A sweater that once belonged to football legend Vince Lombardi just made for the investment of a lifetime.
Purchased last summer for 58 cents at a Goodwill store in Asheville, N.C., the pullover, with West Point stitched on the front and Lombardi on the back, recently sold for $43,020 in a New York City auction, according to ESPN business reporter Darren Rovell.
Lombardi coached at the United States Military Academy from 1949 to 1953 before beginning his NFL career as an offensive coordinator for the New York Giants under head coach Jim Lee Howell. In 1959, Lombardi took over as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers and went on to win five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls.
Sometime between then and June 2014, the garment made its way to the thrift shop, where Tennessee natives Sean and Rikki McEvoy were none the wiser that it came from the namesake of the NFL's championship trophy.
"I picked it up and thought it was cool," Sean McEvoy told ESPN.com. "At first, I thought it was a basketball warm-up.
"I didn't see the Lombardi tag when we walked out with it or I might have made a connection. My wife saw it but she didn't know who that could be."
A few months later, they stumbled onto a documentary on Lombardi and saw a picture of him wearing the sweater. That's when they started to connect the dots and turned it over to Heritage Auctions, which auctioned off the sweater to an anonymous buyer, according to the story.
What have you done with 58 cents lately?
The Brooklyn native began his NFL career as an offensive coach with the New York Giants ('54-58).
Sam Huff, left, former linebacker of the New York Giants, with Vince Lombardi.
Vince Lombardi, offensive backfield coach of the New York Giants. January 28, 1959 photo. (AP Photo)
Charley Conerly lets ball fly during passing drill on at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 6, 1958 in New York, watching from left: Backfield coach Vince Lombardi, Fullback Mel Triplett, left halfback Phil King and right halfback Alex Webster.
Vince Lombardi, whose coaching helped the New York Giants to number two spot in the NFL, is shown in his hotel room in New York City.
The New York Giants Coaches, 1957, back row from left, Tom Landry, assistant coach, Jim Lee Howell, Head Coach, Ken Kavenaugh, assistant coach, front row from left, Vince Lombardi, assistant coach, John Dell Isola, assistant coach.
Giants backfield coach Vince Lombardi, left, admiring watch presented to Mel Triplett, right, for his play football title game against the Chicago Bears in New York, Dec. 31, 1956. (AP Photo/Tom Fitzsimmons)
Vince Lombardi, and his longtime friend Wellington Mara of the football New York Giants, bitter foes of the packers on field, are presently visiting Rome. Feb. 2, 1962.
Hall of Fame head coach Vince Lombardi waits to be interviewed by New York Giants Hall of Fame running back Frank Gifford.
A statue of Vince Lombardi is seen outside Lambeau Field before an NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants.
Giants greats Ottis Anderson, Michael Strahan and Phil Simms pose with the franchise's four Vince Lombardi Super Bowl Trophies.
