McGwire's 70th homer ball sells for record $3 million

NEW YORK (AP) -- Philip Ozersky ignored an offer to shake hands with Mark McGwire and take home some autographed paraphernalia in exchange for home run No. 70.

Smart move.Then he turned down a $1 million offer for the baseball.

An even smarter move.

That's because the ball wound up being sold to an anonymous phone bidder for a record $3 million at Guernsey's Auction House.

The price included a bid of $2.7 million, plus a $305,000 buyer's commission, making the total sale price $3,005,000.

Ozersky, a research scientist at Washington University in St. Louis, was flabbergasted by the price.

"I'm excited and overwhelmed," he said.

Ozersky, who retrieved McGwire's No. 70 when it landed under his seat in a private box at Busch Stadium last Sept. 27, said he never imagined that would happen.

"I was the person who least expected a ball to fly in there," he said. "I never caught a baseball before. I went to see the Cards play and have some fun with friends."

When he put the ball up for auction, Ozersky admitted he didn't know what to expect.

"The sky's the limit," he said. "and I found out what the sky was."

So did Irwin Sternberg, president of Stonehenge, Ltd., manufacturers of fine neckwear. When auctioneer JoAnne Carter reached $1.6 million, the bidding turned into a one-on-one showdown between Sternberg and the anonymous voice on the telephone, who described himself only as "one heck of a baseball fan."

With bids jumping $100,000 at a time, Sternberg stayed in until $2.6 and then blinked.

"I'm a little sorry I didn't go higher," he said later. "I think the person on the line didn't have a bottom line. If it went to $3 million, it would be $3.1 million.

"I congratulate the owner, whoever that is. Sternberg purchased a ball signed by Babe Ruth and Roger Maris, previous holders of the home run record, for $60,000.