Rob Gough


Rob Gough is an American actor, entrepreneur, cancer survivor, and sports memorabilia collector. Gough launched his first business, Bidaroo, a penny auction website that later sponsored an entry in the Indianapolis 500.
In 2021, Gough purchased a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card graded PSA 9 for $5.2 million, which was reported as the highest price paid for a sports trading card at that time.

Early life and health

Gough was raised in Indiana. When he was a teenager and a college student at Ball State University, he was diagnosed with bone cancer and underwent chemotherapy and related medical treatment. In an interview with Business Insider, Gough said, "There was never a second that I thought I was going to lose it."

Acting career

In a 2022 interview, Gough stated that while filming the 2022 action film American Siege, Bruce Willis offered informal advice to the cast and crew and was supportive on set, and that he did not notice any issues with Willis's performance during filming.

Entrepreneurship

In 2012, Gough co‑founded Eckim, a digital marketing and performance advertising company that operated coupon and deal websites. He served as president of the company until its sale to Quotient Technology in 2014.
In May 2014, he was profiled by The [New York Times], which covered his role at Eckim and his earlier entrepreneurial ventures.
In 2017, Gough acquired the Los Angeles–based streetwear brand DOPE, serving as its owner and chief executive.

Sports memorabilia

In January 2021, Gough purchased a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card for $5.2 million, which was reported at the time as the highest price paid for a sports card. The transaction was widely covered by national media and cited in discussions of the sports collectibles boom.
Gough engaged in additional transactions involving graded sports cards, including a PSA 10 Pete Maravich Topps rookie card. He was also reported as a winning bidder in United [States Department of the Treasury|United States Treasury] seized asset auctions involving high-grade sports cards.
In 2023, Gough was reported to have acquired and sold additional memorabilia, including game-worn artifacts such as Wayne Gretzky jerseys.

Personal life

Gough has spoken publicly about surviving cancer and has described the experience as formative to his professional and personal ambitions.
He lived in Indianapolis with his fiancée, Cassie, to participate in charitable activities, including fundraisers for local wish‑granting organizations.