>> a wild west pioneer... >> there's a saying, "the cowards didn't come." so you had to be brave. >> he truly was the john wayne of the 19th century. >> he leaves behind a trunk of relics... and a classic, woven into the fabric of america itself. >> there was a pair of old blue jeans in here. >> what'd they look like? >> they said that they were the oldest unworn pair they had ever seen. >> that's unbelievable. >> so are the lengths to which folks go for vintage old denim. >> finding any levi's pre-1900 is a massive rarity. that's the holy grail. >> what do you think they're worth? ♪ [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ]

[ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby in tucson, arizona. wagon trains used to pass right through here on their way to california during the gold rush, and one of the rough-and-ready pioneers who helped settle this area left behind a very strange inheritance. i'm here to get the skinny on it. >> my name's jock taylor. in 2009, i inherited a wooden trunk full of family heirlooms going back more than a century. now i'm told i could pocket a small fortune. >> i meet jock, a 60-year-old electrical engineer, at his home here in tucson. >> hi, i'm jamie. >> i'm jock. >> i heard you have something very unusual from your great-great grandfather. >> i certainly do. come on in. >> jock shows me that inheritance -- an old trunk that's been passed down through the family for more than a century.

>> the trunk contained the family bible, a very ornate saddle blanket, a pair of old jeans -- >> jeans? who keeps jeans? >> they've been in the trunk for so long, i don't think that my mother really knew what else to do with them. >> according to family lore, all the items in the trunk, including the jeans, once belonged to this man, jock's great-great grandfather, solomon warner, one of tucson's original pioneers. >> very distinguished. >> old solomon's story, and the story of those dungarees, begins far from tucson in upstate new york, where he's born in 1811. as a young man, he heads west, in search of adventure and wealth. >> a lot of farm boys or small-town boys in new york couldn't wait to get away from home. >> jim turner has written several books on the history of arizona and its important pioneers like solomon warner. >> he worked on steamboats

in the 1830s, and then he went to the gold rush. after that, he went to south america, looking for gold there. >> but the gold thing doesn't pan out. solomon returns to america in 1853, still searching for a way to strike it rich. the following year, the united states completes the gadsden purchase from mexico, adding nearly 30,000 square miles, including tucson, along our southern border. solomon sees a new frontier to be conquered. >> what makes pioneer status? >> the willing to risk. there's a saying, "the cowards didn't come," and so you had to be brave to come out to the frontier. >> a big, powerful man, 6'1/2" tall, solomon hauls 13 mules loaded with merchandise into the new territory and opens a general store in tucson, then just a small town of less than 1,000 people.

>> he was the first to sell american goods in tucson. >> who were his customers? >> the butterfield stage came through tucson, and whatever you wanted, you had to buy it from solomon warner. >> as the town grows, so do warner's riches, but his business interests are interrupted when civil war breaks out in 1861. >> tucson was under the confederacy and captain sherod hunter asked all of the citizens to swear an oath to the confederacy. >> what about solomon warner? was he game? >> he wouldn't do it, and when he wouldn't do it, they confiscated all of his goods. >> solomon retreats to mexico, then returns to tucson after the war to reclaim his store. but another kind of bloodshed breaks out along his trade routes. this is, after all, the wild, wild west. >> was that an easy thing to do in those days, getting goods back and forth? >> it was dangerous. >> several times, he had been shot by arrows from indians when he was bringing dry goods

back and forth. >> sounds like a hollywood character in the making. >> it was amazing that not only did he survive apache attacks, he lived to be 89. >> when solomon dies in 1899, tucson's in mourning. >> there was a great ceremony because he was a revered citizen at that time. >> after solomon's death, his son, john, packs up some of his father's belongings into a trunk that bears the family name, and over the years, the cedar chest gets handed down through the generations. >> john solomon warner, when he passed away, it went to his only daughter, josefina, and then everything that she had went to my mother, elva. >> why has the family held on to it? >> it's an heirloom. my mother always used it for storing ancient family relics. she was very proud of it. >> the trunk stays in elva's living room until she passes away in 2009. then her son jock, one of four

