WEBVTT

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GUEST: In 1958, the San
Francisco Giants had a promotion
with a local newspaper,

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and you would win an autographed
baseball from the San Francisco
Giants. I never won.

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APPRAISER: Mm.

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GUEST: So I was real
disappointed. I was nine years
old at the time.

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So my great-aunt came up to me
and said, "You know, I know
you're really disappointed

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that you didn't get the San
Francisco Giants autographed
baseball, but I have one that
you

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can have." And so she gave me
this one. She and my great-uncle
lived in Japan before World War
II...

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: ...and, uh, there was
a all-star team from the States
that went to Japan and played.
So,

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she somehow got the baseball
autographed from the team and
kept it, and then gave it to me
in 1958.

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APPRAISER: Well, the great part
about this ball isn't just the
signatures that are on it,

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but really what it represents.
In 1934, the American League put
together an all-star

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team they called the All
Americans. The National League
wouldn't allow

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any players to participate
in this barnstorming tour.

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GUEST: Oh.

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APPRAISER: Which is why there
were no Giants players on it.

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GUEST: Uh-huh.

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APPRAISER: So, the American
League took 14 players
ultimately, and coaches and
staff

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for that 18 games they played in
Japan. What was great is that
the whole purpose

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of that trip was not only, uh,
to promote foreign relations
between the U.S. and Japan,

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but the players also looked at
it as a nice tourism
opportunity. They go to Japan,

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they're greeted by a parade in
Tokyo of half a million people.

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GUEST: Wow.

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APPRAISER: Japan was
very enthusiastic about

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baseball. In fact, Japan has
history in baseball that goes
back to the 1870s.

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GUEST: Hm.

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APPRAISER: There was five tours
before this barnstorming tour,
but at that time,

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they were against college and
amateur teams. This was the
first time that the games were

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actually against what became
Japan's professional baseball
players. We do have 19
signatures. 14

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American League players went,
and then some staff. So we have
Babe Ruth on the sweet spot, Lou
Gehrig

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below. One great story worth
telling is, Babe Ruth-- and his
wife and his daughter were there

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with him. There was a knock at
the hotel room in, in Tokyo, and
they opened the door, and there
was

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a gentleman in a kimono and had
a baseball and asked him if he
would sign it. So Babe

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Ruth signed it willingly and
gave it back. The fellow reached
into another pocket and pulled
out

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another baseball, Babe Ruth
signed it. Babe Ruth said it was
somewhere around a dozen balls
or so

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before the pockets were, were
all full with signed baseballs.
It's really an important
baseball. I

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know of maybe half a dozen of
these. I would put a value of
this baseball at auction at
$40,000...

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GUEST: Oh, my God!

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APPRAISER: ...to $60,000.

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GUEST: Holy smoke!

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APPRAISER: And you want
to insure it for $75,000.

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GUEST: Oh, my God.

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APPRAISER: Yeah.

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GUEST: I can't believe that.

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APPRAISER: It's a fantastic
piece of history.

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GUEST: Wow, thank you
so much. (sighs)