Arnold Palmer’s 1958 Masters shoes sold at auction
The shoes Arnold Palmer wore to win the 1958 Masters have been sold at auction for $66,000 (£53,000) by Texas-based firm Heritage Auctions.
Palmer, who passed away last September, gifted the FootJoy wingtip shoes to his personal pilot and signed them back in 2004. They had an original estimate of around $15,000 (£12,000) but sold for five times that valuation.
“You could have gotten these shoes for $5,000 (£4,000) any time in the last 20 years,” Ryan Carey, co-owner of Green Jacket Auctions, told ESPN.
“But Palmer’s death created a category of people scrambling to get pieces associated with him.”
Arnold Palmer's shoes from his first Masters win in 1958 sold for $66,000 this weekend pic.twitter.com/4ITd0X3RfJ
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 27, 2017
Last December, one of the King’s four Masters trophies was sold for a whopping $444,012 (£357,207) – more than double the estimated value.
Heritage Auction’s Chris Ivy, who sold Palmer’s shoes to the unknown bidder, said: “Ever since his passing, there has been huge interest in Arnold Palmer, but this surpassed all our expectations.”
Palmer’s Wingtips become the sixth-highest amount paid for a pair of shoes worn by a sports person:
- Muhammad Ali’s “Thrilla In Manila” boots ($119,500 / £96,113)
- Michael Jordan’s “Flu Game” trainers ($104,765 / £84,262)
- Ali’s “Rumble in the Jungle” boots ($100,725 / £81,013)
- Johnny Unitas’ Baltimore Colts final-game boots ($71,700 / £57,668)
- Michael Jordan’s pre-Air Jordans trainers ($71,553 / (£57,550)
What’s in Fowler’s bag for 2017?
Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