heirs, moves the crate to his home and takes an inventory of its contents, including those old blue jeans. >> what'd they look like? >> they were very weird jeans. they didn't have belt loops, and they only had one pocket on the back. they looked like a pair of old blue jeans that had been washed once and then folded and put away. >> weren't they worn out? >> they are in like-new condition. >> like brand-new? >> like brand-new. >> and on the back of those spotless jeans, a famous marking. >> they had the leather patch on the back that said levi's on them. >> that's right -- levi's, the most iconic blue jeans of all time. >> did you just take the jeans out of the trunk and try them on? >> actually, they're way too big for me. they come up almost to my chest. >> jock assumes jeans that big probably belonged to old solomon. but he can't say for sure what

went into and came out of that chest in the 110 years since his great-great grandpa's death. >> any proof of purchase? >> not that i know of. >> a picture of him wearing them? >> no. >> you sure it's not just family lore? >> i don't know. >> what could they be worth? a bundle, says this prospector, who actually mines for ancient blue jeans. >> true vintage denim can be worth thousands of dollars. >> for a reason you might not expect. >> all the earlier jeans that they had went up in smoke. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question... the answer after the break. door]

[ wind howls ] >> so, what's the best-selling blue-jean brand after levi's? it's "a," wrangler. the original cowboy brand has been outfitting rodeo stars and stars on rodeo drive since 1904. ♪ >> in 2009, jock taylor inherits a wooden trunk that's been in the family for over a century. it was purchased by his great-great grandfather, solomon warner, who founded the first american store here in tucson back in 1853. >> he had that pioneer spirit.

he saw the opportunity here, and he could see that the city had potential to grow. >> inside that trunk is a pair of vintage levi's blue jeans. >> so, they were pretty ratty? >> no, they actually were very well-preserved. it's cedar, and it protected the jeans very well. >> if they're indeed solomon's from way back when, the jeans are also a remarkably well-preserved relic of a completely different pioneer success story. mike harris, author of "jeans of the old west," knows all about that. >> how did this whole levi boom start? >> well, in 1870, jacob davis, who was a tailor in reno, nevada, he was approached by a woman who was married to a woodcutter. >> turns out that her woodcutter husband constantly rips through his pants pocket. it's a common problem. whether concealing a pistol or hauling heavy gold nuggets, the weak pockets just can't handle the stress.

>> so jacob davis gets the idea. he saw the rivets on his workbench, and he decided to put those in the pocket corners. >> adding rivets to pockets -- it's one of those seat-of-the-pants innovations that make america great. the result? stronger dungarees that can stand up to the tough work thrown at them by the miners and laborers of the day. >> and after about a year, he was getting so many orders, he couldn't fill them. >> davis, who needs capital and manpower, goes into business with wealthy san francisco merchant levi strauss. on may 20, 1873, american blue jeans are born. a pair costs about a buck. levi's markets their denim overalls as the uniform of the working class. >> who bought them at the time? >> miners in the west, farmers, mechanics -- anybody that did hard labor would have bought levi's back then. >> that's because workers love

how tough and durable the pants are, as this pair from 1890 proves. >> from the 1800s? i mean, they feel like they could be right now. they really could withstand a lot. >> absolutely. >> so it was all about strength? >> it was all about strength. >> now, here's something really important to remember in this "strange inheritance" tale. in 1906, the epic san francisco earthquake devastates the levi's headquarters... >> their building, it was completely leveled. >> ...along with all of levi's records and inventory. the first 30 years of the company's history -- gone. of course, for the next century and more, the company thrives. indeed, the pants it manufactures become an american icon. think about it. is there anything the world loves more about america than blue jeans? they're right up there with blockbuster movies, fast-food burgers, and rock 'n' roll. so you probably aren't surprised

there's a demand for vintage jeans. but i bet you would be surprised how far some people will go to meet that demand. >> true vintage denim can be worth thousands of dollars, and finding any levi's pre-1900 is a massive rarity. that's the holy grail. that's what we're all looking for. >> brit eaton is a modern-day prospector who scours old west barns, ghost towns, and mining sites -- not for precious metals, but antique overalls. >> my gold is what the gold miners were wearing while they were seeking their gold. in order to be a great denim hunter, you have to be ruthless, relentless, and rugged. i've rappelled into pits, i've killed rattlesnakes to get by. there are so many potential dangers. >> exploring abandoned mineshafts can be treacherous, but often worth the risk. >> finding things in mines is the equivalent of big-game hunting.

you find a time capsule just sitting there in the middle of nowhere. the feeling of seeking something is a true american sort of pioneer feeling. you're literally filling a gap in in history. >> and that's a good way to pose the question facing our heir, jock taylor. does his strange inheritance fill a gap in history, or are they closer to the jeans that fill the gap at the mall? >> they were in such great shape that i thought, "why are they showing me new jeans?" >> stay tuned for "p.s.i." -- pants seam investigation -- next. >> here's another quiz question for you... the answer when we return. ♪

