Single Dad with Cancer Auctioning Brady Rookie Card to Help Daughters
When Scott Weaver was recently diagnosed with an aggressive and often fatal form of cancer, he looked to his sports card collection as a way of securing a solid financial future for his two daughters. One card, in particular, held the key.
While Weaver, a self-described “ordinary, working guy,” has never met Tom Brady, the 7-time Super Bowl champion will be providing for Weaver’s family for years to come, thanks to a football card Weaver obtained, completely by luck, several years ago.
The card, a 2000 Playoff Contenders Rookie Ticket autograph, has been consigned to Heartland Sports Cards and Memorabilia where it will be the star of the company’s upcoming online auction. The card is numbered 40/100.
Bidding opened Saturday and is already approaching $100,000, with the auction scheduled to run for nearly two more weeks.
A Lucky Surprise In A Box Of Football Cards
According to Weaver, sometime in late 2003 or early 2004, he purchased a “surprise box” of football cards on eBay for $100 that was guaranteed to have at least one 2000 Playoff Contenders Autographed Rookie Card inside.
“I was a die-hard Rams fan back in those days, while the team was still in St. Louis,” Weaver said. “I was hoping I would get Marc Bulger’s signed rookie card (then the Rams’ quarterback), but I got Brady instead. I was actually disappointed at the time.”
When Brady started winning multiple Super Bowls Weaver decided he should probably send the card away to be professionally graded, because “it might be worth something some day.” The card came back from Beckett Grading as a 7.5 (NM+) with a 9 autograph grade.
As Brady has piled up more championships and NFL records, the value of the card has skyrocketed. In April, a BGS 8.5/9 copy of the same card sold for over $2.2 million.
Bill Goodwin, President of St. Louis-based Heartland, described Weaver’s story as “. . . one of those surprise discoveries that people dream about, no differently than picking the winning lottery numbers. Sometimes luck is just on your side.”
Weaver’s card has quite a history. In addition to having been acquired in an unusual fashion, the card was actually stolen at one point and wound up in a St. Louis area hobby shop. Thanks to a tip, it was confiscated and returned to Weaver.
“Scott’s story, being a single dad with two daughters, a guy with cancer who can’t sleep at night because he’s worried about his kids, only to have a card that could sell for a million dollars adds something really special to this auction,” said Goodwin. “My daughters are all grown and I can’t imagine what it would be like telling them I have cancer. But Scott’s girls are 10 and 18. He’s worried about how they’ll get by. Selling this card should give him some peace of mind.”
The auction, which also includes a 1925 Exhibit Lou Gehrig, multiple Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig cards, Jackie Robinson rookie cards and a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle among more than 200 lots in all, runs through July 25.
About Rich Mueller
Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for over 35 years and a collector for even longer than that, he’s usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected]
