The star ofHeritages March 22 and 23 Spring Sports Card Catalog Auctionwas a real Georgia Peach; it wasthe 1909-11 Ty Cobb T206 card graded Good+ 2.5 by SGC that made its auction debut and realized $432,000. That bested pre-auction expectations for the rarity nicknamed The Cobb/Cobb, which is even harder to score than the Honus Wagner T206 considered among the hobbys holiest grails. Its scarcity stems from the fact it was a small-run card made for a little-distributed, short-lived product: Cobbs granulated cut plug smoking tobacco. Historians believe this card, featuring Ty Cobb against a blood-red background, its reverse advertising Ty Cobb King of the Smoking Tobacco World, was considered a premium offering. That was certainly the case as collectors tussled over this card. The Spring Sports Card Catalog Auction was a near-sell-out event, realizing $10,169,406 thanks to the more than 2,450 bidders worldwide who participated. There were home runs and slam dunks throughout the two-day event, which saw estimates toppled and records set up and down the roster, such asa 1933 Goudey Napoleon Lajoie graded PSA Good 2, which was actually issued in 1934 and sold for $41,654, a record for the grade. Chief among the auctions stacked lineup was the man who slugged his way into the pantheon of baseballs heaviest hitters: George Hermann Babe Ruth, still a scrawny hurler for the Boston Red Soxwhen this M101-5Sporting NewsBlank Backlanded in some lucky kids mitt in 1916. This lone VG/EX 4 example in PSAs population guide realized $348,000. This sale had no shortage of famous, familiar and coveted cardboard. Look no further than two of the auctions top performers: the 1952 Mickey Mantle Topps card, which heralded the birth of an industry and a hobby, and the 1986 Michael Jordan Fleer offering, whose red-white-and-blue bordered slam dunk has become basketball collectors most defining (and chased-after) image in recent years. This auction featureda Mantle PSA EX-MT 6 that sold for $204,000anda Jordan PSA Gem Mint 10 that realized $210,000, both strong prices. That Cobb came to us having never been graded or having been to auction, and it was bound to steal the headline given its significance and specialness, says Chris Ivy, director of Sports Auctions. But in many ways, the story of this auction is the strong prices across the board, the four-figure cards that hit five figures, the climbers going up the ranks of the record-holders. Every auction has a narrative, likethe sealed case of hockey cards selling for millions. For me, this weekend served as a wonderful reminder that the state of this hobby is strong, continued Ivy. At 77, Nolan Ryan is still throwing gas, as evidenced byhis 1969 Topps solo in a PSA Gem Mint 10, one of only three known, which realized $180,000. It should come as no surprise that Willie Mays, the greatest living ballplayer, joined the elite company in this event, which featured one of the best examples ofhis signed 1951 Bowman rookie card. What makes this PSA VG-EX 4, PSA/DNA Auto 8 so exceptional is its backstory. There are a scant 31 signed Mays Bowmans in PSAs registry, but he wrote on this one while still a young player and not yet a revered legend. Heritage had never offered such a significant slice of Mays baseball card history, which realized $126,000. For additional information, visit www.HA.com.