Heritage Auctions continues to stand by its claim the bases and home plate from the night of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run, as well as jerseys and a hat attributed to Aaron, are authentic and properly obtained — despite threats from the Atlanta Braves to take legal action if the lots were not removed from an upcoming auction by end of day Tuesday.
Heritage said it would be moving forward with the sale: “The Braves did not have all the facts concerning the Braves material in the upcoming auction. Heritage Auctions is currently sharing that information with the Braves’ counsel, and we hope to have this expediently and amicably resolved,” the auction house said in a statement.
In a cease-and-desist letter, obtained by cllct Friday, representatives from the Braves accused Heritage of "actively auctioning off items that were obtained by improper or illegal means; or auctioning off knowingly unauthenticated items." The claim of improper diligence by the auction house extended to lots for Aaron’s jerseys from 1954 and 1974, and Aaron’s hat from 1974, all of which are set to sell in this week’s auction.
The dispute over the base’s authenticity began last week when a representative from the Baseball Hall of Fame released a public statement notifying Heritage that third base from that game is actively on display in the museum in Cooperstown, New York, claiming it was given to the Hall of Fame by Aaron in 1982.
Heritage responded to the claims Friday, in a statement provided to cllct, saying the auction house was unaware of the base in the Hall of Fame, but the auction house had "done our due diligence and are satisfied that these are the authentic bases based on their source and the provenance."
In its lot description, Heritage says the bases and plate came from a Braves employee who instructed his staff to “save absolutely everything related to this unprecedented moment in baseball history,” including the bases and plate, which Heritage says were removed in “a particularly unexpected and brilliant moment of clarity.”
According to Heritage, the lot has been consigned by the employee’s son, who was given the bases and plate by his father in 2016. Heritage says it has a letter from the consignor, though has not listed it publicly.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.