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A North Carolina family recently unearthed quite the heirloom that had been previously overlooked -- a baseball card of the legendary "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.

In 2009, Ben Foster and his father, Hayes, discovered an old baseball card collection in a metal lunch pail that included Roberto Clemente and Sandy Koufax cards from the 1950s. But somehow, Ben and his dad overlooked Shoeless Joe. Ten years later, Ben decided to take inventory of the cards and realized the minor-leaguer pictured on the 1910 card was Jackson. It depicts him during his stint with the Class AA New Orleans Pelicans.

Earlier this week, the Shoeless Joe card sold at auction for $492,000. The card had a PSA grade of 3.5 out of 10, according to the Heritage Auction site.

Jackson, a career .356 hitter, was part of the Black Sox scandal in 1919. He was one of eight Chicago White Sox players banned for life for allegedly throwing the 1919 World Series.

"After 110 years in the same North Carolina family, we were glad to help find it a proud new owner," said Chris Ivy, Heritage's director of sports auctions.

Source: USA Today

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