NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Auctions in New York and Los Angeles offered a treasure trove for sports fans and memorabilia collectors over the weekend, including items of two of Louisiana’s most beloved sports icons of all time.
At the Lelands 2021 Fall Classic Auction on Saturday, Dec. 11, a 1931 New York Giants game-worn, photo-matched jersey worn by Major League Baseball legend and late-Louisiana native Mel Ott fetched $387,000 on a day that saw a Tom Brady rookie card sell for nearly a million ($900k).
A similar jersey worn by Ott at the time the Hall of Famer and Gretna great hit his 500th career home run garnered a winning bid of $342k in 2017.
Meanwhile, on the West Coast, Pete Maravich’s 1969 LSU letterman’s jacket sold for $116,924 at the Grey Flannel Auctions later that day.
Maravich, who died in 1988 after playing the bulk of his pro career with the New Orleans/Utah Jazz, had his 1978 NBA All-Star game uniform sold for $34,943, and his 1968, ’69, and ’70 NCAA First Team All-American plaques sold for $9,000.