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This article is
designed to help both the collector and novice value, authenticate and preserve
his or her collection of sports memorabilia.
Every day,
hundreds of Americans start collecting sports memorabilia. It may not be a
conscious decision—maybe they catch a fly ball at a local minor league game or
receive a handsomely framed photo of their old college football team as a
housewarming gift—but the immediate appeal and
expanding market value of these collections is undeniable. Every sports
memorabilia collection is unique, and valuing these collections can be
difficult in a market that changes lighting quick, where prices can fluctuate
daily based on the stats box on the sports page or even off-the-field headlines.
Luckily, there are some simple ways to evaluate the sports collectibles you
know and love and help guide you in making future purchases.
The Athlete that signs it matters
One of the most
crucial gauges in estimating the value of your collectible is who signed it. A
serious buyer will nose around the rookie market, looking to catch an amazing
bargain. But draft placement—and the accompanying hype—can’t always be a
reliable indicator of a future white-hot star. For instance, how many people
would love an autographed jersey from the second pick of 1984s NBA draft Sam Bowie? Who? Yeah,
exactly. A more intriguing and valuable basketball
collectible might be a signed ball from the third pick of the 1984 draft,
Michael Jordan. It might not have been that easy to see in ’84, but Jordan had
everything; of-the-charts talent, ambition, charm and marketing savvy, all of
which combined to make him one of the most beloved and respected mega-stars on
the court. And the value of authentic Michael
Jordan collectibles reflect all that. Jordan is just a prime example of how the
athlete who signed your collectible is the cornerstone of how valuable the
collectible is. If that player was successful during his career – and after his
career with a hall-of-fame entry -- it can only increase the value of that
memorabilia.
Another variable
is the amount of memorabilia that a player signs in their lifetime. Barry
Bonds, for example, is not known as a fan favorite when it comes to signing
autographs. His grumpy refusals to sign in public are becoming legendary. But
to a happy sports collector who recently acquired a golden Barry Bonds
autograph, the single season home run record holder is doing you a
tremendous favor by being stingy. Like any other market, sports memorabilia collecting
operates on the principle of supply and demand. Limited supply of a player’s
sports merchandise is increasing the demand and ultimately the value of your
collectible. The internet is a wonderful tool for researching a player’s
signing practices and the general market availability of their collectibles. A
quick google search could influence your next buy, or
yield a pleasant surprise in the valuing of a vintage collectible you already
own.
A final
consideration when it comes to buying household name athletes is exactly what
kind of headlines they’re making and how this will ultimately affect their
careers. We’re talking the next ten years, not just the next season. Who can
forget the 1998 baseball season, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were
chasing Roger Maris’ record? Everyone was talking
about them every day, even tracking the race in spray paint on car hoods and
garage doors. The public was absolutely captivated by the great home-run race,
and all that interest publicly increased the value of anything they signed,
whether it was helmets or baseball caps. If the public shows lasting interest
in a particular player, then the demand for that athlete’s signature is far
more valuable to you.
Multiple Athletes Signing a Collectible
Many novice
collectors assume that if one signature is worth money, two signatures on the
same item will be worth even more money. This is often true; a ball signed by
Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle would increase the
value greatly, considering in 1961 both were attempting to surpass Babe Ruth’s
single-season home-run record. These tandem signatures make sense in a
historical context. An even more valuable item would have been a memorable team
signing one ball or jersey. For example, a 1986
Mets team signed photograph will command a high price. The 1986 New York
Mets were a whole team of wild personalities who went on to win the World
Series in an unexpected and memorable fashion. However, collecting all the
signatures of the 2005 Kansas City Royals would be more a labor of love and
team loyalty. The team themselves played unremarkably and had no break-out
superstars that year, making a team-signed item of interest only to a
specialist, no matter how many individual signatures are on it.
