NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
The document that "cursed" the Boston Red Sox for 86 years could end up disappointing some needy people in New England once again.
The original 1919 contract selling Babe Ruth to from the Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $100,000 is being auctioned by a Rhode Island philanthropist, Alan Shawn Feinstein, on the eBay auction site. He has stated he intends to use proceeds to benefit a Rhode Island homeless shelter.
But after bidding topped $1 million, Monday a number of the top bids were withdrawn, either due to "administrative cancellation" or "entered wrong bid amount," according to the bid history for the item on the online auction site. That left the top bid at only $470,100 as of 6 a.m. ET Tuesday, about six hours before bidding was due to close.
The new lower top bid does not meet the reserve price set by the seller, which means that unless the top bid is raised, the contract will not be sold. The reserve price is not known to bidders. Neither Feinstein now the antiques dealer handling the sale for him on eBay were immediate available for comment early Tuesday.
In addition to the contract, a successful bidder would receive a 4-page feature story about the curse that kept the Red Sox from winning the World Series, and a letter from Hall of Famer Ty Cobb describing Ruth as baseball's greatest player.
More than 200 bids have been received in the auction, which ends at 12:08 p.m. ET Tuesday. As of Tuesday morning bids were only being accepted from pre-approved bidders.
According to the eBay page describing the auction, proceeds from the sale will go to the House of Hope, a homeless shelter in Warwick, R.I.
The 73-year-old Feinstein told the New York Times that he has raised another $2 million for charity by selling copies of the contract, which he bought in 1993 for $99,000, for $30 each.
The Feinstein Foundation's Web site says Feinstein, who made his fortune as a financial newsletter publisher, wants to name the shelter for a late Sister of Mercy nun, Fran Conway, who was a die-hard Sox fan. It says the shelter for needy families was in danger of closing before he stepped in and promised to raise $100,000 to keep it operating.
The item description says that right after Feinstein donated the contract for the auction last month, the Red Sox won the eight straight games. That streak let the Sox become the first major-league team to come back from down three games to none in a best-of-seven series to beat the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
The Red Sox then swept the St. Louis Cardinals for their first World Series title since 1918 -- which, of course, was the year before Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees, which some fans believe led to Boston's baseball curse.
"Maybe all the good that came from the sale of these contracts made the gods smile," Feinstein told the Times. "From good comes good. Maybe someday, these kids will tell their grandkids, 'We helped break the jinx on the Red Sox.'"
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