Collecting Baseball Memorabilia
From autograph seekers at Cooperstown to catalog auctions in Chicago, the baseball memorabilia trade of the late 1990s ran on condition, scarcity and a dealer’s good name.
An autograph at Cooperstown the day after induction
On Monday, July 27, 1998, the day after the annual Hall of Fame induction, the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays played a regular season game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York. Fans with tickets found their seats. Those without crowded around the field to watch the players arrive, holding out scraps of paper, baseballs, bats and caps in the hope of an autograph.
The crowd pressed harder when Cal Ripken of the Orioles worked his way along the roped-off area. Ripken was known in the memorabilia world as a player who rarely did card shows, but also as one who spent extra time with fans before and after games. That day he knelt down to eye level with Tom Whalen, a seven-year-old from New Britain, Connecticut, who had been waiting at the front of the crowd for a long time. Starstruck, the boy could not answer as Ripken talked to him and signed his baseball and his card. The local news stations caught the moment, and the ball and card became family keepsakes.
That scene sums up the hobby. For most people it is the love of the game and the pleasure of keeping things that mean something to them that turned baseball memorabilia into a multi-million dollar business.
The Baseball Hall of Fame and the town of Cooperstown
Fans and collectors have been traveling to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown since it opened in 1939. The town, set in the farmland of central New York State, grew along with the crowds, and each July some 40,000 fans arrived for the induction of new Hall of Famers.
Inside the museum were World Series rings, game-worn jerseys, cleats and equipment. Visitors could see the lockers of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio, large displays on the careers of Ty Cobb and Denton “Cy” Young, and exhibits on how the ball and mitt have been made. A display on the evolution of catchers’ equipment drew a crowd, and so did the spikes worn by Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves, MVP of the 1995 World Series.
What baseball collectors bought: from pennants to cancelled checks
Almost anything connected to baseball can become a collectible. “Buy it because you like it,” said Bob Pressley of BP Sports Collectibles in Atlanta, Georgia, who had been in the business in one form or another for more than 15 years. His shop leaned toward autographed items, and he promoted three shows a year of two to three days each, with 70 to 80 dealer booths drawn mostly from the Southeast but also from Oklahoma, Kansas and Illinois. He called them “small to medium in size.” For comparison, the 19th annual National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago in 1998 filled 1,000 dealer booths.
Collectors went after pins, pennants, banks and balls. Others focused on autographs: signed photographs, caps, balls, bats, even handwritten letters and cancelled checks. Jackie Robinson’s widow was reported at the time to have released some of his cancelled checks to collectors.
Tickets, used or unused, had a following too. Pressley estimated in 1998 that a ticket from the first game at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium was worth about $200, a first-game ticket from Turner Field $75 to $100 and a World Series ticket from the 1950s up to $500. The appeal of a single printed card with a famous name on it also explains the long run of the Honus Wagner card, the most famous of them all.
Grading baseball memorabilia: condition, centering and scarcity
Condition is the key to value. Baseball memorabilia uses a grading scale much like the ones for coins, with items rated from 1 to 10, and baseball cards have their own graded price guides. The criteria depend on the object: a game-used bat is judged differently from one bought only for display. A signed ball is judged on the condition of the ball and the quality of the signature, assuming it is authentic, and on how it was signed.
Centering matters a great deal on cards. In the early years of card printing it was the luck of the draw, but an educated collector learns to measure it. A card with more white border at the bottom or sides than at the top is less desirable, and worth less, than one with roughly equal borders all around. Comparing two cards side by side, such as an off-center card next to a better-centered Hank Aaron, makes the difference easy to see.
Scarcity also drives price. A ball signed by an active player brings less than one signed by a retired player, and less again than one signed by a player who has died. “That’s the morbid part of the hobby,” Pressley said. “Once a player dies, especially a Hall of Famer, the value of that piece goes up.”