The market is
unpredictable when it comes to a multiple-signature item where one athlete is a
hall of fame star and the other signatures are relatively unknown athletes with
no historical connection to the marquee star. Sometimes a fan will get multiple
athletes to sign an item just because they're all present, maybe at an airport
or convention. If you had a superstar like Albert Pujols and second-string catcher Ramon Castro sign the
same baseball, two players completely unrelated to each other, their would be
some confusion over how to value the piece. Appraisers will frequently
disregard the lesser-valued signatures and value the piece on the quality of
the most famous athlete who signed. However, some collectors feel that
extraneous, unrelated signatures actually distract from the main star and
devalue the item. Also, aesthetically, they can make a collectible look
cluttered. Think of it like having a guitar signed by Jimi
Hendrix and the replacement drummer for The Rolling Stones—it just doesn’t make
any sense. If possible, steer clear of these distracting minor signatures.
Types of Items Make a Difference
In the market of
sports collectibles, the bats, balls, gloves and helmets will always be big
sellers. They make sense, they look cool, and it’s hard not to get a thrill
holding a big plastic helmet, no matter how old you are. However, in recent
years the governing bodies of sports associations have begun offering official
game used items that are highly prized by collectors. These items are usually
available directly from their respective sports commissions, or from reliable
memorabilia dealers like Steiner Sports.
An official NFL-authenticated, game used
Super Bowl football will have inherent value, even without a signature. But
slap an authentic
Tom Brady autograph on that and you’ve really got something. Brady is the
charismatic quarterback for the champion New England patriots, and the worth of that
collectible would skyrocket. However, not all game used items are equally
popular. Think of how the item holds a signature. A golf ball signed by Tiger
Woods would be difficult to display and the signature would probably be nearly
illegible due to space constraints. A Tiger Woods signed visor would at least
be readable, but difficult to display and of interest only to a specialist
collector. Similarly, a Tiger Woods signed baseball would probably retain some
value based on the quality of the signature, but potential buyers would be
seriously confused. When it comes to the particular merchandise that should be
signed, stick to the classics.
Another type of
item that crops up is personal affects owned by an athlete. These items usually
show up from one of two sources; either well-publicized (and therefore
well-authenticated) estate auctions or as the province of “old timers”
connected with the sport—maybe a janitor (and baseball fan) got close to the
teams who’d come through his hotel. The value of these can be tricky to gauge
before-hand, Some choices are obvious; official Babe Ruth signed contracts will be
big earners, as will Michael Jordan’s personal shoe collection (recently sold
for charity.) However, how do you value oddball items like Mickey Mantle’s sink
or Muhammed Ali’s pyjamas?
Quirky items like these might make great conversation pieces for loyal fans,
but they’re often too weird to command a high market value. Subsequently, they
can sometimes be a great, if off-beat, deal.
Maintaining Your Sports Memorabilia
It shouldn’t be
a surprise that maintaining and preserving the condition of any collectible is
of utmost importance. Anything that damages the integrity of the item hurts the
overall value of the signed object. If you’re going to take the trouble to
invest in serious sports collectibles, you should also lay out the cash for
decent protection/ display gear. It probably sounds like common sense not to
wear your Wayne
Gretzky signed jersey while you’re mowing the lawn or playing pick-up
games, but you’d be surprised how many non-game used, mint-condition jerseys
mysteriously acquire grass stains and smudges. Similarly, it’s sad but true
that the value of your old, beloved, bent-cornered, chocolate smudged baseball
card collection will suffer from all the hours spent thumbing through the
cards. But with the right display and preservation techniques, that jersey and
those baseball cards will fetch top dollar and retain their value. The bottom
line: invest in a nice sports
memorabilia display case if your collection includes actual sports
paraphernalia like balls or helmets. Similarly, if you purchase a signed photo
or lithograph, you’ll usually have a choice whether to get it framed or
unframed. The framing often costs an extra $40-$50 which may seem like a lot at
the time, but a quality frame job will protect your photograph from outside
damage and also give you an aesthetically attractive, framed and matted item
for your home or office.
