“Baseball Card Granny” Announces Auction of Rare Vintage Find
From small town store owner to New York Times headliner and "Tonight Show" guest, the last few weeks have been a world wind of excitement for Bernice Gallego. The catalyst for her sudden rise to national prominence? An ultra rare 1869 Peck andamp; Snyder Cincinnati Red Stockings Vintage Baseball Card - one of the first baseball cards ever produced.
Gallego told a reporter earlier this week, "I feel like a kid just about to go on his first trip to Disneyland and meet Mickey Mouse. This whole thing has a life of its own. It just goes and goes and the next thing we know it's someplace else. We're in our very own Disneyland."
Gallego, who has now become known as the "Baseball Card Granny", announced her decision to auction off her once in a lifetime find while talking with Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show". She has charged well known Sports Collectible Auction House Memory Lane with the task of handling the sale. The 21-day online auction is being held through Memory Lane's Website, and will be up for bid until February 10th at 9pm EST.
The initial response to the auction has been substantial. The first two and a half days of the auction have already yielded 52 bids and a high bid of $26,573.00. Not a bad price, especially considering the fact that Gallego had originally posted the card on ebay for a mere $10.
Collectors interested in buying this rare vintage find, will have a much less expensive option thanks to Memory Lane. One hundred replica cards will be printed by Memory Lane Inc., through a partnership with Gallego and Rick Mirigian, the Fresno promoter who told Gallego what the card was worth and who has coordinated her appearances for a cut of the sale.
The replica cards will be commemorated with the names of Gallego, Mirigian and Memory Lane printed on them, and are currently available for purchase on eBay for $99.99. The ebay auction can be found here.
The 1869 Peck andamp; Snyder Cincinnati Red Stockings Card found by Gallego is described in incredible detail by Joe Orlando in his book "Collecting Sports Legends":
"This card, featuring the first professional team in the game, is considered by many hobbyists to be the first true baseball card. Managed by Harry Wright, the Red Stockings would dominate their opposition in 1869, giving ample reason for the New York area sporting goods company (Peck andamp; Snyder) to create such a card. A sepia photograph is mounted on the front with a large ballplayer cartoon and advertisement on the reverse. These cards came in two different sizes, one measuring approximately 4 3/16” by 3 5/16” (large) and the other measuring 3 5/16” by 2 3/8” (small). From the classic uniforms to the boot-like shoes, the photograph captures the birth of our great pastime at the professional level. Can you imagine playing baseball without gloves? That is exactly what these pioneers had to do. This card symbolizes the beginning of the hobby that millions of collectors have come to enjoy ever since.”
Story Original Reported by Mike Osegueda of The Fresno Bee.
