ALERT....huge, huge BB card collection theft....UPDATED

[tedzan]

This weekend will be two weeks since Don's collection was stolen and no sign of any thing yet. There
was a lead earlier this week, but it proved to be of no avail. A Special Investigator from the NY State
Trooper's office is on the job. And, many in the hobby nationwide are on the look-out for any sightings
of Don's cards or sets. Hopefully, something soon will be break in this case.

If you think that you know of, or have seen cards, that fit the descriptions provided here, please contact
me directly at......tedzan11@comcast.net

Or call my Tel #.

Thanks,

TED Z

[FUBAR]

Anyone in the Toronto area should keep their eyes peeled as well... just a quick trip across the border.

[tedzan]

I'm reprising the initial post here to add some new new cards to the list. The following are the highlights of it..........

100+ Old Judge's

521-card T206 set....in Ex (or better) condition....includes Plank (ungraded), the four Cobb's are ungraded.
............70 - T206's are Graded....Chase (pink) is PSA 5, Keeler (bat) is PSA 6 (68 others range from PSA 5 to PSA 7)

T201, T202, T205* and T207** sets

*......The T205 set is missing Ty Cobb....otherwise complete.

**....The T207 set is missing Lowdermilk and Miller....otherwise complete.

1920's Strip (W-type) card sets....including W514 Joe Jackson (a perfect cut on its left side, the right side is jagged).
Note......
All above T-cards and W-cards are in the miniature size top-loader plastics.


1933, '34, '35, '36 Goudey sets in Near Mint condition

Near Mint, near complete Master set of 1952 Topps (500+ cards)

Mint 1955 Topps set

Don's HOFer's and Rookie cards from 1951 - 1970's collection (100's of cards) from his 1948 Bowman Stan Musial to his
1967 Topps Tom Seaver would grade "8" or "9" or possibly "10"....had they been graded.

Including 1949 Bowman Jackie Robinson, 1949 Bowman Paige, 1951 Bowman Mays, 1952 Topps Jackie Robinson, 1953
Bowman Berra, 1954 Bowman Ted Williams, 1954 Topps Aaron, 1955 Topps Koufax, 1957 Topps Frank Robinson, etc.

All Mantle cards from 1951 - 1969, including......

1951 Bowman's (2 cards....one is O/C)
1952 Berk-Ross with writing on front
1952 Topps Mantle has a minute pinhole
1954 Red Heart
1964 Topps Stand-Ups


Please be on the look-out for this large (or parts of this) collection. If you come across any leads,
please email me at......

tedzan11@comcast.net


Note......I will not accept PM's


TED Z

[Republicaninmass]

Show coming up in Wilmington MA, I will be on the look out. I am not sure which members will be there, but keep your eyes out.

[insidethewrapper]

Hard to believe these guys still have the cards. Usually they have a quick turn over. Maybe each of us should advertise "Buying Cards" in their local area on Craigslist and maybe by chance they will contact one of us. We could cover most of the country.

[jbsports33]

I will be setup there we sell and buy prewar so if any member that sees anything and would like to talk with us, we maybe able to help and talk with local authorities.

Jimmy

[brandoningram]

This disgusts me.
As a Security Advisor in my hometown in Ontario Canada... It is nowadays almost impossible for someone breaking into a secure home, not to sett off some sort of alarm...UNLESS they knew the house that they were breaking into. He may want to look a little closer to home than he thought he should have. No one wants to think it, but family or friends who know the house and know of his collection. Or a family member or friend could have told someone else of the collection.

I dont collect cards anymore, but I collect autographed balls and vintage balls. After hereing this I dont think Im going to advertise to my family and friends anymore about my collection.

[tedzan]

Brandoningram

There has been a rash of thefts in that upstate NY area. In this case, the thief(s) first cut power to the house.
Then they grabbed a ladder and broke into the house thru a 2nd floor window. The alarm system was not wired
to the 2nd floor windows. They went down to the 1st floor and immediately cut the wires associated with the
alarm system.

If these thieves are captured, I'd bet that they were not aware of this collection, as they also took gold jewelry
and antiques. I think it was a random hit that was most likely "targeted" by seeing the Alarm System Co's adv.
badge in front of the house.

[FUBAR]

Most would never think to alarm the second floor.......