Sports cards
have their own, well-established grading hierarchy that may shock a beginning
collector. Baseball card collectors are a meticulous group, and you may be
surprised that a card you think is mint condition actually might be near-mint
or worse. Besides obvious flaws like rips and smudges, card collectors place a
value on printing quality and “centering”—if the card stock wasn’t evenly
loaded into the printing machine, the whole thing could be slightly or severely
skewed, decreasing its value. If you are serious about your baseball cards, you
need to get them officially graded, and www.beckett.com
is the industry-acknowledged grading gold standard. For a fee, they’ll grade
every card in your collection and also seal each card in a tamper-proof
protective holder, thereby insuring that a prospective buyer won’t be able to
claim the card’s grade has lowered while in your possession. Knowing the exact
condition of a card gives you a more accurate perception of what it is valued
in the market and most serious buyers won’t touch cards that haven’t been
graded (most grading companies also authenticate signatures, another must for a
serious card collector.)
Authenticity
It seems like
sports memorabilia collecting has never been hotter. Good news for enthusiasts,
sure, but also good news for unscrupulous sports memorabilia dealers who prey
on uninformed consumers. It seems like every few months bring new, alarming
headlines about an FBI fraud bust or an athlete who bought his own forged
memorabilia on ebay. The internet has made
selling fake memorabilia incredibly simple, with fly-by-night dealers sometimes
not sending the items pictured or faking their own certificates of
authenticity. Being able to click “buy” is also more conducive to unadvisable
impulse-shopping, especially if it seems like a limited-time deal. If you’ve
already got unauthenticated pieces in your collection, you should probably take
a deep breath and see what you’ve really got. The company www.psacard.com is the number one go-to
company for sports memorabilia authentication. Authenticating a collectible is
probably the most important move you can make to maximize its worth. Consumer
consciousness about sports memorabilia fraud is on the rise and even beginning
collectors are starting to think twice before touching unauthenticated
merchandise. BaseballJump.com’s partners, Steiner Sports, were trailblazers in
pioneering a guaranteed authentication system. All signed items are witnessed
by a third party, and inventories from the signing session are signed-off by
the witness and the athlete. The witness then affixes a unique, numbered
hologram to each item and it is registered in the Steiner Sports database,
thereby insuring it’s authenticity can be checked and
verified. The hologram system has been adopted by most major sporting
industries and is quickly becoming the standard for collectors fearful of
fraud. In the long term, it pays to certify that your collectible is authentic.
History of Sports Memorabilia
The origin of
sports memorabilia collecting is a fascinating and fun look at the athletes and
other colorful characters who’ve made professional
sports what they are today. Wikipiedia has a nice
look at sports collectibles here. It is widely
acknowledged that baseball and sports memorabilia collecting are braided
together like a ballpark pretzel, each side evolving off the other. At the turn
of the century, baseball was America’s default sport and the ballpark was an
affordable bright spot in the dreary lives of working class factory workers and
farmers across the country. Football was more of a collegiate pastime with few
professional teams and basketball hadn’t been invented yet. The first baseball
players had to perform heroic feats to impress crowds who’d love them if they
won but heckle them pitilessly if they were losing. Kids across the country
grew up playing and loving the game. As you start collecting, you’ll begin to
notice that signed equipment from before the Great Depression of the 1930’s is
extremely rare. Who’d want to waste a good baseball on an autograph? It took baseball card collecting
to really kick-start the sports memorabilia industry.
It took tobacco
companies to harness the national enthusiasm for baseball and direct it towards
a collectible market. Back in the late 1800s, advertising and mass production
were also just finding their way, and companies would often provide insert
cards in everything from tobacco to soap. These popular printed cards would
have a rhyme or a pretty picture suitable for display. The tobacco companies
were juggernauts of the American economy and tobacco was already popular with
sports fans and, in retrospective, their next move seems obvious: the first
baseball cards! But even the ad men behind the original run of “tobacco cards”
featuring baseball players’ likenesses couldn’t have begun to imagine the
collecting fever they’d unleashed. Later
in the 19th century the first company to put a numbered collection
of baseball cards together was the Goodwin Company of New York in 1887. Many companies soon followed
and the printing of the card on the back of the cigarette and cigar boxes went
on for another 30 years. In this span the extremely valuable Honus Wagner card was produced, then quickly pulled due to
Wagner’s objections. These early cards are extremely prized, but collectors
should remember that they were originally afterthoughts to the cigarettes and
tobacco they were packaged with, making print-quality control less than great.
