Sports Memorabilia

4/17/2008
* Sport Kings collectors will be treated to another wrapper redemption at the Spring Expo, Toronto May 2nd to 4th at the International Centre, Toronto Canada.

* Going to a special baseball game and want something to help you remember the experience? Get yourself a Mega Ticket!

4/14/2008
* Sports Memorabilia Trade conference attendees focused on the future

* Bonds' 762nd HR ball doesn't meet Kohler's expectations

4/9/2008
The Sports Museum of America opens May 7

4/2/2008
McNamee sells memorabilia for charity - Former personal trainer parting with Clemens mementos
McNamee turned over 50 to 60 items, including hats, uniforms, balls and pictures of Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Jose Canseco.

3/24/2008
Donruss the FIRST to Sign a President
"We are extremely excited that Donruss was able to confirm the industry's first official trading card agreement with a former president," said Donruss Marketing Director Scott Prusha. "This year's political race has been very compelling and garnered much media attention, so the fact that Donruss was able to contractually obtain the first official autographs or memorabilia from a president is something we believe will set our products apart."

2/21/2008
Steiner Sports Signs Sandy Koufax to Exclusive Deal

3/17/2008
Here's a good article about vintage sports photos and their ever increasing values

3/13/2008
* No. 762 home run ball to be auctioned - Bonds' final homer could draw bids approaching $1 million

* NBA, MeiGray Group to auction NBA All-Star Jerseys and More

3/11/2008
* Regarding Upper Deck's Signs of History Set special redemption cards: "Every person who pulls one of these cards will receive an autograph cut card of a U.S. President, but some lucky collectors will receive dual or quad ‘Signs of History' cards with multiple Presidential autograph cuts or even cards that include autograph cuts of some First Ladies."

* Sotheby's and SCP To Sell "Black Betsy" Bat

3/9/2008
Hank Aaron's 1951 letter fetches US$24,150 in auction, sets record

3/6/2008
* Ironclad Authentics to launch sports memorabilia auction platform

* Hall eager to get 756 ball - Barry Bonds baseball might make it to the Baseball Hall of Fame by opening day

3/4/2008
* Artifacts kept by the baseball commissioner are up for auction: "For Yankees fans, there are an array of items autographed by Ruth, DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Casey Stengel. Baseball historians will recall that Ruth hit three home runs in his final game, playing for the Boston Braves. Kuhn had one of the three home run balls."

* Plans unveiled for Jackie Robinson Museum

* The Museum at the George Bush Presidential Library presents the Born to Play Ball exhibit on display through July 20

2/26/2008
The new sports collectibles radio show over at Sportscollectorsdigest is now available in their archive for podcast download, so you no longer have to wait until the top of the hour to listen to the recording!

2/22/2008
Upper Deck and Hunt Auctions join forces

2/21/2008
Mickey Mantle's family tries to block a collector from cashing in on his name

2/19/2008
Cooperstown memories on film roll

2/17/2008
Yogi Berra museum removes Clemens' jersey from display over concerns about steroid allegations

2/12/2008
* The 2008 Upper Deck Hillary Clinton card mentioned on 2/8 is now up to $2,000 with a day left!

* Miller loses lawsuit against Collectors Universe

* eBay sellers planning boycott after company's policy changes

2/10/2008
Selling on eBay? Keep Eye on Gains

2/8/2008
Upper Deck 2008 - Hillary Clinton card was suppose to be removed from this set - this one is on ebay at $212.00 so far. read more

2/7/2008
Man wants his1952 Mantle rookie card back

2/6/2008
* Collectors Have Cast Their Vote for 2008 Upper Deck Series One Baseball! Upper Deck’s flagship brand returns earlier in the year, offering excitement for every type of collector|

* Topps did it again. Last year it was "the Jeter card" this year t opps issue fake card of Giuliani celebrating World Series win with Red Sox. At this time they going for about $50 on ebay.

