Stargell's Widow Causes Stir With Memorabilia Auction
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) - Memorabilia from baseball Hall of Famer Willie Stargell is being auctioned and family members say they're hurt and angry that his widow is selling the items, including his World Series ring and his National League MVP award.
The second wife of the late Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman, Margaret Weller-Stargell, decided on the auction, which begins Wednesday.
Dolores Stargell, who was married to Stargell from 1962 to 1983, says she, her children and grandchildren weren't told about the auction being conducted by SCP Auctions Inc.
"From the moment that I heard that all of his most valuable possessions were going to be given into the hands of other sports collectors that were not part of the family, it devastated me," Willie Stargell, Jr. said.
In a letter on Facebook, they say Stargell would want some of his "lifetime achievements to be on display."
Stargell's daughter, Dawn Stargell Moore, says she tried to reason with her stepmother.
"It's very difficult to articulate or put into words the depth or the hurt we are feeling right now," she said.
Weller-Stargell says the auction is legal. She plans on donating some of the proceeds to various charities.
Some of the auction items include Stargell's 1979 National League MVP and World Series ring. It is getting bids of over $20,000 right now.
"Our only hope, [the fans] would donate it back in the community, to the Hall of Fame, like the Pittsburgh Pirates," said Stargell Moore.
To view the items being auctioned off, click here.
KDKA was unable to contact Weller Stargell for comment regarding the auction.
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(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)