A Manhattan man is doing what every American man has probably considered – suing his mom for the loss of valuable baseball cards.
Christopher Trencher said the cards – a 1953 Topps Ralph Kiner and a 1953 Topps Satchel Paige – are worth more than $25,000, if his mother, Carol Ivanick, did not damage them.
Ivanick, now 82, allegedly bought the cards from Trencher as a gift in the mid-1980s but refused to hand them over despite repeated requests, he claimed in his Manhattan Supreme Court filing. .
The cards are “rare and irreplaceable,” said Trencher, 55, one of backgammon’s top players, in his litigation.
The mother was as confused by the legal action as a batter trying to hit a Jacob De Grom slider.
” Are you serious? He sued me in Manhattan Supreme Court? said incredulous Ivanick, a lawyer and mother of three, when The Post was asked about the allegations.
Ivanick insisted that his son give the cards to to as a gift in the mid-1990s.
“I was a huge Satchel Paige fan. I’m 80 and still enjoy them,” she said of the cards, noting that she keeps them in protective acrylic holders, locked in a safe, and takes them out to look at every day. a few weeks.
“I was very happy that he included me in his hobby, and Satchel Paige was an iconic figure for me. »
Hall of Fame pitcher Paige was the first African American to pitch in the World Series; Kiner, a Hall of Fame slugger who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was a beloved broadcaster for the New York Mets.
If the cards are in mint condition, they could be worth $30,000, said Chris Ivy, sports director for Heritage Auctions.
Of nearly 3,300 1953 Topps Satchel Paige cards up for auction, only eight have this level of quality, he noted.
Like countless other child collectors, Trencher kept baseball cards at his mother’s house for years, but unlike many, “he came to get them all,” she said.
She called the lawsuit “very sad”.
“I want to enjoy it with the years I have left. I’m 82, they are definitely mine, he gave them to me,” she said.
Ivanick said she hasn’t spoken to her son or his family in a few years after a falling out which she declined to detail.
“They kicked me out of the family some time ago. They won’t let me see my grandchildren, won’t let me see anyone there,” she said.
“I guess he decided that was the way to get the money for himself,” said Ivanick, who said she had already written the Kiner and Paige cards in her will as bequest for the children of Trencher.
Trencher, who declined to comment, wants a judge to force his mother to hand over the cards or pay what he says they’re worth: $25,000.
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