* Fans snap up Giants goods at local stores
Businesses say shocking Super Bowl win has touched off second sales boom

2/4/2008
* Sports Collecting Radio set to debut on Feb. 15:
Feb. 15 marks the debut of Sports Collecting Radio, a 24-hour Internet radio channel dedicated exclusively to sports cards and memorabilia. The new station will offer a weekly live broadcasts with the latest hobby news, commentary, interviews with a wide range of industry figures and athletes, discussions of market trends, round-table interviews and news about upcoming shows and events. You’ll be able to hear input from card company executives, auction house officials, card analysts, authenticators, graders, current and former ballplayers – anybody and everybody connected to the sports card and memorabilia hobby. (read more)

* Here's a cool video of the cut autographs out of the newly released Donruss National Treasures - how about a Jimmy Hoffa auto! You can have a shot at it for $500.00 per box!

* Kodak and Donruss Tackle Counterfeiting at Super Bowl XLII

* etopps presents a special Allen & Ginter Presidential set featuring Presidential hopefuls including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and John McCain. This special collection will be offered only on Super Tuesday!

2/3/2008
* If Giants win, Eli would be marketing force - Collectibles associated with him were up spectacularly last month. Brandon Steiner, whose company markets Manning family items, said, "He now has a second mailing address: Madison Avenue."

2/1/2008
* PSA/DNA to certify SB XLII footballs

* eBay cuts fees to help increase listings

1/30/2008
* The operator of a Texas-based website that sold sports cards and memorabilia could face additional charges after hundreds of customers complained that they did not receive any of the merchandise they paid for. read more

* Donruss Americana is Keeping It Real

* Here's an interesting article regarding Johan Santana's baseball cards and his trade to a big market team

* Upcoming Museum of Science exhibit featuring Swampscott resident Johnny Pesky, affectionately known as "Mr. Red Sox" to millions of fans. The exhibit is produced by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

1/29/2008
* The new beckett site is almost ready - sounds like it will be fantastic....See a copy of some marketing material.

* Jackie Robinson jersey tops Grey Flannel sale at $341,779

* MAB Celebrity Services files lawsuit against Henderson

* Shoeless Joe Jackson's Black Betsy bat fails to generate any bids in eBay sale

* Topps announces kids, sports fans and collectors can now be on their own official Topps Trading Card

* Here's a nice quote about the sports memorabilia hobby "Collecting is one of the last things families can do to spend quality time together and have fun without computers, video games and television," read more

1/28/2008
Whitey Ford set to auction off memorabilia - Hall of Famer offering part of collection at All-Star FanFest

1/26/2008
Do we really want this variety of sports memorabilia? Brewers Ryan Braun game used autographed jock strap/cup

1/25/2008
* "Thirty nostalgia and collectibles stores across the country were given the opportunity to peddle the autographed, limited-edition cards to their customers. For a price"....read more

* Michael Jordan autograph signing session - how much would you pay?

1/24/2008
All-time stolen bases king Rickey Henderson is being taken to court by a promoter of sports collectibles shows who says Henderson swiped more than bases

1/19/2008
Thankfully there are more and more baseball card related blogs out there these days - if you're not reading them you're definitely missing-out on the pulse of the hobby. The Beckett blog is one that we enjoy and read regularly, but more recently there's a blog that we also look forward to reading called waxheaven.com. The owner (Mario) is clearly passionate about the hobby - the guy is a very prolific writer, plus he throws in a good amount of creativity into his posts. Here's a sample of his creativity in his music video. Good job Mario! Keep up the good work. Blogging is clearly going to be a substantial piece in the next phase of online sports card collecting. If you're into the hobby and have something to share/contribute, get your own blog going! Want to learn more about blogging? Checkout who we consider to bet the best and most helpful blogger on the planet, www.problogger.net - Darren is always posting great writing tips and cool ways to keep your blog growing and interesting.

