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

[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

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