Vince Lombardi's West Point sweater bought for $.58, auctioned off for $40K

A man who purchased a West Point sweater for 58 cents a year ago found himself a whole lot richer this past weekend.

The sweater, which was purchased at a Goodwill store in Asheville, North Carolina, was owned and worn by Vince Lombardi when he coached the Academy from 1949 to 1953.

It sold this past weekend at an auction in New York City for $43,020.

Sean McEvoy of Knoxville, Tennessee told ESPN he saw the sweater at the Goodwill store and initially thought it was a basketball warmup. He said his wife saw the name “Lombardi” and the number “46” on a tag in the back of the sweater but didn’t make a connection and didn’t tell her husband.

It wasn’t until McEvoy was watching a documentary about Lombardi and saw the famed coach wearing a sweater similar to the one he had purchased. He pulled the sweater out, saw the name on the back tag and made the connection.

McEvoy, who sells vintage clothes online, initially called the Pro Football Hall of Fame about the find and it wanted him to donate the sweater. McEvoy then got in touch with Heritage Auctions in Dallas, which helped facilitate the authentication of the item and then put it up for auction with a starting bid of $20,000.

The winning bid was $36,000, but a 19.5 percent buyer's premium made the final sale price of $43,020.

According to ESPN, the sweater was donated to Goodwill by Ann Wannamaker, the widow of Bill Wannamaker, who coached with Lombardi at Army. Heritage Auctions had agreed to take the money it collected from the seller, about $4,000, and gift it back to that Goodwill.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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