Quote:
Originally Posted by todeen
Think about all the players today, in their 70s and 80s who realize they have a mountain of stuff and need to get rid of it. Johnny Bench being one of the latest examples. At some point they all come to the realization it has to go. Go back 70 years, older players have a mountain of stuff with little value, they need to downsize, and someone asks for something. It fills the need of the family.
My grandma moved out of her house when she was in her 90s a couple years ago. She needed to get rid of everything essentially. Objects might have intrinsic value to her, but not necessarily her kids or grandchildren. No one wanted her pool table. No one wanted her 120+ year old pump organ. Lots of anniversary gifts went unclaimed. They were silver plated rather than solid silver, so they weren't really valuable either. Photos were hard to give away, especially if there was no comment about people, time, or place. It's just the way it goes.
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That might be the way some think about it. Bench says that he auctioned his vast collection because selling it would provide for his family. The monetary value was very clear to him.
But if it's 1967, and your late husband or father kept a few bats or a trophy, I would think that you'd want to keep what he valued or that you'd want to pass these things along to a family member. Maybe give these things to an old friend of the deceased. If we're talking about large pieces of furniture that belonged to people who are not famous (was your grandmother famous?), or if aging widows are moving into small apartments, OK. I get that. But it seems odd to me that a family would easily give away things to a young stranger that a great athlete thought it worthy to keep. But it is certainly true that the monetary value of these things has changed the situation.