Sorry I didn't get the chance to blog during the Sotheby's with SCP Auctions live event in New York, but I didn't have much free time. The auction had a ton of bidding on virtually every item. The auction total of $4.7 million exceeded expectations and is especially impressive considering there were only 366 lots (actually a few less than that), which averages out to around $13,000 per lot. All this is considering the biggest item in the auction, the Lou Gehrig jersey, didn't sell.

The two items that really stood out to me were the Casey Stengel 1951 World Series ring and Stengel's 1957 A.L. Championship gold cufflinks, which sold for $180,000 and $72,000, respectively. It's crazy to be at one of those live events where two people are well funded and are dead set on winning the item. Both were record prices and the World Series ring sold for more than Mickey Mantle's  ring a few years ago.

The photo from 1939 of Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth singed by both players, along with a lot of the Tour of Japan stuff, was something you really needed to see in person to really appreciate it. No photo in a catalog could do those items justice. There was also a 1927 Babe Ruth and Brother Matthias (St. Mary's School for Boys) dual signed ball that sold for $66,000 and was truly a one-of-a-kind item.

The basketball jerseys were interesting to watch. There was plenty of interest and bidding, with most falling right in the estimate range, while some went way beyond the estimate. Willis Reed's historic Knicks jersey sold for $90,000, while Oscar Robertson's 1967 Cincinnati Royals home uniform finished at $66,000. Bill Russell's 1967-68 Celtics home jersey and George Mikan's 1947-48 Lakers road jersey both finished at $60,000. Nate Archibald's Celtics home jersey ($15,000) and Jerry Lucas' 1973 Knicks home jersey ($13,200) sold well beyond expectations.