Babe Ruth card bought for $2 could be sold for millions

A Babe Ruth baseball card cost a California man a couple of singles — but it might be a grand slam for his bank account.

Dale Ball, of Visalia, bought the card from a collectibles store in Nevada to add to his son Dennis’ collection, he told ABC 30.

The owner told him he thought the card was fake, since he couldn’t find it anywhere on the internet.

But Ball, who has been collecting cards since he was a child, suspects otherwise.

“Something’s not right here,” he told the station. “This card is not a remake.”

Convinced that the card is a rare item made by the Shotwell Company in 1921, Ball brought it to an antique expert in Beverly Hills.

“It’s believed it’s real,” Ball said.

The next step is for Ball to have the card authenticated and graded by professional appraisers.

Chris Gooboian, of Bases Loaded Collectibles in northwest Fresno, told the station that the card could be extremely valuable.

“Oh my gosh, it would be an amazing card,” he said. “Looking at the condition of this card, it looks really nice. A card from this era of Babe Ruth, if you get it authenticated, gosh, $20-30,000 is not out of the question.”

Ball told the station he thinks that’s a low estimate. He believes the card is a legit Shotwell W-575-1 Babe Ruth card.

“This is the one everybody’s looking for,” he told the station.

Ball became emotional when asked what he’d do if the card was found to be the real deal.

“Can’t answer it truthfully,” he told the station. “Can’t. God blessed me, and I intend to bless the guy that I got it from. I will go back to the store when it’s all over to give him a proper payment.”

In the meantime, he’s telling interested buyers that bidding starts at $2 million, he told the station.