(CN) – A former Major League Baseball player claims in court that an auction service has not paid for or returned an authentic 1964 Mickey Mantle jersey.
Edward Kranepool, 73, sued Beckett Auctions LLC dba Goodwin & Co. in Nassau County, N.Y., Supreme Court on Friday.
Kranepool, who played for the New York Mets from 1962 to1979, says he met Mantle in 1961 when he tried out for the New York Yankees and again in 1962 when Kranepool was drafted by the Mets.
Kranepool received the jersey as a gift following a game in 1964, according to the complaint filed by attorney Steven Harfenist of Harfenist Kraut & Perlstein in Lake Success, N.Y.
Kranepool claims he agreed in 2016 to give Bill Goodwin, an agent for Beckett, the jersey to sell on consignment. He says in his lawsuit that he requested a written agreement from defendant to sell the jersey on consignment.
“Eager to take possession of the valuable Mantle jersey, Goodwin represented that he would send Kranepool a written agreement once Goodwin returned to his home office in St. Louis and assured Kranepool that Beckett would honor their oral consignment agreement,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit continues, “Despite Kranepool’s repeated requested for a written consignment agreement for the Mantle jersey, Beckett failed and refused to provide a written agreement.”
On Jan. 10, 2017, Goodwin allegedly sent Kranepool’s agent a text message stating that the jersey was approved by an authenticator “with flying colors.”
But despite having two different authentications, Kranepool claims Beckett never put the jersey up for sale. He says he has requested to have the jersey, which he claims to be valued at $575,000, returned, but Beckett has refused.
Beckett did not return a request for comment emailed Friday after business hours.
Kranepool seeks $595,000 in damages for claims of breach of contract.
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