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| | Monday, December 6 | |||||
| NEW YORK-- The second Heisman Trophy ever to be auctioned
to the public was sold early Friday for $328,110, nearly $100,000
more than the price paid in February for O.J. Simpson's Heisman.
Larry Kelley, the former Yale star who won the trophy in 1936, placed the cherished award up for auction after suffering a stroke. The final bid of $328,110 included a 15 percent auction house commission, said Katie O'Brian, a spokeswoman for Leland's auction house in New York. The winning bidder, whose name was not released, was identified only as a domestic buyer.Kelley, of Hightstown, N.J., suffered a stroke in May and wanted to raise money for his heirs, who include 21 nieces and nephews. His wife, Mary Ruth, also is in failing health. "I'm 84 and not doing too good, so I decided to let go of all my memorabilia," Kelley said Thursday. He said his nephews and nieces had been good to him, and putting the proceeds of the trophy sale into his estate would be a way to thank them. "What am I going to do with it?" he asked. "I can't split it among 21."Officials at the Downtown Athletic Club, the site of the annual award presentation to the year's most outstanding collegiate football player, were saddened by Kelley's decision to sell, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported for Thursday's editions. The DAC did not immediately return a telephone message left by The Associated Press. The 1936 Heisman was the second ever awarded and the first to bear the name of legendary coach John Heisman. Kelley was an All-America end for Yale that year, when the team finished with a 7-1 record. "We understand his predicament, but we don't want the trophy being purchased by a complete stranger," club director Rudy Riska told the Star-Ledger. Simpson's 1968 trophy sold for $230,000 when placed up for auction in February. It was sold to help the former Southern California star pay off a judgment against him in the wrongful death lawsuit brought in connection with the deaths of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.Neither the Downtown Athletic Club nor Yale University planned to bid on Kelley's trophy. The auctioneers anticipated heavy interest from sports memorabilia dealers. Replicas of Kelley's Heisman are displayed at Yale and at the
Peddie School, a private high school in Hightstown that is Kelley's
alma mater. After Kelley's playing days were over, he returned to
Peddie as a history teacher and coach, and later served as alumni director. | ||||||