GUY FINDS FAMOUS BASEBALL CARDS IN CRUMPLED BAG IN GRAMPA'S BASEMENT

Baseball card experts in Southern California said Wednesday that they have verified the legitimacy – and seven-figure total value – of seven identical Ty Cobb baseball cards from the printing period of 1909 to 1911. Before the recent find, there were only about 15 known to still exist. The family who discovered the cards in a neglected paper bag at the run-down house of a deceased great-grandfather has asked to remain anonymous. The cards with the famed Detroit Tigers slugger come from a lot known as T206, the group most prized by collectors that also includes the Honus Wagner card, arguably the most famous sports card ever. They say on the back “TY COBB — KING OF THE SMOKING TOBACCO WORLD” in green ink. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being mint condition, the cards range from 3.5 to 4.5, which is high for cards that are more than a century old. The total worth of the whole cache should exceed $1 million.
* Guess who just became everyone’s favorite great-grandfather?
* They were just sitting in a paper bag in a run-down house? See? It pays to be a slob sometimes.
* It also pays to be a hoarder.
* They also found a 1910 Betty White nude calendar.
* Tobacco advertising sure has a sordid history to it, doesn’t it?
* There were cigarette ads featuring doctors saying smoking was good for the health benefits.
* The Honus Wagner card says “HONUS WAGNER – KING OF THE HILLBILLY-SOUNDING-FIRST-NAME WORLD.”