Submitted by aarAdmin on Thu, 05/30/2024 - 00:00
Six small items formerly owned by Australian fast bowling great the late Alan Davidson (1929-2021) and found in an old coat pocket have realised a massive $70,000 at Melbourne-based Abacus Auctions sporting memorabilia, stamps, coins and banknotes and postal history May sale.
The items, which included a Sydney Cricket Ground life members badge and Melbourne Cricket Club honorary members badge with a pair of silver cuff links commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1960-61 Tied Test between Australia and the West Indies, were listed as catalogue number lot 3599 with a $200 estimate.
Davidson, who was a passionate sporting memorabilia collector, played 44 Tests from 1953-1963 and was the first player to score 100 runs and 10 wickets in the same Test match, the famous First (Tied) Test in Brisbane against Sir Frank Worrell’s team.
After three years sorting his father’s enormous collection in Sydney, son Neil invited Abacus Auctions to sell it.
Several truckloads transferred it to Melbourne where, over a series of five auctions in 2023 and 2024, the items were sold to keen collectors.
“The badges and cuff links were an afterthought – discovered in one of Dad’s old coat pockets in the wardrobe after everything else had gone and we decided to give them to the auction house next time we saw Max Williamson (its sporting memorabilia expert),” Neil said.
Unlike a previous bag of Davidson’s membership renewal badges that had sold for $150, these memorabilia items attracted the attention of two elderly Melbourne collectors – one in the rooms and one on the phone – who bid frenetically for ownership rights, well above anybody’s expectations.
“We were absolutely flabbergasted at the price reached once bidding ended,” Max said.
Neil felt like he had just won the lottery and was going through an “out of body” experience as the bidding rolled on.
While some of Davidson’s collection has been donated to appropriate museums and other institutions for posterity, the auctioned items totalled $317,000 over the five sales.
Other cricket memorabilia, such as the rarest Don Bradman cricket cigarette and trade card in existence (lot 3627), also was the subject of intense bidding – bringing $4000 to the lucky vendor.
Issued in 1932 by the Friend Temperance Union, the card is one of only six or seven worldwide.
Bradman is undoubtedly the most iconic Test batsman to ever live, finishing with an almost perfect batting average of 99.94 over the 52 Tests he played for Australia between 1928 and 1948. To date, no other batsman has even come close to achieving that feat.
Another former Australian Test fast bowler Alan Connolly, who played 29 Tests between 1963 and 1971, was prominent when his 1967 New Zealand tour baggy green cap (lot 3608) sold for $5000.
Legendary Geelong indigenous ruckman Graham “Polly” Farmer had a major impact at the auction when his likeness, featured among the 1963 Scanlens set of football cigarette and trade cards (lot 3722), brought $3800.
A West Australian, Farmer joined Geelong in 1962 and played 101 games for the club during which time they won the 1963 Victoria Football league premiership. He captained Geelong from 1965 until 1967 and coached his old club between from 1973 to 1975.
A member of both Geelong’s and the AFL’s team of the century, Farmer became famous for changing handball from a defensive to an offensive weapon by practising the art using slightly open car windows as targets at the car yard at which he worked.
A rare first time auctioned flight cover (lot 2284) – one of three in this sale to be carried on the aircraft piloted by pioneer Australian aviators Ross and Keith Smith on the inaugural competed flight from England to Australia – sold for $7250 against its $5000 catalogue estimate.
