"strange inheritance." thanks so much for watching. and remember, you can't take it with you. ♪ >> 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. and because we don't know exactly when this crisis is going to be over... we don't know exactly when the stock market will reach its bottom, we've got to be prepared for this to last a long time.

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[ 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. ta-da!

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[ 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. >> you want thrills, you'll get them all at the roller derby. >> talk about hell on wheels! >> she's the paragon, the symbol for roller derby. >> i wear hot pants all the time. >> she was a star. i mean, there's no doubt about it. >> a star who leaves an attic full of roller derby history... >> let me see this. they're very, very, very small. >> ...to her lifelong fan. >> this is ann's last jersey. >> why did she leave you her inheritance? >> the answer -- it's a little tricky. >> whoopsy. [ laughs ] [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪

>> i'm jamie colby in san francisco today, home of the bay bombers. if you know that is the most storied franchise in roller derby, then you watch too much saturday morning tv. and if you don't know what i'm talking about, no worries! just strap on your helmet because you are in for a rollicking good time. >> my name is jim fitzpatrick, and when one of my childhood idols died in 2006, she left me hundreds of her mementos from her roller derby career. >> hi, i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. nice to meet you. i'm jim. >> inside his house, jim fitzpatrick has arranged his strange inheritance into a shrine, to the woman who left it to him, annie calvello, the hottest star from his favorite sport's glory days. >> a lot of fans went for different reasons. some of them, it's obvious. they went to see girls. some went to see the fights. >> calvello keeps driving. and she's past four and hit in

there, knocked down... >> it's back in the 1960s when the gutsy roller goddess makes a big impression on 8-year-old jim fitzpatrick. but let's not get ahead of ourselves. 1929 -- that's when we'll begin ann calvello's story, here in san francisco, where she grows up the oldest of six children. tony calvello is ann's younger brother. >> ann was a tough one. [ laughs ] i can remember getting in a fight in front of the house, and she came up and broke up the fight, then i was the one getting hit. >> as a teenager, ann takes to the latest craze -- roller skating. >> she might have been termed a "tomboy," and very often better and faster than the boys. >> around this time, a movie theatre chain owner named leo seltzer comes across a mind-blowing stat. 95% of americans have tried roller skating at one time or

another, so he creates a new sport -- roller derby. >> my father came up with this idea -- "let's put the competitors on roller skates." >> jerry seltzer is leo's son. >> the women would skate for 12 minutes against the opposing team. then the men would come out and skate for 12 minutes against the opposing team. >> here is the pack now, a girl has broken away from the pack. she is called jamming skater. for each one of the opposing teams she passes, she'll get a point. >> calvello keeps driving. >> it catches on like wildfire. [ cheers and applause ] >> were the audiences co-ed? >> the audience got more and more co-ed, and that was one of the secrets of roller derby. the wives come, the girlfriends come, and their boyfriends and husbands become fans. >> in 1948, the seltzers send scouts to san francisco to look for skaters, and 18-year-old ann calvello sparkles at a

tryout. >> ann calvello was a heck of a skater. >> later that year, roller derby makes its television debut in new york, and before long, stations across the country are picking up the game. suddenly, roller derby stars are household names. >> annie calvello, and calvello's on the move. >> it didn't take our skaters long to learn that the bigger personalities they became, the more attraction they had. >> down in right, they just tore off the front half of ann calvello's jersey, and this gal is a little angry. uh-oh! she hit the referee and gets ruled out of the game. >> we actually had a rule how far could the women zip down their jerseys, and there's one who violated it all the time. that was ann calvello. >> she was very proud of what she termed her "tickets." that's what they referred to their breasts as -- tickets -- and she'd say "tickets up!" and she'd stand up real straight. she was really quite funny.

>> every grudge match needs a villain. ann is happy to oblige. >> watch it! she's got more trouble! >> everybody wanted to come and see ann, primarily to boo her. >> were those real fights, or were they laying it on? >> let me tell you what i would say to the skaters. "we do not want fights. but if you're gonna fight, you better fight because there's nothing worse than a phony fight." >> judy arnold skated against ann calvello. >> annie loved being the villain. >> and now three shamrocks start to finish the job! >> most of the skaters off the track loved her. >> oh, there's bad blood here! >> on the track, things change 'cause you want to win. >> there she is, right behind the hammerlock. >> but ann's not just a roller derby queen. she's also a world-class packrat who saves every knee pad,

jersey, and piece of fan mail from day 1. >> 1948, when she's a teenager, she's recruited to skate for the first time professionally, and this was her original skate case. >> this is her helmet? >> this is one of ann's helmets. she kind of decorated hers with scarves and she added her name to it. and she was a leo, very proud of it, so she -- >> that's pretty cool. >> yeah, engraved that into it. >> women born under the sign of leo are said to be difficult to resist, and a handsome roller derby referee named roy langley can't. they wed in 1951 and have a daughter named teri, but the marriage soon goes over the rail. >> roy was very jealous of any attention that ann got, especially from men. i believe he expected them to be settled, and that wasn't what ann wanted to do. >> what ann wants is to go back to roller derby, and she does.

the couple divorce, roy's mother raises teri while ann tours the globe. >> when she was on the track, she wasn't only queen of the track. she was queen of the world. ♪ >> color tv allows ann to amp up her flamboyant style. >> annie would color her hair. >> when i come back, you're gonna be so sorry... >> she'd do part pink, part green, part blue, and in those days, that was not the thing to do, but annie did it. >> one of her nicknames -- demon of the derby. after a few broken schnauzes, the most famous is banana nose. >> banana nose! >> banana nose! >> then in the late 1960s, she grabs the attention of a certain 8-year-old boy. >> it was a saturday morning, and all of a sudden, i see this bizarre sport.

