True story about Western Union:

Back in the late 1870s, Western Union essentially owned the communications network of the United States which was the telegraph. Along came Alexander Bell who offered his telephone patent rights to WU. The president of Western Union turned down the offer as he thought the telephone "Was just a toy."

To quote the wikipedia on Alexander Bell:
"Bell and his partners, Hubbard and Sanders, offered to sell the patent outright to Western Union for $100,000. The president of Western Union balked, countering that the telephone was nothing but a toy. Two years later, he told colleagues that if he could get the patent for $25 million he would consider it a bargain. By then, the Bell company no longer wanted to sell the patent.[87] Bell's investors would become millionaires, while he fared well from residuals and at one point had assets of nearly one million dollars."

This is considered one of the greatest blunders in the history of business.