1951 Willie Mays Minneapolis Millers Jersey

Appraised on: June 26, 2004

Appraised in: St. Paul, Minnesota

Appraised by: Simeon Lipman

Category: Sports Memorabilia

Episode Info: Jackpot! (#1116)
St. Paul, Hour 2 (#902)

Originally Aired: January 10, 2005

IMAGE: 1 of 3  

Appraisal Video: (1:23)

GUEST: Well, the Millers uniform I located at a collector's show about 20 years ago in Minneapolis. And I bought it for the price of $50.

APPRAISER: So this is a Minneapolis Millers uniform. This is the home uniform of the Millers, and it dates from 1950. The Millers were a Minor League team. They were the American Association, representative of Minneapolis and the Twin Cities. There was another team, the Saint Paul Saints, and we're equally as proud of their history as well. Now, this uniform is number 28. And you had it for a long time before you figured out who number 28 was.

GUEST: When I found out that Willie Mays wore Number 28 in the 1951 season, I became very interested and a little more curious about doing some background work on it. Of course, knowing that the uniform was from the preceding season, I began to do some forensics on it. And there are particular details involving the lettering and the ribboning on the front of the uniform, but a dead giveaway was this team repair on the right sleeve.

APPRAISER: Yes, I see it right here, and amazingly, you found a photograph of the "Say Hey Kid," pre-New York Giants, wearing this uniform. Here he is in this picture right here, clear as day.

GUEST: Pretty much.

APPRAISER: Without magnification, too. It's obviously a remarkable piece. It's a remarkable story. It's in immaculate condition. That helps it. You spent $50 on it. I would estimate it conservatively in the $60,000 to $80,000 range today.

GUEST: Oh, my.

APPRAISER: Talk about, you know, talk about goose bumps, when this walked in, I was, I was speechless. It is truly a remarkable piece of history and it just does not get any better than this.