Auctions: Memorabilia from Ruth, Mantle, and other baseball greats

The 82d All-Star Game for Major League Baseball, scheduled July 12 in Phoenix and the occasion for the All-Star Fanfest July 8-12 at the Phoenix Convention Center, will again set the scene for Hunt Auctions' summer sale of historical sports memorabilia.

The first 204 lots of the 500-lot event are from the personal collection of Curt Schilling, the former Phillies and later Red Sox pitching ace, according to the Exton auction house's website. They include autographed photos, jerseys, and playing equipment. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to charities supported by Schilling and his wife, Shonda.

Although the live sale will begin at 10 a.m. Philadelphia time at the center, Hunt also offers online bidding at its website, www.huntauctions.com, where bids can be left until 10 p.m. July 10. Bidding has already begun.

Of particular local interest is a Phillies home jersey for the 1993 World Series autographed by Schilling and, according to the catalog description, long displayed in the Schilling home. It has a presale estimate of $4,000 to $6,000, and online bidding earlier this week already had topped $2,400.

Other top items in the Schilling collection include a framed Lou Gehrig signature and two accompanying photos, expected to bring $2,000 to $3,000 (bidding earlier this week already had topped $2,000), and a 1968 Roberto Clemente bat with a presale estimate of $15,000 to $20,000.

Several other items are expected to bring five figures. A rare Grover Cleveland Alexander autographed Hall of Fame postcard postmarked Oct. 16, 1950, less than a month before his death, has a presale estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. So do a Babe Ruth signed baseball with possible attribution to June 14, 1948 (Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium) and a Frank Robinson 1970 Baltimore Orioles World Championship trophy.

Another baseball, autographed around 1927 by both Gehrig and Ruth, has a presale estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. A Mickey Mantle Louisville Slugger used around 1950 to 1960 and consigned by a batboy of that era, has a presale estimate of $15,000 to $20,000.

Of more recent vintage is a 1999 "Upper Deck Piece of History Babe Ruth Legendary Cut and Game-Used Bat" card, described in the online auction catalog as an "insert card" that revolutionized modern baseball card-collecting by inserting chips of a game-used bat into the card. It has a presale estimate of $10,000 to $20,000.