Former Red Sox pitcher selling famed 2004 World Series sock in effort to pay off debt to Rhode Island over 38 Studios bankruptcy.

Former Boston Red Sox ace pitcher Curt Schilling, whose game company 38 Studios went bankrupt last year, has agreed to sell his famed bloody sock from the 2004 World Series. The Associated Press reports that online bidding will begin around February 4, with an in-person auction to be held February 23.

The sock is expected to net at least $100,000.

A controversial $75 million loan from the state of Rhode Island in 2010 enticed 38 Studios to relocate from Maynard, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island. In May 2012, the company laid off its entire staff and filed for bankruptcy a month later, leaving Rhode Island on the hook for an estimated $100 million.

Schilling had personally guaranteed many of the loans, listing the sock, among other memorabilia items, as collateral. According to a September agreement, Schilling is bound to sell the sock to repay lenders.

The bloody sock in question is one of two that Schilling became famous for. The other is from Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, during which Schilling famously fought through an ankle injury against the New York Yankees. This sock, stained with blood from Schilling's effort, is rumored to have been thrown out in a trash can inside Yankee Stadium.

Schilling is believed to have invested as much as $50 million in the failed 38 Studios. He told Boston sports station WEEI last year that he was prepared to sell the sock, noting, "I have debt. I have obligations. I put my name to it."

38 Studios will not face federal charges related to its bankruptcy, but the state of Rhode Island is currently suing Schilling and other architects of the loan. The state levied 17 counts of wrongdoing against Schilling and others, including counts of fraud, unjust enrichment, civil conspiracy, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, negligence, legal malpractice, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions, and breach of fiduciary duty.

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