For Pampa’s Lonnie Shelton — and baseball fans across the nation — the ride of a lifetime is a regal blue 1948 Lincoln Continental two-door hardtop coupe.
“The first time I saw the car,” Shelton said, “I fell in love with it. I bet I stayed there two hours looking at it, sitting in it, asking questions about it. There are several 1948 Lincoln Continentals out there, but none like this one.”
“This one” is the last known car George Herman Ruth owned before his death Aug. 16, 1948.
...Shelton said he has signed information from Ford Motor Co. confirming the car was a gift to Babe Ruth in 1948. Shelton said he also has documentation from Claire Ruth, Babe’s wife, writing about the car. Claire Ruth died in October 1976.
“Buying it had nothing to do with the car,” Shelton said. “It had all to do with the love of baseball. And the history of baseball and that gentleman who was involved with it. There was nobody that rivaled Babe Ruth back then.”
The car is in pristine shape with original interior and car color — “I call it Yankee blue,” Shelton said.
Repoz
Posted: October 17, 2012 at 10:49 AM |
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1. puck Posted: October 17, 2012 at 11:01 AM (#4273888)Classy.
I mean, I guess it means you can tell people that it was the Babe's. But other than that, I don't see the attraction. And I say this as someone who has been a collector and pack rat, but my collections tended to be of things that had some sort of use or value themselves (e.g. comic books, movies). I can read them, or watch them, or get some kind of enjoyment out of them beyond the collectible aspect.
Right, I get all that about the car itself, but the buyer specifically acknowledges that this had nothing to do with the car. I could see myself becoming a car collector if I had the cash laying around, because cars can be driven and enjoyed, and because restoring a car can be a very fun (if dirty) project.
And the '48 Continental is a beautiful car. I was not aware it was the last V12.
I was more commenting on the idea of buying something because a celebrity owned it. I get how that has value in the financial sense (you can ebay it for a profit later if you like), but I don't get the actual appeal beyond that.
Probably just a part of our celebrity culture that I'm not in tune with.
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