By Mary DeTurris Poust
As the mother of a 13-year-old boy who is fascinated by rare, old (and expensive) baseball cards, I am acquainted with Honus Wagner, the "Flying Dutchman" of baseball fame whose cards now sell for ridiculous amounts of money. I've even been to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown to pay homage to Honus, among many other baseball greats.
So this story about Honus coming to the rescue of the the Baltimore-based School Sisters of Notre Dame caught my eye. Turns out the congregation was bequeathed a rare -- although not mint -- Honus Wagner card by the brother of one of their sisters, and now they've put it up for auction in hopes that Honus can go to bat for their ministries.
From the AP story:
The Roman Catholic nuns are auctioning off the card, which despite its poor condition is expected to fetch between $150,000 and $200,000. The proceeds will go to their ministries in 35 countries around the world.
The card is part of the T206 series, produced between 1909 and 1911. About 60 Wagner cards are known to exist.
A near-mint-condition T206 Wagner card sold in 2007 for $2.8 million, the highest price ever for a baseball card. Muller remains aghast that the 1¼-inch-by-2½-inch piece of cardboard could sell for even a fraction of that.
"It just boggles your mind," Muller told The Associated Press. "I can't remember a time when we have received anything like this."
At last report, the bidding was up to $60,000, but the sisters (who'd never heard of Honus Wagner before this) are hoping the price will continue to climb before the auction ends on November 4.
AP reports:
"Muller is making frequent checks to the Heritage Auction Galleries website -- an unusual practice for someone who's taken a vow of poverty. But potential bidders should know that the sale of the card will help people worldwide.Read the full story HERE.
"The money that we receive from this card will be used for the many School Sisters of Notre Dame who are around the world, who need support for their ministries for the poor," Muller said.
