GU's Holy Grail

[joelsabi]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

thanks for all the input. the concept of the holy grail has come up in many threads. it seem there is no consensus as to what is THE item in game used equipment. perhaps the focus we have is more on our own personal grail and thats fine. i find the threads on personal grail more interesting as each one of us have our own chase.

[joelsabi]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

Baseball's lost treasures

Check your attic! Experts reveal the top five Holy Grails of America's pastime. Could they still be out there somewhere?

By Dennis McCafferty

If you have any idea where these valuable items could be, we're all ears. Send us an e-mail at usaw@usaweekend.com. Or use this form.
At the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., there are items such as the uniform, cap and shoes Hank Aaron wore to hit his record-breaking 715th home run, as well as all seven caps Nolan Ryan wore when he pitched no-hitters. But there are many other highly valued artifacts you won't find: As the years have passed and legend grows, certain memorabilia have emerged as lost treasures. (If you have any idea where these valuable items could be, we're all ears. Send us an e-mail at usaw@usaweekend.com.)
Babe Ruth's "called shot" home run ball is worth $2 million.

Call them the Rosebuds of Baseball or the Holy Grails of America's Pastime. They'd fetch a pretty price, for certain. But there's a catch: Nobody seems to know what happened to them. USA WEEKEND Magazine has convened a panel of experts from the Baseball Hall of Fame and two of the top sports memorabilia companies in the country, Memorabilia Evaluation and Research Services (Mears) and Lelands.com, to provide this ranked list of baseball's greatest lost treasures, along with their estimated value, as provided by Lelands.

5. Bill Wambsganss' unassisted triple-play glove ($250,000): Not familiar with the unique feat of the Cleveland player they called "Wamby"? On Oct. 10, 1920, he was playing for the Indians in the World Series when he performed the first and only unassisted triple play in series history. An unidentified man contacted the hall about 20 years ago and said Wamby had dropped off the glove for him to repair. He told them that the former player never returned to pick it up. The man assured hall officials he would turn the glove over to them. "But we never heard back from him again," says Ted Spencer, vice president and chief curator at the hall.

4. Jackie Robinson's first bat ($350,000): Robinson broke the color barrier when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, braving taunts and threats on and off the field. He made his debut on April 15, 1947; unfortunately, he went 0 for 3. But it didn't matter. The debut bat of the future Hall of Famer would be worth a small fortune. Where it ended up ... who knows? It's believed that, at the time, nobody pulled the bat to preserve it for the ages, so its whereabouts are now unknown. If it were to be recovered, it would have meaning beyond baseball. "Robinson transcends the sport," says Josh Evans, founder of Lelands. "He changed America. Collectors appreciate that."

3. Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" home run ball ($1 million): On Oct. 3, 1951, Thomson, a New York Giants outfielder, hit a home run off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds to win the National League pennant. "This is still the greatest event ever: Like the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team win, it was an all-American moment," Evans says. "When Thomson's home run allowed the hapless Giants to beat the Dodgers, everyone was watching or listening to it." Many claimed to have this ball, but not a single one has been properly authenticated. In fact, Thomson told hall officials that a dozen baseballs ended up at the clubhouse the day after the game, each one said to be the home run ball. "Any one of the balls could have been it," Spencer says. "But who knows for sure?"

2. Joe Jackson's 1919 home jersey ($1.2 million): Collectors value "home" jerseys more than "away" uniforms. And no jersey in baseball history conveys a story of such tragic proportions. Jackson's career .356 batting average ranks third all-time. But the 1919 "Black Sox" World Series scandal destroyed Jackson's career. He and seven other players were banished for life for allegedly throwing the championship, despite the fact that Jackson batted .375 during the series. Today, his jersey is nowhere to be found. "Joe Jackson is legendary for his bat and his mystique," says Dave Bushing, the official authenticator for Mears (mearsonline.com). "The movie Field of Dreams revived public interest in the debate over whether he belongs in the Hall of Fame. So the home World Series jersey -- a great symbol of his greatness and the sadness of his story -- would be of tremendous value."

1. And the most-sought-after item ... Babe Ruth's "called shot" home run ball ($2 million): Nobody combined baseball skills and a zeal for life like Ruth did. He had an endless appetite for food, booze and women. But he also was an engaging man with a fondness for children. This home run ball signifies his final dramatic moment in a World Series -- and perhaps his most storied home run ever. Although some doubt has been cast about what really happened, the legend remains this: In 1932, against the Cubs in Game 3, Ruth reportedly pointed to the center field bleachers during an at-bat, as if to say that's where he was going to hit his next home run. On the next pitch, he did. The ball's value remains the highest of the lost treasures, not so much because of the accomplishment, but rather the icon behind it. "The best will always be Ruth," Evans says. "He remains larger than life. He drank. He womanized. He gave that dramatic farewell speech at Yankee Stadium. And he is the greatest slugger ever."

[FastLane80]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

How about A Ruth Boston uniform? I know it's a semi-old thread but it was on my mind and I felt compelled to post it.

[joelsabi]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

How about A Ruth Boston uniform? I know it's a semi-old thread but it was on my mind and I felt compelled to post it.

i wonder if this is lost or owned by someone.

[FastLane80]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

i wonder if this is lost or owned by someone.

Perhaps there's one in the hall of fame? I have yet to make the journey to Cooperstown so I wouldn't know. By the way, I was talking about a Boston Red Sox uniform. Another one for me would be the bat/ball from the Kirk Gibson '88 World Series home run.

