Baseball Autograph Articles:
Record Set By PSA/DNA-Certified Signed 1927 Yankees Photo
A PSA/DNA-certified, near-mint condition photograph signed by 30 members of the legendary "Murderer's Row" 1927 New York Yankees team has been purchased for a record $350,000. The price is the most ever paid for a vintage sports photograph and is nearly 70 percent higher than the last time this autographed picture was sold in an auction less than three years ago...more
Bunning’s Fee? $6,000 Per Card Show
Show promoters have the inside dope, but most collectors will never know exactly how much a player is paid for card show appearances and private autograph signings. If you’re a United States Senator, we have to know. According to the personal financial disclosure form submitted by Jim Bunning (R)-Kentucky, and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the former pitcher was paid $18,000 for three autograph sessions in 2009...more
Strasburg Signed Strikeout Ball: $20,010
He might be the first rookie pitcher in big league history for whom everything he touches is recorded in an authenticator’s computer and saved for posterity. Stephen Strasburg’s first start produced a mountain of memorabilia, some of it rushed onto Major League Baseball’s auction platform. Bidding closed Tuesday night with several items sold. Tops on the list? The baseball Strasburg used to record his second big league strikeout (we assume he got the first one). Bidding began at $300 last week and ended with a winning bid of $20,010. The winning bidder’s ID would lead one to logically assume that long-time collector and MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann was the winning bidder., but we can’t confirm that. The ball includes Strasburg’s signature and “MLB Debut” notation...more
Billings, Montana: Signed Babe Ruth Ball Hotbed
It’s not known how many baseballs Babe Ruth signed when he visited Billings, Montana in 1947. Many have likely been lost to time or wound up in yard sales and flea markets during the 1950s and 60s. High grade Babe Ruth ball to be displayed in Montana. Ruth showed up at an American Legion baseball tournament that summer, less than a year before he died of throat cancer at age 53. We do know some of those baseballs survived...more
Signed Robinson Day Jerseys On Block
Before heading onto the field wearing their own #42 jerseys, members of each Major League Baseball team autographed replica jerseys last month during Jackie Robinson Day. Those shirts are now being sold at auction to benefit the Jackie Robinson Foundation...more
Baseballs Signed by Hall of Famers Still Focus for Many
Autographed baseballs, especially those signed by Hall of Famers, continue to be one of the most collectible pieces of sports memorabilia today. One of the major reasons for their sustainability is the uniqueness and value of each and every baseball. Some of the factors that contribute to this include the player who signed the ball, how many signatures are on it, and the theme of the baseball in the case of multiple signatures. The single most important factor in determining the value of a Hall of Famer signed baseball is, of course, the player who signed it...more
Wide-Eyed 1946 Kid Kept Signed Ball...Until Now
Ronald Hoier was 13 years old in 1946 when he got to experience something every baseball fan that age dreams about–even now. He and his mom had front row seats to a game at Yankee Stadium thanks to her connection with Joe McCarthy. That was nice, but it got better. Ronald spoke up and the next thing he knew he had an official American League baseball in his hands as he made his way around the Yankee clubhouse. Now 77, he finally surrendered that ball to a local auction house and it was a story interesting enough to be published in the Buffalo News, which showed off what indeed appears to be a high-grade signed Yankee ball...more
Signed Baseballs Back with Vietnam Vet
The value of sports memorabilia wasn’t on the radar when John Engel received a box of items from a neighbor in the late 1960s. Inside the box of clothes and other items were two baseballs signed by members of the Milwaukee Braves a few years earlier. They had belonged to the woman’s son who had grown up and was serving in the U.S. military in Vietnam. While Engel appreciated them even though the team had left for Atlanta, his father didn’t have quite the same attachment to those baseballs. One of them wound up being used for a few games. It survived, though, as did another that not only bore Hank Aaron’s autograph but may have been one of his 755 career home runs...more
Babe Ruth Autograph Show Had Legal Trouble
