Glen Haven Village Hoping To Hit Home Run With A "Who's Who of Major League Baseball" Auction

Sports memorabilia collectors from throughout the Midwest are expected to converge on Mills County Sunday for a unique auction that’s being dubbed a “Who’s Who of Major League Baseball.”

Nearly 400 items, including around 280 baseballs signed by major league hall of famers, will be sold at the Al Hughes Auction building south of Glenwood, with proceeds going to Glen Haven Village, Glenwood’s new skilled nursing care facility. The collection, given to Glen Haven Village by an anonymous donor, includes balls and memorabilia signed by dozens of baseball legends.

Honus Wagner, Cy Young, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Whitey Ford, Dizzy Dean, Joe Demaggio, Bill Mazeroski, Enos Slaughter, Pee Wee Reese, Mickey Mantle, Lou Brock, Roger Maris, Bob Gibson, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, Rod Carew, Sandy Koufax, Johnny Bench, Mike Schmidt, Willie Stargell, Tommy Lasorda, Sparky Anderson, Pete Rose, George Brett, Ozzie Smith, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols . . .  -  the list goes on and on.

Yes, there’s even a ball (with certificate authenticity) signed by slugger Babe Ruth.

“I’m still awestruck,” sports memorabilia and baseball card collector Tony Boles said. “Stuff like this just doesn’t exist all together. People might have one or two pieces, but not 380 pieces.

“You’ve got these flats from 25 different hall of famers that have been dead for years. You just don’t find those. They’re obviously not signing them anymore.”

Boles and his wife Julie, who works for the auction company, have had the responsibility of researching, labeling and tagging the auction items over the past several weeks. Hughes is a sports fan, but follows football closer than he does baseball. He said Boles’ expertise on baseball collectibles has been invaluable in setting up the auction.

“You just have to make sure you have somebody with some expertise to help. Trust me, I’ll swallow my pride all day long if I can get somebody with more knowledge than me,” Hughes said. “Tony has done it all. He’s my go-to and he understands the auction business because his wife works with me.”

In addition to the hall of fame players, the auction includes balls signed by legendary broadcasters Harry Caray, Curt Gowdy, Jack Buck, Joe Garagiola, Bob Uecker, Bob Costas and Ernie Harwell. The collector was a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, so there’s also several autographed balls, prints and jerseys from a century of pennant and World Series-winning Redbird teams.

There’s memorabilia from the 1980 Gold Medal-winning USA (“Do you believe in miracles?”) hockey team, including a photograph and autographed United States flag.

There’s also some celebrity items, like a baseball signed by comedian Bob Hope.

Phil Warren, who’s been spearheading fundraising efforts for Glen Haven Village for the past four years, said the items were donated by the collector’s widow, who insists on remaining anonymous.

“This wasn’t just somebody who collected things here and there,” Warren said. “This was a serious collector.”

Neither Warren nor Hughes was willing to estimate what the auction or the Babe Ruth baseball, considered by many to be the prized gem of the collection, might generate for Glen Haven Village. Similar balls have sold for $10,000.

“We expect to get many thousands (of dollars) for the ball,” Hughes said. “We don’t want to put a cap on it.”

Hughes said he’s never auctioned off a collection of sports memorabilia like this one, comparing auctioneers like himself to a “family doctor.”

“When you’re in the auction business, you’re kind of like the family doctor,” he said. “This morning, I just sold 400 acres by Red Oak. The next day you’re selling baseballs and the day after that you’re selling pots and pans.”

Online bidding for the auction is already under way through Proxibid. Live and online bidding will begin taking place Sunday when Hughes throws out his first auction pitch at 1 p.m. Previewing begins at 9 a.m.

“You can live-bid on site or online,” Hughes said. “The auction will probably last six hours. The neat thing about it, she (donor) is donating it all to Glen Haven Village.”