SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -Barry Bonds' record-breaking 756th home run ball was auctioned Saturday for $752,467, well more than the estimates by memorabilia experts.

Home run No. 755, the ball that tied the record, went for $186,750, including the bid and fee, according to Sotheby's/SCP Auctions.

Both final prices included the winning bid plus a 20 percent buyer's fee, according to the auction houses handling the sale.

Bonds broke Aaron's record of 755 with a shot into the right-center field seats on Aug. 7 against the Washington Nationals in San Francisco.

Matt Murphy, a 21-year-old construction supervisor from New York, emerged from a scuffle with the record-breaking ball after paying $100 for a $12 ticket to the game during a layover on his way 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 released 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.''

Experts had predicted the ball that tied Hank Aaron's home run record would fetch about $200,000, and that the record-breaker would be sold for least $500,000.

``I feel like I did the right thing with it,'' said Adam Hughes, 34, a plumber from La Jolla who came up with No. 755 in the left-center field seats in San Diego on Aug. 4.

Hughes said that after taxes and auction house fees, he expects to take home about $90,000 from the sale. He said he would probably invest some of the money and use some of it to help out a cousin who just started college. He might also go on the cruise, he said.

The buyers weren't identified.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.