"strange inheritance." i guess sometimes you can take it with you. ♪ >> a babe who photographed babies... >> she would get them to do the craziest things. >> ...becomes a celebrity herself. >> people knew her by name. she was a pin-up. >> there were definitely stories of skiing with the kennedys, definitely a lavish lifestyle for sure. >> what was her secret? >> isn't she adorable? >> what a winner shot. >> is it still gold today? >> is this collection potentially worth six figures, seven figures? [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, and today i'm in littleton, colorado. it's a suburb of denver that,

like all of suburbia, really expanded after world war ii because of the baby boom. and speaking of babies, every parent, including me, knows the frustration of trying to get your little one to smile at just the right moment for just the right photo. well, we're about to tell the story of a woman who turned that challenge into an art form. >> my name is lynda bannister. when my mother, constance, passed away in 2005, she left me more more than 100,000 baby photos. she was the most accomplished baby photographer of her day. >> hi, lynda. i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you, too. you wrote me about your mom and something about babies. >> yes. >> are they here? >> yes, they are. please come in. >> okay. >> inside lynda's house is her strange inheritance left to her by her mother, baby photographer constance bannister. >> you've basically put together a museum all about your mom and all these babies.

>> in total, there are more than 100,000 baby pictures -- yes, 100,000 photos. >> there are many files full of negatives. >> all negatives? >> all negatives. >> lynda has mom's old cameras, too. >> she was able to carry this? >> yes. actually, she would wear a harness and strap herself into it, as you can see. one of the first self-portraits, she's got the clicker in her hand. >> a selfie? >> yeah. >> lynda's mother's story begins in 1913 on a farm in tennessee. >> what kind of childhood did your mom have? >> she's second from the oldest of 17 children. >> 17? >> 17. she talked about playing in the creek, riding the cow -- just a real simple, healthy lifestyle. >> in the mid 1930s, young connie leaves her country home with dreams of becoming an artist in the big apple.

>> she wanted to be somebody and somebody big. >> in 1937, she enrolls at the new york institute of photography, and later that year marries the first of three husbands, stephen arthur bannister. >> that was finishing school for her. >> the marriage? >> yeah. >> why? >> he took the country girl, and he really showed her the life of an upper-class woman in manhattan. >> but the rich investment broker just can't compete with connie's greatest love -- the camera. they soon divorce, and connie gets her first paying gig as a society photographer in palm beach for the associated press. >> women, when she first started out, they were not doing careers. she basically stepped into a man's world and ran the show. >> after one year on the job, she returns to new york and works as a public-relations photographer on the maiden voyage of the s.s. brazil. then a lightning bolt of

inspiration strikes. >> she went into central park, and she basically just started photographing babies. >> why babies? >> when she was a young girl, she was always around babies. she naturally gravitated towards babies. she ended up going back the next day with prints selling some of her pictures to a mom, and the career was born. >> in 1940, constance opens a photo shop on central park south. she quickly becomes known for her ability to capture faces and expressions other baby photographers cannot. >> how unique were her techniques? >> she had a way with communicating with the baby, and she would get them to do the craziest things. [ camera shutter clicking ] >> she develops a lot of tricks, like filling her studio with plenty of toys, using honey to achieve that perfect hair curl, and brushing the baby's face with a feather before snapping the shot.

>> she just knew exactly when to snap that shutter and get that perfect shot. >> today lynda's gonna let me in on a few more of her mother's trade secrets at an actual baby photo shoot. >> oh, no, no, no. >> adele. >> look. we have a feather. >> i got a feather for you. >> [ crying ] >> ohh. >> this is more difficult than i thought, lynda. >> [ crying continues ] >> what's a wannabe to do, seriously? lynda tells me that's why mom always had back-up models. >> wow, two little teeth and a lot of drool. >> [ laughs ] >> can i take your picture? yes? >> no tears yet. >> can you explain, lynda, what you would do to make this perfect baby even more perfect? >> mom would always have a little jar of lemon juice and water, and she'd just take her finger and put it right in her mouth, and that's to get that kind of puckered face. isn't she adorable? >> what a winner shot. i got a whole calendar.

