contract is the Yankees’ copy that Barry Halper once purchased from former owner JacobRuppert’s estate. It’s considered the most important document in sports history.

That Ruppert copy was sold privately in 2005 and hasn’t changed hands until now. It started with an opening bid of $100,000 andwas up to $235,795 as of Friday.

There are three copies of the Ruth contract. The Red Sox’s copy was sold for $996,000 to a Yankees fan during an auction at Sotheby’s in 2005. The American League copy has never surfaced.

“I’ve always wanted to create an auctionwhere there is the best of the best,” Lelands.com chairman Josh Evans said. “These are items that only come to the market once in a lifetime.”

Ruth’s ring, which is for the first of four titles hewon with the Yankees, could bring the highest price of all the items. It also started at $100,000 and had a current bid of $313,842.

The auction also features the ball that PeteRose hit to breakTy Cobb’s hits record; Sandy Koufax’s rookie jersey with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955; a 1950-51 Joe DiMaggio gameused uniform; a 1957WillieMays New York Giants game-worn, signed jersey from his last Polo Grounds game; and a 1939 Lou Gehrig game-used bat.

“A consistent theme from the sale is that there is tremendous crossover historically for a lot of the items,” Evans said.