No man in the history of baseball had as much power as Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin famously said of his best friend and New York Yankees teammate. No man. The Mick proved that yet again over the weekend at Heritage Auctions, where his Yankees home jersey worn throughout the 1958 season sold for $4.68 million to become, by far, the most valuable Mantle jersey ever sold at auction. This photo-matched pinstriped gamer saw significant action in 58, when The Commerce Comet was coming off back-to-back MVP seasons and spent time starring on televisions Home Run Derby. During Heritages Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction, it more than doubled the previous record for a Mantle gamer set at Heritage in 2022, when the jersey Mantle wore in his final game as Yankee on Sept. 28, 1968, sold for $2,190,000. Not far behind that record-shattering jersey was a 1952 Topps Mantle graded Mint 9 by Sportscard Guaranty Corporation, which sold for $4.5 million, the most a sports card has sold for in 2023 and the fourth-highest price ever paid at auction for a sports card. This 1952 Mantle, like its higher-graded $12.6 million counterpart sold at Heritage in 2022, hails from the Topps Chewing Gum cardboard box that had been stashed in an attic for more than three decades until it landed in the hands of Alan Mr. Mint Rosen. There is no shortage of headlines from this years Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction, from the popularity of signed vintage cards to the overwhelming demand for uniforms worn when history was made, stated Chris Ivy, Heritages director of Sports Auctions. Certainly, the Mantles demand worthy attention; for us, its always a thrill to be a part of history, too. But no one should ignore the intensely tenacious bidding throughout the weekend and the extraordinary prices realized as a result. The Aug. 19 and 20 sale realized $33,917,399, with more than 2,500 bidders worldwide participating. Those two Mantle items alone realized $9.18 million in an auction filled with record-breakers. Chief among the record-setting lots was one of the few known 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson rookie cards signed by the man who broke baseballs color barrier, which realized $588,000 during one of the auctions numerous bidding wars, establishing it as the worlds most expensive vintage signed sports card ever sold at auction. The card is a work of art, the first post-war cardboard printed in color. Robinson added his autograph in bold, blue ink. This auction featured a complete run of playing-days Mantle cards signed by The Mick, with the 52 Topps leading the lots at $264,000. The card grades only to a PSA Poor 1, yet that signature, the stout cursive of the Commerce Comet, rates a PSA/DNA Auto 10 to demand that price. Another moonshot came with the $198,000 realized for the only known 1952 Berk Ross Mantle signed by the man on the front. Also exceeding its pre-auction estimate was the ticket stub from Robinsons Brooklyn Dodgers April 15, 1947, debut. There exist but a handful, and the one sold, graded PSA Very Good 3, is the best known among the scant lot. Hence, its $300,000 sale price, exceeded pre-auction estimates. That includes the best known (and only known) 1950-51 Minneapolis Lakers season ticket in a PSA Good 2 from the Lakers third season in the NBA. The two-time defending champs season ticket realized an extraordinary $93,000, shattering all expectations. Among the two-day auctions million-dollar-sellers was a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth graded SGC Near Mint-Mint+ 8.5, which sold for $1,065,000. Sports Collectors Daily noted over the weekend that it was a record for one of the four Ruth cards in Goudeys first major baseball card set. It wasnt the lone Ruth to call its shot over the weekend. A 1916 M101-4 The Sporting News Babe Ruth rookie card, graded PSA Very Good+ 3.5, realized $528,000, almost $100,000 higher than Heritages previous sale of the card in this grade. Numerous centerpiece jerseys were in this auctions starting line-up, including Tom Bradys New England Patriots throwback photo-matched to the Oct. 9, 2011, brawl with the New York Jets. It sold for $360,000. But perhaps more impressively, a 1989-90 Magic Johnson game-worn Los Angeles Lakers Jersey realized $312,000. It entered the auction with a $35,000+ estimate. In recent weeks, the jersey was photo-matched to two images, which raised its estimate to $75,000+. Another smash hit from Southern California came from Shohei Ohtanis bat used to clobber his first career grand slam on May 10, 2022. This black ASICS bat, signed and dated, realized $168,000. Not every record-setter was a six-figure item, though. Look no further than the sweatband that sold for $28,800, the highest amount ever paid for such a small piece of fabric. Its backstory, though, is giant: This is the red band worn by Michael Jordan in the legendary Flu Game during the 1997 Finals, saved by a Utah Jazz ball boy. For more information, visit www.HA.com.