GUEST: This is a 1924 NFL World Championship football that my father earned with the football team.
APPRAISER: And he played for the Cleveland Bulldogs.
GUEST: Yes. After he graduated from high school, it was 1918 and he went to VMI, hoping that he would become an officer. But the war ended. So he went to Ohio State University and played at Ohio State. And he ended up on the Bulldogs.
APPRAISER: The Cleveland Bulldogs didn't last long. They were founded in 1923. They lasted until 1927. But they won the NFL Championship in 1924. They went seven, one and one. Had the best record and therefore won the championship. People today are used to Super Bowl rings, giant things on fingers. Well, back then it was very different, obviously. And this fob, this gold fob was what was awarded as the championship piece. This time period in NFL history is fascinating. This was the wild west days.
GUEST: It was that.
APPRAISER: The rough and tumble days. And I know you have some interesting stories about this time.
GUEST: One of the things that my father used to say when Joe Namath became popular and all the women were crazy about him, he says, "None of the women were crazy about us. The only people crazy about us was the local gangsters." And he said, "After the football games "they'd take us down to one of their warehouses, have us food, beer." And he said it wasn't the type of people that he really wanted to associate with.
APPRAISER: Right, well, it was definitely a different time. Very, very rare to see a piece of memorabilia from this time period. Occasionally you'll see a piece of equipment, but to find a championship piece, a fob like this, that's extraordinarily rare. There weren't too many people on the teams back then. They played both offense and defense. So you're not dealing with a lot of pieces to begin with. It's in beautiful condition and it's with your dad's watch. I would insure the watch for $1,500. This documentation is wonderful and it certainly adds provenance to the fob. It doesn't have a lot of value itself, but it certainly helps the fob. And as such, I would insure the fob for $10,000. And it's really neat to see such a cool piece.
GUEST: Thank you.