>> oh, wonderful. [ camera shutter clicking ] >> i may not have captured a bannister-caliber photo, few ever have, but constance has a knack for much more than photographing babies. she'll learn the camera loves her, too, and soon all of america will know her face. >> was she a celebrity? >> yes, in every sense of the word. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question... is it brad pitt and angelina jolie? kate middleton and prince william? or ivanka trump and jared kushner? the answer when we return. introducing stocks by the slice from fidelity. now you can trade stocks and etfs for any amount you choose instead of buying by the share. all with no commissions. stocks by the slice from fidelity. get your slice today.

stocks by the slice from fidelity. so you ready to hit the road? i don't know. just get on your bike... and ride! no!

♪ [ objects rattle ] >> so, which power couple sold photos of their newborn for $15 million? it's "a." in 2008, people and hello! magazine bought the exclusive rights to the baby photos of twins vivienne and knox jolie-pitt. the couple donated the proceeds to charity. ♪ >> it's 1941 and constance bannister has built a reputation as the go-to photographer to capture just the right baby shots. "she was a true pioneer," says getty images executive eric rachlis. >> she was able to capture the emotions of babies in

a very pure form. a lot of people relate to that sort of very innocent expression of emotion. >> during world war ii, her photos are used to help sell war bonds and promote the u.s.o. but when a magazine article is printed about her pin-up babies, connie becomes the babe the troops want to see. >> look magazine did an article called "pin-up babies," and they put a little picture of her in a bathing suit, a pin-up picture, and the servicemen just wrote her from all over the world, asking for an 8x10 signed picture of her for their foxhole or their bunker, and she did. >> i mean, a lot of guys had your grandmother's picture in their locker. >> oh, lord. yeah. [ laughs ] yep. that definitely happened -- yeah. she was definitely involved in some different shoots that were a little edgy for her time. >> meanwhile, after the war, births in the u.s. start surging as soldiers return home. america's great baby boom is on.

perfect timing for a celebrity baby photographer with tv-ready looks and a savvy business plan. >> she was a bit of a wheeler and dealer, so she would negotiate with the families and say, "okay, i won't charge you. you sign the release, and i'll give you beautiful pictures of your child for free." >> so your mom owned the pictures. >> she owns them. >> smart. >> very smart. ♪ >> with the photo rights secured, connie uses the images in her own business ventures -- books, calendars, magazines, her babies often accompanied with sassy one-liners. >> she took sort of traditional cute baby photography and kind of put sort of a satiric bent on how she pictured children and babies. >> soon bannister and her babies are everywhere, from newspapers... >> this is a comic strip that she did called "baby banters." it was syndicated for six years across the country. >> ...to department stores.

>> mom produced a doll? >> mom produced a doll. she produced that in the '50s, and, actually, macy's had it on sale for $9.98. >> did she also earn a lot of revenue? >> she did very well. she had an apartment at 24 central park south, her summer house, which was an estate on the north shore of long island -- 15 acres, pool, tennis court. >> tv host jack paar dubs constance the world's most famous baby photographer. her photo tips are even used to promote flashbulbs. >> was she a celebrity? >> yes, in every sense of the word. i have all her appointment books from the '40s and '50s, and every single page is filled with appointments, meetings, radio shows, television shows. people knew her by name. they knew her on sight. >> there were definitely stories of skiing with the kennedys, taking fabulous trips to different international places -- lavish lifestyle for sure. >> by the late 1950s, constance,

now in her 40s and on her third marriage, wants to start a family of her own. but the world's most famous baby photographer is the victim of a cruel irony. >> she wanted children, but she went to the doctor, and he said it just was not gonna be possible for her. it was actually very sad. >> connie and her husband, joseph hatcher, are blessed in 1958, adopting a baby girl, lynda. two years later, lisa joins the family. the real bannister babies quickly become regulars at mom's photo shoots. >> that's me and mom. >> oh, how sweet. >> and that's me. >> oh! oh, my god. she really could get babies to do everything. >> constance is still a hot ticket in the 1960s as the final frontier inspires another bannister business venture. >> the astronauts went to the moon, she created a baby book called "astrotots." >> this is adorable.

