Boston Red Stockings Cards Create a Buzz at Antiques Roadshow
Back in August a lady brought her trove of Boston Red Stockings cards to a taping for Antiques Roadshow. Not only did she have a number of very rare baseball cards, she also had a letter, hand-written by the players of the team, addressed to her great-great-great grandmother.
Who was Grandma?
Apparently, her ancestor had been the landlady for a nice boarding house in Boston back in the 1870s. The players from the Boston team stayed at this boarding house, making it their home in Boston during the playing season.
When they went off on a road trip to play baseball in Washington, D.C. they wrote their letter expressing how much they missed "home" and the great cooking they were used to.
The Red Stockings
Just to let you know, the Boston Red Stockings became the first "dynasty" team in the early 1870s, winning their league championship four years in a row.
The team had been formed in Cincinnati in the 1860s but moved to Boston when attendance started to dwindle.
What was most interesting about this Boston team was that three of the starting nine players went on to be voted into the baseball Hall of Fame. They were Harry Wright (center fielder and co-founder of the team), his brother George Wright (shortstop), and a pitcher named Albert Spaulding.
Those of you familiar with sports may recognize that last name. After baseball, he co-founded the A. G. Spaulding sporting goods company.
Back to the Roadshow
The baseball cards were so rare that experts didn't even know some of them existed any more. But the letter was what really excited the folks at Antiques Roadshow. Here was a letter, hand-written, with original signatures of three Hall of Fame players plus their teammates.
If you've watched Antiques Roadshow, you know how they go about revealing the value of items. Of course, they only show us the things they think are the best. If you want to know the value they put on this family heirloom, take a look at my latest post at http://coolbaseballmemorabilia.com/boston-red-stockings-cards-whats-their-value/.
You'll love the woman's reaction!
One more thing - if you ever have to clean out someone else's home, make sure you check what's in every box. There might be a sports memorabilia treasure in there!
Recent Comments
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Hey Allyn, Apparently Aussie is not rated to receive this video clip. So tell me what was the price and what did she do? Cheers, Helen
Like several other places people have tried to view the video. Sorry that it wouldn't show.
So, here is what they said: since the woman had no intent to sell the treasure (she intended to keep it for her family), they didn't give a sale price. Instead, they told her that she should insure it for "at least" one million dollars.
When they told her that, her mouth dropped open, and she was almost speechless. Cute!
According to some experts in the field of memorabilia the price mentioned was too high, however, the letter is so unusual and has three famous signatures all on one letter that it is almost impossible to say how much someone might pay for it.
What a wonderful piece of history about the all American sport! I am looking forward to sharing this and sending people to your site to read about it! :)
The video is not available in my country, so I hope after a while when most people have seen it you will tell me the value, great article
Hi Marith, please see my response to Loes in the previous set of comments. Neither of you could see the video.
wow, that is just amazing, and who knows, maybe more of us have stuff laying around that's worth a fortune.........
Great story, can you tell the value? I can't open the video in Holland, left you a comment, greetings Loes
Yes, I will in another day or so. I'll let a couple others get in on the fun first.
I wonder why the video doesn't open in some places? Have you had any issues with the WA videos in Kyle's training?
It says:
Content not available
Video not allowed for this location (NL)
It ain't a computer issue, it is something nationwide
Had no trouble at all with the video's on WA
Interesting! It wasn't a normal YouTube video, so I guess the broadcasting must have restrictions.
Since I am leaving on family vacation to DisneyWorld in the morning, I'll tell you about the response.
So, here is what they said: since the woman had no intent to sell the treasure (she intended to keep it for her family), they didn't give a sale price. Instead, they told her that she should insure it for "at least" one million dollars.
That's quite a high price, according to some experts in the field of memorabilia, however, the letter is so unusual and has three famous signatures all on one letter that it is almost impossible to say how much someone might pay for it.
Interesting to wonder, now that the family knows what it is worth, will the family members that get this treasure once this lady passes on decide to keep it or sell it for all it might be worth on the market. I expect the latter.
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Great article, love Antiques Roadshow thanks for sharing