>> tickets up! how jim becomes a superfan and then ann's heir. next... >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. real life roller derby star judy arnold was the stunt double for which actress in the 1972 film "kansas city bomber?" the answer after the break. usaa is made for what's next no matter what challenges life throws at you, we're always here to help with fast response and great service and it doesn't stop there we're also here to help look ahead that's why we're helping members catch up by spreading any missed usaa insurance payments over the next twelve months so you can keep more cash in your pockets for when it matters most and that's just one of the many ways we're here to help the military community find out more at usaa.com

>> so, which actress used judy arnold for her stunt double in the 1972 film "kansas city bomber?" it's raquel welch. judy wore a brunette wig to do raquel's action scenes. >> by the late 1960s, ann calvello has been burning up the roller derby track for two decades. jim fitzpatrick is a young boy watching tv when he first sets eyes on the demon of the derby. >> it was 1968. >>those of us who loved him... >> bobby kennedy was assassinated, and it was a saturday morning, and they had the funeral procession, which was airing on all the channels. >> the only alternative for a sports-crazy kid... ...an independent tv station airing a raucous battle. >> they were skating at this wild, blinding speed, hitting

each other, banging each other. people are falling. >> he's hooked and unable to avert his eyes from the veteran vixen with the bod of a 25-year-old. his strange inheritance contains the proof. >> these are her shorts while she was on the midwest pioneers, and she was already at this point, 41 years of age. >> they're very, very, very small. >> "if you got it, flaunt it," the saying goes, and ann does. >> i wear hot pants. i mean, at 42 years old, people say you shouldn't wear hot pants. i say, "hey, look, when you're my age, you should look so good in hot pants." >> as jim grows up, he doesn't outgrow his roller derby fascination. he takes up skating himself, and after high school scores a job on the track crew with the hometown bay bombers. it's a skate in the door. >> one night, i walk into the oakland auditorium, and the owner comes over to me and he goes, "you're skating tonight." that's when i went, "holy crap,

am i ready for this?" >> jim goes on to skate with teams across the u.s., in bueno aires, and on a u.s. all star team in japan. >> i pursued my dream. >> you were too determined. >> yeah. >> but after 5 years, injuries forced jim to switch jobs to part-time ref. next thing he knows, he's facing off with ann calvello, now 56 years old and swinging a handbag. >> she grabbed the purse, took the straps, she swung it around, and she nailed me on the side of the head. >> in time, that lump on jim's head will get replaced with a soft spot in his heart for a battered and aging roller derby queen still busting chops but worried about fading away. that's next. >> i can't believe i'm doing this. >> here's another quiz question for you. ronnie robinson, one of the top

roller derby stars of the '70s was related to what more famous figure? boxing champ sugar ray robinson, former first lady michelle robinson obama, or baseball great jackie robinson? the answer when we return.

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save an extra 15% when you switch >> so, who was roller derby star ronnie robinson's famous relative? it's a. his dad was boxing champ sugar ray robinson. >> by the mid-1990s, jim fitzpatrick has left behind his days a pro roller derby skater. the profession, he says, isn't what it once was.

>> the sport has gone through so many ups and downs. the traditional roller derby was a totally legitimate game, but there have been other people that have come along, and they've just taken it in a whole bizarre direction. >> just wait till you see these skaters take on the 14-foot high wall of death. >> i've seen some that have had a wall of death... >> he's getting him onto the rail! he's putting him in the pit! >> ...an alligator pit... >> i can't believe what we're witnessing here tonight! >> i got to go! >> the changes don't seem to bother annie calvello. even as she nears 70, she's still selling those tickets. >> they want all the young girls, you know, with the nice figures, but i don't have a bad figure, and they're real! >> what's all too real -- the off-track life of an aging roller derby demon who never remarries, never saves money, and makes end meeting pushing carts and bagging groceries at the safeway.

