'Antiques Roadshow' guest gasps in disbelief after hearing the value of her uncle's basketball medal
Memorabilia left behind by loved ones is special, and "Antiques Roadshow" is a place where these items become even more precious after a massive appraisal. Hence, when a guest brought an original Olympic gold medal won by her Uncle Carl after he participated in the 1936 Olympics, it truly turned out to be a valuable family heirloom. The revelation was so overwhelming that the guest struggled to utter a single word.
"That was the first Olympics that they included basketball as a medal event, in 1936 in Berlin," the appraiser noted, after looking at the medal. The guest then revealed some special traits about her uncle; she mentioned that he was a relatively reserved person and had previously played for Universal Pictures, who also happened to be the main sponsors for the 1936 Olympic Games. "And he played for UCLA as well?" the appraiser inquired. "Yes, he did play for UCLA," the woman affirmed. "And tell me what you remember of him talking about the trip," the appraiser asked, expecting some special anecdote or family history, but was sadly turned down.
"Uncle Carl didn't talk too much about the trip. Carl was a very quiet man. I either was told or I read that the final basketball game was played on clay, and that it was pouring down rain. And considering Carl's demeanor, I would suspect that was one of the reasons he didn't talk about the Olympics," the guest vaguely seemed to recall. Calling it a "sloppy game," the appraiser revealed that Canada was defeated 19 to 8 while the game witnessed a heavy downpour. "And I saw you brought the photograph here of them traveling on the steamship to Europe for the Olympic event, and they're in their uniforms," the appraiser inquired as the camera zoomed to highlight a personality that posed differently from the rest. "Where's your Uncle Carl in the picture?" he asked.
"Uncle Carl is right here in the picture. He's the one that's looking away," the guest pointed at a handsome face in the black and white photo. "We've had a lot of discussion on this today, mainly because we couldn't find any other examples that have come for sale from this team, being the first basketball team to win a gold medal," the appraiser continued as he evaluated the item. He further mentioned that it was a rare artifact from the history of sports, and could fetch anywhere between $25,000 and $35,000 at an auction. At this point, the guest gasped in disbelief. "And we would believe you could insure it for $50,000," the appraiser further added. As per the Olympics, Carl L. Shy later joined the LAPD and retired as a detective.
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