Whitey Ford Collection Heading to Auction

Content originally published on 29 January 2008 on sportscollectorsdaily.com.  To read more, visit MLB.com

If only we all could have our housecleaning projects result in what will surely be a windfall for Whitey Ford.

The Yankees' great has consigned most of his baseball memorabilia to Hunt Auctions for the company's annual All Star Fan Fest auction, set for July 15 and 16 in New York.

Included among the hundreds of pieces are a few of Ford's game-worn jerseys, his 1961 World Series MVP award, the warmup jacket Lou Gehrig wore the day his consecutive games streak ended in 1939 and Yankees autographed memorabilia.

Ford and his famous Yankee teammates were guests of President John F. Kennedy one summer. Even in the early 1960s, Whitey Ford had the sense to get JFK to sign some baseballs. The one survivor is also part of the sale. Ford told that story and spoke of his decision to part with his life-long collecton as part of the announcement on Monday.

"My wife is tickled this is happening," Ford said. "Now we're going to have room in the house."