Pebble Beach Trophy Found in Colorado Basement

[billchao]

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2014-10/missing-pebble-beach-trophy-found

Quote:

The tall, urn-shaped vase Peggy O'Neill-Jones held in her hand was covered in dirt and cobwebs, but underneath the grime, she saw a familiar phrase: Pebble Beach.

Found in the basement of a family home she and her siblings were packing up in Denver, Colorado, she knew the "Pebble Beach" inscription might be special, but she didn't think it was a major find.

"The only reason that it didn't go into a storage shed is because it was too big to fit in the boxes my daughters were packing," said O'Neill-Jones. "I rinsed it out, and my daughter said, 'Do we really have to take that thing home?'"

It would be a few more weeks before anyone discovered the true identity of the vase.

O'Neill-Jones sent it to her brother Tim O'Neill in North Carolina, an avid golfer.

Tim O'Neill called Pebble Beach Golf Links and connected with Neal Hotelling, director of licensing and special projects. After looking at pictures and inscriptions, Hotelling confirmed it was the Pebble Beach Golden Vase Golf Trophy, awarded in 1920 for an amateur championship of the same name, initially launched in 1919 to celebrate the club's official opening.

"It's the oldest trophy associated with Pebble Beach Golf Links," said Hotelling, adding the club had been looking for the vase for decades. "The fear was that so many trophies were melted down during the war for the war effort."

Professional sports appraiser Leila Dunbar, owner of Leila Dunbar Appraisals and Consulting, LLC, values the trophy at $75,000.

[sgt1372]

Additional info re interesting history behind the trophy.

See: http://www.montereyherald.com/news/ci_26750710/first-pebble-beach-golf-trophy-found-after-91

[BuckeyeNut]

Cool story bill....................thanks for sharing!

SGT......the trophy pictured in your article is a different trophy?   The story matches, but a different trophy is shown.......LOL

[billchao]

SGT......the trophy pictured in your article is a different trophy?   The story matches, but a different trophy is shown.......LOL

Caption under the picture says he is holding the replacement trophy, as in the one Pebble Beach gave out after the original never came back.

[boogielicious]

That should have been on Antiques Road Show .  Cool find.