She retired as the greatest to ever play her sport. Many would argue she’s still the most dominant women’s footballer to have ever graced the pitch. Now you can own her most legendary trophies, medals and memorabilia thanks to an incredible Michelle Akers auction from Goldin Auctions.
Michelle Akers racked up dozens of trophies throughout her storied playing days, which began as a member of the first-ever USWNT in 1985. She was named FIFA Woman Player of the Century in 2002 and was one of two women FIFA deigned worthy of its FIFA 100 list of the 125 greatest living footballers in 2004.
In 1991, Akers won the Golden Boot with 10 goals on the way to helping the United States win the inaugural Women’s World Cup, a record that still stands. She played through a torn ACL to help the USWNT win gold in the inaugural Olympics women’s soccer tournament in 1996. And she capped her career by ignoring the pain of a dislocated shoulder as the U.S. won the 1999 Women’s World Cup.
Now, all those trophies/medals and more are up for sale in this Michelle Akers auction.
Akers has nearly five dozen pieces of memorabilia from her World Cup Golden Boot to her Hall of Fame induction ring up for auction, meaning you can own a piece of soccer history, for a price.
The Michelle Akers auction runs through Oct. 19. You can check out the full collection here.
“Michelle is an icon of the world’s most popular sport,” said Ken Goldin, founder of Goldin Auctions. “This collection shows why, spanning across two decades of excellence.”
It’s incredible to see this much soccer history available in one collection up for auction and I’m sure most of you have two questions: How much? And why?
To answer the question of why, we reached out to Goldin Auctions but have not yet received an answer. A portion of proceeds from the Michelle Akers auction will go to the Michelle Akers Horse Rescue and Outreach Foundation, a horse/animal rescue work and farm relocation program, so that appears to be the impetus for the auction.
Akers also seems motivated to inspire another generation of women footballers.
For the question of how much, prices in the Michelle Akers auction range from a $25,000 minimum bid for the 1991 World Cup Golden Boot trophy to $100 minimum for a Mike Stanley game-worn Red Sox jersey that was gifted to Akers. The two Women’s World Cup winner’s medals and Olympic gold medal are $20,000 each.
Arguably the best deal right now is the $2,500 for Akers’ Silver Ball trophy she won at the 1991 Women’s World Cup. The 1999 Bronze Ball is also available for $2,000.
Of course, unless you’re the type of person who spends $75K on a watch, these trophies are probably out of your price range. There are some slightly more affordable options.
You can get a 1999 Akers jersey for $300, some game-worn boots for $200 and a package of used shin guards, arm bands and old PowerBars for $200.
Keep in mind, these are all minimum bid prices. This is an auction, and prices will only increase.
On sale since Sept. 23, only 23 of the 59 pieces have had bids placed on them as of Friday afternoon, mostly on the cheaper items. No bids have been made on the most precious pieces costing five figures.
Whether or not there will be a late rush from bidders as the auction comes to a close — like every eBay auction I’ve been involved with — remains to be seen. Personally, $20,000 for an Olympic gold medal seems like a steal, but then again, I don’t what $20,000 even looks like because I’m a poor sportswriter. But for any regular Joe millionaire, $20K is nothing, right? Maybe John Oliver will buy one of the items to give to his wax presidents.
For those who are worried about Akers losing all her memorabilia, don’t fret. She’s not selling everything.
And it’s also important to remember all proceeds are going to a good cause, one Akers is passionate about.
So if you’ve ever wanted to own a World Cup winner’s medal without doing any of the work necessary to actually win one, this Michelle Akers auction is your chance. Or better yet, make a donation to help one of the world’s greatest footballers care for animals in need.