Rare game discovered at estate

A rare item has been recovered at the Bingham-Waggoner estate at 313 Pacific in Independence.

And, no, it’s not an unknown painting by the artist George Caleb Bingham – but a relic of America’s pastime.

The senior curator at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., recently identified a mint-condition game discovered in a third-floor servant bedroom last year as an 1893 Zimmer’s Base Ball Game.

It is believed to be one of only 10 in existence and is known by baseball historian Mark Cooper as the “Mona Lisa” of all baseball games.

According to the estate, the game was purchased by William Waggoner, owner of the Waggoner Milling Company in Independence, for his first-born son, William Waggoner Jr.

The item will be on display at the Bingham-Waggoner estate during the month of June.