Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

My grandfather was Bill Wamby. He played for the Cleveland Indians, among other teams. He had a 13-year professional career. And after he retired in the '40s, he went and managed girls' professional baseball.

APPRAISER

You said Bill Wamby, but his last name was...?

GUEST

Wambsganss.

APPRAISER

Wambsganss. He did play for the Cleveland Indians...

GUEST

Correct.

APPRAISER

...So he's kind of a local hometown hero, and I think he's really well known for being the only player in history ever to complete an unassisted triple play in a World Series.

GUEST

In a World Series in 1920.

APPRAISER

Right, 1920. And it's something that's never been done again, and I don't know if it ever will be.

GUEST

He was interviewed once about the triple play, and he said, "You would have thought I was born the day before and died the day after," but he had a 13-year career, but everybody remembers...

APPRAISER

Focuses...

GUEST

...That one -

APPRAISER

Right.

GUEST

--one play.

APPRAISER

And at the time, he was a second baseman.

GUEST

That's correct, yes.

APPRAISER

So you got the player going off second base, caught a line drive, and tagged the runner from first coming into second.

GUEST

First to second, right.

APPRAISER

What we're looking at here, I think, is really super because up until not that long ago, women's baseball was not treated in the same fashion as men's professional baseball...

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

...And with the movie League of Their Own and with the... opening of that wing in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, it's really come more to the forefront. Now, you have two pictures up on top.

GUEST

Yes.

APPRAISER

Those are two team pictures of teams that he coached in the Women's Baseball League.

GUEST

That's right, the Fort Wayne Daisies, and then the Muskegon Lassies.

APPRAISER

What I also found really neat was that little piece of paper you brought there. It's the All-American Girls' Baseball League. It says "Girls' baseball, not softball," and that's very cool to me because up until that point, women played softball, men played baseball. And also, the parameters for the bases and everything else are different than professional men's baseball. Down on the bottom, it shows that he was the head scout.

GUEST

That's right.

APPRAISER

Now the trophy, to me, is really interesting because it's a trophy for them winning the title...

GUEST

That's right.

APPRAISER

...And that was with the Muskegon Lassies.

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

Overall, the trophy's in great shape. It is missing the bat.

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

And that's not hard to replace. What also is very cool, down here, it says, ah, "To Bill Wamby," and then it lists the players' names, which is great.

GUEST

Great names.

APPRAISER

Yeah. Cookie and Tex and everything else. I'm assuming because it's such a personal family thing that it's something you're gonna keep in the family.

GUEST

Yes.

APPRAISER

I would advise you to place an insurance value on the whole group as an archive somewhere between $8,000 and $10,000 for insurance purposes. Yeah, it's irreplaceable stuff. Trophies from Women's Baseball League...

GUEST

Wow.

APPRAISER

...I haven't seen one. When we give an insurance appraisal, understand, it's not definitely saying -

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

-- that's what it would sell for, but it's important to... to cover it in the event that something does happen.

GUEST

Incredible.

APPRAISER

But it's just, it's just great, and it's not just because it's the Women's Baseball League. You're talking about a pretty important figure in Cleveland baseball history. So...

GUEST

He was a great guy, too.