Keep in mind that even if a card looks pristine, off-center printing will lower
its industry grade.
Recognizing the
opportunity, in the 1930s bubble gum companies decided to manufacture
collectible cards to be included with bubblegum packs. Idol-worshiping kids
enjoyed collecting and trading these cards even more than tobacco chewing
adults and the 30’s and 40’s bubblegum cards were also extremely popular. Today
they are considered the hobby’s “golden age,” since Goudey
chewing gum began numbering cards for collecting and releasing one set per
season. This allowed fans to assemble complete sets, which was a new industry
precedent. However, once World War II began, manufacturing of cards ceased
until 1950, stalling the industry’s gathering momentum. In 1952 Topps came out with
the first card to have a player image, team logo, player vital information and
up-to-date career statistics. Topps took a gamble
that the cards would sell themselves and left only a token stick of stale
chewing gum, much to the delight of dentists everywhere.
As other
sporting commissions like the National Football
League and the National Basketball
Association were formed, the sports’ popularity would spin off their own
sets of trading cards based on the baseball card format. In the post-war 50’s,
signed sporting equipment became economically feasible and waiting around
stadium back doors for a signed glove or jersey was a right of passage for any
young fan. Today, collectors look back on those days with wistful nostalgia. As
sports memorabilia collecting became more popular and the vintage sports
collectibles more valuable, the opportunity for fraud was irresistible to
unscrupulous dealers. This peaked with the FBI’s massive fraud crackdown, Operation Bullpen,
in 2000. 20 individuals were arraigned on fraud charges and $10 million worth
of fake sports memorabilia was seized. Fans and collectors were appalled, and
to combat the bad press, the industry instituted its current, hologram-based
authentication system. Some fans were dismayed by the standardized price scale
instituted by the authorized dealers, but the sports collectible industry as a
whole has never been healthier or more exciting. Today, fans can buy a
guaranteed, great-looking collectible with total confidence!
History of Baseball Cards
Late 1800s- Tobacco Companies produce baseball
cards
1870s- Goodwin Company of New York created numbered collection of
baseball
Early1900s-
Signs of baseball card collecting began.
1906- Famous Honus
Wagner Card produced by American Tobacco Company.
1930s- Bubble Gum Company cards in
their packages.
1952- Topps
creates came out with first card to include player image, team logo,
player bio’s
and career statistics.
How to Keep Your Sports Treasures In
Pristine Shape
Here are a few
more tips for taking great care of your collection. We’ve already stressed the
importance of proper sports
memorabilia display cases. Even if you don’t let the kids touch your Muhammed
Ali signed boxing gloves, they could still suffer from exposure to the
elements and general neglect. Quality cases are available in all prices ranges,
from a basic $8 glass baseball holder to a $100 custom bat case with polished
wood base and mirrored bottom. Acrylic is a popular alternative to glass since
its’ unbreakable and offers the added benefit of UV protection.
The long-term,
harmful effects of UV rays on sports collections cannot be overemphasized.
Sunlight is obviously the number one danger, so get that signed Johnny Damon
photo off the windowsill. However, fluorescent lighting, which is built in to
some display cases, can also cause UV damage and fading at a more gradual pace.
60 watt incandescent light bulbs are harmless and will make your collection
look totally amazing whenever you bring your sports bar buddies over for some
look-but-don’t-touch drooling.
Another
component that affects the longevity of your sports collectible is how you
frame that item. This is of immediate concern when purchasing and showcasing signed
baseball photos, sports illustrated covers and sports lithographs (an
increasingly popular seller.) Professional framing may be pricey but it is
absolutely essential when keeping these flat collectibles in mint condition,
especially if you want to display them. If you didn’t purchase your collectible
pre-framed, look for a framer who specializes in sports collectibles; they are
out there! Don’t go to your local bargain store and buy any old plastic frame.
