Led by a strong interest in Baltimore Orioles items, the annual radio auction for Center Stage on Sunday raised a record $159,461. The total was offered toward almost 775 items available during the 16-hour sale broadcast by WBAL-AM (1090).
"The goal is always to do better than the year before and we certainly did that," said Sydney Wilner, coordinator of the auction co-sponsored by WBAL and The Sun. Last year's auction raised $131,200, a total short of the previous record, 1993's $135,500.
Despite the uncertainty posed by the baseball players' strike, Orioles items drew strong bids, Ms. Wilner said.
The winning bidder offered $3,050 for a child to serve as honorary bat boy/girl at a Camden Yards game. A pair of tickets to see Cal Ripken Jr. tie Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak went for $920, and a Ripken-autographed bat brought $750.
One lucky bidder offered $580 for a chance to be an extra in the film "Home for the Holidays," currently being filmed in Baltimore under the direction of Jodie Foster, with stars Holly Hunter, Anne Bancroft and Robert Downey Jr.
Lunch with Gov. Parris N. Glendening brought $670, while lunch with former Gov. William Donald Schaefer drew $360.
The auction's biggest single item -- a 12-day Mediterranean cruise valued at more than $10,000 -- was a bargain for a physician who, volunteers reported, called in the winning $7,010 bid from a hospital operating room.
Sunday's auction brought to almost $1.5 million the 18-year auction total. The event benefits Center Stage's annual operating fund. Almost 150 volunteers contributed time to answer phones and otherwise staff the event, said Ms. Wilner, whose volunteer auction assistant was Sally Palmbaum.