Sports memorabilia
Encyclopedia
The term sports memorabilia usually refers to anything that can be directly connected to a sport
s event or personality. These items are generally gathered by the fans of the particular sport, athlete or team that the item signifies or by collectors who find value in the rarity time-value of these collectibles. "Sports memorabilia" often refers to autographed sports items as well.
Sports memorabilia can either have a sentimental or monetary value to the collector. Many items used by famous sports stars or at a famous event have been sold for many dollars at auctions such as Sotheby's
and others. The ball that Mark McGwire
hit for home run number 62 in 1998, for example, was sold for over 1 million dollars.
It could be said that collecting sports memorabilia goes back to the first decades of the 20th century, when many people would collect baseballs from baseball
games and many asked Babe Ruth
for autograph
s. As years passed and many other sports stars joined their sports, memorabilia collectors also began to broaden their horizons.
When the NBA
, MLB, NHL
and NFL
began selling their jerseys in stores during the 1980s, game used jerseys also became a hot item among sports memorabilia collectors. Former NBA player Dennis Rodman
was famous for taking off his jerseys and throwing them to the stands after his games were over. Michael Jordan
is probably the basketball
player whose memorabilia is most sought after by collectors.
The highest price fetched for a football (soccer)
match worn shirt is $224,000. The shirt belonged to the legendary Pelé
, who wore it during the 1970 World Cup final in which Brazil went onto win.
Collectors also like to look back in time when they are finding sports memorabilia. Items such as John L. Sullivan
and Jack Johnson
fight posters have sold well before. There is also a boxing
glove signed by Sullivan, Johnson, Ruth and many Hollywood stars and American Presidents that has sold for a lot of money before. This glove is now on display at the International Boxing Hall of Fame
.
In boxing, one of the most prominent sports memorabilia collectors is Bob Pace, who sells everything from fight posters to autographs. Pace has been in business since 1984.
Another sports star who is very requested by memorabilia collectors is Pete Rose
. Many items used by the king of hits have sold for good prices, including one of his convertible cars, which was obtained by a collector who concentrates on Pete Rose memorabilia only. An article about this was published in a sports magazine.
Adding an autograph to an item used in a particular game or by a particular star can increase or decrease the value of the item, depending on the situation. If the autograph has been personalized (i.e. "To Mark") the autograph devalues the item on the public market. Also, collectors put little value on autographed memorabilia that is sold without a certificate of authenticity. Several companies have developed systems to prove authenticity of game-used or autographed memorabilia, and collectors will generally seek out dealers that offer a lifetime, money-back, authenticity guarantee.
For the collectors who only see their memorabilia as having a sentimental value, they might look at it as a childhood memory, or as an important moment of life shared with his or her favorite star or team.
Event programme
s from rugby union
and football (soccer)
matches are also highly collectible.
eBay
is a popular media for sellers and buyers. However many of the items sold on eBay are not from reputable dealers, and are often counterfeit - including the items that are sold with Certificates of Authenticity, because these can easily be faked. The only way to ensure that sports memorabilia is authentic is to make a purchase from a reputable dealer. Industry experts and law enforcement agencies estimate that a large number of the items sold in the sports memorabilia industry are counterfeit.
Other popular items in sports memorabilia are "game-used" items. Game used can refer to an item worn on the field during a game, worn during the pregame, or by a player on the bench. These can include jerseys, pants, caps, helmets, gloves, shoes, or even sunglasses. Game Used can also refer to bats, balls, turf, flags, or other items used by a player on in the stadium. In NASCAR, and other forms of automobile racing, the metal from the cars, the tires, the driver uniforms, and the crew uniforms are popular collectibles. Concrete from the various racetracks are also popular. Trunks (shorts or pants), used by popular boxers such as Greg Haugen
in boxing fights are also popular and sometimes sell for 100 dollars or more on outlets such as Ebay or websites like gameusedcollectors.com .
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s event or personality. These items are generally gathered by the fans of the particular sport, athlete or team that the item signifies or by collectors who find value in the rarity time-value of these collectibles. "Sports memorabilia" often refers to autographed sports items as well.
