On a typical mid-December day in Oregon, Jack Ricketts walked into his favorite spot, hoping to find a diamond in the rough.
Ever since the high school senior first started picking through clothes in the bins at his local Goodwill store, he had fallen in love with the hunt. Plus, it was more lucrative than his previous job at the Family Fun Center.
Everyone has a chance to unearth gold. And on Dec. 16, 2023, it was no different. Some 35 people were there, waiting for the final of eight big, blue tubs full of clothes to roll in. Once the last tub is in place, pickers can start going through the bins of donated items and put them into their own carts.
Ricketts usually starts with the tub in front of him, but something inspired him to walk to another one. And there, right on top, was what looked like a red and blue sweater that was inside out.
There were two numbers that were right in front of his eyes: 14 and 1953.
He immediately flipped the garment right-side out.
A huge, beautiful Chicago Cubs patch in the upper right-hand corner of the jacket revealed itself, still very much intact.
"Holy shit," Ricketts said to himself, looking at the Wilson equipment tag on the inside. Ricketts might be just 18, but he knew this jacket was the real deal.
"I put it in my cart because once it's in your cart, no one can touch it," Ricketts said.
He started to do some research. It looked similar to the early 1950s Cubs dugout jackets, two of which had sold for $4,000 each.
Thinking his item was worth $4,000 at minimum, all Ricketts wanted to do was get out of there. He brought it up to the counter and had it weighed.
3.12 pounds.
At $2.79 per pound, the cashier gave Ricketts his price: $8.70.
Ricketts quickly bought the item, left the store and then sat in his car.
He went to the 1953 Cubs roster to find out who was No. 14.
Out of all the players it could be ...
Out of all the years it could be ...
This would be the player, and this would be the year.
The player: Ernie Banks. The year: His rookie season.
With Nike headquarters a stone's throw away, Ricketts, who is not related to Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, had heard the stories of the big scores at this Goodwill. His mentor, Danny, who does this full time, found Kevin Durant game-used shoes and a jacket Phil Knight wore at the Olympics in these same big, blue tubs.
But Ricketts' biggest score to date was a high-end motorcycle jacket, pants and a helmet that he bought for a couple bucks and sold on eBay for $1,450.
The next thing Ricketts did was call the auction houses to tell them what he had. He settled on Grey Flannel, which told him that his theory about Banks' was a good one, despite the fact there are no pictures in existence of "Mr. Cub" wearing it.
Cllct did find a very similar Cubs jacket, dated to the late 1940s, that sold at SCP Auctions for $2,520 in 2014.
How the jacket made its way to Oregon is anyone's guess, but a Cubs team source told cllct that the jacket does resemble others from that time, and it has the markings of longtime clubhouse manager Yosh Kawano.
Another player, an outfielder named Paul Schramka, wore No. 14 at the beginning of the 1953 season and played in his only two career major-league games before being sent to the minors.
Banks signed with the Cubs later in the year and made his MLB debut Sept. 17. He played in 10 games for Chicago that season.
The jacket — which could have belonged to Banks, Schramka or both — will go to auction Monday.
"We're estimating it sells for $20,000 to $30,000," Grey Flannel's Michael Russek said. "But I could easily see it going for more."
Year in and year out, there's always a find at Goodwill that makes it big. And Ricketts' discovery could be the most valuable piece of sports clothing found at a Goodwill in a decade.
In 2014, vintage clothes sellers bought Vince Lombardi's West Point jacket for 59 cents. It sold at auction for $43,020.
For Ricketts, the find comes at a perfect time. In three months, he's starting school at the University of Oregon.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.