it's around this time that jim runs into ann at a roller derby reunion. he's compiling a book about the history of the sport. >> i kind of put it together for just some of the skaters as a keepsake. i started asking her questions for my book. >> over a string of long interviews and sharing stories, they become close friends. so close that jim's by her side when ann learns she has eye cancer, then it spreads to her liver. ann confides to jim her worry that she'll be totally forgotten when she's gone and her wish for one last night in the spotlight. >> she really wanted to skate, and she was 70 years old, and i really thought that this is not a good thing to do. >> in august 2000, ann calvello skates before cheering roller derby fans one last time. >> she doesn't take you know what! [ whistle blows ] >> and there they go! ann calvello puts him up into

the rail, and look at her go! one lap to go. if she gets there first, she's gonna win this thing! she can get it... and she got it! she knocked him down with an old roller derby move! old banana nose is back, and what an outpouring of love for ann calvello. >> that red jersey is the last thing ann calvello places in her lifelong collection of roller derby memorabilia. >> i'm gonna miss all you guys! >> and then she delights jim by announcing she's leaving much of it to him when she dies. >> i go by my own rules! >> it's on march 14, 2006 ann calvello hangs up her skates for good, succumbing to cancer at age 76. >> i remember going over to her apartment, and it was a sad day. and when i saw what i had, i was blown away by it. >> jim gathers up his strange inheritance -- trophies,

pennants, fan letters, skates, knee pads, jerseys, and more. >> this is the madison square garden's program for the first ali-frazier fight. they have a section in here on other great athletes that performed in the garden, and sure enough... >> it's ann! >> yeah, two pictures of ann. so she represented roller derby. and then this is after she had some real knee problems and she was starting to wear a special brace. this is touching. ann saved all of her fan mail. i even have a lot of her letters when people were wishing her to recover after the brain tumor surgery. >> stuff any roller derby fan would covet. >> jim, you ever have any of this stuff appraised? >> not really appraised, but what i have noticed over the years, i've seen people sell items on ebay. there was one jersey that was sold for about $3,000. i think ann is just as much if not more of a star, so... it might go for more. >> but as you're about to see, jim has another idea for his

strange inheritance, one he'll try out in his new position as general manager of the storied san francisco bay bombers. coming up, how do you bring back roller derby's glory days? it won't be easy... >> i promised my mom i'd wear these. >> 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." >> roller derby legend ann calvello saves practically everything from her 50-year career -- skates, jerseys, programs, photos, pennants, trophies, and on and on and on. fellow derby legend judy arnold is glad she did. >> annie had a heart to preserve what she did. i think it's wise that she did that.

i didn't think that way. >> when ann dies, she leaves all this to jim fitzpatrick, her lifelong fan whom she inspired to join the roller derby himself. he's sure it's worth many thousands of dollars, but knows ann had a plan for him. why did she leave you her inheritance? >> i love the sport, and she knew that i was doing the best i could trying to bring roller derby back to where it should be. >> jim now manages the san francisco bay bombers, one of the first teams calvello skated for. but if roller derby has a future, it's now in the hands of skaters like stacey blitsch. malibu stacey who skates for the l.a. firebirds is in town to face the bombers. >> oh, my goodness! hello! >> so she, jim fitzpatrick, and judy arnold teach me some tricks of the trade. >> so, jim, what are you gonna teach me today? >> we're gonna start out with a whip. and a whip is a way of propelling a skater or teammate

down the track. it accelerates their speed. >> now it's my turn. i'm gonna do this. stand by. ♪ i promised my mom i'd wear these. >> whoopsy. [ laughs ] >> let's try that again. >> right, left. right, left. hey! >> she's got it! >> okay, i'm getting the hang of this. >> that's it? [ laughs ] no biggie. >> hey, if raquel welch can use a stunt double, so can i. thanks, stace. >> walking... >> it's clear i'm not gonna help

jim reach his goal of returning roller derby to its former glory years, but he believes his strange inheritance might. see, jim understands that while some fans like him might get hooked on a sport after catching it on tv... >> bay bombers! >> ...usually fandom is passed down from a parent or grandparent. he figures it will only help if he can draw connection between today's skaters and those who raced around these banked tracks in generations past. >> today's game is dedicated to the original roller derby legend and former san francisco bay bomber ann calvello. >> that's where his strange inheritance comes in. >> we love this and we want to try and carry it on and carry the tradition on. >> yes, there are some empty seats, but jim sees a promising mix of kids, moms, and old-timers who take in ann calvello's treasures, fondly

remembering old banana nose. >> i loved to see her, the way she used to fight and skate around. she was wonderful. >> come on, baby! take her out! take her out! >> so, can ann calvello's heir bring their sport back to the days of big ratings and sold-out stadiums? >> star of the night, annie calvello. [ whistle blows ] >> it sounds like a pipe dream. >> get in front, [bleep] get in front! fight! >> calvello's on the move. the fans are very excited about this, look at them stand up and watch. >> you never know. [ cheers and applause ] in fact, the federation of international roller sports has been lobbying for decades to get the derby into the olympics. skaters say they were almost a demonstration sport in 2016, but they lost out to rugby and golf. better luck next time, jammers.

i'm jamie colby. thanks so much for watching it with you. good morning happy monday everyone thanks so much for joining us i'm maria bartiromo and it has monday june 29th your top stories right now 6 a.m. on the button on east coast coronavirus deaths surpassing half a million across the world. this is cases spike in alarming rate in the united states hot zone. multiple states pausing reopening plans now futuring point to higher open now this beginning of a shortened trading week from wall street. dow futures up 140 points and nasdaq is negative. but just about three points and s&p 500 right now up 11 and quarter points this after friday sharp selloff nasdaq gain for the week and dow and s&p 500 down on the week as you can see a week that saw the dow