Why do you collect memorabilia??

[Mark]

Originally Posted by ruth-gehrig

Why do you collect memorabilia?? Do you love it? Is it for investment reasons?? Do you also collect cards and if not why?

What is it about "memorabilia" that is more appealing than cards?

The card side gets much more attention and was just wondering thoughts from us memorabilia people.

Will memorabilia(fill in the blank of whatever category you want) ever be as popular as cards??

When I was 8 or 9, I found some old, pre-war baseball bats in my grandfather's basement. I thought they were tremendous. About 30 years later, I realized that people sold pro model bats at card shows and through magazine ads, and I started accumulating more because they really are tremendous. Then I started picking up photos to go with the bats. Today, I am not collecting as actively as before, but I still love the stuff.

[Topnotchsy]

Like many, I started with cards. Over time I became enamored with what could be bought for the price of a card. I think that cards have a few things going for them which will keep them as the 'go to' collectible (generations of nostalgia around collecting, small and easy to collect and store, cards are clearly defined so you know what you are looking at, there is the checklist and set pursuit aspect etc.) but I like memorabilia more for the stories they tell.

For me, the hobby and research about baseball are a circle. I come across collectibles and those drive me to do more research. The research unearths new stories and aspects of baseball history, and that drives me to find new items that are related.

I find the nexus between baseball and American and world history fascinating. Two of my primary areas of collecting are WWII baseball items and Integration-related items. Both are examples of where baseball played a role in something much bigger. I love that.

As noted, the bang for your buck is a huge deal for me. As an example: one of the players I focus on in my Integration collection is Roy Campanella. He was one of 4 black players to sign between the 1945 and 1946 offseason (meaning that he signed before the Minor League color barrier was broken in 1946).

Roy Campanella's rookie card is his (edited) 1949 Bowman card. PSA reports that there are 2 PSA 10's, and a value of $108,000 for one. PSA reports 18 PSA 9's and has the most recent price of one at a hair under $30,000.

I was able to acquire Campanella's 1946 Minor League contract with the Nashua Dodgers for a fraction of what the PSA 9 costs. Despite it being the actual historical document. Despite it being signed by Campanella twice. Despite it being a document that played an actual role in the breaking of the color barrier (Campanella to the best of my knowledge, was the first to integrate a team in the United States, as Jackie Robinson was playing in Canada). And at most there are 3 copies of that contract extant (since the player, the team and the league would get a copy). There are 18 PSA 9's and 2 greaded higher which means there are at least 20 copies of the Bowman rookie card graded by PSA (not to mention SGC and others). It is unsigned. It is small. It had no historical role in the game. And it sells for a lot more than I paid for the contract. For me, it's a no-brainer. (And the 1946 team signed photo formerly owned by Walt Alston sold for less than the 122 PSA 8's go for).

And that points to an example of a story. Doing some searching I came across a contract for Campanella with the Danville Dodgers for 1946. Doing some digging I learned that he had first signed to play in Danville, but Branch Rickey was informed that the team was not ready to integrate, so he re-signed a few weeks later on a new contract to play in Nashua. To me this added a whole new dimension to the signing which I don't recall Campanella writing about in his book (though I'm working from memory). That to me was fascinating. And I was able to snag that contract too. For less than a PSA 9.

Attaching a couple of pics as well

[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.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by Topnotchsy

Like many, I started with cards.



I find the nexus between baseball and American and world history fascinating. Two of my primary areas of collecting are WWII baseball items and Integration-related items. Both are examples of where baseball played a role in something much bigger. I love that.

I love the history of baseball. I'm probably a historian because of baseball and the Ken Burns documentary. At the same time, the Conlon Collection cards were in dollar stores. While I didn't care about the cards, I did care about the pictures and stories.

As a boy, I bought all of the extras: posters, Starting Lineup, Wheaties, whatever. My favorite poster was all about memorabilia. So many amazing objects for me to look at and imagine.

I always saw GU bats, balls, Gloves, jerseys and they were out of my range. Now I can afford them. They are a true 1/1.

I have narrowed my focus to certain players, primarily Barry Larkin, Ken Griffey Jr, and Lou Gehrig. I still have some Tris Speaker items, but I sold a few to pay for some other items. I have Joey Votto items but nowhere to display them right now.





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[perezfan]

I could write a novel on this, but will spare you all and keep it brief...

Memorabilia allows you to get MUCH closer to the game (and to the players) than mass-produced pictures on cardboard. How can you even compare a card to something that the player either touched, wore or used playing the actual game?

What is the real difference between a 1952 Topps Mantle and a 1952 Les Moss? Both came from the same factory, both have the same cardboard stock, and both came out of the same pack. They just mass-printed a different image on the two cards.

Compare that to a game-used Bat with tons of use and pine tar... held and swung by someone who actually played the game. Or a game-used Jersey, Jacket or Cap... all things we may have seen used on the field in our childhood, that we still remember with such fondness and amazement that we can actually own it today?

Or perhaps a Type 1 Photo.... a unique image captured and developed by a legendary photographer who stood on the very same field as Ruth, Cobb, Gehrig, Robinson, etc.

Or perhaps a scorecard, ticket or lineup card from a milestone or record-setting game? Something that was tangibly present during a meaningful time of greatness.

Or maybe an autograph... either a bat, ball, program or album page actually touched, held and signed by a legendary player.

Or a 100 year-old felt pennant that miraculously stood the test of time, still displaying incredibly artistic graphics and defying the odds with no moth holes, rips, fading or tears.

Or perhaps a Trophy awarded to a legendary player or team for accomplishing something great. The tangible culmination of a lifetime of diligent work and training.

Or a defunct stadium artifact like a Turnstyle, Sign or Stadium Seat. Something that we would otherwise vaguely remember, miraculously brought back to life as a part of our collections.

Or maybe a piece of antique equipment from shortly after the Civil War era... an early antique bat, jersey, lemon peel ball or weldless catchers mask. Miraculous survivors that tell the history of the game while making for stunning display pieces.

Okay, so maybe I did write a "novel". But how do you even begin to compare a piece of cardboard that the player never touched (or even saw) to these historic artifacts of greatness? Yes, I did start out collecting cards, but the evolution into memorabilia is one that I will never regret (until I have to downsize, that is!)