So, a three-time state champion high school football coach and physical education teacher walks into Yankee Stadium and catches the final home run ball in the stadium's magnificent, 85-year history.

He also just happens to be a Wyoming legislator.

And the ball in his possession just might be worth $1 million, if he acts quickly.

We'll call him "Steve from Colorado." …

This ain't no joke.

Natrona County High School's Steve Harshman - yeah, that Steve - was the guy who wound up with the ball following a mad scramble resulting from Yankees backup catcher Jose Molina's fourth-inning homer Sunday night before an ESPN audience.

Harshman, 45, carried the ball in his coat pocket all day Monday while playing tourist on his first, and he says only, trip to New York City.

"I figured it would be safer than leaving it in the hotel room," the Midwest, Wyo., native said with a wry grin.

Harshman and his sons Josh, 11, and Jess, 9, and his brother Mike, 55, flew home to Casper on Monday night. They fulfilled a family dream hatched by Harshman's World War II veteran father who died six years ago without having set foot in the House that Ruth Built.

"You know how it is," Harshman said. "You get busy, and life goes pretty quick."

Yankee Stadium will be replaced by a state-of-the-art facility across the street beginning next season, so the Harshman family scrambled to book plane and game tickets this summer. Harshman's older brother, Dave, and his sister-in-law flew to a game from New Mexico in July. Inspired by their trip, Harshman jumped on the Web and found four tickets for just less than $800 apiece for the stadium's finale.

"If I'm going to burn my credit card, that was the time to do it," Harshman said with another wry grin. "All the stuff that's happened in that stadium, it's a shame to tear it down. From John Paul II to Muhammad Ali to Rocky Marciano. I didn't want to sit around someday and say, 'Gosh, I wish we would have went.'"

Mike Heffner is the president of lelands.com in Long Island, N.Y., a sports memorabilia online auction company. He said it's tough to gauge the value of Harshman's ball simply as a piece of memorabilia. But as a marketing gimmick for some corporation, "I could see somebody buying that ball for a million dollars right now," Heffner said.

"Like when Todd McFarlane bought the Mark McGwire home run ball (for $3 million)," Heffner added. "He knew he was going to get a lot of publicity for himself and his company."

Heffner estimated the ball will lose at least 50 percent of its value within a month.

Unaware of the possible financial windfall in his possession, Harshman placed the ball in a safety deposit box in Casper on Tuesday morning. The ball held significant personal value, and it might even fetch a few dollars on the open market, he thought.

But the decision whether to sell it would have to wait. The Mustangs' coach was eager to turn his attention toward Friday's opponent, Cheyenne East. Natrona stands 2-2 on the season after a 10-9 loss to Sheridan at Dick Cheney Alumni Field two nights before the Yankees game.

"I've got to get ready for practice in a couple hours," Harshman said while looking at his watch Tuesday afternoon. "We've got to do a better job coaching and get ready for Cheyenne East. … I just want to put this story behind me."

Not so fast, "Steve from Colorado."

Immediately after Harshman had collected the home run ball, stadium security escorted him to the concourse where the New York media awaited.

The media asked for his name.

"Steve."

They asked for his last name.

"I don't want to give my last name. I don't want you guys bugging my wife on the phone tonight."

They asked where he lived.

"I'm Steve, and I'm from the West."

Which state?

"I'm from a place where there's a significant amount of Colorado Rockies fans."

The media took the ball and ran with it, so to speak.

Post-game stories reported that a man known only as "Steve from Colorado" collected Molina's historic homer. One writer led his story by describing Harshman's "aw, shucks" attitude.

Imagine the media onslaught now.

Contact managing editor Ron Gullberg at (307) 266-0560 or ron.gullberg@trib.com.