Owner of Barry Bonds' 755th Home Run Ball Also Putting Fate in Public's Hands
Rich Mueller
September 19, 2007
Ben Padnos, an "internet entrepreneur" based in Southern California is the leader of a group which bid $186,750 for the ball that tied Hank Aaron's record. Now, he's letting baseball fans decide what to do with it.
Like Marc Ecko, who spent $752,467 on #756, Padnos says he and his group of investors will leave the vote on its fate up to fans. They have created a website called EndTheDebate.com where fans can vote to "save" the ball for Cooperstown or "smash" it.
"Based on your votes, we will either DONATE Bonds' 755th to the Baseball Hall of Fame, or DESTROY the ball by smashing it into pieces, leaving Hank Aaron's 755 as the sole display of this long-standing record," a statement on the site reads. There is a running tally of the vote on the site.
The group plans to pay for the purchase of the ball by selling 7,550 very small ad squares to companies at $200 per square. 1,000 squares would cover the cost of the ball and companies or individuals would likely be allowed to purchase more than one square. Voting will end when every square has been sold. The advertising purchased will remain in place until 2012, the fifth year anniversary of Bonds' record-setting season.
The website stated that the 755 coalition is also planning to offer a prize to one fan. "Soon we intend to announce an exciting contest where one lucky winner will be selected for an unforgetable prize. We can't announce the details yet, but we promise it'll be worth the wait. "
As of early Wednesday morning, only a few squares had been sold. Padnos did not return a call from
Like Marc Ecko, who spent $752,467 on #756, Padnos says he and his group of investors will leave the vote on its fate up to fans. They have created a website called EndTheDebate.com where fans can vote to "save" the ball for Cooperstown or "smash" it.
"Based on your votes, we will either DONATE Bonds' 755th to the Baseball Hall of Fame, or DESTROY the ball by smashing it into pieces, leaving Hank Aaron's 755 as the sole display of this long-standing record," a statement on the site reads. There is a running tally of the vote on the site.
The group plans to pay for the purchase of the ball by selling 7,550 very small ad squares to companies at $200 per square. 1,000 squares would cover the cost of the ball and companies or individuals would likely be allowed to purchase more than one square. Voting will end when every square has been sold. The advertising purchased will remain in place until 2012, the fifth year anniversary of Bonds' record-setting season.
The website stated that the 755 coalition is also planning to offer a prize to one fan. "Soon we intend to announce an exciting contest where one lucky winner will be selected for an unforgetable prize. We can't announce the details yet, but we promise it'll be worth the wait. "
As of early Wednesday morning, only a few squares had been sold. Padnos did not return a call from