Here's just some of the other baseball card blogs we subscribe to. By the way, we use bloglines to subscribe to the blogs we like. Bloglines is a FREE online service for searching, subscribing, creating and sharing news feeds, blogs and rich web content.

Waxheaven.com
Beckett Behind The Scenes
Stale Gum
A Pack A Day
Squeeze Play Cards
Cardboard Junkie
The Baseball Card Blog
Lizards Rant

1/24/2008
HOBBY NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT ON NEW SCR ONLINE RADIO - Coming Feb. 15, look for the launch of Sports Collector's Digest new streaming audio broadcasts, with live discussions on a wide variety of sports collectible topics and interviews with hobby celebrities and stars from the world of sports.

1/23/2008
Success never gets old for Patriots collectors

1/21/2008
* Upper Deck Releases Record-Setting Card Collection: The Yankee Stadium Legacy Set!

* PSA's half grades spark heated debate

* Donruss announced that it will utilize a new anti-counterfeiting system created by Eastman Kodak on selected high-value trading cards

* Beckett Grading Services announce a small price increase

1/18/2008
* Here's an update on the NAXCOM celebration...
Spend $35 or more per day on NAXCOMAuctions.com and receive the following item(s):
Fri (1/25): Free 2007 Adrian Peterson Playoff RC - Rookie Card.
Sat (1/26): Free '07 Joba Chamberlain SP Rookie Edition
Sun (1/27): Free '07-'08 Kevin Durant Upper Deck Rookie Premier PSA 10.
Mon (1/28) - Sun. (2/4): FREE SHIPPING on all Auction Winnings over $10.00

* The Yuma County Sheriff's Office is looking for the owner of a sports memorabilia collection deputies recently recovered during an arrest

1/17/2008
PSA announces half-point sports card grading scale

1/16/2008
* Efforts to improve delivery times paying off for Upper Deck

* Next Week NAXCOMAuctions.com will announce a Very Special Week Long Event! Over $10,000.00 in Giveaways will be given out over this week long Special "Grand Opening" Event so check in early next week with all of the very exciting details!!!

* Famed Honus Wagner Baseball Card Highlights Massive T206 Collection

* Hobby morns loss of Memory Lane's Cameron

* A Levittown man was arrested Tuesday on grand larceny charges after he arranged for an acquaintance to pay for his sports memorabilia purchases on the Internet -- and then reimbursed the acquaintance with $10,000 in bad checks, the Nassau police said. read more

1/15/2008
* Ali to lend name to greeting cards, action figures

1/14/2008
* Here's a nice quote we found in an article whig.com...Baseball cards remain the strongest segment of the sports card collecting hobby and easily command the most interest. Kathleen McKenna writes on www.boston.com, "People who aren't raising sports-crazed children might assume that baseball cards have gone the way of go-carts and Partridge Family lunch boxes. But the opposite is true: Baseball cards continue to draw legions of collectors young and old, and the business of buying and selling these collectibles remains as viable as ever."

* Even though it's almost half over....did you know that January is National Hobby Month? Great time to get going on that new baseball card collection!

* Have you seen the latest episode of Topps TV? This one is entitled "Topps Relic Room" and gives the viewer a glimpse of the process of obtaining authentic sports memorabilia and then turning those items into game-used cards. If you're a fan of game-used cards you'll want to check this out!

* Sports Collectors Digest has launched their new and improved web site

1/16/2008
Upper Deck Launches New All-Star Vinyl™ Action Figure of Colts QB Peyton Manning

1/11/2008
Upper Deck Employee Card 2007 - these original trading cards are given to Upper Deck Employees

1/10/2008
* Want to own an piece of baseball history? Shoeless Joe Jackson's "Black Betsy" is up for auction on Ebay. The starting bid is $600,000...

