The bloody sock worn by pitcher Curt Schilling during the 2004 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals was sold for nearly $100,000 on Saturday night at a live auction at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion.
According to the Associated Press, the sock originally had been loaned to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown, but Schilling decided to sell the item after his Rhode Island-based video game company "38 Studios" went bankrupt. The sock gained legend during Game 2 of the World Series against the Cardinals when Schilling pitched on an injured ankle and won the game.
Texas-based Heritage Auctions expected the sock to get up to $100,000 and bidding started off at $25,000 a few weeks ago. An anonymous bidder won the sock on a bid for $92,613.
"It's a one of a kind item, so it's really tough to gauge what kind of interest you're going to get," Chris Ivy, director of Sports Auctions for Heritage Auctions said. "Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle where a piece will take off like the Buckner ball. This particular time, it's the first time we sold a sock with blood on it so it's very hard to gauge what kind of final number it's going to end up."
The sock marks an important series for the Red Sox, as Schilling helped the franchise end an 86-year drought by winning the World Series to break the "Curse of the Bambino". The bloody sock ended up coming about after Schilling pitched the game on a damaged ankle that bled through his gear. Schilling allowed just one run in six games on the injured tendon.
Schilling spent his nearly 20-year baseball career with Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia, Arizona and Boston before retiring and starting his own company, but after it recently went through financial troubles he was forced to sell it.
The company went to Providence after receiving a $75 million loan guarantee, but after two years the company was out of money and now is facing up to $100 million related to the deal. Technically the sock that was sold is the second bloody sock, as the first was discarded after Game 6 of the AL Championship series at Yankee Stadium, where Schilling also pitched through the ankle injury.
