Value of old sports newspapers?

[Oldtix]

Historic newspapers have value, but often not the issues you might expect. For example, some significant historical events like JFK's assassination, the Apollo moon landing, 9/11 and major WW2 events (D-Day, V-E Day, V-J Day, FDR's death) are of great interest to people, but since huge numbers of people preserved those newspapers they aren't that expensive.

As previous posters said, though, if the headlines look good or if the passage of time has made the event more significant, you can do well with them. I recently sold a paper covering Lou Gehrig's death for $100 and a one for Ghandi's assassination for $250. I sold a set of papers on the 1919 World Series at a past National for $1,500. On the other hand, a great headline of Jim Bunning's perfect game last week failed to get any bids. It's safe to say they're worth having...but don't think it will be an easy flip. They take up a lot of space and they have to be protected from the elements... old newprint is high maintenance.

But as a sports collector, reading the coverage of historic events in the words written on those days is a real treat...and a pretty cheap one at that. Back in the 1970s, libraries replaced their old bound volumes with microfilm copies. I grabbed many volumes at that time dating all the way back to 1902. They are real gems and you see the impact of sports on daily lives. I've read daily coverage of the Merkle controversy, the trial of the Black Sox, seen the box score for Ruth's first homer and Alexander's last victory, DiMaggio's streak, the called shot in 1932 and the great Cardinal pennant race of 1934...and newspapers make those things come alive in ways far different from books.