Collectible Sports Memorabilia
by Kevin T. Fairbanks
COLLECTING
sports collectibles or sports memorabilia, antique or modern,
is limited by two factors: the money available and the space to
be filled. Having determined these basic essentials, it is then
a personal matter. The taste of the collector may lead to
Baseball Memorabilia, Basketball Memorabilia, Football
Memorabilia, Golf Memorabilia, NASCAR memorabilia, Diecast
Collectibles, Bobble Heads, Hero Posters, or innumerable other
things. The lucky acquisition of an admired piece may lead to a
determination to get more of the same, or at least to find out
what the admiration is all about.
An encyclopedia definition of
Sports Collecting would go something like this: "The hobby of
sports collecting consists of acquiring specific sports items
based on a particular sporting interest of the sports
collector. These sports collections of sporting things are
often highly organized, carefully cataloged, and attractively
displayed." A sports collectible (or collectable) is defined as
a manufactured item designed for people interested in sports to
collect. The term sports memorabilia usually refers to items
related to sporting that can be directly connected to a recent
or historical sporting event or sports personality. There are
many people that collect these sports memorabilia and
collectibles.
Since collecting depends on the
interests of the individual collector, it may deal with almost
any subject including sports collectible & sports
memorabilia. The depth and breadth of the collection may also
vary. Some collectors choose to focus on a specific subtopic
within their area of general interest, for example Baseball
memorabilia of the New York Yankees, Basketball memorabilia of
the Los Angeles Lakers, Football memorabilia of the Dallas
Cowboys, Golf memorabilia of Tiger Woods, NASCAR memorabilia of
Tony Stewart, Diecast collectibles of fire trucks, Bobble Heads
for any sport, & posters of heroes such as Lance Armstrong.
Others prefer to keep a more general collection, accumulating
any or all Baseball memorabilia, Basketball memorabilia,
Football memorabilia, Golf memorabilia, NASCAR memorabilia,
Diecast collectibles, Bobble Heads, or Hero Posters.
When the NBA, MLB, and NFL began
selling their basketball, baseball, and football jerseys in
stores during the 1980s, game used jerseys also became a hot
item among sports memorabilia collectors. Former NBA player
Dennis Rodman was famous for taking off his jerseys and
throwing them to the stands after his games were over. Michael
Jordan is probably the basketball player whose memorabilia is
most sought after by collectors. Today's stars include Ben
Roethlisberger, Shaquille O'Neil, Nomar Garciaparra, etc. These
players seem to be pushing the already popular area of sports
collectibles and memorabilia to a new level of acceptance to
the public.
Collections can take the form of
a single item such as a signed baseball, football, or
basketball. Collections can also take the form of a series of
items, such as jerseys from each member of a particular
baseball, basketball, or football team. A NASCAR collection of
hats from different drivers is very popular. Golf balls with
different logos are especially popular. The cost of any sports
collectible memorabilia item is directly proportional to the
popularity of the sports figure with which the item correlates.
The more popular the sports figure, the more money the sports
collectible memorabilia item will demand. The whole sports
collectible memorabilia industry is driven by supply and
demand. The more demand the higher the price and vice versa.
Also, the more supply of an item, the lower the price. Sports
cards would be a good example. Only so many of certain cards
were ever made. Those carry a higher price than those that were
made in bulk. Quality is a very big determining factor in the
price of any sports collectible memorabilia item. In general,
the better the quality, the higher the price.
About the
Author
Kevin is
the husband of Becky and the father of 2, Nicholas and Kirsten.
He is an avid sports fan and over-all good guy. He has taken
his love of sports and developed web sites that offer that love
of sports to others.
http://CollectibleSport.com
| 
