Heritage calls the 1912 World Series trophy “technically priceless.” All the same, it’s come up with an estimate of more than $300,000 for the award, which the Red Sox claimed after a tense 8-game series against the New York Giants. 1912 marked the Red Sox’s first season in Fenway Park, but what distinguished that year’s series just as much was the “$30,000 muff” by Giants’ center field Fred Snodgrass, who dropped a fly ball, after which the Red Sox captured the championship.
Update: Despite Heritage’s description of the trophy as “technically priceless,” bidders had no problem setting a value. It sold below expectations, for a still substantial $239,000.“No individual,” said a 1913 account of the contest, “whether player, manager, owner, critic or spectator, who through the world series of 1912 ever will forget it. There never was another like it.” The trophy also comes with baseball photographer Carl Horner’s photograph of the 1912 Red Sox team. It’s the only known image in private or public hands. The trophy will be offered at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore on August 12.
