Woman finds 139-year-old baseball card in box of antiques

Woman finds 139-year-old baseball card in box of antiques

By 'Duk

The strange story goes like this: Last summer, Bernice Gallego pulled an old baseball card from a box of antiques. She figured it might be worth something to someone, so she listed it on eBay.

The starting bid was $10.

But after getting a flurry of inquiries about whether the card was authentic or not, Gallego started to suspect she was holding something a little more valuable and immediately ended the auction.

Turns out her hunch was correct. She did have something more valuable. The card she found was made in 1869 and featured the "Red Stocking B.B. Club of Cincinnati," the sport's first professional team. It's considered one of the first baseball cards ever produced and its actual value could be worth more than $100,000 when she puts it back on eBay (with a higher starting price, of course).

Of course, the news that she had found a rare piece of early baseball history came as a shock to the 72-year-old Fresno, Calif., resident who said she's never been to a baseball game. Her tale, from unwitting discovery to learning about the card's history, is wonderfully captured by our old pal Mike Osegueda of the Fresno Bee. Click here to read it.

Fresno Bee wrote:

"When I came to meet her and she took it out of a sandwich Baggie and she was smoking a cigarette, I almost fainted," (collector Rick) Mirigian says.

"They've uncovered a piece of history that few people will ever be able to imagine or comprehend. And it comes out of Fresno," he says. "That card is history. It's like unearthing a Mona Lisa or a Picasso."

Gallego said she doesn't know exactly where the box of antiques came from since she and her husband are collectors and frequently buy lots from different estates around California. She does have a history of being lucky, though, having once won $250,000 on a slot machine.

(And with that, I'm off to see what I can find in my basement.)

I saw that story, too.

Why can't I ever find anything good?

Damn... all I ever find is junk

bobrob2004 wrote:

Woman finds 139-year-old baseball card in box of antiques

By 'Duk

The strange story goes like this: Last summer, Bernice Gallego pulled an old baseball card from a box of antiques. She figured it might be worth something to someone, so she listed it on eBay.

The starting bid was $10.

But after getting a flurry of inquiries about whether the card was authentic or not, Gallego started to suspect she was holding something a little more valuable and immediately ended the auction.

Turns out her hunch was correct. She did have something more valuable. The card she found was made in 1869 and featured the "Red Stocking B.B. Club of Cincinnati," the sport's first professional team. It's considered one of the first baseball cards ever produced and its actual value could be worth more than $100,000 when she puts it back on eBay (with a higher starting price, of course).

Of course, the news that she had found a rare piece of early baseball history came as a shock to the 72-year-old Fresno, Calif., resident who said she's never been to a baseball game. Her tale, from unwitting discovery to learning about the card's history, is wonderfully captured by our old pal Mike Osegueda of the Fresno Bee. Click here to read it.

Fresno Bee wrote:

"When I came to meet her and she took it out of a sandwich Baggie and she was smoking a cigarette, I almost fainted," (collector Rick) Mirigian says.

"They've uncovered a piece of history that few people will ever be able to imagine or comprehend. And it comes out of Fresno," he says. "That card is history. It's like unearthing a Mona Lisa or a Picasso."

Gallego said she doesn't know exactly where the box of antiques came from since she and her husband are collectors and frequently buy lots from different estates around California. She does have a history of being lucky, though, having once won $250,000 on a slot machine.

(And with that, I'm off to see what I can find in my basement.)

She is 72?


She looks older than that


Heck! she looks old enough to remember seeing the Red Stocking club in person

:haha:

hahahahhaha i wish i could do something like that...

I wonder who first owned it


That would suck to lose something that valuable in the first place or sell for peanuts because you don't know what it worth

The Cincinnati Red Stockings ultimately became the Boston Red Sox

laprimamirala wrote:

The Cincinnati Red Stockings ultimately became the Boston Red Sox

According to Baseball-Reference, they became the Cincinnati Reds. The Boston Red Sox were once the Boston Americans.

Hmmm...maybe Ken Burns got it wrong?

From Wiki:

"Because Cincinnati is the birthplace of professional baseball, the current Cincinnati Reds club and some people identify the Cincinnati Red Stockings with the modern Cincinnati Reds, a major league club from 1882, or with the National League club of 1876-1880. Rather, the Red Stockings established a point of reference for 'Red' nicknames and a basis for fan identification and club marketing in Cincinnati. The distinct Boston Red Stockings, comprising some of the same people, did much the same in Boston. Over time the Boston Red Stockings eventually would change their name to the Boston Braves. The franchise now resides in Atlanta, and still retains red as one of its uniform colors."

Both Boston Red Sox and the Current Cin. Reds claim to be the original Cin. Red Stockings.

From the Cin. Reds history section.

The Story of the 1870 Cincinnati Red Stockings
or, Why the Red Sox Lost the 1986 World Series

Click on each title to see information.

Ok, so after further research neither the Boston Red Stockings nor the Cincinnati Reds are related to the Cincinnati Red Stockings. The Cincinnati Red Stockings disbanded in 1871.

Harry Wright, the guy who formed the Cincinnati Red Stockings, formed a new team, the Boston Red Stockings, using 3 players from the Cincinnati Red Stockings. In 1883 they changed their name to the Beaneaters. They changed their name again to the Braves in 1912, moved to Milwaukee in 1953 and to Atlanta in 1966 in which they are still there today.

A new Cincinnati Red Stockings were formed in 1882 and, after leaving the American Association League in 1889 for the National League, dropped the "Stockings" from their name and they are still there today.

In 1900, a new League was formed, the American League, placing teams in Boston and Philadelphia. Not having an official nickname, the Boston team was often called the "Americans" because of the league that it was in. In 1908 they official became the Red Sox, an adaptation of the previous team that was there and they are still there today.

Going further, that Philadelphia team was obviously the Athletics. They would move to Kansas City in 1955 and to Oakland in 1968 in which they are still there today.

Thanks for the info