Why do you collect memorabilia??

[puckpaul]

I love both cards and memorabilia equally. They connect us to the past, and the love of fans and collectors to games historically. They say something about our culture.

My first baseball memorabilia I collected were these ornate gold an diamond-studded booster medallions or pendants that were given to Fred Clarke for managing in the first World Series and then to John McGraw for his role in the 1904 season (‘05 Champs, though they didnt play the WS for that). The inscriptions and care put into these were amazing and I was drawn to their coolness and significance. I think items like this are much more fun than most cards.

[aelefson]

Great items everyone! Paul, I have never seen those before and I can see how those got you into memorabilia as they are amazing. I have some cards but like many on this thread I realized that memorabilia was way more interesting (and generally cheaper) many years ago.

I have built my collection through antique shops, flea markets, and antique shows. Generally, cards are not as available at those locations and when they are they tend to be overpriced. However, memorabilia is still out there and it is a lot of fun to find something cool "in the wild" as opposed to clicking the bid button in an auction online.

A couple of weeks ago I found a handwritten song called Kill the Umpire which was written on paper with headers for a baseball comedy duo in the vaudeville era. Researching the song and the comedy duo will give me plenty of extra enjoyment out of the purchase. I cannot imagine buying a card for the same price (under 100.00) would give me anywhere near the same pleasure as it would just go into one of my binders and I would not look at it much in the future.

I find collecting cards to be relatively easy as the goals are relatively simple and the knowledge needed to collect them is fairly limited (especially if you are into buying graded cards). I find that collecting memorabilia is more complicated, takes a lot more knowledge, and is generally more of a challenge. This is a very general view though as I know there are some folks who get into cards and study the nuances of certain sets but I feel in general it takes more knowledge to collect memorabilia.

Either way, collect what you like!

Alan

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by puckpaul

I love both cards and memorabilia equally. They connect us to the past, and the love of fans and collectors to games historically. They say something about our culture. My first baseball memorabilia I collected were these ornate gold an diamond-studded booster medallions or pendants that were given to Fred Clarke for managing in the first World Series and then to John McGraw for his role in the 1904 season (‘05 Champs, though they didnt play the WS for that). The inscriptions and care put into these were amazing and I was drawn to their coolness and significance. I think items like this are much more fun than most cards.

These are amazing! World-class pieces and gorgeous.