Antiques Roadshow guest baffled at value of baseball he got on 13th birthday

21 November 2023 , 04:37

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Antique Roadshow guest presents incredible vintage baseball signed by Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Roger Marris

An Antiques Roadshow guest was delighted to discover that his signed vintage baseball from a game he went to on his 13th birthday has since skyrocketed in value - and is now worth whooping estimated $100,000.

Monday evening's episode of the hit show took the team to Texas as Vintage Dallas was met with incredible treasures. In the new fascinating episode, guests brought a variety of unique antiques including a 1830 first printing of The Book of Mormon, Dallas memorabilia & Tennessee sampler, and most notably a signed vintage baseball.

In the final segment of the show, one guest recalled a sweet memory of his 13th birthday on August 27, 1961 when he went to a baseball game with his league and got the gift of a lifetime. He said that at the end of the game, his coach disappeared for a while with his signed baseball from Babe Ruth and returned with signatures from baseball legends Mickey Mantle and Roger Marris.

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Antique Roadshow guest thrilled to discover incredible worth of signed baseball

Visibly shocked by the incredible antique, professional appraiser Lelia Dunbar said: "Well we've got Ruth 31 right here, here's Mantle and it shows Mickey Mantle 1961 on there, and then we flip it around and there is Roger Marris. And did you know what was going on that summer?"

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To which he excitedly replied: "Oh yes! It was all the news - Mickey Mantle and Roger Marris and their home run duel to break Babe Ruth's record." And she replied: "That's right. And that's what I love about this baseball. Here you have Babe Ruth who of course broke his own home run record in 1927 setting it at 60 home runs in a single season broke his home run record of 1921 where he hit 59 home runs and you fast forward to 1961 and you have the M&M boys."

Lelia gushed over the incredible find telling the guest: "In all my years in sports, and I've been a sports fan all my life - I've been looking at baseballs for many many years - I've never seen a baseball signed by Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Roger Marris let alone a ball signed by Ruth in the hayday of his career in 1931 and Mantle and Marris during the summer that they salted Ruth's homerun record."

The legendary babe Ruth signed the baseball in during the height of his career in 1931 (Bettmann Archive)

Mantle and Marris signed the baseball the summer that they broke Ruth's home run record (Getty Images)

Lelia continued: "At an auction I'd put it up at about $30 to $50,000." To which he replied: "That much? I didn't even anticipate that." She continued: "And I would put insurance value on it for at least $50,000," she added: "Who knew what you were going to get for your 13th birthday." To which he earnestly responded: "I never dreamed of this."

At the end of the segment it was revealed to audiences that the value of the baseball in 2008 was worth somewhere between $30,000 to $50,000 doubled in value to an astounding estimated value of $50,000 to $100,000 in 2023.

Following the surprising appraisal Antique Roadshow fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their excitement over the antique. One fan wrote to appraiser Lelia: "I always look forward to you being on the show! I love your knowledge of sports, especially baseball. That 1961 baseball was a treasure! So glad it was on the show." Another added: "Of course it went up! That's a solid piece right there." And a third wrote: "That's some baseball!"

Caroline Gaspich