$1 million bounty withdrawn on Bonds ball
Auction house had posted huge amount for whoever snagged 756th HR
 | Barry Bonds is nine home runs away from tying Henry Aaron's record. |
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SAN FRANCISCO - The prospect of a melee in the stands prompted a prominent auction house on Monday to withdraw a $1 million bounty on Barry Bonds' career-record homer baseball.
Bonds is approaching Hank Aaron's home run record this season, and sports memorabilia experts have speculated that the San Francisco Giants slugger's 756th homer ball would command six figures at auction. Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries upped the ante last month, offering $1 million to purchase the ball.
But after a Heritage auctioneer met with a security official at AT&T Park, the company rescinded the offer.
"We didn't hear of any way to prevent possible public safety problems, and we don't want a fan or a child injured or killed," said Greg Rohan, president of Heritage Auction Galleries, the world's largest collectibles auction house which last year auctioned Babe Ruth's 1933 All-Star jersey for $657,250.
The highest price ever paid for baseball memorabilia was set in 1999 when comic artist Todd McFarlane snagged Mark McGwire's record single-season home run ball for $3 million.
Baseball memorabilia prices have stagnated or declined since the start of a widespread federal inquiry into steroid use in 2003. The investigation has put intense scrutiny on Bonds, who reportedly told a 2003 federal grand jury he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.
Sports memorabilia collectors say Bonds' involvement in the scandal has depressed prices that his items command at auctions.
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