Carl “DiMag” Dephillipo was a longtime unpaid clubhouse attendant for Guardians and Browns franchises.

Along the way, he befriended many players and amassed a huge collection of sports memorabilia.

He died four years ago and his collection is being auctioned.

Carl “DiMag” Dephillipo worked for the Cleveland Guardians and Browns for 50 years, but was never paid a dime.

Still, he got rich from the experience.

A visiting clubhouse volunteer, gofer and driver, Dephillipo nurtured lasting friendships with so many Major League Baseball and National Football League greats and hall of famers.

Along the way, he also stockpiled a massive collection of sports memorabilia in the basement of his Brook Park home. Dephillipo, a former railroad employee and steelworker died four years ago. He was 96 years old. Now, his family, is selling his collection.

An online auction of some items began Aug. 21 and runs for a week. A second sale opens Sept. 11. Several more auctions will likely be scheduled because of the size of the collection.

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Nate Ray of Kiko Auctions in Stark County said it took a long while just to move all the memorabilia out of Dephillipo’s house. Kiko still is sorting through boxes and bags.

“About 1,700 balls, 150 bats, 1,000 photos,” Ray said.

Plus hundreds of shirts, jerseys, hats, other assorted souvenirs and bins full of “paper.” Ray said he’s handled many sports memorabilia auctions in his two decades at Kiko. But this, he said, is different.

“We may do a sale where someone has a Mickey Mantle autographed baseball,” he said. “This guy had 18 or 20 of them.”

DiMag was a friend to legends of the games

“To hear DiMag’s name just brings a smile to my face,” said Bob DiBiasio, senior vice president of public affairs for the Guardians and a paid employee of the franchise for nearly a half-century.

DiBiasio, who’s not involved with the sale but knew Dephillipo well, described him as a character.

He was a man who loved his “job.”

It’s unclear exactly when Dephillipo began to officially volunteer, first by cleaning cleats of visiting players at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. But it’s safe to say it was before the disco era.

Dephillipo continued until the COVID pandemic.

“There is no one like him in the game of baseball anymore,” DiBiasio explained.

Dephillipo’s duties ran far and wide.

He drove Yankees manager Joe Torre and bench coach Don Zimmer to the track, took pitcher Roger Clemens to lunch, chauffeured players to and from the hotel, and dropped off and picked up dry cleaning. In the much older days, he was the default ambulance.

“If a player got hurt, he’d take them to Lutheran Hospital in his car,” DiBiasio said.

A 1991 inductee to the Greater Cleveland Slo-Pitch Hall of Fame, Dephillipo also was a trainer and equipment manager for a handful of those amateur teams, according to the group’s website.

“Truly a colorful character,” the website notes.

In its description of the collection, Kiko said DePhillipo actually began working as a boy at Municipal Stadium. And that he was there on that day in 1941 when Yankees star Joe DiMaggio — his childhood idol — saw his still record 56-game hitting streak end.

Dephillipo’s fondness for the “Yankee Clipper” is what earned him the nickname of “DiMag” for as long as anyone can remember.

“Dephillipo’s passion for baseball and generosity earned him friendships with numerous legends,” the Kiko website states. “His Brook Park basement … (was) filled with autographed bats, balls, jerseys, and personal gifts from players — many of whom sought him out for his loyalty and warmth.”

His humility endeared him to many, Kiko went on to explain.

“His remarkable collection and deep relationships with sports icons made him a cherished local legend,” the website states. “Despite his low profile, his impact was lasting — his story is one of passion, friendship and community spirit.”

Whitey Ford asked me to say ‘hello’

That story is partly told through hundreds of pieces of paper in the collection. They include a handwritten note of appreciation from Kansas City Royals President Dan Glass, a birth announcement from Royals player Mike Sweeney, and a letter from former Yankee Mike Ferraro.

In the letter, Ferraro shared that it was really nice of Yogi Berra to be a pallbearer at his father’s recent funeral, that George Steinbrenner called a few weeks ago, and that he just spoke with Whitey Ford.

“Whitey was over to eat last night and he said to say ‘hello,'” Ferraro wrote.

Some autographed balls help to tell more, providing a glimpse into his persona. Like one from baseball’s iron man: “DiMag, to a good man & a good friend, my very best, Cal Ripken, Jr.”

Although Dephillipo was a Cleveland guy, the Royals were his favorite team and he long worked for the California Angels during spring training.

None of the items for sale are certified as authentic by a grading service. It’s a costly, but common process in today’s world of professional collectors. However, Ray said he believes Dephillipo’s story, as a whole, is practically defacto authentication of the collection’s legitimacy.

Four hundred items are offered in the first auction.

They include autographed balls and photos from such baseball greats as DiMaggio, Mantle, Clemens, Ripken, Ford, Harmon Killebrew, Robin Yount, Reggie Jackson, George Brett and Brooks Robinson.

Plus, there’s a hoard of team autographed balls largely from the 1970s and 1980s, along with items such as a box of clubbouse Yankees match packs, game-used bats and a host of autographed game passes.

Ray said one of the most unique items in the first sale is actually football-related. And it likely came about from Dephillipo’s long friendship with Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris.

It’s a vintage cowboy hat, signed by more than two dozen players from Steelers teams of the 1970s.

Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 ortim.botos@cantonrep.com.On Twitter: @tbotosREP