[ wind howls ] >> so, who said, "i had holes in my jeans well before it was fashionable"? it's "b," kenny rogers, who "knew when to fold them." >> a cedar box inherited by jock taylor of tucson, arizona, contains a cache of old family heirlooms that he assumes have been sitting in the trunk since his great-great grandfather solomon warner passed away in 1899... including this curious item -- a pair of seemingly never-worn levi's jeans. >> how many years do you think those jeans may have been in that trunk? >> in excess of 110 years. >> so jock and his wife, pat, take the levi's to a traveling appraisal show here in town with high expectations. they walk up to the table of daniel buck soules, owner of daniel buck auctions.

>> they had a pillowcase, and i had no idea what they had. and when they pulled out these jeans, they were in such great shape that i thought, "why are they showing me new jeans?" >> so, you were suspicious at first? >> oh, absolutely. but it wasn't until i really started looking at them that i went, "okay, these are a little bit better than i think they are." >> just how much better? daniel's detective work begins with the obvious -- these belong in the big-and-tall department -- waist, 44, length, 37. >> he had to be 6'6", 6'8". he was a mountain of a man. >> next, he examines the leather tag. >> does this identify the jean in some way? >> it does. they started adding this around 1886, but they still use that. even to today, it's still there. >> that sets the base. the jeans are no older than 1886, but they could have been made any time after that. so daniel turns his attention to those famous pocket rivets.

>> one of the problems they actually had was the placement of the rivets. if you were a cowboy and on a saddle, the outside rivets would wear on saddles. what you find is they had to cover these with cloth at one point. >> those covered rivets first appear in 1937, but jock's are exposed, meaning the overalls are at least older than world war ii. daniel searches the waistline for more clues. >> there's no belt loops. >> there's no belt loops because of the fact at this time, they only had suspenders, and it wasn't until 1922 that they actually added the belt loops. >> we're back to the roaring twenties, and the pockets reveal one more thread to the story. >> when levi's first started manufacturing jeans, you had the two front pockets and the single back pocket, and this other pocket, which is for change or a pocket watch. and it wasn't until around 1901 they added the fifth pocket in the back. >> which is missing on jock's jeans. so now we've narrowed it down

to that 15-year window between '86 and '01. finally, daniel spots a stamp on the inside of the pocket that helps age the overalls all the way to 1893. jeans historian mike harris is amazed. >> how unique is this pair? >> to find an 1893 pair of levi -- very scarce. this could be one of two examples known, so it's very rare. if one shows up, then it's quite valuable. >> and to find an 1893 pair inperfectcondition? unheard of. so how much cash could jock expect for his strange inheritance? >> size really does matter when it comes to vintage levi's. >> find out next. what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. ♪

>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> jock taylor is one of four heirs to inherit this pair of antique levi's jeans, authenticated by daniel soules to be from 1893. so, what are they worth? >> $10,000? >> keep going. >> $20,000? >> and more. >> the reason's not just that there are vintage blue-jean collectors around the world. it's also because of the levi-strauss company itself, whose headquarters were destroyed in the 1906 san francisco earthquake, along with the archives of their early denim. >> are they trying to get these historic jeans back? >> they actually are. so when a good pair of jeans do come on the market, they are out there trying to purchase them. the last pair of blue jeans that sold from the 1880s, it's my understanding that levi's paid six figures for them. >> a hundred thou for an old pair of jeans? jock reaches out to levi's. >> they said that they were

probably the oldest unworn pair of levi's they had ever seen. >> and jock says they offer him $50,000 for them. it's a lot of dough, but the family's expecting more. they discuss it, then turn down the offer. >> if levi strauss is valuing a ripped-up, torn pair that's maybe a year or two older at $100,000, i would think that a pair that's never been worn from the same era would be at least worth that much. >> so jock tells auctioneer daniel soules to set a date to sell great-great grandpa's pants to the highest bidder. >> it's a risk, that's true, but when you consider that it's the only unworn pair of blue jeans of that era, i think, yeah, it's a one-of-a-kind item. >> i think the most they could possibly get from a collector is $40,000. >> denim hunter brit eaton believes jock and his family are thinking too big for their britches. >> the vintage denim market is incredibly volatile. i think if levi strauss is

