Curt Schilling forced to sell famous bloody sock

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It might be the most famous sock in the world, and it's going up for auction under less-than-auspicious circumstances.

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is auctioning off his famous "bloody sock" worn during the 2004 World Series, to help pay off millions lost in the collapse of his video game company, 38 Studios, the Boston Globe reported.

Schilling, who said he sunk his entire baseball fortune into the company, wore the sock pitching in Game 2 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He suffered a torn tendon sheath in his right ankle during the first game of the division series against the Anaheim Angels, and sutures surgical repairs left the wound seeping blood.

Two socks--one worn during the sixth game of the League Championship against the Yankees, and the other during the World Series--became symbolic of the team's remarkable comeback victory from a three-game deficit (a first-time feat) to defeat New York and their first World Series victory in 86 years.

The World Series sock up for auction has been on loan to the Baseball Hall of Fame since 2004, and is expected to fetch at least $100,000 at auction on Feb. 23.

Schilling threw away the ALCS sock--the more famous of the two--in the trash after the game.

"It’s one of those pieces where the sky is the limit,” said Chris Ivy, director of the sports department for Heritage Auctions. “It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears for the Red Sox to finally break the ‘Curse of the Bambino,’ and this is the perfect piece that embodies that.”

Several other items belonging to Schilling, including a Lou Gehrig baseball cap which could sell for as much as $200,000 will also be auctioned.

Schilling holds at least $50 million in debt from the collapse of 38 Studios, which failed after it was lured to Rhode Island from Massachusetts with a $75 million guaranteed loan in exchange for jobs brought to the state. The company defaulted on the loan in May 2012 and laid off its staff.

Schilling said on Twitter he wasn't happy about the sale of the sock, "but I made commitments and obligations I have to honor, so you do what you have to do."

@nickscerra Yep, sucks. But I made commitments and obligations I have to honor, so you do what you have to do.

— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) January 17, 2013