What's the most unusual place you have scored game used items?

[camarokids]

Where is the most unusual place you have bought or received a game used item?

Mine is, I took out the fiberglass shower stall and built the shower floor/pan. Then we had a plumber sweat in some pipes for the shower spraying system. Well the first plumber to come out sweated in the pipes. After I got done tiling the shower, it was time to hook up the sprayers and shower head.

One of the pipes was leaking.

So two plumbers from Mister Quik came out to fix the leak. After seeing my game used collection in the basement, one of guys showed me pics of a bat that was left behind in the house he bought in 2004. He asked me if I wanted it. I paid him $20 plus $9 to ship it to me. He lives in Southern part of Indy. I just got it the mail today.

Not a big name, but it is a Kevin Baez 1999 Reds bat. In 1999 he played in Indianapolis with the Indians, who were then a Reds Affiliate.

[coxfan]

My story cannot match yours, but I was walking by Capital City Stadium in Columbia, SC in late September 2004. My purpose was to buy advance State Fair tickets and get some exercise, as we live about a mile from the stadium which is about a half-mile from the Fairgrounds beyond it. By the roadside, about three yards in on the shoulder, I saw a "South Atlantic League" ball. It was certainly from the League playoffs that had been played at the stadium about 3-4 weeks before. It was wet from rains that had occurred since the playoffs.

I recall that a HR had been hit into that area by an opponent during a playoff game, but I hadn't looked for it because there were ball hawks outside the stadium at the time and I figured they'd gotten it. Furthermore, the ball was historic because Columbia had just lost its minor-league club after the playoffs (the Mets, in the process of changing to the Red Sox and moving to Greenville, SC.) Thus, my find was probably the last minor-league ball ever recovered at that stadium which was built in 1927 for minor-league play.

They've just annouced that the stadium ( now being used by amateur teams), will be demolished in the fall and replaced by a Wal-Mart. Thus, my roadside ball will probably remain forever as the last minor-league ball ever from that stadium, where Hank Aaron played games he describes in detail in his autobiography. Many others, fron Frank Robinson to Derek Jeter and hundreds of others MLB players since 1927 played games there (usually as opposing players though Robinson was local).I'm amazed that it survived for 3-4 weeks, but it wasn't visible from passing cars and there are no buildings by it.

[bradleysupplies]

About 5 years ago there was a seller on Craigslist selling a Roy Campanella autographed baseball and I asked her for pictures of it. She wanted too much at the time and I passed on it. About 6 months later she emails me, says that she desperately needed to sell it and cut her price in 1/2. She also said she had inherited multiple storage units of stuff from her great aunt and grandmother - both of whom were apparently hoarders. She was in the process of going through everything and sorting it by collectible type.

She offered to let me come over and go through things - I would have first crack at whatever was there, so I jumped at the chance. Her tiny apartment was floor to ceiling boxes and bins of every kind of collectible. Stamps, coins, baseball cards, toys, dolls, and even Elvis stuff. I don't personally collect many of those things, but I was able to help her out and help her find approximate values.

After a few hours helping her sort things, I pick up a clear vinyl bag like what a shower curtain or set of sheets come in. She says, "Oh, that's game worn". I had no idea what it was, crammed into this tiny bag. As I take it out, I see "Stars" on the front, an NHL 75th Anniversary patch, and the name "Duchene" on the back along with what might have been a few blood stains. I admitted to her I do not know a lot about hockey. I checked for set tags (there were none) and other game use and I didn't know if this was simply an autographed jersey, or something her son had worn (she said he played hockey). She threw out a price and I took the chance. I've had many locals look at it and gotten a definite thumbs up and a lot of interest.

Maybe it's not a totally unusual place, but buried among all this junk was this one jersey and a complete surprise to me.

[David]

My mom volunteered for a Seattle church charity that distributes donated clothes to the local poor. A Seahawks employee dropped a bunch of stuff that included game used Seahawks practice stuff. Nothing valuable but shorts and shirts. I sold them on eBay with the proceeds going to the charity. The clothes were humongous and wouldn't fit 99% of the population.

[commando]

One day I arrived home from running a few errands around town, and found a large box on the porch waiting for me. The box was from Dr. Jerry Argovitz, the founder and owner of the USFL Houston Gamblers.

In the box were several VHS tapes, a bunch of Gamblers caps (most unused) and several different types of shirts that he wore during the days of the club. He literally cleaned out his closet and sent all this stuff my way.

[OaklandAsFan]

not game used per se but I did score something interesting a few weeks back. I won a lot of 9 bats from the Marlins on the MLB auction and when the package showed up at my door it was just a Marlins bat bag with the team logo (old one) they just shoved the bats in the bag and shipped it as is.

[jake33]

In college I worked for an arena league team and I showed up for work one day and the team annouced they were no longer operating. When they made the annoucement in the office. I asked someone about the jerseys and I never got a definative "DON'T take them" So, I filled my college backpack up with a good 15 jerseys. Sold them all about 20 minutes later online.

Also, picked up a "Buccaneers jersey" as it was listed by a storage unit company. Turned out to be a 2003 game used darian barnes jersey with 19 team repairs, still have it today, my favorite bucs jersey.

[jppopma]

I once picked up a framed gamer from a guy who's owned the framing company. He was closing up shop and liquidating all of the unclaimed pictures and other items. He said that the player had the jersey framed and never picked it up, nor came to claim it when he was contacted.

Personally, I wouldn't spend the money to have other jerseys professionally framed but this one does look very very nice.

[UTeric3232]

I never got a definative "DON'T take them" So, I filled my college backpack up with a good 15 jerseys. Sold them all about 20 minutes later online.

Sounds like a potential felony...lol

[Preston]

I found an Albert Haynesworth Titans game worn jersey w/ the 10th anniversary patch at a local Goodwill for $4.49 (after my 10% college ID discount) - probably donated by his ex-wife who is a friend of mine.