Man thrifts 1948 book with rare MLB player signature inside
By Kayleigh Randle
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ROWAN COUNTY, Kentucky (WLEX) — One baseball fan in Rowan County scored big time at the local thrift shop after finding an autograph from one of the greatest ballplayers of all time inscribed in a used book.
Christopher Kidney has been thrifting for two and a half years. Him and his family thrift together all the time.
His love for collecting older books has grown through that time. On January 29, Kidney began losing hope that he would find a rare item. Until he stepped into Goodwill in Morehead and came across the book: ‘The Pittsburgh Pirates.’
The book is by Fred Lieb and walks the reader through the Major League Baseball teams journey since the 1880’s.
What Kidney found inside though is what makes it so rare.
“On the first page, as soon as you open the book is ‘Best Wishes. Stan Rojek, Honus Wagner.'”
Kidney says he bought the book for $1.59 and got it for a steal as it has been authenticated through a private company.
“It’s just so cool because in 1948, 74-year-old Honus Wagner was a coach on that team and the other signature, Stan Rojek, he was a ball player,” said Kidney. “One of the greatest baseball players to ever play. Actually wrote it himself on the book I mean that’s something incredible to say I even owned it at one point.”
Honus Wagner played on the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1897 to 1917 and was nicknamed: ‘The Flying Dutchman.’
It doesn’t just hold a special place with Kidney for the rareness. His grandfather, James Kidney. who died in 2022, owned a reproduced Honus Wagner card until someone stole it 25 years ago.
James Kidney was an attorney who worked for the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals. “But my greatest find is a Honus Wagner autograph and my grandpa had a similar Honus Wagner story and it’s really neat the way things go like that sometimes. I definitely think he gave me a sign.”
Although Kidney will forever be a Reds and Bengals fan, he says this find is still unreal as an overall sports fan.
Kidney thanks his friend Brad Hannigan who got him involved in reselling antique items and his family for always spending those days with him.
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