[FastLane80]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

3. Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" home run ball ($1 million): On Oct. 3, 1951, Thomson, a New York Giants outfielder, hit a home run off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds to win the National League pennant. "This is still the greatest event ever: Like the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team win, it was an all-American moment," Evans says. "When Thomson's home run allowed the hapless Giants to beat the Dodgers, everyone was watching or listening to it." Many claimed to have this ball, but not a single one has been properly authenticated. In fact, Thomson told hall officials that a dozen baseballs ended up at the clubhouse the day after the game, each one said to be the home run ball. "Any one of the balls could have been it," Spencer says. "But who knows for sure?"

Here's one example:

http://lelands.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=73828

[joelsabi]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

Here's one example:
http://lelands.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=73828

from the auction description:
The ball, which has been in our consignor's possession ever since, has the seal of an Official National League Baseball from the time period, with what appears to be a Frick stamping though the label is hard to read. The Spalding logo is also visible. There is writing on the ball in pen that is also difficult to identify. There is an inscription that reads: "N.Y. Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers, 1951, Last Game, Pennet [sic] won by N.Y., B. Thompson [sic] Home Run, Last of 9th." The ink on the ball is 100% guaranteed to be vintage, as is the ball, as the condition will attest. Ball has substantial tonging and foxing of the surface, with a bit of shellack rendering a nice shine. There are areas of erosion and dirt spotting, but the laces are still tight as a drum. Bottom line: there is no doubt that this ball is at the very least from the unforgettable game. We cannot, however, guarantee that this is the actual Thomson home run ball because we are relying solely on second-had information. We can tell you that this is as close as we have come to retrieving baseball's "holy grail," if indeed this is not it.
Bottom line: there is no doubt that this ball is at the very least from the unforgettable game. We cannot, however, guarantee that this is the actual Thomson home run ball because we are relying solely on second-had information. We can tell you that this is as close as we have come to retrieving baseball's "holy grail," if indeed this is not it.



nice research, fastlane

imho, you just cant says that this was the homerun ball based on the facts. maybe ball from that game but you cant say with certainty that it was the thompson hr ball. as leland say in its bottom line they cannot guarantee it.

can you ever take a fan's inscription on a game used baseball as a fact? plus the owner is not the one who caught the ball. i would need to ask who wrote the inscription on the ball. wow i cant believe it fetch that amount.

i am just curious what the stories were of the other thompson hr balls

[FastLane80]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

nice research, fastlane

imho, you just cant says that this was the homerun ball based on the facts. maybe ball from that game but you cant say with certainty that it was the thompson hr ball. as leland say in its bottom line they cannot guarantee it.

can you ever take a fan's inscription on a game used baseball as a fact? plus the owner is not the one who caught the ball. i would need to ask who wrote the inscription on the ball. wow i cant believe it fetch that amount.

i am just curious what the stories were of the other thompson hr balls

Eh when I get bored I like looking at past auction results I saw the previous post and it reminded of that lot.

My thoughts exactly. There is no proof but yet just the idea of it possibly being Thompson's home run ball is enough to excite some (there must have been more than 1 bidding) enough to shell out that outrageous amount of money. If it was THE ball, then that bidder got the deal of a lifetime. If the ball was not the real deal but was used in the game, it still holds a significant value. If the ball had nothing to do with the game, he got ripped off. In my opinion, it's taking a gamble but if you're able to afford it, it's at the very least a nice story to tell. If we only had ESPN back then

[joelsabi]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

Eh when I get bored I like looking at past auction results I saw the previous post and it reminded of that lot.

My thoughts exactly. There is no proof but yet just the idea of it possibly being Thompson's home run ball is enough to excite some (there must have been more than 1 bidding) enough to shell out that outrageous amount of money. If it was THE ball, then that bidder got the deal of a lifetime. If the ball was not the real deal but was used in the game, it still holds a significant value. If the ball had nothing to do with the game, he got ripped off. In my opinion, it's taking a gamble but if you're able to afford it, it's at the very least a nice story to tell. If we only had ESPN back then

i enjoy looking at auction literature too. lelands does a nice job of espousing on an item they are selling. now adays you can verify a homerun baseball from espn coverage. very true. now i wonder what is the oldest verified homerun baseball.
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[FastLane80]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

i enjoy looking at auction literature too. lelands does a nice job of espousing on an item they are selling. now adays you can verify a homerun baseball from espn coverage. very true. now i wonder what is the oldest verified homerun baseball.

This guy has some interesting stuff and this piece is pretty old: http://seth.com/coll_histbseballs_29.html

[joelsabi]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

seth's website is my favorite website of a sports collector. his theme balls are amazing and he own's some really kewl items.

[joelsabi]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

This guy has some interesting stuff and this piece is pretty old: http://seth.com/coll_histbseballs_29.html

description:
To think, that this ball was once held and pitched by the great Walter Johnson adds to its aura. The Official National League ball was later inscribed, "Kelley's (sic) home run ball hit into left field stand-World Series Oct. 9, 1924. Caught by John L. Signer" on the side panel.


wow. A verified walter johnson pitched baseball.

[karamaxjoe]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

Seth Swirsky's website is absolutely spectacular. I enjoy not only the pictures but the write up Seth does on each item. You can really tell how proud he is of each item and how much he enjoys the quirkiness of some of the items. We should all strive to have sites like that. I'm going to incorporate some of his ideas into my site.

Let's face it.......we're just a bunch of guys who like having our own little piece of the Hall of Fame in our basements.

[MRMusial]

Re: GU's Holy Grail

Let's face it.......we're just a bunch of guys who like having our own little piece of the Hall of Fame in our basements.

Well said, Mike, well said...