There are all kinds of unexpected framing considerations that could diminish
the collectible’s value; for instance cheaper paper in the matting of the frame
may contain high volumes of acid that will stain and fade your signed Pele Sports
Illustrated cover. Once again, you may want to consider a UV-resistant
alternative to glass like Plexi or Acrylic. Some
surfaces will also minimize reflections and glare for optimum display value.
Finally, the collectible being framed should never touch the glass part of the frame. This will cause smudging
and staining.
Like so many
other things in life, preserving your collection is all about location. We
already cautioned against keeping your sports memorabilia out of the sun—you’ll
be heartbroken if that Tiki Barber signed football
has a permanent sun stripe where it was propped up against the window frame.
But it’s just as bad to keep your collection in a dark, damp basement. Maybe
you’re not as into hockey
collectibles as you used to be and you don’t want them taking up all that
space but, if you’re just not ready to sell, at least invest in some reliable,
air-tight storage bins. Water damage will quickly and permanently decrease the
value of any collectible.
One
last tip for signed photos.
If you have a serious signed sports photograph collection, you may not have
space to frame and display them all. Plastic storage sheets in binders are a
popular alternative, and also allow for portability. Just make sure you buy
sheets with the PVC free logo to keep those autographs intact on the actual
photographs. If you buy cheap storage sheets, the ink from the autograph will
rub off on the sheet, lowering the quality of your autograph.
Honus
Wagner: The King of Cards
Considered the
“Mona Lisa” of baseball card collectors, the T-206 Honus Wagner
is the most sought after baseball card to ever be printed. A recent ebay auction of the rare card brought in an astounding 1.27
million dollars, making it one of the most valuable cards in history. Mention Honus Wagner to any baseball card enthusiast and watch
their eyes light up. But drift away from the world of sports memorabilia
collectors and your average baseball fan under 40 will be hard pressed to come
up with any bells for the unusual name, muchless that
he was a .322 slugger and superb fielder for the Pittsburg Pirates circa the
1900’s. So what makes this the seven-figure jewel of any baseball card
collection?
The T-206 series
was created by the American Tobacco Company in 1906. This now-legendary set was
made up of collector-friendly, color-tinted cards and featured some of the
greatest players of the era, including Hall of Famers
Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Wagner
himself. Wagner was a tremendous athlete and a superstar in his time, but the
allure of the card comes from the adamant refusal of Wagner to allow his image
to be used on the Tobacco Company’s products. According to legend, Wagner was
violently against the entire tobacco industry and had no desire to be
associated with there products. Wagner’s refusal was documented in an issue of The
Sporting News. He requested his card be taken out of the T-206 set soon
after the sets’ creation. American Tobacco pulled the card. The card
immediately became one of the first rare collectors’ items and one of the most
intriguing stories in sports memorabilia history. As early as the 1930s the
price of the other cards in the T-206 averaged around thirty-five cents,
according to American Card Catalogue; the Wagner card was priced at a
staggering fifty dollars. Just an indication of what was to come of the king of
cards.
The Smart Collectors Guide to Purchasing
and Avoiding Fraud
You’re a new
sports memorabilia collector. You’re trying to get a foot in the door with a
really cool purchase, but what? A signed pair of boxing
gloves? A cap? Here is a quick guide to help
you not only start and build your collection, but avoid the many traps laid out
by fraudulent sellers.
First we need to
decide what you want to collect. As you may have notice, the world of sports memorabilia is huge. Most
collectors start with either a specific type of item—baseball jerseys maybe? Or
focus on you favorite team and build your collection around that. Big fan of the New York Rangers?
Once you have an idea of what you want to purchase, do some research and figure
out the categories’ average price range. This is where the internet can really
give the new wave of sports collector a boost. A good place to start is Beckets price guide, a highly reputable
industry standard. A quick survey of half a dozen major internet dealers and
auctions will also give you a good idea of your item’s average price range.
It’s
unfortunate, but the ugly concept of sports fraud should never be far from your
thoughts. It is estimated that a staggering $500,000,000 is lost annually due
to memorabilia fraud. According to a study done by psadna.com, only 20% of all Lou Gherig merchandise they found for sale was genuine. All the
biggest names: Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Tiger
Woods—it is estimated that they only touched half of the merchandise currently
on the market bearing their signatures. But don’t be dismayed! Protecting
yourself from purchasing fake collectibles just takes a little awareness and a
keen eye.
