Tri-City Herald Logo

Pasco man has got a deal for you | Tri-City Herald

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Archives
    • Buy Photos and Pages
    • Contact Us
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Newsletters
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Services

    • News
    • Local News
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Hanford
    • Northwest
    • Nation & World
    • Obituary Listings
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • Health
    • Weird
    • Photos
    • Weather
    • Videos
    • Sports
    • Local Sports
    • Preps
    • Prep Countdown
    • Seattle Seahawks
    • Seattle Mariners
    • Tri-City Americans
    • Tri-City Dust Devils
    • Tri-Cities Fever
    • Hydros
    • Photos
    • Outdoors
    • Blogs
    • College
    • NFL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • NHL
    • MLS
    • Golf
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Public Records
    • National Business
    • Technology
    • Entertainment
    • Local Arts
    • Celebrity
    • Mr. Movie
    • Movie Times
    • Movie News
    • Music News
    • Calendar
    • Submit Event
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Contests
    • Living
    • Food & Wine
    • Wine Press NW
    • Antique Appraisals
    • Health & Science
    • Home & Garden
    • Light Notes
    • Religion
    • Spiritual Life
    • Births
    • Engagements
    • Weddings
    • Anniversaries
    • Opinion
    • Letters
    • Editorials
    • National
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Submit Letter
    • Guest Columnists
  • Obituaries

  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Place An Ad

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

Latest News

Pasco man has got a deal for you

    ORDER REPRINT →

September 02, 2011 12:00 AM

Gary Bower has some collectible sports cards he would like to sell. Among them are Olympian Jim Thorpe's 1933 rookie card and a similar vintage Red Grange football card. The athletes are sports legends.

But they are just two of an estimated 2 million cards for players in baseball, football, hockey and basketball stashed in the basement of Bower's Pasco home.

But Bower isn't just looking to cash in on his lifetime collection of sports memorabilia.

He's selling it all.

SIGN UP

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to the Tri-City Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

House and all.

Whoever comes up with $280,000 can have the cards and his five-bedroom home with a finished 1,300-square-foot basement.

And to sweeten the deal, he will throw in his 1952 customized Chevrolet two-door Bel Air hardtop.

"I just lost interest after my wife died," said the 76-year-old former Hanford pipefitter and construction worker.

Gary and Sallee Bower were married 43 years when she died in 2003. She did not share his passion for collecting sports cards, he said.

And Bower's four grown children aren't interested in having the collection either, he said.

The Professional Sports Authenticator site lists a range of prices for the 1933 Goudey Sport Kings cards, depending on their condition. A mint condition Grange card could fetch $12,500 and the Thorpe $32,500. Rounded corners, creases in the card and any surface markings can significantly downgrade the book value.

Bower started collecting sports cards in the '70s, adding steadily over the years. "At 10 cents each, I figure I've got $200,000 in cards here," he said.

And that doesn't include the dozens of sports cards he has framed on the walls.

One large display shows a newspaper article about the 1972 death of Hall of Fame right fielder Roberto Clemente, with his collectible card and related memorabilia. The card alone is worth $200, Bower said.

He stores his best stuff in a 5-foot-tall safe, but 209 boxes, each filled with 7,000 carefully organized cards, are stacked high in several rooms.

In a single closet are thousands more sports cards still in their unopened boxes -- untouched treasures waiting to be discovered.

And then there are the other sports-related collectibles -- the Wheaties "Breakfast of Champions" cereal boxes with famous sports greats such as Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton, unopened soda and soup cans bearing images of athletes like baseball slugger Jason Giambi, and an empty milk carton with a picture of Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Monk.

And, yes, there are rookie cards for baseball's Mark McGwire, quarterback John Elway and ice hockey goaltender Ken Dryden.

Want a piece of pitcher Nolan Ryan's jersey and his autograph? Bower has it.

"There's going to be quite a deal for whoever buys it," he said.

"I was a rookie collector, so that's what I went after. Most of what I have are rookie cards," he said.

Bower hasn't listed his house with a real estate agent, but the home should sell for about $175,000, he said.

The county assessor puts the value at $169,000.

And the Chevrolet Bel Air would bring about $18,500 to $20,000, he said.

And to the right buyer, there's one more surprise, albeit a nonsports collectible -- an original centerfold of Marilyn Monroe on red velvet from the early '50s.

Bower said serious prospective buyers can call him at 628-7399.

  Comments  

Videos

This Tri-Cities mother is working to change a law after her daughter’s death

This Richland man wants Jim Mattis to run for President

View More Video

Trending Stories

Richland playoff game canceled after Snoqualmie Pass closes

February 22, 2019 05:32 PM

Winter storm watch issued for Tri-Cities

February 22, 2019 05:54 PM

Medvedeva wins Russian figure skating to revive worlds hope

February 22, 2019 05:15 AM

Million dollar deal would give TRAC a new name

February 22, 2019 06:23 PM

ATM bandit raids 100 Kennewick bank accounts. More than $75,000 stolen

February 22, 2019 05:36 PM

Read Next

Here’s how much snow the Tri-Cities can expect in the next few days
Video media Created with Sketch.

Local

Here’s how much snow the Tri-Cities can expect in the next few days

By Annette Cary

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 23, 2019 05:05 PM

The National Weather Service says snow is likely in the Tri-Cities this weekend and Sunday into Monday but with little accumulation until Tuesday. A rain and snow mix is forecast after that.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to the Tri-City Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LATEST NEWS

Grieving parents say Washington’s wrongful-death law is unfair. They want changes

Local

Grieving parents say Washington’s wrongful-death law is unfair. They want changes

February 23, 2019 05:20 PM
BNSF train cars hauling garbage derail in Pasco

Local

BNSF train cars hauling garbage derail in Pasco

February 23, 2019 11:39 AM
Patriots owner Kraft denies charges of soliciting prostitute

National

Patriots owner Kraft denies charges of soliciting prostitute

February 23, 2019 07:38 AM

Crime

This donation could help save your life in the water

February 22, 2019 07:34 PM
Richland boys to play Saturday after postponement. Chiawana, Kamiakin girls games set

Sports

Richland boys to play Saturday after postponement. Chiawana, Kamiakin girls games set

February 22, 2019 07:26 PM
He shot at Pasco police 7 times. A jury will decide if it’s attempted murder

Crime

He shot at Pasco police 7 times. A jury will decide if it’s attempted murder

February 22, 2019 06:02 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Tri-City Herald App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
Advertising
  • Digital Solutions
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • Contact Us
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story