Legend of Willie McCovey lives through Baseball Hall of Famer's memorabilia collection
Estela Bejar sobbed over the phone when considering what Willie McCovey, her late husband and a San Francisco Giants legend, would think of the Negro Leagues being officially recognized as major leagues.
“He would be smiling in heaven,” she cried.
While McCovey himself didn’t play in the Negro Leagues, his longtime Giants teammate from the 1960s, Willie Mays, did.
Even though Bejar understands little about baseball, McCovey would often tell her stories from his playing days during their multiyear relationship. The two met when Bejar was McCovey’s nurse while he recovered from back surgery in 2010. No one had taught her much about the sport until McCovey. But the Hall of Famer was proud of his accomplishments, and the pair spent much time at AT&T Park before his death.
McCovey died on Oct. 31, 2018, just a few months after he and Bejar got married.
She inherited much of the memorabilia from McCovey’s career, but now, due to a combination of circumstances, Bejar is getting rid of it. Forest fires have forced her to evacuate her California home twice in the past year, and with COVID-19, Bejar “doesn’t even know if I’ll be alive tomorrow.” Storing the items properly is also a financial burden.
“I guess it’s just time for the right people to have these items and take care of it in the right place,” Bejar told Paste BN via phone. “I don’t think I’m the right person to do it.”
The items of McCovey’s that Bejar owned are now up for auction through Heritage Auctions. Hundreds of awards, trophies and championship rings, including Giants 2012 and 2014 World Series rings, will be auctioned off later in August.
The rings, which McCovey received while working with the Giants organization during his retirement, are valued at $80,000 apiece, Chris Ivy, founder of Heritage Auctions, told Paste BN. McCovey’s NL Most Valuable Player Award is estimated to go for over $100,000.
“Those type of things, they always generate a lot of interest,” Ivy said. “There’s a lot of collectors for those type of pieces, especially from a first-ballot Hall of Famer like Willie McCovey.”
There have been certain memorabilia items that were returned to Bejar at the request of her and the family.
Letters from President Barack Obama are among the items that are being returned to the family. One is from the pardon McCovey received from Obama in 2017 for his 1995 tax evasion conviction. The other is addressed to Bejar and McCovey’s daughter from his first marriage, Allison McCovey, in condolence of McCovey’s death.
The McCovey collection was on display at the 41st National Sports Collectibles Convention in July in Chicago. The items will close on auction during Heritage’s Summer Platinum Night Event Aug. 21-22.
Bejar still receives messages from friends online sending her stories about McCovey. The Giants organization, she said, is “really the best” because of how they take care of their former players and their families. Though the items are difficult to give up, Bejar feels that it’s right for people who really loved and admired McCovey end up with his memorabilia since she can no longer care for it.
“Willie worked hard for it. He loved baseball. Baseball is his life, and even on his last breath he would talk about baseball and he would think about baseball,” Bejar said. “So I just hope they will take care of it. I wish I can keep everything, but I know in my heart, they will be able to take it more better than me. I hope they will love it and treasure it forever.”