Major collection of Northwest baseball material stolen today in Seattle WA (Dec 18th)

[AndrewJerome]

Hello All,

For those that don't know, there are several display cases at Safeco Field in Seattle filled with antique and vintage baseball memorabilia, mostly related to Northwest baseball. Early this morning the cases were broken into. Many items in the photos below were taken. These items taken are irreplaceable museum-quality, one of a kind items that will presumably be very hard to sell. A partial list of stolen material is included below. There will likely be a few more pieces added to the list.

Again this happened today, so keep an eye out on eBay, Craigslist, antique / second hand stores, and other venues. A police report has been filed. If you find any potential material or leads, please contact me, and I will put you in contact with the owner.

Thank you,

Andrew Jerome
(206) 914-1614
callmefugazi@yahoo.com



Attached are photos of the cases and here is a list of the items:


Vancouver / Victoria case


Bottom of case:

Vancouver Capilanos jersey, pants, hat (bottom left)

George Nicholas game used glove

Vancouver Capilanos silver cigarette case w/players name

George Nicholas no hitter inscribed team signed baseball

Ten Million Spalding game bat (bottom of case)

1928 Victoria Senior Amateur League "Poodle Dog Cafe" trophy (bottom shelf)

Victoria jersey (bottom right)



Middle Shelf: (l to r)

1958 Vancouver road jersey (#9, Barker in collar)

1967 Mounties jersey (#17)

Two (2) Vancouver Mounties hat

Home Gas jersey (red, green, beige flag on chest) Vanc Senior Am Lg



Top Shelf:

1908 Vanc vs Spokane championship game ball, lineups and batteries on ball, darkened




Seattle Rainiers case


1940 Seattle Rainiers jersey and undersleeves (jersey: #3, "GArchie" on undersleeves in collar)

George Archie game used first baseman glove (Rawlings? GArchie in faint felt)

1955 Ray Orteig Seattle Rainiers home jersey (#10)





1969 Lou Piniella road jersey, "Pinefla" sewn in collar.

1992, 2000, 2001 Edgar Martinez All Stars jerseys.

Three Edgar Martinez game used bats

Original Seattle Pilots hat

[slidekellyslide]

Wow...this sucks. I'm pretty sure I know whose stuff that is...Hopefully it can be tracked down. No way is this stuff ever going to be able to be sold openly anywhere. :(

[philliesphan]

Absolutely horrific.

Hoping for a safe and complete return straight away. So many of these items are unique and whose value is primarily tied to their provenance. These are all unsaleable throughout the hobby. Fingers crossed that all is identified quickly.

<sad>

[Bicem]

Horrible, I really feel for the owner.

Will keep an eye out here in Seattle.

[perezfan]

Same here...

I'm local and will keep a close eye out as well. Often, idiots like this will eventually stumble, and I truly hope that's the case here. This is beyond immoral, and I feel terrible for the owner.

[Jaybird]

I'm hopeful that as a community we can recover these items and return them to their owner. Obviously, the owner was gracious enough to loan this stuff for everyone that went to Safeco to enjoy. A very generous act that should be rewarded with appreciation, not theft. Sorry this happened.

[Kawika]

Is security that lacking that someone can break into a ballpark, empty out two cases of memorabilia and then exit said ballpark? Perp would have had to run a gauntlet of cameras I would hope. He'll never be able to move the stuff. A shitty and stupid crime.

[71buc]

I believe that much of this material belonged to a member of our Net54 community that many of us are familiar with. Out of respect for his privacy I will not divulge his name. Lets keep an eye out and take care of one of our own!

[pariah1107]

Very well said Mike, every collector in the PNW should keep an eye out... it stands out.

[71buc]

There is a pretty tight knit group of local NW dealers who communicate frequently regarding such thefts. One such dealer is Don Knudsen of NW Sports Cards. I sent him the following email.

There was a theft of valuable memorabilia at Safeco Field today. It was discussed in the net54 thread below. Please keep an eye out for it. Will you please notify other NW dealers you may communicate with so we can aid in the recovery of these items.

http://net54baseball.com/showthread.php?p=1356559#post1356559

Perhaps we have a WSSCA member here who could notify dealers and members associated with that organization? I will try but it would probably be more effective if one of thief own got the word out.

http://www.wsscaseattle.com/

Mike

[Luke]

This is awful :( I'll be on the lookout.

[baseball tourist]

As an occasional Vancouver centric baseball collector I realize immediately how rare and significant these items are. Will keep an eye out and hope for a quick resolution for the owner. Leon, if you read this may I suggest also positing this notice in the Memorbilia Section for greatest exposure? Thanks.

[7nohitter]

As a previous poster stated regarding the security; I'm wondering if this was an inside job.

How could anyone get into a park, I'm assuming with, at the very least, two large duffle bags, make the racket of breaking into the cases and then walking out.

There have to be cameras which caught the act. Hope the thief (or thieves) are caught quickly.

