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DiMaggio?s Old Uniform Auctioned

Sports memorabilia is a huge business in the states, especially when it used to belong to a huge star. Depending on the athlete it used to belong to, some items can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. The big fascination some people have with acquiring these items is pretty self explanatory. Everyone wants to own a piece of their favorite star. Sports icons have an aura about them that seems to transcend life.

For sixty years, the uniform that Joe DiMaggio used to wear during his rookie year with the New York Yankees in 1936 stood in the closet of a former minor-league pitcher. Today, it`s expected to fetch more than 600-thousand dollars at a sports memorabilia auction in New York. During the Depression, it was customary for teams to send the previous year`s uniforms down to the minors.

DiMaggio`s old uniform made its way to Joplin, Missouri, where it was assigned to a pitcher named Charles Mason. Mason, who`s now 89, held onto it. The uniform headlines an auction which includes the beloved bat that Shoeless Joe Jackson called Black Betsy, along with items associated with a galaxy of baseball stars, including Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Mickey Mantle.