* Here's a good article about the whole steroid issue and it's impact (or none impact?) on the sports card hobby. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Hobby steroid fallout

* The National Sports Collectors Convention will be able to move forward with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plans after the show reached a settlement this week with one of its largest creditors, Athlete Business Network. read more

* Huckabee card creates media buzz

1/9/2008
* Nice! Check out the images of the Upper Deck mystery cut autographs that Beckett was able to obtain

* Donruss Creates Mike Huckabee's Rookie Card

* Hospital staff replaces injured teens missing sports memorabilia

1/8/2008

* Ground breaking ceremonies for the new Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum

* Jewish Sports Hall of Fame set to add $3M extension

1/7/2008
New Conference & Exhibition Takes Business of collecting to the Next Level Introducing the Premier Collectible Conference & Exhibition - an elite event for serious participants in the evolving collectibles industry - read more

1/6/2008
* "A kid who's celebrating three decades with Kansas' first sports card shop, Rock's Dugout."

* Watch the world premiere Donruss Americana Box Busters video on the Beckett site.

1/4/2008
* The Upper Deck Company has a new logo

1/3/2008
* 2007 Sweet Spot Classic Baseball Mystery Cuts Set to Begin Production

* Here's a great article written by renowned sports card dealer Kit Young remembering his friend and fellow sports card legend Larry Fritsch

1/2/2008
Beckett is making some changes to their monthly publications. Be on the lookout for a combined monthly sports card publication from them in the near future.

12/21/2007
RFID Gives Sports Memorabilia Stamp of Authenticity

12/20/2007
* Is a World Series baseball that's now been chewed on by Jonathan Papelbon's dog worth more or less?

* eBay loses judgment in federal court

12/18/2007
* WOW! Check out these 1/1 dual autograph exchange cards that Upper Deck is putting out...

* Collectors who visit www.beckett.com tomorrow afternoon will be treated to this experience. They will be able to post reactions to pieces that Kobe is signing, view questions that Kobe is responding too and get a look at what it takes to do one of these signings.

* National Sports Collectors Convention’s management deal questioned by creditor

* Texas sports card dealer could face federal fraud charges

* As this crook found out....If you're selling baseball cards on the Internet it's probably a good idea to actually send them

* Another busted sports card crook..."Jackson said the value of the baseball cards was estimated at $2,000. Some of the cards recovered included a 1957 Mickey Mantle baseball card and several collectible cards of former Cleveland Indians, according to the sheriff's office"

12/17/2007
* Here's a good news report about Dave and Adam's Card World - makes you want to get into the business!

* Michael Eisner has his eye on the global soccer (Premier League) market. Figuring heavily in his expansion plan is the development of “eTopps”, an online sports marketplace, where “you can track and buy new issue cards”. He says the service, which was developed with eBay, is a “real market . . . we are going to take it and turn it into a place where parents can teach their children how to invest and learn about it through sport”. read more

12/16/2007
* 10 year old son provides the spark to start a trading card business

* Kind-hearted sports memorabilia collector give his entire collection to kids in the hospital

12/15/2007
* Beckett Select Auctions lands a six-figure, six-cut auto! 2002 SP Babe Ruth Mickey Mantle Joe DiMaggio Ken Griffey Jr. Sammy Sosa, Mark Mcgwire cut auto 1/1 (It's currently at $10,600.00 with over 3 days to go)

* Baseball card shop owner is not concerned about losing money on Bonds and Clemens memorabilia.

12/14/2007
* And now for something a little different...how about a little non-sports related memorabilia news? Johnny Depp 'Best,' Will Ferrell 'Worst' Star for Autographs

* Papers detailing Black Sox scandal sold to museum for $100,000

12/13/2007
* Apparently not everyone was amused with the Steiner offer we mentioned earlier today. Checkout the email message that was sent later in the day to Steiner customers. You just never know when a marketing idea is going to backfire, especially when there's (lost) money involved. Guessing most Clemens collectors were not amused...

