06 May 2023 , 17:00
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A man's valuable 88,500 baseball and sports card collection is set to go under the hammer - and could fetch millions.
William Squire, from Michigan, US was a huge sports fan and would regularly collect basketball, football, hockey and baseball cards, up until his death in 2009.
He would buy and trade cards and visit stadiums to get them signed by elite athletes such as Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal.
His hobby brought him immense happiness, according to his daughter Coreen Squire, as she recalled the number of times he would get out his cards at the kitchen stable.
She told Hometownlife.com: "He would just sit and look at them, and then put them in the box and take them out and look at them again.
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“This was his thing when I was a kid.”
Judy Keeling, Sherry Gjerpen and Carrie Cavanaugh, from the Centre for Active Adults (SUSAN BROMLEY/HOMETOWNLIFE.COM)However, when William died aged 75 in 2009, his family were left behind with 40 years of trading cards.
There were over 50,000 baseball, 22,000 football, 8,000 hockey and 7,000 basketball cards found stashed away in closets and boxes.
William's wife Yvonne and his daughter were unsure what to with the cards.
However, Coreen decided to try and sell some of his collection at the Gibraltar Trade Centre.
She was told by dealers he had “really, really valuable card” but nobody was willing to stump up the $500 she was asking for.
The rare trading card of US Olympian Jesse Owens (SUSAN BROMLEY/HOMETOWNLIFE.COM)Coreen, who used to work for the Centre for Active Adults, decided she would donate them to the centre in South Lyon, Michigan instead.
She said: “I had a hard time with that and said, ‘Screw all you guys, I’m going to give them to the (senior) centre and I hope they make a ton of money off it.’”
They plan to sell the cards in a silent bid auction in mid-May - with the Centre already being overwhelmed with interest.
Carrie Cavanaugh, the director of the non-profit centre, said she is trying to find a new home for the cards but admits it's "daunting."
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The Al Kaline card is wanted by collectors (SUSAN BROMLEY/HOMETOWNLIFE.COM)She revealed: "It’s daunting.
"We are trying to find a new home for the cards, to benefit the centre and whoever will have the excitement of acquiring this lifetime collection.”
Carrie is unsure how many valuable cards there are in the collection but she believes there are some hidden gems which could fetch a tasty figure.
The huge collection has left antique collectors staggered including Leila Dunbar, an expert on collectables and sports memorabilia.
Leila has seen hundreds of different collections with some in the tens of thousands but never over 88,000.
She confessed: "I’m aware of collections in the tens of thousands. It’s not unheard of, but it is unusual. … most of the collections I see are in the hundreds, to the low thousands.
"Obviously, he loved cards.”
Ms Cavanaugh is hopeful the cards will fetch a decent amount which will go towards the centre for adults 50 and over.
She has already declined a few "five-figure" offers from collectibles dealers as she plans to flock the collection in four lots.
The minimum bid for each lot will start at $500 and none of the cards will be sold individually.
The auction will be held from May 16 until May 19 at the Centre for Active Adults.