'Buckner ball' sells for more than $400,000

The ball that rolled between the legs of Boston first baseman Bill Buckner, allowing the Mets to win Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, has been sold at auction for $418,250, The Associated Press reported Friday.

The ball was reportedly sold to a Dallas buyer who wanted to remain anonymous. It was auctioned off by songwriter Seth Swirsky as the centerpiece of his collection.

"People ask, 'Why would you have a ball about sorrow?'" Swirsky said in October. "To me, it encompasses the two emotions of the game. The highs and lows, all encapsulated in one ball."

The game was tied when the Mets' Mookie Wilson came to the plate and hit the ball -- a slow grounder -- through Buckner's legs, allowing the winning run to score. The Mets went on to win the series in Game 7 with an 8-5 victory.

The ball was originally picked up by umpire Ed Montague, and it was later given to longtime Mets executive Arthur Richman. Actor Charlie Sheen bought it for more than $93,000 in 1992, and Swirsky won it at auction eight years later for $64,000.

Swirsky offered the ball for sale on eBay for $1 million in October but could not find anyone willing to pay that price.

Other artifacts in the collection included the ball hit by Reggie Jackson for his third home run in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, a home run ball hit by Babe Ruth in 1921, a letter from former Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis in which he denied the reinstatement of former White Sox star Shoeless Joe Jackson and the hat worn by Jose Canseco in 1993, when a ball bounced off his head and over the outfield wall for a home run.