The owner of the 1-of-1 Cooper Flagg rookie debut patch autograph card has been identified as 50-year-old Jason Williams of South Carolina, according to ESPN. Williams acquired the card after paying $515 for a spot on a RhodyBreakers livestream, a division of the Baseball Cards of Rhode Island retail shop that opens trading-card boxes for clients.
Williams told ESPN he was watching the stream on a big screen while his wife and son were getting ready for bed when the card appeared. “They slid that card over and I just slid to the floor crying,” he said. “It took me about five seconds to realize what I was looking at on that screen,” Williams added.
A machine shop owner and father of five who lives in Clover, Williams has collected cards on and off since he was 12, ESPN reported. His previous most valuable pull was a card of Barcelona and Spain star Lamine Yamal that he sold for $4,500; Williams said he later saw that same card reach upward of $70,000 at auction.
According to ESPN, the Flagg card is expected to be worth substantially more, with a comparable Paul Skenes rookie card having fetched $1.1 million last year. The Dallas Mavericks have offered a bounty tied to the find that includes season tickets for 32 years, a signed game-worn Flagg jersey and a photograph with the rookie.
Williams told ESPN he has not yet decided what to do with the card. “It’s in a safe place for right now,” he said, adding he is “just sort of trying to lay low.” He described the moment as surreal: “Who would have thought? … It still hasn’t really sunk in.”
