Missing Sports Treasures

(2nd of 3 installments)

During an average major league game, umpires put in play about 80 baseballs, and in pristine condition are worth $15 (p750) to collectors. But as soon as these balls get whacked over fences in crucial situations, their value zoom up, fights take place and lawsuits get filed. A few baseballs became famous that fanatics would scramble to get a glimpse of them - that is if anybody knew where the darn balls are.

American League First Pitch - On April 24, 1901, at Chicago's Southside Park, Roy Patterson threw the first pitch of the American League. Although it has never been found, home plate umpire Tom Connoly had a habit of pocketing milestone baseballs and his family had inherited his collection. His daughters gave some of his collections as gifts. ESTIMATED VALUE : $150,000 (p7.5 million)

Bill Mazerowski's Home Run - The New York Yankees were beaten by the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-10 during the 1960 World Series when in the 9th inning of Game 7, Pirate Bill Mazerowski hit a homer at the now defunct Forbes Field. Marking the spot where that hit left the park is a plaque on Roberto Clemente Drive. About eight people came forward that day claiming that it was the real ball and wanted a hundred dollars for it. It was never verified. ESTIMATED VALUE $100,000 (p5 million)

Bucky Dent's Home Run - The 1978 American League East playoff game was won by the Yankees, 5-4, over the Boston Red Sox when shortstop Bucky Dent hit a 7th inning, 3-run homer. Because grounds crew failed to clear the field after batting practice earlier that day, some 20 balls were scattered on the ground and Dent's home run ball could never have been identified. ESTIMATED VALUE $250,000 (p12.5 million)

Ray Chapman's Fatal Ball - The first and only death from an on-field incident in major league history was at the Polo Grounds in New York on August 16, 1920. Yankee Carl Mays hit Cleveland Indian Ray Chapman with a curve ball on his left temple, who died the next day. Cleveland centerfielder Chuck Jamieson picked up the ball on his way to check on Chapman. In 1969, he gave it to sportswriter Bob Curley who in 1983, donated it Joel Platt, the executive director of the Sports Immortals Museum in Boca Raton, Florida, but it has not been acknowledged as being real. ESTIMATED VALUE : $100,000 to $200,000 (P5 to 10 million)

Bobby Thomson's Home Run - On October 3, 1951, Bobby Thomson launched "The Shot Heard Round the World", a 9th inning homer that halted the Brooklyn Dodgers and clinched the pennant for the New York Giants. The ball sailed out of the Polo Grounds and into the hands of a fan, who held what would become the most sought-after collectibles in sporting history. The auction house Leland put a bounty of $1 million on the ball two years ago and has since then verified dozens of submissions. One of the dozens was used in the game but it was not the Shot. The ball still went for $47,824 (p2,391,200) ESTIMATED VALUE : $1 million (p50 Million)

Black Sox Confessions - The 1919 World Series was marred by a game fixing scandal. Chicago White Sox players Edward Cicotte, Joe Jackson and Lefty Williams signed confessions admitting to rigging the series. But before the trial started in 1921, the sworn confessions mysteriously vanished from the Illinois State Attorney's office, the case collapsed and the players were acquitted. Infamously known as the Black Sox, the three, along with five other teammates were banned from baseball for life. When Joe Jackson sued the team for backpay, lawyers for team owner Charles Comiskey countered by producing Jackson's signed statement, and it was the last time any of the confessions appeared in public. It was probably destroyed as they implicated several corrupt politicians and gamblers. (to be continued)