willing to pay $50,000 for them, take the money and run. >> is he right? november 5, 2016 is the date we're to find out. then, just before the levi's go up on the block, daniel postpones the sale due to technical glitches. a few days later, he's talking to a buyer from japan, but the jeans are not a good fit. >> at 44 waist and 37 length, the jeans were too big for them. they were planning on purchasing them to wear. so that deal fell through. it was very depressing. >> size really does matter when it comes to vintage levi's. if it's either too little or too big, it's going to be harder to establish a value, or just not as valuable. >> levi's would not comment on any negotiations with jock, but we do know he has at least one sizable offer very much on the table. >> there's absolutely a market for jock's levi's. i personally would be willing to pay $35,000 for them. i'll make that mark in blood

right now if you want. >> what would ol' solomon warner do? jock's pretty sure his great-great granddaddy would tell him to sit tight. he's positive the frontier merchant is somewhere off in the sunset, grinning. >> for him to know that his jeans that he left after his passing were worth $50,000, i think he would think the world has gone crazy. >> now, that's some tailor-made "close" from an heir not only left big shoes to fill, but a big pair of pants to boot. >> everybody has a pair of their favorite super-comfortable, worn-out jeans, right? these are mine. i can't believe i'm wearing them on a shoot, but i wonder what old levi strauss would think of clothing stores selling pre-ripped denim, often at two or three times the cost of a pristine pair. what's up with kids these days -- too lazy to wear out their own jeans? i'm jamie colby.

thanks for watching "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. ♪ [ cheering ] >> the original hoop dream. >> these really are the rules here -- 1891, james naismith. granddad's signature. >> incredible. >> one family's heirloom... >> you think your great-grandfather could ever envision that the game he developed could be what it is today? >> ...goes on one wild ride. >> he starts looking around and thinks, "oh, my goodness. where are the rules?" >> no. >> it's a national treasure with a big price tag. >> you paid more than the emancipation proclamation. >> yeah, well... [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, and today i'm on the road in

lawrence, kansas, on my way to the university of kansas home of the jayhawks, one of the most storied teams in all of basketball. now, kansas is actually not where the tale of this strange inheritance begins, but through a turn of events, it does wind up here. >> in 1939, my grandfather, dr. james naismith passed away and left us an artifact that dates back to 1891. >> he was my great-grandfather, and what he left us was the magna carta of basketball. >> naismiths. jamie. >> i'm jim. good to meet you. >> hi, jim. how are you? >> jamie, i'm sean naismith. >> great to meet you both. >> likewise. >> i am interested to hear about your strange inheritance. i'm awfully curious what the connection is to k.u. >> we'd love to show you. my great-grandfather, dr. james naismith, started the first basketball teams here at k.u. [ whistle blows ] >> but time out! let's reset the clock.

the boy who would grow up to invent basketball, james naismith, is born in ontario, canada, in 1861. at age 9, he and his brother and sister are orphaned when both their parents die of typhoid fever. >> the three kids were left with a bachelor uncle. now, that is not the softest person to be raising three kids on a farm. i know for sure that he just deeply missed his mother. >> james drops out of school at the age of 15 to work in a lumber mill. by 19, he's working hard and drinking harder. >> he was in the bar drinking too much, and there was an older man down at the end of the bar and said, "are you margaret young's son?" and he said, "i am." the response was, "she'd roll over in her grave if she saw you now." he made a decision to go back to high school at the age of 20. >> and after that to mcgill university. james letters in rugby and soccer while earning degrees in physical education and theology.

it's just the résumé one employer is looking for. >> he talked to some people that encouraged him to take a look and see what the ymca is up to. >> the y? >> ymca, yeah -- young men's christian association. >> at the time, legions of young men are leaving farm country for cities. they're rowdy and unchaperoned. jumping into the breach, the ymca, founded on the principle of muscular christianity. its mission -- to promote clean christian living through athletics. >> the thought was -- we can teach more through athletics than we can from the pulpit. james' pulpit becomes the ymca training center in springfield, massachusetts. in december 1891, he's tasked with creating an indoor activity for a group of young men during the winter. so, he dreams this game up? >> he had to start from scratch, and that's when the thinking

