From the exclusive personal collection of Hall of Fame slugger Mike Schmidt, this enchanting piece of royal hardware is among baseball’s most coveted awards and was presented to Schmidt by the Maryland Professional Baseball Players Association after the 1980 season. Created in 1956 in honor of Maryland’s favorite son, Babe Ruth it was originally called the “Sultan of Swat Award” to honor the player with the greatest “slugging average”—combining home runs and runs batted in, it has been presented to some of the greatest hitters in the game’s history including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Johnny Bench. Schmidt led the National League in home runs with 38 and RBI with 121 and led the Phillies to their first World Series title. Schmidt also won the first of his three National League MVP awards that season.

This grand and glorious looking crown is truly fit for a king with six be-jeweled baseball diamonds circling the golden metal headband and crushed red velvet center head covering. The Maryland Professional Baseball Association’s diamond shaped logo is affixed to the golden diamond on the front of the crown just above the engraved raised text reading: “BABE RUTH CROWN PRESENTED TO MIKE SCHMIDT FOR OUTSTANDING BATTING ACHIEVEMENT 1980 MARYLAND PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION.” There are three sections of engraved text on the back of the crown reading: “1980 MVP NATIONAL LEAGUE 1980 MVP WORLD SERIES,” “1980 AVERAGES BATTING AVG. .286 H.R.-48 R.B.I. - 121 HITS - 157” and “1980 ALL STAR GAME 1980 ALL PRO TEAM.” This is the actual award given to Mike Schmidt, it is not a replica and no duplicates were ever authorized by Schmidt. This piece de resistance originated from Schmidt’s private collection.

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