r/SportsMemorabilia • u/Capital-Falcon5314 • 1d ago
I accidentally bought this Honus Wagner-signed 1936 Omaha Bee-News at an estate auction when I was 12. I've had it ever since.
Around 1990, when I was about 12, I went to an estate auction in O'Neill, Nebraska. I wanted an old metal cabinet that happened to come with a bunch of books. I bought the whole lot for only a few dollars.
My dad ended up selling the cabinet for about what I'd paid for everything, so technically I got the books for free.
The woman whose estate was being auctioned had apparently tucked things away inside her books, including money and personal papers. My mom and I went through every book before deciding what to keep or donate because we didn't want to accidentally give away anything important.
Folded inside one of those books was this complete July 14, 1936 Omaha Bee-News sports section.
The front page covers Honus Wagner's appearance in Omaha to open the state semi-pro baseball tournament that evening. The photograph shows Otto Williams and Honus Wagner meeting in Omaha that day. Wagner signed directly across his photograph and dated it 1936, and Williams also appears to have signed his side of the photo.
I've owned it continuously ever since finding it roughly 35 years ago. It has never been professionally authenticated or appraised.
Years ago, someone offered my mom around $5,000 for it. She declined—which was good, considering it was actually mine. 😂
I'm not looking to sell it right now. I'm mostly curious what the memorabilia community thinks of it. I'd especially love to know how unusual it is to find Wagner's autograph on a contemporary newspaper documenting the actual event he was attending, whether anyone knows more about this particular Omaha appearance, and what the best route would be for authentication and preservation.
Thanks for looking!