started. >> the light bulb goes on one night, and he's ready to start the next morning. >> evidently, he asked the maintenance man there, "i need a box -- you know, something you can put a ball in." and he came back and said, "i can't find any boxes. i got a couple of peach baskets." >> oh, my -- for peaches. james hangs one up at each end of the gym, 10 feet high -- only because that's where he could get the nails in. he picked up a soccer ball because it was big enough where you had to hold it out. you couldn't hide it. the arched shot came from the little game of "duck on a rock," a kid's game in canada. >> then, he calls the boys in. >> he describes the first game. he said, "i had multiple black eyes, a dislocated shoulder, one guy completely knocked out." >> but the new game's a big hit. his young men begged to play again, so james tries to civilize it a bit. he types of 13 basic rules and tacks them to a board in the

gym. "if basketball is your religion, these are the tablets moses brought down from the mountain." do you have a copy of those? >> i've got them in here. >> so, let me just take a look. basketball he has "basket ball." >> yeah. >> two words. >> yeah. evidently, somebody suggested naismith ball, and he said, "i don't think that'll work." >> a month later, in january 1892, naismith's basketball rules are publish in the springfield college newspaper. rule 1 says, "the ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands." and the game is supposed to be non-contact. there's no shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping, or striking. ♪ >> hey, coach. i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. how are you? >> i asked some young players from the mokan basketball program in kansas city to demonstrate for you how today's hoops differ from the original

game. so, coach, the naismith version of basketball has 13 rules. now you have 150 pages of rules in the nba. what are the big differences? >> the big difference is rule #3. back in the olden days, you had to actually pass the ball, and right where you catch it, you had to stop right there. so now the guys can actually dribble and go places. i don't know -- no dribbling? you instructed the guys to give us a little demonstration of how it's done. >> go right ahead. [ whistle blows ] >> that's right. i'm calling the shots. [ buzzer ] [ bell dings ] >> at this point, they can't dribble the ball at all. they just have to move and pass. teamwork's coming into play now. [ bell dings ] the game's a little bit slower, a little bit harder to get up and down the floor. >> right. nicely done. do you ever think that basketball went in a direction that is different than what it

was originally intended? i think it's better now, and it's more entertaining. >> you think your great-grandfather could ever envision that the game he developed could be what it is today? >> he saw it change a lot in his lifetime. you know, many rules come into the game -- some he was happy about, some he wasn't so happy about. >> what was his vision? was it just about an athletic sport, or more? >> he said building character was something that he strove for, along with athleticism. >> building character through athletics -- james really spreads that gospel. when after marrying and earning his md, he joins the university of kansas as chaplain and p.e. instructor. it's 1898. his first move -- start a college hoops team. soon, basketball is played at schools across the u.s. and by newly formed professional teams. naismith even sees his game go

global, thanks to the ymca's christian missionaries who teach it overseas. your grandfather must have been a very wealthy man. >> wrong. [ laughs ] >> wait, look at where basketball is today. multi-million-dollar contracts, endorsements, and the merchandising. didn't he ever protect his ownership? >> no, he characterized the game as a gift. >> but even a christian can make a buck. >> well, that's true, but what was his bottom line? make the world a better place for having been here. >> dr. naismith said, "it's hard to describe to anybody the feeling i get when i'm in a foreign country and i see on some back road a basketball hoop nailed up to a tree. that means more to me than $1 million dollars. >> which brings us back to those original rules he wrote in 1891. what did james do with them? >> he was a woodworker, and he actually built a sideboard, and he kept a little secret compartment that the rules were kept in for many years.

>> seems he always knew he was onto something. so does his youngest son, james naismith jr. in 1931, he gets his aging father to authenticate his 13 rules with a signature. >> this says, "first draft of basketball rules, hung in the gym that the boys might learn the rules." >> mm-hmm. >> when james dies in 1939, that original statement of the rules passes to james jr., jim's father. a nail-biting ride is about to begin. did he carry it around, the original? >> he carried around the original rules. >> he had it insured, though. >> he did not have it insured. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. the answer after the break. ♪

when you have a really traumatic injury, we have a short amount of time to get our patient to the hospital with good results. we call that, the golden hour. evaluating patients remotely, is where i think we have a potential to make a difference. we would save a lot of lives if we could bring the doctor to the patient. verizon is racing to build the first and most powerful 5g network, with ultra low-latency that will enable things like precision robotic surgery from thousands of miles away. as we get faster wireless connections, it'll be possible to be able to operate on a patient in a way that was just not possible before. when i move my hand, the robot on the other side will mimic the movement, with almost no delay. who knew a scalpel could work thousands of miles away? ♪

