ZELENSKYY SIGNED BASEBALL PURCHASED BY JIM IRSAY COLTS OWNER; PORTION OF PROCEEDS GOING TO UKRAINE RELIEF EFFORTS.
Zelenskyy originally signed the ball in two languages, Ukrainian cursive, and English print, in 2019.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay announced Thursday that he has purchased the baseball signed by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Irsay paid $50,103 at the Boston-based RR Auction, which will be donating more than $15,000 to relief efforts in Ukraine, as the Russian invasion continues.
OutKick relayed last month that the ball was up for sale, which was expected to go for $15,000.
Zelenskyy originally signed the ball in two languages, Ukrainian cursive, and English print, during a September 2019 visit to New York.
The ball comes with a letter signed by Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations at the time.
The ball had previously been in the possession of Randy L. Kaplan, a government affairs specialist in New York. Yelchenko gifted the ball to Kaplan, who has been collecting baseballs with the John Hancock of world leaders on them since 1996.
TMZ Sports reports there were 35 bids on the baseball.