[Leon]

This is horrible. Since it just happened I feel sticking this thread might help. I hope the perps get caught and the items returned.

[AndrewJerome]

Hi Mike,

I am a WSSCA member, and the membership has been alerted regarding the theft. NW collectors are indeed a close knit group, and word is spreading fast in an attempt to recover the items.

Andrew


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ethicsprof]

horrible news.
I'll be on the lookout.
all the best,
barry

[baseballart]

The owner is a great guy and a great friend. He has done more for me in collecting and in his friendship that I could ever have asked for or deserved.

I just feel sick.

[dlfallen]

This makes me mad and sad at the same time. Many of us know who the owner is and I feel for him. Like all of you I pray for a quick and intact recovery.

Despite this, I hope the owner and all of you have an otherwise joyous holiday season.

[pariah1107]

Weren't 4 cleaning crew employees recently accused of stealing 10K worth of merchandise from Safeco Field in October? Anyone know where they are?

[prewarsports]

Nobody is as passionate in their field of collecting as this man is and it is a shame when this happens to ANYONE, but someone with an emotional attachment to their items (collecting for the love of it and not just the money) makes it even worse. We need to do everything we can as a community to help locate these items!

Rhys

[Hankphenom]

As a previous poster stated regarding the security; I'm wondering if this was an inside job.

How could anyone get into a park, I'm assuming with, at the very least, two large duffle bags, make the racket of breaking into the cases and then walking out.

There have to be cameras which caught the act. Hope the thief (or thieves) are caught quickly.

Curious as to where the display cases were located. Were they on the concourse, inside one of the private clubs, etc.?

[slidekellyslide]

I just did a google news search to see what I could find and it appears there have been at least two burglaries at Safeco in the last two years. I sure hope they had some cameras set up.

[ksfarmboy]

Really hate to hear this. I hope they catch them fast and all is returned in the same condition.

[ecRich]

This breaks my heart as the owner is one of the good guys in this hobby. I rate Safeco as one of the great parks in baseball in part because of the contributions of this collector to the Seattle baseball history that is here at every game. I was at the final game of the season in which Felix pitched and the Mariners had a chance for the post-season. I spent some time at these exhibits and it made me feel good to be there. I hope the jackass that stole these items tries to sell them, as that is how he gets caught. I would hate it if he realizes he can't move these one of a kind items and destroys the evidence.

[dbrown]

http://q13fox.com/2014/12/19/stolen-mariners-memorabilia-recovered-suspect-arrested/

SEATTLE — Police recovered stolen Seattle Mariners memorabilia, including jerseys worn by Edgar Martinez and other former team members, and arrested the suspected thief Friday after tracing him through fingerprints he left behind at Safeco Field, police said.

A thief climbed over a fence at Safeco Field at about 4 a.m. Thursday and broke glass display cases in and around Edgar’s Cantina inside, police said. He then piled the memorabilia into garbage bags and hauled it all away.

...

[Jay Wolt]

http://q13fox.com/2014/12/19/stolen-mariners-memorabilia-recovered-suspect-arrested/

SEATTLE — Police recovered stolen Seattle Mariners memorabilia, including jerseys worn by Edgar Martinez and other former team members, and arrested the suspected thief Friday after tracing him through fingerprints he left behind at Safeco Field, police said.

A thief climbed over a fence at Safeco Field at about 4 a.m. Thursday and broke glass display cases in and around Edgar’s Cantina inside, police said. He then piled the memorabilia into garbage bags and hauled it all away.

...
Glad they caught the bum

[perezfan]

Great News! Just saw it reported on King 5...

So glad they caught the creep. Hoping it's recovered in-full and in the same condition!

[veloce]

Fantastic display... I hope there are no losses or damage and that the lender and Mariners are willing to put the display back together. As a Canadian collector who hopes to see my first Safeco game in 2015, I would love to see the items in person.

[pariah1107]

Great news, thank goodness!

[Vintagecatcher]

Good Karma!


Patrick

[slidekellyslide]

Great news!!! :)

[Wite3]

Glad he was caught...glad the stuff was recovered.

Joshua

[jcmtiger]

YES!!! That was fast. Great News.

Joe

[williamcohon]

WooHoo - great news!!!

Bill

[ksfarmboy]

That's awesome! Great news!

[Leon]

I couldn't be happier about this. The victim is such a nice guy he PM'd me yesterday and thanked me for the little bit of help. I have cheerfully un-stuck this thread now. I try to save sticky threads for issues like this as they get more attention than if we have 5 sticky's up there all of the time.

[btcarfagno]

Absolutely the best news possible. I hope and pray that all items are returned in the same condition, as these items seem pretty much irreplaceable.

I also hope that the perpetrator gest strung up by his balls. If he had any that is.

Tom C

[cardsfan73]

Great news! I am hoping everything was recovered and none of the items were damaged during the heist!

[grainsley]

Kudos to SPD.....great work!

