Lonny Frey Professional Baseball Collection
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APPRAISER:
I've heard of Babe Ruth, I've heard of Lou Gehrig. I've heard of Joe DiMaggio. But you have to tell me, who's Lonny Frey?
GUEST:
Well, he's still living, he's 97 years old. He started out as a shortstop at age 22 with Brooklyn.
APPRAISER:
How do you know all this?
GUEST:
Because he's my dad.
APPRAISER:
Ah!
GUEST:
And he still talks baseball to me once in a while.
APPRAISER:
So he played how many years in the Big Leagues?
GUEST:
14 years. He actually played for all three New York teams. He's the last surviving ballplayer to have done that. He spent most of his career with Cincinnati, and that was where he probably had his best years.
APPRAISER:
He was an All-Star for three years.
GUEST:
Right, and he played in two World Series with Cincinnati, and at the end of his career, he played with the Yankees in a World Series.
APPRAISER:
Wow. We've got this bat here. This is from 1933, this is the start of his career.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
He was there from '33 to '36.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Not a great situation. They were fifth, sixth place. Much better when he went to Cincinnati.
GUEST:
Exactly.
APPRAISER:
Because when he was in Cincinnati-- if I recall correctly, 1938-- he got to play behind Johnny Vander Meer during his two consecutive no-hitters.
GUEST:
That's exactly right. And that was one of his all-time career thrills.
APPRAISER:
And he got this Joe Jackson store model bat during the '30s when he was playing for Cinci. Even though he was in Cincinnati for two World Series...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...I think he saved the best for last. We've got 1947, World Champions, Yankees. Who was his roommate?
GUEST:
Yogi Berra.
APPRAISER:
And what did he think of Yogi?
GUEST:
Well, they're really good friends.
APPRAISER:
(chuckles)
GUEST:
But he roomed with Yogi because Yogi ate a lot of pasta and he was losing a lot of weight.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
And they needed somebody to get him to eat regular meals, steak and potatoes and so forth.
APPRAISER:
So '47, he's at the end, he was the oldest player in the league in '47 and '48...
GUEST:
That's right.
APPRAISER:
...when he finished up with the Giants.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Let's take a look at everything for prices. This is the bat that the Brooklyn Dodgers would have given your dad in honor of their Golden Jubilee, 50 years in baseball, and the value on this, auction estimate would be $1,000 to $1,500. Now, this bat was given to your dad because he was on the World Championship New York Yankees in 1947. The value on that is $2,000 to $3,000 that I'd put as an auction estimate. This is your dad's All-Star bat from 1941. Now, these bats were only given out to the players and the coaches and the manager of the All-Star teams.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And they have these fabulous facsimile signatures on there. You can see your father right here, Lonny Frey.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And the value on these bats generally, $2,000 to $3,000 auction estimate. The Joe Jackson bat is probably worth about $3,000 to $4,000. This watch was given for winning the World Series, but also because they set the American League record that year with 19 straight wins. This watch is probably worth about $3,000 to $4,000. The Mets watch is probably about $1,000 to $2,000, but the ring is the real big winner-- I mean, a '47 World Series ring is as good as it gets: Yankees and Dodgers, the epitome of New York, that's $15,000 to $20,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my Lord.
APPRAISER:
So you add all these things up and you get a grand total of probably about $25,000 to $30,000.
GUEST:
That's wonderful, and... This is stuff that we've handed down and will hand down in the family. But it's nice to know, because we should insure it or do something like that.
APPRAISER:
If you were going to insure all of this...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
I'd place an insurance value of about $50,000.
GUEST:
That's amazing.
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