Sports memorabilia can either have a sentimental or monetary value to the collector. Many items used by famous sports stars or at a famous event have been sold for many dollars at auctions such as Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
and others. The ball that Mark McGwire
Mark McGwire
Mark David McGwire , nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St...
hit for home run number 62 in 1998, for example, was sold for over 1 million dollars.
It could be said that collecting sports memorabilia goes back to the first decades of the 20th century, when many people would collect baseballs from baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
games and many asked Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
for autograph
Autograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
s. As years passed and many other sports stars joined their sports, memorabilia collectors also began to broaden their horizons.
When the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, MLB, NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
and NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
began selling their jerseys in stores during the 1980s, game used jerseys also became a hot item among sports memorabilia collectors. Former NBA player Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The...
was famous for taking off his jerseys and throwing them to the stands after his games were over. Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
is probably the basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player whose memorabilia is most sought after by collectors.
The highest price fetched for a football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
match worn shirt is $224,000. The shirt belonged to the legendary Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
, who wore it during the 1970 World Cup final in which Brazil went onto win.
Collectors also like to look back in time when they are finding sports memorabilia. Items such as John L. Sullivan
John L. Sullivan
John Lawrence Sullivan , also known as the Boston Strong Boy, was recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing from February 7, 1881 to 1892, and is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring rules...
and Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (boxer)
John Arthur Johnson , nicknamed the “Galveston Giant,” was an American boxer. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion...
fight posters have sold well before. There is also a boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
glove signed by Sullivan, Johnson, Ruth and many Hollywood stars and American Presidents that has sold for a lot of money before. This glove is now on display at the International Boxing Hall of Fame
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
.
In boxing, one of the most prominent sports memorabilia collectors is Bob Pace, who sells everything from fight posters to autographs. Pace has been in business since 1984.
Another sports star who is very requested by memorabilia collectors is Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
. Many items used by the king of hits have sold for good prices, including one of his convertible cars, which was obtained by a collector who concentrates on Pete Rose memorabilia only. An article about this was published in a sports magazine.
Adding an autograph to an item used in a particular game or by a particular star can increase or decrease the value of the item, depending on the situation. If the autograph has been personalized (i.e. "To Mark") the autograph devalues the item on the public market. Also, collectors put little value on autographed memorabilia that is sold without a certificate of authenticity. Several companies have developed systems to prove authenticity of game-used or autographed memorabilia, and collectors will generally seek out dealers that offer a lifetime, money-back, authenticity guarantee.
For the collectors who only see their memorabilia as having a sentimental value, they might look at it as a childhood memory, or as an important moment of life shared with his or her favorite star or team.
Event programme
Event programme
A programme or program is a booklet available for patrons attending a live event such as theatre performances, fêtes, sports events, etc. It is a printed leaflet outlining the parts of the event scheduled to take place, principal performers and background information. In the case of theatrical...
s from rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
matches are also highly collectible.
eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
is a popular media for sellers and buyers. However many of the items sold on eBay are not from reputable dealers, and are often counterfeit - including the items that are sold with Certificates of Authenticity, because these can easily be faked. The only way to ensure that sports memorabilia is authentic is to make a purchase from a reputable dealer. Industry experts and law enforcement agencies estimate that a large number of the items sold in the sports memorabilia industry are counterfeit.
Other popular items in sports memorabilia are "game-used" items. Game used can refer to an item worn on the field during a game, worn during the pregame, or by a player on the bench. These can include jerseys, pants, caps, helmets, gloves, shoes, or even sunglasses. Game Used can also refer to bats, balls, turf, flags, or other items used by a player on in the stadium. In NASCAR, and other forms of automobile racing, the metal from the cars, the tires, the driver uniforms, and the crew uniforms are popular collectibles. Concrete from the various racetracks are also popular. Trunks (shorts or pants), used by popular boxers such as Greg Haugen
Greg Haugen
Greg Lee Haugen is a retired American boxer. Haugen was champion at both the Lightweight and Light-welterweight classes.Haugen turned pro in 1982 and won his first 17 fights before challenging for a world title...
in boxing fights are also popular and sometimes sell for 100 dollars or more on outlets such as Ebay or websites like gameusedcollectors.com .