Sale of baseball nets fan $3m
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A WHITE leather baseball with fancy red stitching and some very special history has sold at auction in New York for an even more special price - just over $3m (pounds 1.8m).
The ball was the centre of attention at an auction at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night of assorted baseball memorabilia. Its claim to fame was this: it was struck into the history books last September by the Cardinals' superstar slugger of the 1998 season, Mark McGwire. More importantly, it delivered the 70th and last home run of the summer to Mr McGwire, who now holds the home-run record in baseball history.
The bid was made over the telephone by an anonymous baseball enthusiast. The vendor was Philip Ozersky, 26, a research scientist from Missouri, who was lucky enough to be in Busch Stadium in St Louis on the day McGwire made the home run. More to the point, Mr Ozersky was lucky enough to be the person who caught it when it sailed into the terraces.
Mr Ozersky went home yesterday richer by $2.7m. The balance of the full price paid for the ball - $3,054,000 - was taken as commission by Guernsey's, the New York auction house that organised the sale.
"I went to a ballgame, and all of a sudden there are millions of dollars in my hand," mused Mr Ozersky, who plans to give part of the money to charities. "I'm going to remain a research scientist. I just have a big bank account now."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments