How Much?
Sean was pacing around the auction house with sweat dripping from his brow. Had he really only been waiting for two minutes? It felt like two hours.
He looked at the sweater on display that he was sure was the real deal. Was anyone going to even make a bid?
Bargain Hunters
Sean and Rikki McEvoy aren’t the most conventional couple. The pair made a living traveling the country looking for thrift store fashion bargains they could clean up and sell on for a profit via their online venture Roslyn VTG Trading Co.
The Knoxville, Tennessee couple found themselves rooting through the bins at a Goodwill in Asheville, North Carolina one day when something jumped out at Sean.
Better Sweater
Sean had picked a few things up, but as he was going to pay, he noticed a black sleeve poking over the side of the bin and yanked it out from underneath all the other items.
He held up the West Point sweater and threw it in the cart with the rest of the things he’d found. “Maybe it’ll fetch a couple of bucks,” he thought. If only he’d given it a closer look.
Good Deal
The items in the Goodwill bin were priced by weight. When the cashier rang up Sean and Rikki’s cart, the sweater came to just $0.58.
“Not bad for a cool basketball warmup sweater,” thought Sean before eventually tossing it in the pile of items he would one day get round to uploading to his site. And that was the last he thought about the sweater. Until around five months later.
As Seen On TV
Sean cracked open a can of beer and settled down for the night to watch ESPN, which was showing a documentary about legendary football coach Vince Lombardi.
The vintage clothing seller loved sports and was fascinated by the movie, but one particular shot of the coach from his army coaching days in the early 50s really caught his attention.
Familiar Fashion
“Don’t we have something like that in storage?” Sean asked his wife as he pointed to the image of five-time NFL champion Lombardi wearing a West Point sweater remarkably similar to the one they’d found at Goodwill five months earlier.
The pair rummaged through their stock and eventually found the garment. It looked like his, but what were the chances it might be the actual one Lombardi had owned?
Mark Up
Sean thought he could use a still from the documentary to boost the asking price, seeing as it may at the very least have been worn by someone that trained with Lombardi back then.
But then Rikki remembered something. “Er… Maybe look at the tag inside the sweater,” she suggested, wondering if the memory that had come rushing back to her wasn’t just wishful thinking.
Real Deal
There it was. In slightly faded black ink the name “Lombardi” was written clearly on the tag. The couple couldn’t believe their eyes. "My wife saw it back then, but she didn't know who it was," lamented Sean.
Seeing as the couple made a living selling old clothes for a profit, would anyone ever in a million years believe they had bought a genuine Vince Lombardi sweater from a thrift store? Sean got in touch with the Pro Football Hall of Fame to find out.
Worth Nothing?
“You want us to donate it? Like, for free?” Sean asked the rep on the phone. The McEvoys weren’t stupid and knew they’d get a decent price for it at auction - but this wasn’t a job for eBay.
Fearing what might happen if they sent the sweater in the mail, Sean braved the 12-hour drive to Dallas, Texas where he met with uniform authentication company Mears. He never imagined they would give him their verdict on the sweater there and then.
‘It’s Legit’
Following a thorough examination, the Mears rep confirmed it had indeed belonged to Lombardi and could be sold at auction.
Days later, beads of sweat formed on Sean’s forehead as the garment went under the hammer. The house was deathly quiet as the auctioneer asked for the first bid. Then, from the back of the room, someone raised their paddle.
Highest Bidder
Suddenly, a flurry of bids came pouring in for the Lombardi sweater. Sean couldn’t believe what was happening. After everything calmed down, the thrift store bin diver was left staring at the final number on the board: $36,000.
Not only did the McEvoys earn a pretty penny for something that only cost them $0.58, but they also discovered how the sweater came into their possession in the first place.
Full Circle
Ann Wannamaker, the widow of Bill Wannamaker who also coached with Lombardi at West Point, had donated the sweater to Goodwill after many of the famous sports star’s clothes ended up in her possession when he passed away. She even asked Heritage Auction if they would be willing to give their fee back to Goodwill - and they obliged with a $4,000 donation.
Do you ever wonder if you’ve missed the find of the century while browsing a thrift store?