The Atlanta Braves have filed a lawsuit against Heritage Auctions and two former team employees over the auction of the bases and home plate from Hank Aaron’s historic 715th home run.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the lawsuit, which was filed Sept. 27 against Heritage, Bill Acree and his son, Ben Acree, alleges the bases and home plate were “stolen, unlawfully possessed and unattempted to be sold.”
The lawsuit states, “despite the Braves’ best efforts to store and protect the historic bases,” Bill Acree unlawfully claimed the items and “gifted” them to his son, who then consigned them with Heritage.
The Braves claim the bases were immediately removed following Aaron’s historic home run and stored “under lock and key” at Fulton County Stadium for 20 years. The items were later transported and stored in secured storage rooms when the team moved to Turner Field in 1997 and again when the Braves moved to SunTrust Park in 2016.
According to the Braves, the bases remained the property of the team and “the only manner in which a third-party could come into possession off the Braves’ bases was by stealing them from behind a locked storage area, or by committing fraud against the organization and removing the bases from the locked storage area.”
The lawsuit alleges Bill Acree, who held positions such as visiting clubhouse manager, home clubhouse manager, equipment manager and senior advisor during a 50-year career with the Braves, signed a separation agreement when he left the team in 2018 saying he returned all Braves’ property.
The Braves also filed a motion Tuesday to have a lawsuit filed by Heritage against the team either dismissed or moved to Georgia. Filed in August, the lawsuit alleged defamation, business disparagement, intentional interference with contractual relations and intentional interference with prospective economic relations against the Braves.
Heritage’s lawsuit against the team followed a cease-and-desist letter in which the Braves accused Heritage of "actively auctioning off items that were obtained by improper or illegal means; or auctioning off knowingly unauthenticated items." The letter asked Heritage to pull the lot for the bases as well as lots for Aaron jerseys from 1954 and 1974 as well as a bat from 1974.
Heritage did eventually pull the lot containing the bases and home plate following statements from the Braves as well as the Baseball Hall of Fame, which said it has what it believes to be third base from Aaron’s 715th home run.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.