11-year-old fan bags huge sale for rare ‘1-of-1′ baseball card

The lucky baseball fan who pulled a rare ‘1-of-1′ Paul Skenes rookie card has turned down a huge offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates and bagged a huge payday at auction.

The 2024 Topps Chrome Update MLB debut patch autograph card of Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes was found by an 11-year-old Dodgers fan in Los Angeles. Skenes’ incredible debut season increased the hype for his rookie card and the one-off patch autograph card was one of the most coveted baseball cards of recent years.

On Thursday the card sold for an eye-watering $1.11 million, setting a new record for a Skenes card. In fact, it’s the most expensive modern baseball card that doesn’t include Mike Trout. A 1-of-1 rookie card of Trout set the record for most expensive sports card ever with a $3.9 million sale in 2020.

What did the Pittsburgh Pirates offer for the card?

The hunt for the rare Skenes card even extended to the Pirates organisation, who were hoping to buy the card and keep it at their facility. Once the card was found they contacted the lucky recipient to table a huge offer which must have been sorely tempting.

The team offered 30 years of season tickets, signed jerseys, spring training tours and experiences and a meet-and-greet with Skenes himself. The player’s girlfriend, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, offered to host the winner for a Pirates game in her suite. But it wasn’t enough, the card went to auction and eventually sold for a seven-figure sum.

After much consideration the family spoke to a number of auction houses and eventually opted to sell it through Fanatics Collect. The company’s vice president Kevin Lenane flew to collect the card from Texas, where the family had been living after an evacuation from LA amid the wildfires.

“This was complicated by the fact that the family was evacuated from where they were in Los Angeles multiple times,” Lenane said. “I got the card from Topps in Texas and brought it to the family out there then the following day graded it for them [with card grader PSA] and brought it back to New York.”

Throughout this process the family have remained anonymous but Fanatics have revealed some of the plans for the money. The family are putting most of the windfall towards a savings plan for their two children to go to college, with the rest set aside for plenty more baseball cards.

Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all.

Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.