Seller Story: Bill Beal Cincinnati, OH
“My husband, Bill Beal was born in West Virginia to a mother who had to give him up for adoption. But if you knew Bill, you knew he could make the best of any situation–and things naturally fell into place for him because of that. So he spent his first three months in the hospital, playing with the nurses and waiting for his family when one day he was introduced to a couple grieving the loss of their stillborn baby girl. He won them over and they became his parents. About 8 years later, Bill lost his father in World War II. His mother remarried and they relocated to Cincinnati. Then, at age 21 his biological mother found him and that was when he learned he had been adopted. I was married to him when that happened, and true to his character, he took it all in stride. That’s just how he was.
When he turned 50 we surprised him by sending him to the Reds Dream Week, which was a camp where Cincinnati Reds fans could train and play alongside the MLB players. Bill played catcher. That was his position, and his number was always 34. He played every inning of every game that week and did nothing else but talk about baseball with his heroes. He was so happy he said, “You never have to buy me another thing as long as I live!”
When Bill got back from Dream Week, his collecting hobby began to take the place of what playing sports used to be for him, since he wasn’t able to play ball as much as he used to. By then, he had been collecting for 30 years. After he died, the curator for the Reds Hall of Fame came and spent 3 hours with Bill’s collection. With the help of our EBTH cataloger, Darla, we chose a photo of Crosley Field to donate to the Reds Hall of Fame in Bill’s honor. To give Bill a place in the Hall of Fame, we’re just really thrilled about that.” –Marlene Beal
1988 Hartland "Baseball Stars" Figures
1944 Cincinnati Reds Score Book
Mickey Mantle Signed Baseball COA
1939 Cincinnati Reds Vs. New York Yankees World Series Ticket
Purdom Limited Sign Print of Crosley Field
1940 Cincinnati Reds Vs. Detroit Tigers World Series Ticket
1966 and 1969 Cincinnati Reds Yearbooks
Johnny Bench Signed "Living Legends" Print
Perez Steele Signed Post Card Collection
Mickey Mantle Signed Print COA
1975 Red Sox and Reds World Series Pennant
Yogi Berra Original Hartland Statue
1962 Roger Maris New York Yankees Signed Topps Baseball Card
Signed First Edition Sparky Anderson "The Main Spark"
1962 African-American Reds Bobblehead
1953 All-Star Baseball Program Played At Crosley Field
Pete Rose 4192 Items One Signed
Original Hartland Little Leaguer/Bat Boy
1974 "The Big Red Machine Print"
1976 World Champion Cincinnati Reds Tray
Metal Cincinnati Reds Plates
Muhammad Ali Signed "The Greatest: My Own Story"
Frank Robinson Signed "Living Legends" Baseball Print
1965 Reds Hall of Fame Inductees Signed Baseball
Ted Williams Original Hartland Statue
Johnny Bench Signed First Edition Autobiography
1975 Reds Championship Bat
1980s Gold Star Chili Pete Rose Glasses
Dom DiMaggio Signed Cut and Card
1961 Reds Picture Pennant
1961 Willie Mays Topps Baseball Card
Original 1919 Reds Photo
1938 Cincinnati Reds Score Book
Eight Signed Baseball Cards Including Seaver, Yaz and Schmidt
1961 Reds Champions Pennant
Pete Rose Signed "4192" Full Baseball Ticket
Neil Armstrong Signed Photo COA
Ernie Banks Original Hartland
1961 World Series Baseball Program Played At Crosley
1961 Ernie Banks and Frank Robinson Topps Baseball Cards
1930s–1960s Baseball Publications
Circa 1970 Bobbleheads
Circa 1960 Cincinnati Reds Pin and Mr. Redlegs Decals
1990 Reds Signed Baseball
Mickey Mantle Highland Mint Piece of Bat COA
Sabo Signed Items with 1990 WS Program
1985 Pete Rose Signed Photo and "4192" Game Ticket
1940 World Series Baseball Ticket Reds Vs. Tigers
How did he get so many autographs? He must have been pretty confident to approach all these celebrities.
He was quiet about how he collected. Whenever someone would come to town, like Bob Sellers, he would make sure to get down there to where he was to get an autograph. He had baseball players, football players, boxers, presidents, and Will Rogers. He was outgoing but very respectful of their privacy.
Did you help Bill collect his memorabilia or was it mostly his hobby?
Bill and I both volunteered for the All-Star Game in 1998. I rode the buses from the airport back to Cincinnati, and Bill gave me some baseballs to take with me in case I saw a baseball player. “If you see somebody, get one of these signed,” he said. But I don’t know one player from the other, it’s not my thing! At the airport, all these kids would be hollering and I’d have to ask them, “Who is that?” And they’d tell me who it was. Otherwise, I’d have no idea!
The last limousine to pull up at the airport that day was the Commissioner of Baseball, Peter Ueberroth. He gave me a signed baseball and thanked me for my help at the All-Star Game. When I came home and showed Bill what I got, he was ecstatic. So I did good!
Where did he keep everything? In your home?
He loved the game, but family always came first.Our family room was nothing but baseball memorabilia. He had pennants on the ceiling, uniforms on stands and even a life-size picture of Babe Ruth. There were all kinds of autographed photos on the wall, of which our youngest daughter was very observant. When she got her school picture, she asked for it to be framed and then she autographed it and gave it to Bill to hang in his “Hall of Fame.” At eight years old, she knew how much he loved his collection.