[Mark]

I've got alarms on the windows, doors, motion detectors, and it's all wireless. I think there's only a few seconds of an interval between the time an alarm is tripped and a message is sent to the security company. And I pay a little extra for a wireless phone connection to the security company so that cutting the phone lines won't make a difference. I recommend consulting with a security company to anyone who travels and has to leave loved ones (as well as baseball stuff) alone for a while. A long time ago, some thieves broke into my parents' home and stole, among other things, a lot of prewar baseball cards from me. I think that experience has helped to make me extra careful about security now that I am grown up with a place of my own. I hope that everyone on this board we take precautions and will keep an eye open for the stolen cards. They might show up anywhere, at any time, if they show up at all. I think that everyone should go to a card show in the next few weeks and should ask aroudn to learn if anyone has been offering the sort of cards that were stolen.

[FUBAR]

IMO- if i was a thief and i didn't have a pre-determined buyer, i would be trying to break it up into as many little pieces as possible so it wasn't traceable.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Ted,

From everything I’ve read, it seems to me like it was someone who knew the victim - a friend, a relative, repair man, etc.

Why would the thieve(s) enter through a second story window? Why not a first story window? Wouldn’t it have been a lot easier, and a lot less conspicuous (propping a ladder up against the side of the house) to enter from the first floor? The only answer that comes to mind is that the thieve(s) knew the second story wasn’t wired.

Originally Posted by FUBAR

Most would never think to alarm the second floor.......

Obviously you don't have teenagers that try to sneak out

[Abravefan11]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Why would the thieve(s) enter through a second story window? Why not a first story window?

The only answer that comes to mind is that the thieve(s) knew the second story wasn’t wired.

There used to be a show on TLC or Discovery that was two guys who would break into peoples homes or businesses (with their permission of course) that thought they were secure.

After breaking in and robbing the place they would review the footage with the owners and make improvements to their security.

If they didn't cut the power and phone they would go through a second floor window when they saw an alarm sign. Most people do not protect the second floor like they do the first.

[teetwoohsix]

Along with everything said above,I also get the strong feeling that the thief/thieves either know the victim,or got information from someone who knows the victim.If it's the latter,the person providing the information may have given it without realizing they were giving it to "the wrong people".

It,to me,doesn't sound like a random burglary.Just because they stole other items,like jewelery,doesn't suggest random to me.

If the thief/thieves knew the victim,they surely would want to take other items,to make it appear to be"random".If they knew the victim,and only took the collection,it would be a little more transparent,IMO.So,by taking other items,it would make it "appear" a little more like a random burglary.

Plus-thieves are greedy.They will take anything they think will resell for money,or trade for drugs,so it's no suprise they would take other items of value also.

I hope and pray this guy gets all of his collection back,or even most of it back.And hope they fry the thief/thieves when they are caught.

Sincerely,Clayton

[tedzan]

OK guys, I beg to differ with those of you who have said that the culprits may have known what they were getting into.

1st....Don never allowed strangers in his house. Fifteen miles away in another town, Don and his wife have an Antique
shop, where they conduct all their business dealings.

2nd....As I have said, there have been a rash of thefts in that upstate NY area of homes that are in secluded settings.
So, placing a ladder to gain entry thru windows on a 2nd floor is a clever move by the culprits.

3rd....The 2nd story access is not unusual. Most Alarm systems (wired & wireless) are only installed in the 1st (or entry)
level of a house.

4th....There appears to be a repetitive pattern in the M.O. of these culprits, and hopefully that will lead to their capture.

[DICKTOWLE]

Where in upstate new york-- i live 22 miles south of canada, thousand island region-- that is upstate ny---where was this in ny, please-- thanks

[tedzan]

The thefts are occuring in OTSEGO County (the surrounding Cooperstown area)

[glchen]

FYI, about the 2nd floor burglary, I don't think it's that uncommon. I live in a new development, where the houses were wired for security only on the first floor, by default. Homeowners would have to pay additional fees to wire the 2nd floor. Therefore, when we talked to the developer, they still advised us to wire the 2nd floor for security for those windows that would have easy access to the ground level (i.e., not beside a steep roof). We ended up wiring all windows for security, but I think that this would be general knowledge for burglars.