Buyer beware: One common scenario is that you see a
signed Willie Mays ball listed at an amazing $150. You’ve been comparing prices
online and you know that this is less than half of the competitors’ prices.
Without thinking twice, you click buy. But what’s true for unbelievable airline
deals and other internet bargains is emphatically not true in the world of sports memorabilia. When you get your ball
in the mail, it’s a low-quality fake. It doesn’t even look like the ball in the
picture. Remember, forging signatures is easy money and no honest memorabilia
dealer has anything to gain by selling to you too far below average market
price. Similarly, if the dealer of the cheap item claims to have a certificate
of authenticity, it’s recommended that you try and find out who issued it. Some
forgers will go so far as to print their own certificates—and you’ll get
something you could just as easily have cooked up with your home printer. Do a
quick google search to see if the certificate’s
issuer is a known athlete signing agency like Steiner Sports or Upper Deck.
Look at BaseballJump.com’s own Authenticity Guarantee to see what you should expect
to receive when you purchase your sports treasures.
Barry Halper:
The Sports Collector’s Collector
If there is one
person that should be idolized in the world of sports memorabilia collecting,
it is Barry Halper. Halper
is the keeper of the world’s premiere baseball memorabilia collection,
numbering over 100,000 items. From Christy Mathewson’s
own checkerboard to Shoeless Joe Jackson’s rookie card, his list of
collectibles goes on and on. Halper is widely known
and respected in the baseball memorabilia collecting world. He even has his own
“Barry Halper Gallery” in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
Halper finally sold his collection in a 1999
Sotheby’s that made sporting news headlines everywhere. The auction had
baseball collectors salivating and included a Honus
Wagner proof strip, a Ty Cobb signed Philadelphia
Athletics jersey and even the baseball bat held by Babe Ruth in his final
appearance at Yankee Stadium. In a span of approximately 50 years Halper has acquired 30,000 baseball cards, 4,000
photographs, 1,800 baseballs, 1,000 uniforms, and 400 bats, along with other
trinkets like rings and gloves. He sold approximately eighty percent of his
collection for $22 million at the auction. The rest of his collectibles were
donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Major League
Baseball contributed $5 million for those pieces. Halper
died on December 18, 2005 at the age of 66 and serious collectors
still talk about him with awe and envy.
The Hot List for Current Players
Despite
fraudulent dealers, the internet still makes it easier than ever to take out
your credit card and purchase great, authentic sports collectibles. The true
difficulty comes when trying to pick a piece that is not only appealing to you,
but a good investment. In every sport there are the superstars; the guy with
his face on the programs and a guaranteed spot on ESPN’s
highlight reel. These are the money players that will drive up the price of
their autographs with every season. Here are some obvious, current choices to
build your collection around.
Basketball
The basketball
world is currently in the grip of a youth movement; Lebron
James and Dwanye Wade have been the two most
electrifying players in the NBA today. Wade
is just coming off one of the best playoff performance in recent memory, and Lebron James has taken a mediocre franchise to playoff
success. These charismatic, talented players are hot commodities in the
basketball memorabilia world. However, the seasoned vets are still holding
their own, on the court and in the sports memorabilia market. The NBA’s
two-time Most Valuable Player Steve Nash is putting up the numbers and Kobe
Bryant has bounced back from his well publicized court troubles with an
unbelievable season and an 81 point display, the second most in NBA history.
Fan fave Shaquille O’Neal
has been the most dominant big man on the court and, with his career winding
down, he’s practically already go his Hall of Fame ticket. Any of these players
would make a good long term purchase.
