Satchel Paige Engraved Watch

Appraised on: July 8, 2006

Appraised in: Mobile, Alabama

Appraised by: Mike Gutierrez

Category: Sports Memorabilia

Episode Info: Mobile, Hour 1 (#1110)

Originally Aired: March 26, 2007

IMAGE: 1 of 2  

Appraisal Video: (2:35)

GUEST: My grandfather bought the watch for $25 in Prichard, Alabama, at a pawnshop, and his old watch, he traded in. He wanted an Elgin watch. I was approximately 11 years old when he got the watch, and I'd asked him for it. He said he would hand it down to me. When he was deceased, he gave it to my mother, and she deceased this year, so I brought it out to find out something about it.

APPRAISER: Well, you've done some homework here. What can you tell me that you found out?

GUEST: "Chicago Defender" presented this watch July 26, 1942 at Wrigley Field to Satchel Paige. Also, they presented a six-foot bouquet of flowers to him, and that's about all I know. I got the information from the "Chicago Defender," which is the oldest black newspaper that's still in existence. When I called them, they sent me all this documentation and asked me questions to describe the watch, and they told me they felt like it was authentic.

APPRAISER: Well, Satchel Paige was the greatest pitcher in the Negro leagues from the 1930s through the 1940s. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and is possibly the greatest pitcher of all time. And this is an excellent example of how an item can be worth more than what it normally would be because of the provenance. This is an Elgin watch, which still works, and it was produced in 1923. It's 14-karat filled, and if you were to try to sell it today, without it being attached to Satchel Paige, a dealer would probably buy this from you for about $50 to $100. And it's interesting that it was produced in 1923, and that it was presented to Satchel Paige in 1942. There are virtually no materials of Satchel Paige's, personal material, out there on the marketplace. It's very, very thin. In an auction, sports auctions, which are very, very hot right now, I think that this watch would sell upwards of $20,000.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: Yeah. That's not a bad investment of $25.

GUEST: I was just going to say that. That's a pretty dang good investment, yeah.

APPRAISER: It is.