* Here's Beckett's take on the Mitchell report. Gotta admit, we were definitely concerned and were watching the news closely on this one. Thankfully, the report really is not as bad as a lot of us thought it might be. Great to see how many names were not mentioned in his report. Overall, we think the hobby is in good shape!

* We feel badly for any collector who happens to collect any of the big name players listed in the Mitchell report. Clemens collectors are probably in shock today, especially if you've heavily invested in him. For your sake we hope his cards don't tank too severely, but with the media hype on this story it's really not looking very good right now. Brace yourself for some seemingly never-ending media coverage on this...For everyone sake, let's hope this report leads to the beginning of end of this steroid saga!

* Mitchell report: Baseball slow to react to players' steroid use

* Another look at what could be Bonds' last HR (ball)

* Steiner aims to take advantage of Mitchell report list

* Eisner parody prompts 2007 Sweet Spot baseball recall

12/12/2007
The baseball world is all abuzz with the pending release of the Mitchell steroid report. If you're a player collector you have to be at least a little concerned as to whether or not your guys will show up in the report. The long-term ramifications of all this and how it will ultimately impact the hobby are yet unknown. For now we'll know at least a little more tomorrow...

12/11/2007
* An update on the Upper Deck Asterisk cards

* Family finds 1914 Babe Ruth rookie card

* Another post about Larry Fritsch and his amazing sports card collection

* Hobby veteran Larry Fritsch will definitely be missed

* Pete Rose exhibit at Cincinnati Reds museum details his baseball legacy - "The Rose exhibit is more than bats and balls, however. A baseball card display is mind-boggling in its size..."

12/9/2007
Bug spray fetches $673 in auction

12/8/2007
* Christmas Comes Early For NBA Collectors This December

* BONDS ASTERISK CARD HITS EBAY (currently 27 bids and sitting at $405 with 2 days to go)

12/7/2007
* From the legendary to the little-known, Heisman history is never dull

* 2007 UD Sweet Spot Baseball Debuts New Type of Trading Card - Rookie Batting Helmet Autograph Cards and New Tin Configuration Are Winning Over Collectors

* Mets superstar to be official spokesman of video game. 2K Sports announced Wednesday that Reyes is the cover athlete and official spokesman for Major League Baseball 2K8

12/6/2007
* The Upper Deck Company announces plans to open retail store in Southern California

* The Topps Company, Inc. and the Goldklang Group today announced a partnership agreement naming Topps the official sponsor of the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame. Scouts will now be added to Topps trading cards.

12/5/2007
Donruss Heads To Disney For The Pop Warner Super Bowl

12/4/2007
* Here's a cool web site that sports card collectors need to start using for their "live" box breaks (instead of video). The site is called Ustream.tv. Ustream is a platform that provides live interactive video for everyone. Anyone with a camera and an Internet connection can use Ustream to broadcast to a global audience. If you get one going let us know

* Beckett posted a little blurb about new web site that they came across called Fakepatchreport.com. This is a very well intentioned site designed to help report and verify fake patch cards out there. If you're not aware of these fake patch cards you should familiarize yourself with them. The guy who started the site is a long time sports card collector doing his part to improve the hobby - good job Jeremy!

* Memory Lane Inc. has Extended the closing date of its auction to Saturday, December 15th, at 8 pm ET. This auction is filled with tough graded cards, vintage HOF autographs, Type I wire photos and unique sports art and memorabilia.

* Topps Ryan Howard Baseball Clinic a Huge Success

Sharpie Used By T.O. After Touchdown Sells For $3,600. "Prova tag" is used on the item to help confirm authenticity

12/02/2007
Beckett gets behind the scenes with Kevin Durant

12/01/2007
* A review of 2007 Topps Update & Highlights baseball

* Elite Extra Edition Baseball Checklist Unveiled

Christy Mathewson documents headline Memory Lane auction

Read more sports memorabilia news!