Following the success of ESPN’s 10-part docuseries, “The Last Dance,” which chronicles the Michael Jordan years of the Chicago Bulls, fans’ thirst for memorabilia from “Sir Airness” has continued to reach fever pitch even weeks since the series concluded.
A baseball signed by Jordan when he was 13 is hitting the auction block and while it isn’t know yet what it will fetch, it is one of the earliest known signatures from the athlete, according to Goldin Auctions.
The ball, signed “MIKE JORDAN,” is also signed by his teammates and includes the inscriptions "Pam Beasley 1976 Won 11 Lost 3" and "1976 CHAMPS." The ball comes with a letter of authorization from Jordan's former baseball coach, Richard Neher, along with the little league roster and a photograph of the team.
Jordan played baseball growing up as a kid and teenager before switching to basketball. Jordan’s father, the late James Jordan, hoped his son would have been a pro baseball player but after witnessing what he could do on the court, was proud of his son nonetheless.
Michael Jordan famously left basketball for 18 months to try his luck at making in Major League Baseball in 1993. He played for the Chicago White Sox farm team but due to the MLB players lockout of 1995, he went back to the court.
During his tenure with the Chicago Bulls he won six NBA Championships.
In the past, memorabilia from Jordan that was sold at auction went for big bucks. A pair of game-worn and autographed AJ1 sneakers sold for $560,000 at auction last month, while a ticket stub from Jordan's first regular-season NBA game sold for nearly $25,000, earlier this month.
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