Players who sign autographs for appearance money and sometimes get in trouble is not a modern phenomenon. Even Babe Ruth had a legal run-in over an event in California just before the Yankees’ storied 1927 season. The Babe was famous for spending his off-season traveling around the world, playing in exhibitions, making appearances for his sponsors and spreading some baseball goodwill. In January of ‘27, Ruth stopped in Long Beach, California for a “show”. He’d tell a few stories, bring kids up on the stage with him and offer a few batting tips, then leave them smiling by signing a baseball as they left the stage...more
Steiner Auctioning Babe Ruth Signed Bat
An original, high grade autographed Babe Ruth model bat is now available as part of the “Yankees Legends Auction” at Steiner Sports. The brown bat, a promotional model circa 1933, was autographed by Ruth with a steel-tipped pen between the trademark and the branded signature. It has been authenticated by James Spence Authentication as one of the highest-rated Ruth pieces ever...more
Dealer Display’s Ted Williams Death Request Letter
Ted Williams signed plenty of autographs but one New England dealer believes there’s a signature that should free his body from a cryogenics lab. What’s left of Ted Williams sits in a big tank at a controversial Arizona cryogenics lab called Alcor. It’s not what the Hall of Famer would have wanted according to long-time fans. Phil Castinetti, who owns Sportsworld in Saugus, Massachusetts. He has a copy of a letter signed by Williams in 1991, in which the Splendid Splinter makes it clear that he wants to be cremated upon his death, his ashes spread over the ocean near his Florida home...more
Check, Please: Top HOFer Autographs
What do Jackie Robinson’s life insurance, Reggie Jackson’s World Series tickets and Ty Cobb’s heating bill have in common? The first five members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, two of the game’s greatest home run hitters and its peerless pioneer are represented in a collection of signed checks currently up for bid in Memory Lane Inc’s Hidden Treasures Auction...more
Pujols Autographs the Hot Ticket in St. Louis
Albert Pujols will make another appearance at the Cardinals annual Winter Warm-Up, but you’ll need a combination of timing and luck to get one. Other players? Not quite as tough. Cardinals Care, the charitable foundation of the St. Louis Cardinals has announced the online registration process for the chance to purchase Albert Pujols autograph tickets to be used during the team’s 14th Winter Warm-Up. The event will be held in January at the Hyatt Regency Hotel near the Gateway Arch. The Cardinal slugger’s autograph is in demand regardless of the price. Last year, tickets for Pujols autographs were $150 but fans and collectors flocked to grab one...more
Football Autograph Articles:
1965 Packers Signed Game Ball Now in Hall
It was acquired by a 13-year-old fan befriended by a player over 44 years ago. Since then, it’s been sitting inside a paper bag for all but an hour or so. It could have fetched a few thousand dollars in a major auction, but a 1965 Green Bay Packers autographed game ball is instead heading to the team’s Hall of Fame at Lambeau Field. The ball, in near mint condition, contains autographs from at least three dozen players and coaches including Vince Lombardi. Wisconsin resident Chris Morey, then 13, received the ball Oct. 10, 1965, after the Packers’ 27-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field...more
How To Sell Autographed Footballs
Nowadays, the sports memorabilia industry is big business. Items of memorabilia can range in price from pence all the way up to thousands of pounds so it is no wonder that more and more people are making a business out of buying and selling memorabilia. Others collect memorabilia purely for the enjoyment and as a fun hobby, either way sports memorabilia is now more popular than ever. Football has always been a popular sport and lots of football fanatics collect all sorts of pieces associated with the sport such as shirts, autographs and footballs. Footballs are very popular items of memorabilia as they make a link between the players and the fans and there is a certain fascination about touching a ball that has been touched by a football legend...more
Basketball Autograph Articles:
‘Green Week’ Includes Signed NBA Basketballs
