The ball was being sold by Jimmy Stewart Jr who was the son of Jimmy Stewart, a member of the Canadian team that lost out to the US 19-8 in the first ever Olympic Games basketball final in Berlin.

Stewart Jr had come into possession of the ball after his father died in 1990.

It is claimed Stewart took the ball as a souvenir, along with his silver medal, hiding it under his wife's dress before making their way back to Canada on a ferry.

The ball has the markings of manufacturer Berg on one side and "Basket-Ball" on the other.

Seventy-five-year-old Stewart Jr had tried to sell it at auction last year claiming it was to help fund college fees for his 11 grandchildren, but the sale fell through following promotional issues.

Stewart Jr handed the ball over to a promoter in Overland Park, Kansas called Keith Zimmerman, who had confidently predicted that it would fetch a six-figure sum between $250,000 (£149,000/€183,000) and $500,000 (£298,000/€366,000).

The ball went up for auction again in Baltimore to coincide with an auction of memorabilia belonging to baseball legend Babe Ruth at the Sports Legends Museum.

But a spokeswoman from Goldin Auctions confirmed to insidethegames that the minimum reserve price was not met and the ball remains unsold.

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