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building a website in under an hour is easy! 68% of people... ...who have built their website using gocentral, did it in... ...under an hour, and you can too. type in your business or idea. pick your favourite design. personalize it with beautiful images. and...you're done! and now business is booming. harriet, it's a double stitch not a cross stitch! build a better website - in under an hour. free to try. no credit card required. gocentral from godaddy. >> it's b, moses malone, in the 1978-79 season for the houston rockets. he was paid exactly $1 million. >> when dr. james naismith dies in 1939, he leaves his son james jr. a strange inheritance, two typewritten pages outlining his invention -- basketball. almost immediately, the game

explodes into a worldwide phenomenon. by 1959, they're even building a hall of fame in basketball's birthplace -- springfield, massachusetts. james naismith is not only the first inductee. the place is named after him. his son loans the museum the rules. >> the goal is to display them, show the world. >> by the time james naismith jr. dies in 1980, his heirs are not pleased with the hall of fame. >> i went to school in upstate new york, so i stick my head in the door. "hi, there, i'm jim naismith. i'd like to see the rules." and they would find them in the safe. >> in the safe? >> in the safe. >> not displayed? >> no, the hall of fame apparently didn't really know what to do with them or what really needed to be done. >> jim's brother, 42-year-old ian naismith, isn't just dismayed with the hall but with the game itself. for while many think basketball is enjoying a golden age -- bird, jordan, magic, the dream

team -- ian sees a sport that has strayed far from their grandfather's original vision. >> he wasn't very happy with the state that basketball was in at the time. >> what's his beef with it? >> if you recall in the '90s, there were fights on the court, there were fights with fans. he felt it was time to remind the world that the game was a gift. >> underscoring ian's sense that basketball has forgotten its roots, the hall of fame building falls into disrepair and ian fears that when it's renovated, the building will no longer prominently feature his grandfather's name. >> he got upset and told them that he's gonna climb up there himself and spray-paint in orange letters. >> the new building does keep the naismith name, but ian convinces the hall of fame to return the neglected rules to the family. he wants to reform the sport and has a plan to call attention to his cause. in 1995, he hits the road in this rv with his strange inheritance.

>> what's a better attraction than the original 13 rules of basketball from 1891? did he carry it around, the original? >> he carried around the original rules. it was in a gold briefcase. it was fire-proofed, between two plates of glass. but it's in a briefcase. >> ian brings the family heirloom to schools and gives lectures on his grandfather's original hoop dream. >> people say, "well, naismith, you want everything to stay the same. nothing stays the same." sportsmanship, respect, dignity, positive role modeling, and teamwork can stay the same. and should. >> ian travels the rules to big games, like the final four and the nba all stars. >> did your dad ever have them appraised? >> he did. they appraised at approximately $5 million. >> he's driving around with a $5 million-appraised document. >> he had it insured, though. >> he did not have it insured. that premium would have been about $50,000 a year. >> so you can imagine ian's horror on a trip to kansas city. >> he starts looking around and

thinks, "oh, my goodness. where are the rules?" >> you're kidding. that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you. the answer when we return.

>> the answer is c. they banned the dunk shot. after lew alcindor, later known as kareem abdul-jabbar, dominated the season, the ban was rescinded in 1976. >> in 2002, ian naismith, grandson of dr. james naismith,

the inventor of basketball, is on a mission to preserve the game's true legacy in the face of what he sees as its ongoing decline. one of the 12 values that dr. naismith saw in the game was sportsmanship. and my dad felt that was the one thing that was really lacking at that time in the game. >> he spent almost a decade traveling the thirteen original rules, which have been appraised at $5 million, to schools and sporting events. touring the country with a document worth $5 million with no insurance in a gold briefcase -- >> he was a very risk-tolerant person. >> just outside lawrence, kansas, ian realizes the rules have gone missing. >> he finished up a meal, got in his van, and when he gets to lawrence, he starts looking around and thinks, "oh, my goodness. where are the rules?" >> no. >> he called his waitress, who gets on the phone and says, "mr. naismith, i can guarantee you 100% that i saw you walk out