In addition, I have been burglarized once when I lived in an apartment a while ago. I lived in on the 4th floor, but beside the elevator. You need a code to enter the apartment building, but the burglar got in. Unfortunately, I did not have deadbolt on my door, and the burglar was able to use a crowbar to get in. No one else on the floor saw what happened, and the police never found the burglar. The burglars didn't take much, just a nice camera and a computer monitor. (They did look under my mattress.) The sliding door to the deck/fire escape was open, but the police said they opened that just to make it seem like they went through the fire escape, but most likely came and went through the front door. The burglar did try a couple of other apartments, but I think my door was the easiest one to open. I think the burglar came and left really quickly.

A lot of these guys have done this many, many times. They find a potential house to burglarize. Try the easiest, non-obvious way in with less likely security (like a second floor), look for valuable items, and then leave quickly. They probably go more for looking for anything that looks expensive, and probably have a decent idea of what stolen items have gotten good resale value in the past.

[tedzan]

There have been numerous leads reported since this theft occured. None yet with any significant discoveries.

I have 2 new bits of info to offer. In Don's 1935 Goudey set, the Waners' card is autographed by Ralph Kiner.

And, here is a partial list of the 70 graded cards in Don's T206 set (PSA 4 to PSA 6)

Adkins, Doc
Ames, Red, portrait
Becker, Beals
Bell, George - hands over head
Bergen, Bill - batting
Bergen, Bill - catching
Blackburne, Lena
Brown, Mordecai - portrait
Burns, Bill
Carey, Scoops
Cassidy, Peter
Chase, Hal - portrait, pink back
Cicotte, Ed
Coveleski, Harry
Davis, George - Chicago
Devlin, Art
Downey, Tom - batting
Doyle, Larry - throwing
Ellam, Roy
Engle, Clyde
Ewing, Bob
Fiene, Lou - portrait
Geyer, Rube
Gilbert, Billy
Graham, Peaches - Boston
Hart, Bill - Little Rock
Hickman, Gordon
Hinchman, Bill - Cleveland
Hoblitzell, Dick
Howard, Ernie - Savannah
Howell, Harry - hands at waist
Huggins, Miller - hands at mouth
Hulswitt, Rudy
Isbell, Frank
Johnson, Walter - portrait
Jordan, Tim - Brooklyn - portrait
Keeler, Willy - batting
Killian, Ed - hands at chest
Lajoie, Nap - throwing
Laporte, Frank
Lipe, Perry
Manning, Rube - pitching
McBride, George
McIntyre, Harry - Brooklyn
McIntyre, Matty - Detroit
Moran, Pat - Chicago
Mullin, George - with bat
Murphy, Danny - batting
Oberlin, Frank
Oneil, William
Otey, William
Payne, Billy
Phelan, Jimmy
Tinker, Joe - bat on shoulder
Westlake, James
White, Doc - Chicago - pitching
Zimmerman, Heinie


Any info related to this theft (no matter how remote it might appear) is enormously appreciated.

Please email me directly......tedzan11@comcast.net


No PM's....please.


TED Z

[Jlighter]

Anyone know what became of this?

[thehoodedcoder]

lol. you just bumped a three year old thread.

kevin

[Gradedcardman]

Great question. Any updates ?

[jcmtiger]

I guess Ted would have any answers.

Joe

[tedzan]

Hey Guys

Quite a few leads in the past 2 1/2 years, but nothing has been recovered.

TED Z

[Sean]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Hey Guys

Quite a few leads in the past 2 1/2 years, but nothing has been recovered.

TED Z

I'm really sorry to hear that.

[milkit1]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Hey Guys

Quite a few leads in the past 2 1/2 years, but nothing has been recovered.

TED Z

Good lord that's terrible. I'm sorry to hear that too.

[tedzan]

Sean

This is a very mysterious situation. You would think, that due to the magnitude and quality of this collection, it would have surfaced by now (in auctions, BB
card shows, grading company's, antique shops, etc).

It is known that the perps were stealing anything and everything in that upstate New York area. Perhaps, they are ignorant of the real value of this treasure
in their possession. And, this collection is collecting dust in some attic (or warehouse).


Hey guys,
Just a reminder....Don is offering a significant reward for any information that results in the recovery of all (or parts) of his collection. My 1st post
here describes the bulk of what was stolen. If you think you have any hint of a lead, please contact me at...... tedzan11@comcast.net

Note....I do not accept PM's


TED Z