The NBA kicked off its second annual green week Thursday, an environmental initiative that also includes some one-of-a-kind autographed basketballs. For the next several days, players will wear 50% recycled polyester shooting shirts and the NBA will auction off several signed basketballs on its website–all of which have been made from 40 per cent recycled materials. Auction proceeds will go to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Individual signed balls along with some team balls are already available. Green and white in color, bidding for the signed balls starts at $75 with the auctions running through Wednesday, April 10. Among the stars who’ve signed: Dwayne Wade, Brandon Roy, Zach Randolph and Pau Gasol. There is a team-signed Lakers ball included in the auction...more
Signed NBA Jerseys Benefit St. Jude
The NBA’s biggest stars have signed up–and signed jerseys–as St. Jude Children’s Hospital launches a major fundraiser. In recognition of Hoops for St. Jude, a season-long fundraising program benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the NBA is celebrating Hoops for St. Jude Week. From now through March 7, league players, coaches and basketball fans will help raise awareness and funds for St. Jude, one of the world’s premier pediatric cancer research centers. Last year, players donated game-worn jerseys. This year, a number of autographed items are up for bid in a special eBay auction. Signed replica jerseys from LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, Derrick Rose, Vince Carter and other NBA stars are being sold as well as other autographed items and a pair of Kevin Love’s signed practice shoes. Gasol, Rudy Gay, Danny Granger, Shane Battier, Steve Blake and Kevin Love teamed up in December for Hoops for St. Jude by pledging to donate to St. Jude for each point scored throughout the NBA season...more
Durant Trades Autographs for Toys
Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant was more than happy to sign some pictures if local folks would help make Christmas a little brighter for local families. The autograph wasn’t "free", but it was a win-win situation in Oklahoma City when one of the NBA’s top players signed in exchange for those willing to help needy families. A lot of athletes spend money during the holidays–some even for charitable causes. Few, however, match the commitment made by Durant. He’s one of the league’s top five scorers on the court and he’s also racking up points in the community...more
Boxing Autograph Articles:
Hearns Selling to Satisfy IRS
Former eight-time world boxing champion Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns made over $40 million during his career. Now he’s broke. The 51-year-old Hearns and his wife are selling off personal possessions to help pay hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to the Internal Revenue Service. The auction will take place this weekend in Detroit with Hearns in attendance, signing autographs for bidders. The IRS says Hearns owes delinquent taxes. His representative says it’s just a big accounting mix up...more
Crooks Swipe Signed Ali Boxing Gloves
An English sports memorabilia shop was victimized by thieves who carted off a bushel full of items including some valuable autographs. 20 pairs of red Everlast boxing gloves, each signed by Muhammad Ali, were taken in a midday burglary at an English sports memorabilia shop last week. Detectives in Basildon, Essex say the brazen burglary at Sports and Star Autographs resulted in quite a haul after the perpetrators drilled through a lock at the shop. Autographed sports and celebrity photos, jerseys and other items were also swiped. The total value of the items was over $47,000. The gloves, signed "Muhammad Ali, a/k/a Cassius Clay" were worth about $27,000 according to police reports. Each glove had an individual serial number...more
Hockey Autograph Articles:
1924 Signed Olympic Hockey Stick Up for Bid
An 86- year-old signed hockey stick from Canada’s juggernaut Olympic team is on the auction block. A remarkably well-preserved piece of memorabilia from the 1924 Olympic games in France brings back better memories for Canadian hockey fans, who saw their team lose to the United States Sunday night. No team was more dominant in the Olympics than the team Canada sent into battle in 1924. The squad outscored its opposition108-3 in five contests...more
Golf Autograph Articles:
Early Golf Autographs Part of Auction
A collection of golf autographs from the game’s 19th and early 20th century pioneers is about to be sold. The check that “Old Tom” Morris used to purchase the building and shop on Links Road in St. Andrews, the ancestral home of golf, and the most famous course in the world will be part of Heritage Auction Galleries’ April 22-23 Signature Sports Memorabilia Auction. The Morris check is just one item in the Mark Emerson collection that will be up for bid. The check with “Old Tom’s” signature is one of very few known copies of the legendary golfer’s autograph. It is estimated at $6,000-$8,000...more
