Here is Fresno resident Bernice Gallego, who was rummaging through an old box one day and found a rather unique baseball card. How unique? Well ...
It may be the first baseball card ever produced. The card — depicting the 1869 "Cincinnati Red Stockings" — is so rare that experts are still trying to determine its value (it will surely be into six figures). And to think at one point Mrs. Gallego had it for sale on eBay for $10, before she discovered what she really had. There had been a few inquiries at that price, but nobody snapped it up. Ha! That Buy It Now button is there for a reason, schnooks.
The card is actually 139 years old. It, and a handful of others like it, are considered the first baseball cards. Sports card collectors call the find "extremely rare" and estimate the card could fetch five, or perhaps, six figures at auction. "I didn't even know baseball existed that far back," Gallego says, between puffs on her cigarette. "I don't think that I've ever been to a baseball game."
Anyway, the card is going back on eBay, where Gallego said she's going to "let it ride." Meanwhile, my Ray Sadecki 1968 Topps card looks on rather sadly from my bookshelf ...
Fresno Collectors Uncover Rare 1869 Baseball Card [Fresno Bee]