The PBS series Antiques Roadshow hit a home run with a collection of 1870s Boston baseball memorabilia.

A trove of signatures and rare baseball cards from Boston Red Stockings players was appraised at $1 million for insurance purposes, series producer Marsha Bemko said.

She said it's the largest sports memorabilia find in the history of the 19-year-old public TV show, which travels America looking for varied heirlooms and treasures.

Amazing: A trove of signatures and rare baseball cards from Boston Red Stockings players was appraised at $1 million for insurance purposes by Antiques Roadshow appraisers last Saturday

Family heirloom: The owner inherited it from her great-great-grandmother, who ran a Boston boarding house where the team lived in 1871-72 and some of baseball's first professional players were counted among her relative's patrons--they even wrote compliments to her food in their inscriptions on the cards

Thrilled: Antiques Roadshow appraiser Leila Dunbar called it one of the most exciting appraisals of her career on the 19-year-old show

The collection was brought to an Antiques Roadshow taping Saturday in New York City.

The owner inherited it from her great-great-grandmother, who ran a Boston boarding house where the team lived in 1871-72.

'It was just sitting in here in a desk drawer,' the owner said as she held up a booklet that held the cards. 'I ran across it one day and decided I'd like to have it, not realizing at all what it was worth.'

The owner's identity was kept private for security reasons, PBS said Monday. The collection had not been formally valued before but the owner had once received a $5,000 offer, PBS said.

'Crown jewels': According to Antiques Roadshow appraiser Leila Dunbar, the 'crown jewel' of the items is a May 1871 letter to the Boston with notes from three future Hall of Fame members: Albert Spalding, the future sporting good magnate, and brothers Harry (right) and George Wright (left). Harry managed the Red Stockings and his brother George would become baseball's original superstar

Personal notes: The owner's identity was kept private for security reasons. The collection had not been formally valued before but the owner had once received a $5,000 offer. In addition to the cards, the collection contains personal notes from the players to the owner's relative

According to Antiques Roadshow appraiser Leila Dunbar, the 'crown jewel' of the items is a May 1871 letter to the Boston landlady that includes notes from three future Hall of Fame members: Albert Spalding, the future sporting good magnate, and brothers Harry and George Wright.

Dunbar explained:

'When you look at memorabilia and you value it, you look at the historical importance of the players, of the team, of the era, of the event.

'You also look at rarity, you look at condition, you look at provenance

'And this has it all,' she said.

The letter included the players' appreciation for their host's cooking.

True originals: Pictured in this illustration while still a Cincinnati team, the Red Stockings became the first ever professional baseball team in 1869

The Red Stockings, including famed short stop George Wright (top, second from left). Wright made headlines with his salary of $1,500 for the team and took them to 27 consecutive victories in Cincinnati

After a losing streak made attendance plummet, Wright and his brother Harry took the team to Boston but retained the Red Stockings name. The team would go on to become what is now known as the Atlanta Braves franchise

The baseball franchise is now the Atlanta Braves. It originally came from Cincinnati.

'I'm hoping they'll stay in the family,' the owner said.

Appraisals from the New York City visit will be featured in three hours of Antiques Roadshow episodes to air in 2015 on public TV stations. The series is broadcast on Monday nights.

A woman who inherited some Chinese carved jade from her father scored the first $1 million appraisal from experts on the show way back in 2009.

Her four pieces of Chinese carved jade and celadon from the Chien Lung Dynasty (1736-1795), including a large bowl crafted for the Emperor, were given a conservative auction estimate of up to $1.07 million.