Man Buys Jacket From Thrift Store Before Realizing Who'd Owned It
When the newspapers finally caught up to the man from Toronto and asked about the jacket he'd picked up from a thrift store, he had one request: to keep his name anonymous. Because after the truth of his special find was made public, he knew people would be knocking down his door looking for answers — like how much money he made.
Bang For Your Buck
Thrift stores are about getting the most bang for your buck, and that's exactly why the still-anonymous Toronto man found himself inside one during a walk into the city one afternoon. He just had to check out the merchandise.
Rummaging Through Blazers
This particular second-hand store mostly carried clothing, although there were little knick-knacks on some shelves. He immediately began rummaging through a pile of old blazers until he stopped on one that caught his eye.
Jumping Out At Him
It was vibrant green, and it instantly jumped out at him among the other dull and worn-out jackets on top. But, as an avid golfer, the jacket also reminded the man of something else.
Augusta National Jacket?
It looked suspiciously like an Augusta National jacket that world-champion golfers received after they win the Masters Tournament. An avid golf fan, the Toronto man hurriedly followed his hunch — but was met with disappointment.
A Disappointing Realization
Because the Toronto man firmly believed he happened upon an authentic jacket, he looked inside the collar to see if a name or date was written. However, unlike real prize jackets, he didn't see a golfer's name stitched into the tag.
A Rare Find
Whoever the jacket belonged to — or maybe even the employees who ran the thrift store — cut out the tag that would have placed the jacket to an actual person. Either way, these things were worth a lot.
Elite And Prestigious Club
The Augusta National Golf Club, located in Georgia, is known as one of the most elite and prestigious clubs in the world, and those green jackets they hand out come with some serious clout.
Working Hard For The Jacket
People unfamiliar with golf wouldn't even recognize the jacket if it was in their own closet, but fans of the sport know just how hard an athlete works to finally bear the iconic symbol on their chest.
A Sam Snead Start
Every professional golfer who's ever stepped onto the green has dreamt of one day sporting the Augusta National logo. It's champion symbolism dates back decades, and it started with Sam Snead (pictured here) in 1949.
Masters Winners Privileges
Even though every member who belongs to the prestigious club gets a jacket, only the Masters winners can wear them when they leave the club grounds. Each owner's name is even sewn inside.
Insane Amounts Of Money
Because of the rarity and prestige associated with them, the jackets sold for insane amounts of money at auctions. In fact, a 2013 auction saw a green Masters jacket sell for nearly $700,000!
A Pack Of Hungry Wolves
So, in 2017, the Toronto man put the mystery jacket he found up for auction at Green Jacket Auctions. Considering what else was up for auction, the Toronto buyer felt good about the odds of his jacket landing big money.
Ryan Carey Chimes In
Ryan Carey, one of the major players at the auction house, said, "We are blown away by the interest in golf memorabilia right now. The golf-collecting hobby has never been so strong." Did that hurt or help the value of the jacket?
Other Rare Items
There were several other rare items at the same auction as the Toronto jacket as well. One was Arnold Palmer's putter from the 1964 Masters Tournament, and another was a massive 1954 Masters trophy that belonged to Sam Snead.
Arnold Palmer Memorabilia
An auction house worker admitted few pieces sell as well as Arnold Palmer memorabilia. "He’s just beloved by so many people. It’s no wonder that his memorabilia is finally getting the respect and the prices that it deserves." But what would a no-name jacket land?
Amazing Payday
The bidding started at a minimum of five thousand bucks, but 34 bids later, a private buyer walked away with the blazer after shelling out $139,349! Soon after the sale, more information on the jacket was learned.
Information Is Unearthed
Apparently, the jacket originated sometime during the 1950s, and it even found its way onto the cover of several golf magazines, with a famous British model named Jodie Kidd wearing it. Naturally, Green Jacket Auctions had plenty to say.
Horton Smith's Blazer
Of course, the amount paid for the mystery blazer in 2017 wasn't even close to the money someone forked over ($682,229!) to walk away with a jacket that belonged to Horton Smith, the world's first Masters champion.
Not The First Time
No one knows how the Augusta National jacket found its way to a second-hand store in Toronto. Perhaps a pro golfer donated it? Whatever the case, it's not the first time a famous athlete's attire was found at a thrift store — a football legend's coat picked up a pretty penny at auction, too.
Breaking From The Norm
Most self-described "pickers" are usually in search of flashier finds à la American Pickers — vintage signs, antique toys, and the like. But Sean and Nikki McEvoy make their bread and butter from a place even the most seasoned treasure hunters avoid.
A Unique Day Job
Used clothes bins. As full-time pickers, the Knoxville, Tennessee couple spends their days traveling the country in search of valuable vintage clothing to sell through their online shop, Roselyn VTG Trading Co.
Picker's Paradise
Unsurprisingly, their favorite places to pick are Goodwill stores, known in the picking community as "bins." So as the couple made their way through North Carolina in search of their next great find, they made stopping at the Goodwill in Asheville a top priority.
An Unexpected Find
Sifting through the piles of used clothing, Sean and Nikki came away with a some solid pieces, a few pretty good finds for a short day's work. Yet as they turned to pay for their haul, Sean spotted something sticking out of one of the bins.
No Ordinary Sweater
"At first, I thought it was a basketball warm-up," he told ESPN.com, though whatever it was, Sean knew he wasn't about to leave it behind. Before anyone else could snatch it away, he grabbed the old West Point sweater and headed to meet Nikki at checkout.
What A Bargain!
While most clothing stores have each article priced, Goodwill outlets like the one in Asheville have you pay by weight. And so, Sean tossed the sweater in with the rest of the clothes. Its final price? Just 58 cents.
No Special Care
For several months, the sweater sat amongst the hundreds of other articles of clothing in the McEvoy's home, destined to be flipped for a few bucks on eBay. Sean had actually forgotten all about the unusual piece, his attention focused most lately on some good 'ol ESPN.
Catching Up On The Classics
At the time, the network was airing a documentary special on Vince Lombardi, one of the greatest coaches in the history of the NFL. Nestled on the couch, Sean sat back and watched the archival footage play — until one image made him jump to his feet.
It Couldn't Be...
In the photo stood a young Vince Lombardi during his Army coaching days — and there, clear as day, was Sean's sweater. But this just had to be a coincidence, right? Surely West Point had issued hundreds of those sweaters over the years.
Mounting Evidence
Just to be sure, Sean rushed to his storage bins and fished out the Goodwill find. He flipped the sweater inside-out, discovering a collar tag with something scribbled on it in faded black ink. It read: Lombardi.
Deal Of The Century?
Sean was reeling from the magnitude of his discovery, but as he ran it over and over in his head, it just didn't add up. Had he really paid 58 cents — the kind of change you'd spend on a gumball machine — for one of the greatest treasures in sports history? He had to know for sure.
Money Talks
He decided to contact the Pro Football Hall of Fame, who requested that he donate the sweater outright — Sean, however, was still a businessman. If it proved to be the real deal, Sean and Nikki could expect a pretty nice payday, leading him to link up with Heritage Auctions in Dallas instead.
Bringing In The Experts
Not wanting to send the potentially priceless item by mail during the holidays, Sean made the 12-hour drive to D-Town to meet with Heritage and reps from the uniform authentication company Mears. After painstakingly examining every inch of the sweater, the evidence was undeniable.
The Real Deal
It was real! But then came the million-dollar question: how did Vince Lombardi's sweater make its way into an Asheville Goodwill bin? Evidently, it was all thanks to one man: Bill Wannamaker.
Thanks, Bill!
A fellow coach at Army, Wannamaker was given the sweater by Lombardi and had kept it stowed away in his home in nearby Hendersonville since the '50s. Following his death in 2008, the Wannamaker family donated most of his clothing to Goodwill — the sweater included.
Hot Item
With the mystery finally solved the sweater was put up for auction, racking up dozens of bids in a matter of hours. In fact, after just a few days, the price had reached well over $20,000.
A Handsome Profit
The winning bid ultimately came in at $36,000, reaching a final sale price of $43,020 with the addition of a 19.5 percent buyer's premium. After taxes and fees, Sean and Nikki walked away with more than $20,000 — not a bad end for 58 cents. Word soon made it to Lombardi's family.
Worth Every Penny
"It's kind of hard to fathom spending that kind of money on a sweater, but these are the times we live in," Vince's son, Vince Lombardi, Jr., told the Asheville Citizen-Times. Yet in the mind of Heritage's director of sports auctions Chris Ivy, this was a small price to pay for a piece of history.
A Priceless Story
"There are two great joys in collecting: owning a relic of true historical significance and the unexpected discovery of something believed to have been lost," said Ivy. "This is a tale that supplies both in full measure."
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