NEW YORK — A circa 1860s Brooklyn Atlantics team baseball card that's been in the same family for over 150 years has fetched over $179,000 at auction.
The pre-Civil War baseball card was owned by Florence Sasso of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It shows her great-great-uncle Archibald McMahon, an outfielder for the squad, pictured with eight of his teammates in bib-style shirts and two gentlemen in suits.
Auction organizers say it was purchased by an anonymous collector from the West Coast. It had a presale estimate of $50,000.
The Atlantics were a founding member of the National Association of Base Ball Players — the sport's first organized league that held the championship from 1859 through 1861.
The sale was among the highlights of a sports memorabilia auction held Thursday by Heritage Auctions in Chicago.
