CROSBY, Minn. — Crosby is known as the antique capital of Minnesota, which is fitting considering a collectible object with a very high value was just discovered there.
"One in a million doesn't put close to terms on what the reality of it was," said Caleb Baker, co-owner of DK's Sports Cards in Crosby.
Now, Baker's also the co-star of the biggest card find of his life.
"He calls me and I see this thing in person and I'm like, man, I am trying to play it cool because I don't want to get his hopes up. I don't want to be like, 'Dude, this is gonna change your life.'"
But soon they'd all learn that Baker's find was a life-changing.
But, how did he come upon the 1961 Fleer Basketball Wilt Chamberlain rookie card? You ask?
"His [the seller's] parents owned a grocery store when he was growing up. Him and his brother ripped a bunch of packs of cards and just stuffed them in a cabinet or a drawer in the grocery store," Baker said.
"A bunch of years go by, his brother asked the father, 'Hey, where are the old cards? What did you do with them?' 'Oh, I burnt 'em. They are gone; they went to a burn pile years ago.'"
The old man was fibbing, but the brothers wouldn't know until a most welcome surprise greeted them more than six decades later.
"The owner found 'em in the store, 60 years later," said Baker.
So, here we are: Two guys, one card.
"I said, 'Let's grade this thing. I will send it down to SGC in Boca Raton, Florida,'" Baker said. "'They will take care of it; they will grade and if it grades well, I will fly down and pick it up.'"
SGC is one of two companies that grade a card's value based on the shape it's in — and remember, this card was shoved in a drawer for more than half a century by two kids.
By the time SGC gets the card, they deem it "one of the most impressive trading cards that the hobby has ever seen."
The Crosby card was graded a 10 — on a scale of 10. SGC said it has never, ever graded a card that well in its history.
"The gravity of the situation started to hit me," Baker said. "I was at my grandma's house cooking for the family and I just started crying to myself, 'Man, you read about this, it never happens.'"
"You just never think you will be experiencing this yourself and I'm crying as I'm cooking burgers and my wife and grandma were like, 'What is wrong with you? And I'm like, 'You just won't understand until all this unfolds.'"
Caleb flew to Florida with his brother to get the card back from SGC. That's when SGC told him a private buyer was ready to pay — wait for it — $1.7 million.
"The highest vintage basketball card sale of all time," said Baker.
Now, all that was left to do was tell the brothers back in Crosby who were itching to sell it.
"I kind of told them the magnitude of this and said if this was an 8, it was 40 grand.' I'm like, 'You guys might want to sit down for this.'"
Baker told them he sold it privately for nearly $2 million.
"Hardworking, blue-collar guys and just to have to this, is just unbelievable," said Baker.
I guess they don't call Crosby the antique capital of Minnesota for nothing.
The brothers who owned the card wish to remain anonymous, as does the buyer.
And according to SGC, this card is the best Wilt Chamberlain card in existence.