Don Bradman baggy green sold in auction after 75 years, was the one he wore during India’s maiden tour as independent nation.
Don Bradman baggy green sold for AU$460,000.
An unknown buyer at a Gold Coast auction paid AU$460,000 (US$320,000) for the loose green headgear that Sir Donald Bradman wore in India’s first series as an independent nation.
Before giving it to their opening bowler, Ranga Sohoni, Bradman wore the headgear during his last home series against India in 1947–48. Since then, Sohoni’s family has kept it in their possession without ever showing it to the public.
The company’s chief operating officer, Lee Hames, called it the “holy grail of cricket” after it was sold on Monday by Lloyds Auctions in Queensland.
“It has been hidden for 75 years, that’s over three generations under lock and key,” he said. “If you were a family member you were only allowed to look at it when you were 16 years old for five minutes.”
Sohoni bowled India’s first ball of the match, and thus the first of the post-colonial era, although playing only the first Test of their 4-0 series loss and failing to take a wicket in their innings loss.
“D.G. Bradman” and “S.W. Sohoni” are written on the inside of the cap, while “1947-48” is stitched underneath the Australia crest. There are eleven known Bradman baggy greens from a time when players wore different caps for each series.
In 2020, Bradman’s first cap from his 1928 debut sold for Aus$450,000. The record for such an object is held by Shane Warne’s baggy green, which in 2020 raised Aus$1,007,500 for the Australian Red Cross bushfire campaign.