By Roman Wolfe
Hip-Hop/publishing mogul Marc Ecko was the unidentified buyer who purchased Barry Bonds' 756 home run ball last week for $752,467 at Sotheby's/SCP auctions on Saturday (September 15).
According to Ecko, he will take the historical ball and allow the public to choose its fate.
Starting today, fans can go www.vote756.com and choose to "give the ball to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, permanently brand the ball with an asterisk before sending it to Cooperstown or put the ball on a rocket ship and launch it into space."
"We all have opinions about this ball," Ecko said of the unusual proposition. "Some feel it is a piece of history that belongs in the Hall of Fame. Others believe it is the embodiment of a cheating culture - not just in baseball, but in professional sports generally."
Bonds broke Hank Aaron's home record of 755 on August 7 in San Francisco.
The ball was caught by 21-year-old student Matt Murphy of New York, who paid $100 for a $12 ticket during a layover on a trip to Australia.
"I had hoped to keep the ball, but when I determined that was not the best strategy at this stage of my life, this definitely was the right decision," Murphy said in a statement after the sale. "It is an honor to be a part of baseball history and I wish the new owner well with whatever they elect to do with the ball."
Marc Ecko enterprises produces a number of popular fashionable lines, including the *ecko unltd and red brands, as well as, G-Unit Clothing, Zoo York and Avirex.
"I bought this baseball to democratize the debate over what to do with it and allow the public to decide," Ecko explained.
Ecko also owns and publishes Complex magazine as well as a graffiti video game titled Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.
Online voting started today and concludes next week at 11:59 pm EST on Tuesday, September 25th.