with those rules." and he goes back out to his conversion van and starts tearing it apart. luckily, they were actually in the van. >> that was a close call. >> it was a very close call. the scare helps the family realize they can't keep their strange inheritance forever. >> my brother did talk to me and he said, "in order to properly value and protect, they may have to eventually be sold." and he and i agreed on that. ian contacts leila dunbar, then-director of collectibles at sotheby's auction house in new york. >> her first step -- make sure the rules are the real thing. >> the rules scored a 10/10 because they had come down from dr. naismith to his son to ian naismith. having his signature on it added another layer of documentation and i think added value to it. >> so, what is it worth? at the time, the priciest sports document is the contract that

sent babe ruth to the yankees from the red sox in 1919. in 2005, it sold for $996,000. >> sotheby's believes the naismith rules will fetch more. >> if you're a basketball fan, you could certainly consider them the magna carta of basketball. >> they set the minimum bid at $1.3 million. that's less than the $5 million the rules were once appraised for. the proof will be in the bidding. >> it's like a horse race. you just don't know how it's going to end. >> or where they'll end up. jim, it's like fort knox here. >> [ laughs ] >> next... what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website -- strangeinheritance.com.

>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> it's december 2010 in new york city. the heirs of james naismith, the

man who invented basketball, are ready to sell the original set of rules that naismith posted in a ymca gym back in 1891. the famed sotheby's auction house has set the minimum bid at $1.3 million. >> the auction generated a tremendous amount of excitement. >> unbeknownst to the naismith clan, a lawrence, kansas, native and k.u. grad turned texas billionaire named david booth is one of the bidders. >> i was born in lawrence. i grew up naismith drive. >> now he's in the game via telephone from austin, texas. >> this was a highly unprecedented auction. you had bobby kennedy's original copy of the emancipation proclamation. you had the only known flag that survived custer's last stand at little bighorn, and then you had the rules. >> talk about competition. the flag from little bighorn sells for $2.2 million. the emancipation proclamation

beats that easily -- $3.7 million. >> you could feel the tension building throughout the other two sales. >> the comes harlem globetrotter curly neal to introduce the basketball rules. the bidding races to $3 million. it's a jump ball between david booth and one other phone bidder. >> did you know who it was? >> i didn't at the time, but it turns out it's a good friend of mine -- david rubenstein. >> rubenstein, also a billionaire, once purchased a 13th century copy of the actual magna carta for more than $20 million. >> about $3.2 million, you could feel mr. rubenstein starting to slow down. he had to think about each bid more carefully. >> and then, the final bid. >> on my left, $3,800,000. >> sold to david booth! >> you paid more than the emancipation proclamation. >> yeah, well, that's because there's only one

original rules, and the emancipation proclamation, i think, had about a dozen. >> with the auction house commission added in, the price comes to $4.3 million, the most ever paid at auction to date for any sports memorabilia. for the heirs of james naismith, the man who invented a game that grew into a multi-billion-dollar worldwide phenomenon, it's a long overdue payday. wait! stop the clock! yes, there's but seconds left in this "strange inheritance" tale, but still time for one last twist. >> turns out, the naismiths don't cash in. they donate their millions from the sale to a charity that helps poor kids with food, clothes, and basketball courts. it was founded by ian naismith, who dies two years after the auction at the age of 73. >> really good things can be done with money, but granddad's focus was people. >> and high bidder david booth

has a surprise, too. he donates the rules to his alma mater and james naismith's old employer, the university of kansas. jim, it's like fort knox here. >> [ laughs ] >> they're keeping it under lock and key, and i can only open it for a few minutes, i'm told. >> it's been a long time since you've saw them. >> it's been a long time. that's it. >> wow. it's very emotional. >> it is emotional. i see here -- 1891. james naismith. granddad's signature. >> and what is your great-grandfather saying, knowing that they've come full circle and they're back here? >> oh, he's cheering somewhere. [ cheering ] >> speaking of goals, one of the quirks of the original game of basketball was that the baskets had no holes in the bottom. so every time somebody scored, you had to climb up there with a ladder and fetch the ball. this was obviously annoying, so somebody figured out a way to build a better basket. swoosh! nothing but net! i'm jamie colby.

thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. [ whistle blows ] >> for tax cuts and jobs back his past. >> we pass one of the most important tax breaks in this country's history. >> we now have comprehensive tax reform, major minogue class tax relief in making our business, both large and small more competitive. lauren: breaking news overnight come in the senate passed a historic pass on trying tax bill 1:00 this morning. the house have to vote again and they still haven't figured out how to avoid a government shut down. train to stocks pausing after two days that the tax reform rally at the dow was down 37