Loyalty only runs so deep.
Common sense, apparently, too.
A 78-year-old New York Yankees fan is suing the team after he sent them a piece of memorabilia he claims they lost.
Michael Kovalovsky was in his 20s when he wrote Mickey Mantle with some advice during the 1959 season. It was one of thousands of letters Mantle received during the era. Kovalovsky got a reply--a form letter with a signature at the bottom he claims is Mantle's but is more than likely a secretarial autograph.
After keeping the letter for 48 years, he decided to offer it to the team in 2006 as they began to collect artifacts for their new museum at Yankee Stadium. The club didn't respond.
Not long after, he sent it anyway...along with other memorabilia.
Last year, he asked for the letter to be returned and he says the Yankees told him they couldn't find it.
Earlier this month, the Florida resident filed a lawsuit, seeking damages and attorney's fees.
Kovalovsky is a former New York cop.
The Daytona Beach News Journal talked to him.
Here's a copy of the letter and the lawsuit: