A WOMAN with a special connection to the New York Yankees has discovered their signed item is worth some serious cash.
She brought it to Antiques Roadshow with a collection of other memorabilia from the MLB team’s 1960s era.
A woman has discovered the incredible worth of her Yankees memorabilia[/caption]
Antiques Roadshow said a piece of the MLB collection is worth tens of thousands[/caption]
“It all started when I was eight years old,” Nancy, the owner of the baseball artifacts, told appraiser Simeon Lipman during a 2009 episode of the series.
“I went to try out for the Little League, and they had a Yankee Bat Boy contest.”
Nancy explained that girls weren’t allowed to participate in the opportunity at the time, and she was determined.
So, she disguised herself under the name of “Jimmy Lottsy” to avoid arousing any suspicion.
Sure enough, Nancy won the competition and called her mother to give the family the news about their “son” Jimmy’s achievement.
Her mother explained what had happened, and the Yankees decided to make Nancy the team’s first bat girl.
The Yankees also wanted to know which player was her favorite, and it was — like many baseball fans in the 1960s — Mickey Mantle.
A total of 27 World Series titles have been won by the Yankees, seven of which were won with Mantle on the roster, per ESPN.
LIFELONG MEMORIES
She later met Mickey Mantle and the rest of the team, which could be seen through LIFE Magazine and newspaper clippings.
Not only did Mantle send her a signed picture with a heartwarming note, but he hit a home run while she was in the dugout and gave her his bat, signing it, too.
“It’s incredible,” Lipman said of the Mantle and Yankee memorabilia.
“I was so excited to see it and this is such a wonderful story.”
“This happened in 1963, you really can’t get a better bat than this — a home run bat, this kind of documentation,” the Antiques Roadshow appraiser continued.
He pointed out Nancy’s appearances in LIFE Magazine and the newspaper clippings as further verification of authenticity.
Antiques Roadshow best finds
Antiques Roadshow has helped people put a price on their treasures since 1979. Here are some of the most interesting finds
- A hand-me-down ring that had been in the family for generations was valued at $595,000
- A silver coin found on a farm is worth $30,000
- A Rolex that cost just $120 is now worth $45,000
- The portrait of a woman’s mother at four years old and its frame was worth $32,000
- A book of hymns that was kept in a basement was worth $50,000
- A rare sculpture bought at a flea market in 1961 was worth $100,000
- An antique floor lamp from an estate sale was worth $15,000
- A mobile from the 1940s was worth a whopping $2 million
- A tablecloth drawn on by a baseball legend was worth $1,500
- A Picasso plate that hung above an oven was worth $15,000
WHAT’S IT WORTH?
The vital “backup documentation” bolstered the value of the Mantle bat exponentially.
“I think with all this backup documentation, this fantastic photo, at auction, I would expect a bat like this to go at auction for $35,000,” he told Nancy.
“It’s truly a fantastic piece, one of the best pieces I’ve seen on this show.”
Nancy was stunned, thanking Lipman and emphasizing that the memories she made during that time were invaluable.
With Mickey Mantle and Yankee memorabilia only growing in value over the years, Antiques Roadshow confirmed that the bat’s worth would’ve increased by 53% in 2024.
Today, it’s worth around $75,000.
Mickey Mantle also holds the most lucrative baseball trading card in history, with a 1952 rookie version selling at auction for $12.6 million.
