by Tom Gallagher
It was reported earlier in this space that the School Sisters of Notre Dame had auctioned off a rare Honus Wagner baseball card to support their charitable mission.
They had the auction. The problem was, the winning bidder never paid up.
Well, the sisters finally got that card sold.
On [Dec. 20], the Baltimore-based order of Roman Catholic nuns got their $220,000 — the original bid — but have a different collector to thank.
Dr. Nicholas DePace, a Philadelphia cardiologist, wired them the money and owns the card. He's been collecting sports memorabilia for 30 years, and he's a longtime client of Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. A staff member at the auction house reached out to him in early December after the winning bidder missed a 30-day deadline to purchase the card, and DePace agreed immediately to buy it.
"God bless him," said Sister Virginia Muller, the former treasurer of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, who was entrusted with the card."
The nuns plan on using the proceeds to help continue their ministry to the poor around the globe.