>> she also weighs in on the civil rights movement. >> she's one of the first women to put a black baby on a cover. >> so it wasn't just about picture-taking. >> no. >> she had a message. >> yes, she did. ♪ >> in the mid 1970s, however, constance, now in her 60s, decides it's finally time to hang up the camera and enjoy a well-deserved retirement far from the limelight. >> she was done. she just wanted to have peace and quiet. >> and that is pretty much all america hears from constance bannister, though she does pick up the camera from time to time behind closed doors. >> did she ever take your picture? >> um, sure. absolutely. it got very interesting behind the camera when she got back there. you can kind of see this different side of her. she got very expressive and silly almost. >> she would always bring out the best expressions out of children. >> in 2005, constance bannister passes away at age 92. lynda is named sole heir to her mother's baby pictures, all 100,000 of them. by then she assumes her mom

and the bannister babies are long forgotten. boy, is she wrong about that! >> i was fielding phone calls left and right from reporters from all over the country. >> that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you. this constance bannister model went on to become a big hollywood star. is it...? the answer after the break. we love our new home. there's so much space. we have a guestroom now. but, we have aunts. you're slouching again, ted. expired, expired... expired. thanks, aunt bonnie. it's a lot of house. i hope you can keep it clean. at least geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy. which helps us save a lot of money

oh, teddy. did you get my friend request? uh, i'll have to check. (doorbell ringing) aunt joni's here! for bundling made easy, go to geico.com. hello?

where you can find games,y, gnews and highlights. all in one place, right on your tv. the xfinity sports zone. use your voice to search every stat and score. follow the teams you love. and, even get notifications with breaking news alerts and more. with the xfinity sports zone

everybody wins. now that's simple, easy, awesome. say xfinity sports zone into your voice remote today. ♪ >> so, who is this child model who grew up to become a famous actor in hollywood? it's "b," christopher walken. the star of "the deer hunter" and numerous "saturday night live" appearances kick-started his career working with constance bannister.

>> over her four-decade career, connie bannister snapped some of the most iconic images of infants and toddlers known as bannister babies. after her death in 2005, her daughter wonders how the woman once known as the world's most famous baby photographer will be remembered, if at all. >> when she passed, i contacted the associated press 'cause i didn't know if it was news or i had to write an obituary. >> the family quickly gets their answer. for the first time in decades, the name constance bannister is back in the public view. >> i was fielding phone calls left and right from reporters from all over the country. it was a celebration of her life. it was just wonderful. >> lynda is determined to keep her mother's memory and photos from fading into oblivion. one of her first steps in honoring the family name is to adopt it herself. she changes her given surname,

hatcher, to bannister. her next challenge, sorting through the massive photography archives that she's inherited from her mom. >> we're talking hundreds and hundreds of pounds of cabinets and drawers. >> pounds? >> it wasn't just the photos and the negatives. it was the cameras, it was the dolls, it was the books. it just was such an enormous collection. >> i was overwhelmed when i first got it all. it was just so mind-blowing. >> did she ever tell you what she wanted you to do with it? >> no. she actually told me, "don't mess it up, lynda." >> those are some fighting words. >> i know the pressure's on for me to do a good job and to make her proud. >> lynda starts to catalog and digitize over 100,000 photos. fortunately, mom left at least a little guidance. >> that's a signed release that she kept from when -- the '50s? >> i have them dating back to the early '40s. >> a little o.c.d.? >> yes, a lot o.c.d., actually.

>> among those old releases, lynda discovers some familiar names who modeled for her mother. >> name names. >> christopher walken, paris hilton's mother, kathy, kristina hagman, larry hagman's daughter. >> here's actress anne francis. she would star in two 1950's classics -- "blackboard jungle" and "forbidden planet." but what really gets lynda thinking is the thousands of regular old american babies. she decides to see how their lives turned out. >> how much time are you putting in to finding these bannister babies? >> i'm spending some serious time with it, but i'm enjoying every minute of it. >> what is it like for you when you hear from a bannister baby? >> it's a treat beyond treats. it intrigues me to know that she made so many people happy. >> people like lindley thomasset, a bannister baby from the late 1940s. >> she had a very special way of getting kids to respond to her.

many of these photos were used in advertisements for things like gerber baby food. >> were you a gerber baby? >> yes, that's right. >> excuse me. i've just met a gerber baby, okay? >> today lindley is hosting a bannister baby reunion at her home here in bedford, new york. >> i'm so glad you could all get together. it's incredible. i feel like you're a part of history. lynda has a surprise for you. >> lindley, we have from her archives for you... >> [ gasps ] >> oh, lindley. >> that's for your collection. >> thank you. >> this is linda byers. >> oh, linda. >> oh, my. >> let's see yours. >> oh. >> oh, wow. >> oh, my hair is different. >> and, also, mom made a note under the remarks that linda was cute. >> [ laughs ] >> how many bannister babies are there left? >> oh, there's hundreds left still. >> i bet we find more. >> that'd be great. >> it could make a good book, lynda thinks. meantime, as word gets out about the collection, lynda receives an offer from a buyer who

wants to purchase the entire photo library. it could be a big payday. other vintage collections are said to be worth millions. >> is this collection potentially worth six figures, seven figures? >> no idea. i don't know, and as far as i'm concerned, homina, homina, homina, i don't want to know. >> will lynda mess it up? or does she inherit her mom's business genius, too? find out in a snap. >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website -- strangeinheritance.com. i'm making sandwiches!

on king's hawaiian bread! yum! king's hawaiian.