[ALR-bishop]

Since they were going to his house to arrest him based on fingerprints and surveillance footage from the scene, I wonder why they did not have a search warrant in hand when they arrived.

[dlfallen]

Fantastic news! I'm as happy as a clam at high tide!

[grainsley]

At that point they likely didn't have enough grounds to believe the property was in there, it could well have been in a storage locker, or elsewhere, but they certainly had grounds to arrest/interrogate the perp based on prints/video. Observation of the property during the course of the arrest gave them all the grounds they needed to obtain a warrant for the house. (I'm assuming U.S. criminal law is similar to Canadian). Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

[seattlerainiers]

As reported earlier in the thread and via media here in Seattle, it appears there will be a very fortunate and favorable resolution to this theft. At this point, it looks like most everything has been recovered, except for a 1908 Vancouver/Spokane NWL championship inscribed trophy ball.

Thanks VERY MUCH for all of the support, concern and efforts, both public and private from all of my friends in the hobby, both within and outside of Net54. I'd specifically like to give major thanks to my good friends Mark M, Andrew J and Conor D for springing into action shortly after they learned of the theft. Great fellows and friends one and all. And thank you again Leon, for the "stickiness"...super glad it wasn't sticky for long.

I'll thank a lot of you personally as well, and if I miss anyone, please know that I greatly appreciate your friendship and hobby kinship. Tis the season indeed!

Special thanks will also go out to SPD and their CSI unit, and a number of my good friends with the Mariners who also sprung into action, and care deeply about our regional baseball history, and what it represents.

Happy holidays to all, accompanied by large dose of my heartfelt gratitude.

Dave

[atx840]

Great News! Always a treat to see these displays when I visit.

Dave what are the yellow and red cards in the Vancouver displays?

http://i.imgur.com/D3UQkVD.png

[seattlerainiers]

Chris:

Those "cards" are blown up Vancouver Obak reproductions (Ed Erickson, left and Bob Brown, right).

Ed Erickson was the pitcher in the 1908 NWL championship game that is represented by the game-ball you can see underneath the Erickson "Obak".

This is the ball that is still missing from the theft.

[conor912]

My pleasure, Dave. Any chance I get to help a friend with the added bonus of helping the hobby (and put bad guys in jail), it's a no-brainer. I'm really happy for you. I'm also thinking this will be a great story to add to the pieces. They are now part of the lore of the Great Safeco Heist of '14!!:)

[Tom Hufford]

I haven't been on this site for a couple of days, and my heart sank when I saw the heading. I read through the whole thread and was overjoyed to see that the culprit had been caught so quickly! Hopefully, all the missing items will be returned safely - and soon.

I have some items from my own collection on loan to the Braves and on display in the Braves Hall of Fame and Museum at Turner Field - I can't imagine going through this.

Hope everything is resolved soon - and that the guy is sent away for a long, long time!

[seattlerainiers]

Very pleased to report that ALL material has been recovered, including the last two missing items: 1947 Vancouver Capilanos championship silver cigarette case, and 1908 Vancouver/Spokane NWL inscribed "last pitch" ball (pictured below).

Once again, my profound thanks to all who pitched in with their support, good wishes, and good vibes.

A special thanks goes to the Seattle Police Department and their CSI unit, who, incredibly, had forensic evidence processed by the day after the theft, leading directly to the recovery.

Happy holidays to all.

[JeremyW]

Great news!

[1963Topps Set]

It is crooks like this that take the fun out of a hobby. I am so happy the items were recovered and returned to where they belong. I am really proud of the people in this forum for being so proactive, you deserve a round of applause too!

[caramelcard]

Dave,

I knew I had a good feeling about it! So glad they're back where they belong.

Happy Holidays.

Rob

[pariah1107]

This is the best Christmas gift ever as a PNW historian, and baseball fan! Over the moon to hear it was ALL recovered.

As a Washington microfiche junky; to receive an email from Dave for the NAAM exhibit Pitch Black was like getting called up to the big leagues. He is a true gentleman collector and preservationist. Thank you for your endless, benevolent support of baseball in the Northwest. Happy Holidays sir.

[DixieBaseball]

Just now read this entire thread. Wow! Great News & just in time for Christmas!

So glad the collection was recovered. (This gives me pause as I was considering possibly loaning some of my Nashville/Southern collection to be displayed in the future at Sulphur Dell park in Nashville) Unless it was in a case like the one showed which was also in a room where the doors locked and there were multiple cameras, I would probably have to pass on this expedition as my heart sank when I first starting reading this thread. I was more worried about damage to the items or possibly becoming lost after the thieves realized they wouldn't be able to get away with a sale, etc. very easily... Scary.

So glad it ended well - Cheers

[baseball tourist]

Great news Dave! I am relieved that all items were recovered. None suffered damages, I hope? Are they going back on display eventually, or are you understandably gun-shy?

[CurtisFlood]

Seems like theft is up at a lot of venues for baseball cards and memorabilia. I'm very happy any time scum like this is caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.