Someone Found Vince Lombardi’s Sweater at Goodwill

Goodwill is a magical place, mostly because you can still get some good vinyl there without paying $30 an album. It’s also magical for stuff like this though — a couple in North Carolina found a sweater at Goodwill that turned out to be one that used to belong to Vince Lombardi.

The sweater was worn by Lombardi when he was a coach at West Point and the people who bought it had no idea. Now, they’re auctioning it off and it’s expected to sell for around $20,000.

Sean McEvoy was shopping with his wife Rikki when he bought the vintage West Point item for $0.58 in Goodwill’s outlet store. The couple own a vintage store in Knoxville called Roslyn Trading Co.

McEvoy bought the sweater last June to sell at the store, but said he was watching TV one night and saw a photo that took him aback.

“I was watching a Vince Lombardi documentary and I said to my wife, we have a sweater just like that,” McEvoy said. “Wouldn’t it be great if it was actually Vince Lombardi’s?”

His wife then told him she had seen a name tag inside.

“She said I think it’s that guy, Lombardi,” McEvoy said. “My heart kind of sank into my stomach a bit.”

The tag inside does indeed say Lombardi. McEvoy first called the Pro Football Hall of Fame and they asked him to donate the sweater.

Nice try, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

McEvoy’s next call was to Heritage Auctions, who authenticated the sweater and will now sell it.