Yankees legend Lou Gehrig bat sells for more than $1M at Heritage Auction House in Dallas

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A bat used by New York Yankees great Lou Gehrig has sold for more than US$1 million. Heritage Auctions in Dallas put up the bat, which dates back to the early 1920s, for auction in February with a US$950,000 reserve price. The bat did not meet the reserve. Heritage Auctions director of sports auctions Chris Ivy said a private buyer came in after the auction to purchase the item for US$1.025 million. It was the first time the bat's been sold. 

"We had been discussing the bat with [the buyer] over several conversations the last couple weeks," Chris Ivy, Heritage's director of sports auctions, told ESPN. The buyer decided to pull the trigger last week and make the purchase.

The bat was manufactured by Hillerich & Bradsby and purchased by Gehrig on April 22, 1925. It also features the message “40 oz., Lou Gehrig, 4-22-25.” Gehrig used the bat at Columbia University, then took it with him when he joined the Hartford Senators and New York Yankees. Gehrig, who played for the Yankees his entire 17-year Hall-of-Fame career, is a two-time MVP, seven-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion.

For collectors that missed out on the chance to buy Gehrig's bat, according to The Athletic, the bat that Babe Ruth used to hit his 52nd home run in 1921 will be up for auction soon.