>> now back to "strange inheritance." ♪ >> lynda bannister inherits more than 100,000 professional baby pictures taken by her mom, a true genius who was once the most famous baby photographer in america. >> and is this collection potentially worth six figures, seven figures? >> no idea.

i don't know, and as far as i'm concerned, homina, homina, homina, i don't want to know. >> it could be worth millions, but lynda won't talk to any potential buyers. >> you didn't even let him tell you what they were willing to pay? >> no. i don't want to sell it. my goal really is to just share the baby pictures with people around the world. her images were just so loved, beautiful pictures of children, and i just would like everybody to enjoy them. >> but we're not talking charity here. lynda's betting she can make more holding on to her strange inheritance. in 2010, she cuts a deal with stock photo agency getty images, which markets the pictures to clients who pay each time they use them. >> looking at constance's work, her eye, and the way that she captured these babies has really been a very commercially viable type of imagery that our customers, even today, are using. >> over time, the bannister babies begin

to regain some of their former popularity, starting with greeting cards. >> this is adorable. so they're taking the original images and then they're making them into characters? >> reinventing the babies. >> it's almost, john, like grandma's coming back. >> yeah. i'm seeing a rebirth of her through my mother. it's pretty incredible. >> getty strikes similar deals with the likes of microsoft, yahoo!, and sony. more cash flows in. >> so are you cleaning up financially? >> it's growing. i'm looking at it as my retirement. >> what can one image be worth? >> well, we actually got $25,000 for one image. it can be worth quite a bit of money. >> and here's that photo -- a cute girl in braids hugging her dog licensed for a national ad campaign for the tv show "true blood." >> you're sitting on thousands of these. this could be more than your retirement. >> it could be, it could be. we'll see. >> a tennessee farm girl hits the big time, becomes

a glamorous celebrity, then retires to the quiet life. but now she's back in the spotlight thanks to a dedicated daughter and all those adorable babies. >> i think what my grandmother accomplished was really remarkable, and my mom is giving us an opportunity to bring that amazing work back up to the surface, and that has just been such a remarkable thing for our family. >> she was bigger than life. she had a vision of just creating things with babies and making people laugh and happy, and she was just a wonderful woman. >> you've seen a lot of baby pictures in this episode, but there is one you haven't seen -- mine. here i am propped up on my brother jonathan's shoulders. this photographer got him to smile. i guess i needed some of constance bannister's magic. nope, i was no bannister baby, but if you were, i'd love to hear from you. e-mail that photo to me at

jamie@strangeinheritance.com. thanks so much for watching. 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. introducing stocks by the slice from fidelity.

now you can trade stocks and etfs for any amount you choose instead of buying by the share. all with no commissions. stocks by the slice from fidelity. get your slice today. stocks by the slice from fidelity. so you ready to hit the road? i don't know. just get on your bike... and ride! no!

>> 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.

jean, did you know geico is now offering an extra 15% credit on car and motorcycle policies? that's great! that's 15% on top of what geico could already save you. so what are you waiting for? john stamos to knit you a scarf? all finished, jean. enjoy! thank you. i give. the stitch work is impeccable. it's just a double fleck pattern with a reverse garter stitch. no big deal. is your hair this soft? softer. geico. save an extra 15% when you switch by october 7th. geico. coming to the green flag, racing at daytona. they're off... in the kentucky derby. rory mcllroy is a two time champion at east lake. he scores! stanley cup champions. touchdown! only mahomes. expect anything different?

the big events are back and xfinity is your home for the return of live sports.

>> 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 ] maria: good friday morning, tgif, thanks for joining us. i'm maria bartiromo, it is friday august 28th, top stories 6:00 a.m. on the east coast. president trump formally accepting nomination for second term. all the highlights and analysis of night 4 in the rnc. next hour former new york city mayor rudy giuliani fresh off rnc. nancy pelosi saying biden should not debate president trump. biden not taking speaker's advice. later democratic debbi dingell. laura destruction, the