Game-used equipment and the 1998 auction results
Game-used equipment, autographed items and game-used autographed equipment were what collectors wanted most at the end of the 1990s. Jerseys, uniforms, bats, gloves, caps and even shoes brought premium prices. In 1998 a bat Cal Ripken used in a game might bring upwards of $2,000, while a display bat he had signed might bring about $250.
Some teams sold game-used gear themselves. The Atlanta Braves held a silent auction on August 23 and 24, 1998, offering game-used uniforms and equipment, with the proceeds going to the Braves Foundation. Beyond that, getting game-used equipment usually meant knowing someone.
Catalog auctions were becoming a major part of the trade. Mastro Fine Auctions of Chicago held two or three a year, mailing thick catalogs about two weeks ahead. Bidders phoned in until the close, and a 15 percent buyer’s premium was added to the winning bid. At the July 17, 1998 sale, an autographed Lou Gehrig baseball graded 8 out of 10 opened with a $5,000 minimum and sold for $45,461. A 1959 Mickey Mantle game-worn jersey with a $9,000 minimum brought $24,000. That same summer a ceramic Braves bank from the late 1940s sold at auction for $1,814.
Getting autographs and buying from a reputable dealer
Shows remained the other main market, and promoters like Pressley paid players to sign as a draw. “What used to cost $100 to get an athlete (to a show) now can cost $500 to $1,000,” he said in 1998. “Muhammad Ali, probably the most recognizable person in the world, might cost $100,000. You’d probably pay that for Joe DiMaggio also.” Some players would not do shows at all and preferred to sign for fans at the ballpark.
For collectors chasing signatures in person, he recommended spring training, where the mood is relaxed, and batting practice once the gates open. “Once they go into the locker room and get dressed, their mind set changes,” he said. “I’ve also found players will sign for kids and women before they will for men.”
Ballpark giveaways had their own market. A Beanie Babies cow handed out in honor of Harry Caray, with its registration card, sold at the 1998 convention for $400, and Glory, given out at the All-Star Game, sold for $200. Chip the Cat went to the first 12,000 children at a Braves game on August 10 in honor of Andres Galarraga.
A network news segment had claimed that 80 percent of the memorabilia on the market was fake and that letters of authenticity were worthless. Pressley and other reputable dealers disagreed. “If the dealer is bogus to start with, his letter isn’t going to be any good either,” he said, adding that a letter and its item can become separated over time. The advice was simple: rely on a reputable dealer, and buy what you like. For one actor’s take on the same passion, see Bryan Cranston’s Dodgers memorabilia, and for another sporting collectible, the famous faces under Dixie Cup lids.
Questions and answers
How is baseball memorabilia graded?
Most baseball memorabilia is graded on a scale of 1 to 10, much like coins, and cards have their own graded price guides. A signed ball is judged on the condition of the ball and the quality of the signature. For cards, centering is crucial: equal borders on all sides make a card more desirable than one printed off-center.
Are signed baseballs worth more after a player dies?
Dealers in the late 1990s said yes. A ball signed by an active player brought less than one signed by a retired player, and less again than one signed by a player who had died. Atlanta dealer Bob Pressley called it the morbid part of the hobby, noting that values rise once a player, especially a Hall of Famer, dies.
What are the most valuable kinds of baseball memorabilia collectors look for?
In the late 1990s game-used equipment, autographed items and game-used autographed equipment were the most sought after. At a July 1998 Mastro auction a Lou Gehrig signed ball graded 8 sold for $45,461 and a 1959 Mickey Mantle game-worn jersey for $24,000. A Ripken game-used bat could bring over $2,000.
Where is the best place to get baseball player autographs?
Dealer Bob Pressley recommended spring training, where players are more relaxed, and batting practice when the ballpark gates first open. Once players dress in the locker room, he said, their mindset changes. He also found that players tend to sign for children and women before men.
How can collectors avoid fake signed baseball memorabilia?
The standard advice from reputable dealers was to buy from a reputable dealer. A letter of authenticity is only as good as the dealer who issues it, and a letter can become separated from its item over time. Buying what you like, rather than chasing a quick profit, was the other rule.