For years, birthdays were a time for two brothers from Erie, Pennsylvania, to give gifts that had little monetary value, but would often be something the other would appreciate.
Eric Albrecht frequently gave his brother, P.J., old logo signs of historical Pennsylvania breweries, and P.J. often gave Eric an item he found in his travels.
So, at the last gathering at their parents' house, Eric knew the birthday present he was getting from his brother would be one of the main attractions of the day.
When the time came, P.J. handed him a manila folder. Written in blue sharpie across the middle: "RT. ELBOW MRI SCANS JOE MONTANA."
"I don't know if it's THE Joe Montana," P.J. said. "There might be many Joe Montanas."
Eric is a Green Bay Packers fan, but has a soft spot for legendary quarterback such as Montana, who hailed from Monongahela, Pennsylvania.
"Where did you get this?" Eric asked.
P.J. said he was on a road trip and stopped at an antiques place in Columbia Station, Ohio. The envelope was sitting on a shelf behind some trinkets.
"Is that THE Joe Montana?" P.J. asked.
"Could be," the person said.
With no price on it, P.J. said he offered $10, and the owners obliged.
Now in the hands of Eric, the brothers had to find out if it all made sense.
Inside were all the clues.
A letter from American Specialty Underwriters to an agent from Donald P. Pipino & Associates in Youngstown, Ohio.
Youngstown was a major clue. The owner of the San Francisco 49ers at the time, Eddie DeBartolo, was from Youngstown. The date also provided all Eric needed: Sept. 17, 1992.
Montana had missed the entire 1991 season due to a torn right elbow tendon he suffered during training camp in August 1991 — perhaps caused by other injuries suffered after a hit by Leonard Marshall in the NFC Championship Game in January 1991. He had surgery on the elbow in October 1991, again in May 1992 and, after he was still in pain, a third time in September 1992. The X-rays were taken five days after that last surgery.
"It all checked out," Eric said.
In all, Montana was sidelined for a total of 708 days, missing the 1992 season as well, except for the final regular-season game, when he came back to a standing ovation and threw for two touchdowns.
cllct did its own research, first contacting the man who wrote the letter, insurance agent Marc Idelson. Idelson confirmed Donald P. Pipino & Associates was indeed the 49ers' insurer, thanks to the DeBartolo connection. As it turns out, the firm did all of the insurance for DeBartolo, who was the largest builder of shopping malls in America.
As to how something so confidential ever got out? Perhaps it was the result of Donald P. Pipino & Associates selling to a Florida firm in 2019. The antique store that sold the X-Rays was only 76 miles east of the company's former headquarters.
"I've sent hundreds and hundreds of X-Rays, and not one of them has ever gotten into the hands of the public," Idelson said.
That's not to say others haven't gotten out. There have been plenty offered of Marilyn Monroe, most notably one of her chest that sold for $25,000 in 2010 at Julien's auction house. Julien's also sold an X-ray of Elvis Presley's hand, taken after a karate injury in 1973, for $9,375 in 2012.
Aside from that, there's not really a robust X-Ray market.
Eric Albrecht doesn't care. All he knows is it will be hard to forget his 34th birthday.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.