GUEST: My grandfather gave
it to me back in, like,

around 1955, 1956. I think the
cool thing about it is, is it's,
it's white

and it was used in the NFL for
night games back in the early
'50s for about six years, I
think.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: But the other thing is,
it's autographed by Otto Graham.

APPRAISER: Let's look at
that panel right there.

GUEST: Yeah. It's a little
faded. My grand, grandfather's
name was True. "To True,

best wishes to a swell
guy, Otto Graham."

APPRAISER: Nice, so how did
they know one another?

GUEST: I'm not sure. I was only,
I was only, like, nine or ten
years old.

My grandfather was a very
charismatic guy and he was a
huge sports fan. And I knew even

back then there was some
connection with the Browns,
I'm... I'm still not sure what
it was,

but he referred to Paul Brown
and Otto Graham as Paul and
Otto. My impression was that

he did know them on a first-name
basis, and, and that would be
typical for him.

APPRAISER: And a lot of people
don't know really how Otto
Graham got started. He is

one of the greatest
quarterbacks of all time.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: And in an era where
passing was not as prevalent...

GUEST: Yeah. Yeah.

APPRAISER: ...as it is in
today's NFL. He came to Paul
Brown's attention. Paul Brown,

one of the legendary coaches...

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: ...and the Cleveland
Browns were named after him.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: And Paul recruited
him for the All-American
Football Conference and paid him

$7,500-- which at the time, in
1946, is the equivalent of,
like, $100,000 today...

GUEST: Yeah. Yeah.

APPRAISER: ...to be
his quarterback.

And of course, O, Graham did not
disappoint. Four championships.

GUEST: Yup.

APPRAISER: And then they were
able to get into the NFL in
1950...

GUEST: Yeah. APPRAISER: ...and
three more championships.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: Now, interestingly
enough, you know, we're talking
about two things: we're

talking about Otto Graham, but
we're also talking about this
football and what makes it
special.

GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: It's white!

White footballs were first
produced for night games in the
NFL.

GUEST: Yeah. APPRAISER: The
first night game was November 6,

1929. It was the Chicago
Cardinals, before they made it
to St. Louis and now Arizona,

and it was the Providence
Steamroller, and that's when
they used the white ball for the
first time.

GUEST: Oh, interesting.

APPRAISER: Now, do you know what
Otto Graham thought of the white
football?

GUEST: No, I don't.

APPRAISER: He hated it! (both
laughing) He said they were
slippery in his hands.

GUEST: Oh...

APPRAISER: He couldn't get as
good a grip to throw them.
Graham retired after the 1955
season.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: He actually wanted
to retire after '54. He wanted

to go out in that first blaze of
glory with the la, his last NFL
championship.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: But Paul Brown lured
Otto back for another year...

GUEST: Ah. APPRAISER: ...for the
equivalent of over $200,000.

Wow. He was the highest-paid
player in the NFL, and
deservedly so.

GUEST: Yeah. Yeah.

APPRAISER: And lead them to
the final championship in 1955.

GUEST: Yeah, yep.

APPRAISER: Have you
had it appraised?

GUEST: No. APPRAISER: What
do you think it's worth?

GUEST: I know it's somewhat
rare. I mean, I would think
somewhere between $500, $1,000.

APPRAISER: $500,000? (laughing)

GUEST: No, no, $500 and
$1,000. (laughing)

APPRAISER: And up to $1,000.

GUEST: Yeah, yeah.

APPRAISER: This is
a rare football.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: I, I'm, I don't know
if, if one, another one actually
exists that's, that's signed

by Otto Graham. The other thing
about this football is, we don't
know the exact provenance.

GUEST: No.

APPRAISER: We're assuming that
it was probably used or issued
for a game, at the very least.

And that's what I'm going to
value it... GUEST: My
grandfather kind of implied

that it was, but no proof.

APPRAISER: Now, it's
not a great signature.

GUEST: Sure. APPRAISER:
Definitely has, has aged.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: And Otto Graham
signatures are not rare, because
he passed away in 2003.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: But he signed this
contemporaneous with his
career...

GUEST: Yeah. APPRAISER:
...which makes this, again,

rare and desirable, even though
it's not in great condition. If
I were putting an auction

estimate on it...
GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: ...I'd put
$2,500 to $3,000.

GUEST: Okay. Okay. That's great.

APPRAISER: To insure it, I'd
insure it for at least $5,000.

GUEST: Okay. That's
good. That's great.