Football
America’s most popular sport has it fair share
of superstars, consistently making the plays and raising their memorabilia
market value. One of the current top-tier players is Ladainian
Tomlinson, the premiere running back of the National
Football League. The Indianapolis Colts quaterback
Payton Manning continues to bring in MVP numbers every year. The New England
Patriots’ Tom Brady just keeps collecting super bowl rings and is quickly
becoming a popular household name, making him a valuable asset in any football
memorabilia collection. Terrell Owens, despite the controversy, is still the
best wide-receiver in the NFL and continues to be a real Hall of Fame caliber
player. Finally, the incomparable and popular Michael Vick should be a fairly
decent value in a hot football memorabilia market.
Baseball
Baseball is a
more career-oriented arena, and it’s the record breakers and the reliable
clutch performers who prove to have enduring value. Arguably the greatest
pitcher of all-time, Roger Clemens should be on the top of any collector’s
list. “Mr. November,” Derek Jeter, is one of the most clutch players in recent
memory; his ability to get the big hit in key situations and his classy behavior
on and off the field has made him a beloved player, even in states that
generally hate the New York Yankees.
Another player known for his clutch heroics is the Boston Red Sox’s “Big Papi” David Ortiz; his numbers consistently keep him in the
hunt for an MVP trophy every year. Barry Bonds is currently hugely
controversial, having just smashed Babe Ruth’s run record amidst a cloud of
steroid allegations. No matter how much the public may dislike him, his
immanent Hall of Fame induction after he retires will make his autograph very
valuable. Finally, the winner of the epic, pre-Bonds home run race, Mark Mcgwire; his eventual induction will drive up his signed
value.
Hockey
After a disastrous
lockout, hockey has relied on rookies to bring back the fans and excitement to
the NHL. One of the standouts is undoubtedly
Calder Memorial Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin, league
leader in nearly every offensive category and easily took Rookie Of the Year. Sidney Crosby began the season under nearly
unbearable hype, and live up to most of it, coming in behind Ovechkin for Rookie Of the Year.
His numbers were highly promising, making him one to watch and buy early. One
of the senior greats in the sport today is Jaromir Jagr, a former Hart Trophy winner. Jagr
in his 16 year career, has racked up around 1,400
points. However, in first full year with the Rangers he produced one of his
best years, scoring 123. Jagr is another good, steady
choice to have as a collectible. The two other great players for your current
hockey selection would be 2006 Hart Trophy winner Joe Thornton and goalkeeper
Cam Ward, both instrumental in winning the Hurricanes their first Stanley Cup trophy.
NASCAR, Golf, and Tennis
NASCAR
is booming in the United States. The sport’s skyrocketing popularity is
unprecedented, and dealers can’t stock enough NASCAR collectibles. Still, while
the market races to catch up, there are some great deals here. Jeff Gordon and
Tony Stewart are probably the big guns in the NACAR collectible market, and
scoring a signed photo or miniature car by either of these drivers would be a
good idea. The sport is still coming to terms with the death of superstar Dale Earnhardt, and commemorative items featuring him are also
hugely popular.
The golfing
world is currently dominated by two superstars of the PGA: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Although golf
is a hugely popular amateurs sport—making golf collectibles suitable gifts for
friends and coworkers—the professional circuit is shaky as a collectible
market. A player wins the British Open and then disappears from the
professional world, making it risky to spend serious money on their
collectibles. Mickelson and Woods are by far the most consistent players in the
last ten years and Mickelson is starting to develop a mature new style and find
success in major tournaments which have plagued most of his career. His
signature is even more valuable today than it was two years ago. Finally,
Michelle Wie, the Hawaiian-born phenom,
is a popular and controversial, though unproven, talent to look out for.
Tennis, like
golf, is ruled by two players. Roger Federer and
Rafael Nadal have played each other 8 times, all in
finals matches; they were the first two players to meet each other in
back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon
finals in 54 years. This rivalry is still going strong while quickly gaining
legendary status, making Federer and Nadal the powerful superstars of Tennis. Other young
hopefuls like Andy Roddick, while slumping, could
prove to be decent as long-term investments. On the female circuit, the
Williams Sisters don’t look ready to ease their unbeatable choke-hold on the
court for another few years. That, combined with their charm and popularity,
makes their collectibles a safe bet.
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Baseballs
Baseball Bats
Baseball Jerseys
Photos
Other Baseball Memorabilia