GUEST: Well, I brought my father. He was Joe C. Fortenberry, and he was captain
and high scorer of the first Olympic basketball team in Berlin, Germany in 1936. They beat Canada, and he scored eight points
in the last game, and the score was 19-8. Played in a driving rain and mud. APPRAISER: So this is the first year that
basketball was included as an Olympic event. GUEST: Yes. APPRAISER: As you said, the U.S. wins 19-8
in a downpour that turned the clay and sand surface they had to play on into mud. GUEST: Just a mess, absolute mess. No dribbling-- you just had to throw it. And it was a driving rain. APPRAISER: Right. And what did your father tell you about the
game? GUEST: Well, he said it was a joke. He said it was Hitler's fault. Hitler said basketball should be an outdoor
sport, so they had it outdoor on a clay court. APPRAISER: Right. GUEST: So that's the way it was. APPRAISER: Right, which unfortunately for
the game was a terrible way to start basketball being an Olympic event. But ultimately, a great result for the U.S.,
getting the gold medal. Tell us some more about your father's career
in basketball. GUEST: Well, he went to a little school called
West Texas in Canyon, Texas, and they were the tallest team in the world back then. Everybody was over six feet back then. He was 6'7". Then he went on to play in the AAU for industrial
teams. The McPherson Oilers was the team that he
played for that went to the Olympics. And then later, he played for the Phillips
66ers. And he is credited by the New York Times in
1936 with inventing the slam dunk. APPRAISER: So he's credited with being one
of the first, if not the first, to do a slam dunk. GUEST: Yes. He's also the reason, or one of the reasons,
for goaltending, because there was no goaltending. He would just jump up and swat the ball away,
and finally-- I don't know when they did it-- they decided, "We can't let them do that." And also they used to have a jump ball after
every made basket, and he would get every jump ball. APPRAISER: Right. GUEST: So they got rid of that, too. APPRAISER: He changed rules of basketball. GUEST: Yes, he did. APPRAISER: So he was the star of the Olympic
team. GUEST: Yes. APPRAISER: He was one of the stars of the
Phillips 66 Oilers. GUEST: Yes, 66ers. APPRAISER: Which was an AAU team, but it was
the premier league for the United States. GUEST: They were the best ones in the world. APPRAISER: Before the NBA came along. GUEST: I have this great memory when I was
in high school out in front of our house, shooting goals and trying to dunk it. And I'm a little challenged—I was only 6'2". And he came home, he has his hat on and his
pipe, he's about 55, takes his hat off, takes his pipe out, says, "Well, maybe I can still
do that." He jumps straight up and dunks it two-handed
at the age of 55. His pipe goes flying, and then he has this
funny grin on his face and he says, "I don't think I'll ever do that again." APPRAISER: That's unbelievable. We have his Olympic gold medal that you've
brought today. We also have a great photo, what we thought
was a great shot, because it has him doing a slam dunk. GUEST: Yep. APPRAISER: The gold medal is in the original
box. Now, regarding the condition, it's in near-pristine
condition with just one mentionable. We have one line running through the "L-I-N"
of "Berlin." GUEST: Uh-huh. APPRAISER: Which I believe is perhaps a flaw
in the minting process rather than a scratch. GUEST: Oh, okay. Will that affect the value? APPRAISER: I don't expect that to affect the
value. What kind of value have you read about on
the medal? What can you tell me about the medal? GUEST: Well, one of his teammates had one
and had it sold last year, but it had had a hole drilled in it and used as a necklace. And I believe it sold for $66,000. So I think this is a premium, and I'm prejudiced,
but my father was important in basketball history, so I think it's worth $100,000. APPRAISER: We had a previous medal in 2015
the family brought in to the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW in Tucson, that medal that you saw later sold
at auction. It was from a family member, and at that time,
that was the only gold medal from the 1936 Olympics basketball team to ever come up not
only for auction, but even to surface for the public to see. GUEST: Oh, okay. APPRAISER: So now we have the second one that
we've seen come up that somebody is showing the public. Definitely a museum piece. So we do have that comparison-- $67,000, the
one you talked about-- the condition it was in was much lesser condition. This one, the importance of your father, his
impact to the game, is huge, and this is by far the most important U.S. gold medal that
we've seen come in at the sports table at ANTIQUES ROADSHOW. GUEST: Oh, boy. APPRAISER: I would put a value of this, at
auction, of $100,000 to $150,000. GUEST: Wow. I was right, more or less. Thank you. That is incredible. APPRAISER: And for insurance, I would easily
put a value on it of $175,000. GUEST: Wow. Well, it'll go back in the lock box.
They had a jump ball after every made basket, damn that's probably the worst basketball rule I've ever heard
List of Hitler's evil deeds:
Started the worst war in human history
Killed millions of Jewish and several other groups in the Holocaust
Forced Olympic basketball to be played outdoors on a court of clay and sand
I kind of feel bad that these guys pioneered the sport and nobody knows enough about them to know if this guy is right or out of his mind. I want to believe him tho.
I believe him
Retro game on clay and mud for next years all star game!
I'd love to see somebody research this dudes comments. Pretty crazy and awesome story if true.