PAPER TRAILS: Ballplayer's letters bat thousands

— Remember that Boise, Idaho-based researcher who ran a recent classified ad in this paper seeking several bundles of letters written between 1890 and 1910? The letters, sold Oct. 4 at a Little Rock estate sale, were to Robert Gilman Allen, an early professional baseball player.

Researcher Rhys Yeakley, a member of the Society of American Baseball Research, offered between $5,000 and $20,000 for them.

Allen, a shortstop from Marion, Ohio, played for several teams, including what is now the Philadelphia Phillies, the Boston Beaneaters and the Cincinnati Reds. He was living in Little Rock in 1945 when he died at 75. Following his death, the stamp collector - who recently had an estate sale - bought his letters.

Robert Gilman Allen wasn't famous, but his letters give insight into the players' daily lives - which is what interests Yeakley, whose hobby is researching and writing about early baseball.

After the story of Yeakley's quest appeared here Friday, the letters' buyers surfaced that same day and Saturday, Yeakley was on a plane from Boise to Little Rock to strike a deal.

Yeakley originally learned of the collection from Joe Percivalle of Beebe, who'd bought one bundle and was selling a few letters on eBay.

Yeakley bought Percivalle's bundle for $2,500 and added a $500 finder's fee for providing information about the estate sale. Here's the rest of the story:

Maumelle resident Ralph Allen (no relation to the ball player) loves scouring estate sales for old postcards and other paper collectibles. The day the stamp collector's sale began, Allen was among the first through the door.

Rummaging through the letters next him was Sam Dudderar.

Allen chose one bundle for $3 and Dudderar bought the rest for $30. Allen, an attorney with the U.S.

Corps of Engineers, soon leaves for a year in Iraq, so he wrapped his bundle, stored it in his garage, and forgot about it.

Meanwhile, Dudderar hadn't yet decided what to do with his box of letters.

Ironically, Yeakley worried the person who bought the letters did so for the stamps and would pitch the letters.

Guess what? Dudderar specializes in stamps. He's the owner of The Coin and Stamp Shop in downtown Little Rock. But that's not why he bought the letters.

"The stamps were nothing," says Dudderar. "The stamps and the envelopes were in very poor condition. Instead, I saw references to early baseball clubs; that's what interested me."

And that's what interests Yeakley.

"Of the 350 letters, between 100 to 150 were baseballrelated," Yeakley says. "And there's information in them about other players and managers which can be used to update the nationalBaseball Encyclopedia."

Yeakley and Allen met with Dudderar at his shop Saturday night to reunite the letters.

Yeakley paid Allen $500 for his $3 bundle. And Dudderar?

He scored just under $10,000 for his box of letters - not too shabby for a $30 investment.

Talk about knocking one right outta the park.... Paper Trails appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact Linda Caillouet at (501) 399-3636 or at lcaillouet@arkansasonline.com.

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 10/31/2007

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