Best Display Cabinets for Sports Memorabilia

A man cave can get a bit crowded after years of collecting your favorite sports memorabilia. Organization is often the key to keeping your sanity and also being the envy of other collectors who frequent your fine self-made sporting establishment. Sports memorabilia display cabinets offer you an opportunity to place items securely away. Maybe you prefer a proper elevation so viewing is made easier. Maybe you need to fit something neatly into an already jam-packed room.  It’s also crucial to protect your memorabilia from the potential harms of dust, moisture, and human error.

 

Here are 5 ways you can evaluate the best display cabinets for sports memorabilia and a few nifty examples.

Before you ever purchase a sports memorabilia cabinet, you want to determine and evaluate your space. Do you need a corner unit? Will an inexpensive counter top cabinet do the trick? Maybe you would prefer a storage unit that sits on the floor. These are all options with sports cabinets. It’s important you do a little visual imagery and picture what will and won’t fit. If not, you may have to rearrange a bit.

 

Is your room well-lit? If not, you may opt for a lighted display case. Maybe you already have several other display cases or pieces of memorabilia that take up a ton of room. Perhaps you need to find something that fits properly and can be tucked away in a corner. The good news is a variety of options exist to fit whatever scenario you decide to pursue. You can choose from one or two shelves to four to six shelves or more. You can choose from cabinets that will tuck away in a tight corner or stack on top of other dressers, hard spaces, or the floor.

 

Composition of the cabinets also widely vary. Maybe you want Golden Oak as is utilized in the Howard Miller Parkview Curio Cabinet below. You can go from elegance to tech to sporty. It’s just a matter of choice on your part. 

 

Quality is an important ingredient for any sports collector. Will the sports cabinet stand the test of time? You probably don’t want to spend money two or three years down the road on another cabinet. You want something that is sturdy enough to support whatever piece of memorabilia you are encasing. It’s important to understand what the display case is made of. How is the craftsmanship? Is it fully enclosed to keep away outside elements like dust and moisture? How can you keep the exterior clean so it isn’t dusty or showing wear and tear?

 

Quality might mean great material like poplar wood and birch as in the display cabinet below. Many might opt for finer materials (wood, cherry, oak) to support their hobby. Sure, it might weigh a bit more and be a bit harder to move. The end result might be better overall protection and sturdiness that generally protects items that could be worth way more than the actual cabinet itself.  The glass allows you to see your items without touching them.

 

Does it fit with the overall scheme of your man cave? Will it be something that stands out and detracts from your entire room? Or can the scheme blend in and support what you currently have? Just like matching furniture, it’s important to find colors and materials that fit with the theme you are going for. Maybe you just don’t have room for a giant shelf. 

 

A free-standing display case like you see below is versatile enough to fit in a variety of places but still illuminates your memorabilia in fine fashion, offering great visibility for anything displayed inside. The glass offers great protection and the sliding glass doors offers easy access when needed (see it on Amazon here). 

 

You might want to permanently put an item in your sports cabinet. You might also want to rotate items or at least have the ability to change the look. The easiness of adding and subtracting items can often be another defining factor in choosing a sports cabinet. You might also consider lighting. How important is having an item glow a little? Some prefer to have lights for that extra bit of dazzle. Some already have enough lighting in their sports room or don’t mind the lack of light. A good example of a well-lit sports display case can be seen below (you can learn more here).

 

 

Sliding glass doors never hurt when wanting easy access and most come with locks in case you have curious youngsters around. You might consider making an extra key or two and putting them in a safe place you will always remember.

Sports memorabilia is meant to last forever. You need a sports cabinet that will keep your items safe for the long haul.  You want to protect and preserve your items just like any other sports collector. It’s important to examine the potential landing spot for safety. Will your items rest safely? How can I make sure this sports cabinet will help my memorabilia maintain mint value? Excess moisture can do damage to cards and autographs.

 

Many prefer glass such as this 48″ display cabinet seen here.

 

It has enough storage room for many different items on the four shelves. It also has additional storage space below.  The sliding doors allow for easy access to view and cherish items. It also has a modern tech look.

 

Safety is about keeping things put away so others won’t touch them. All it takes is for one small bend to ruin the value of a baseball card.

Now that you’ve thought about what type of sports memorabilia cabinet might fit your room, here are some more great options to possibly choose from.  A curio is just defined as a rare, unusual, or intriguing object. You couldn’t put a better description tag on a piece of sports history. That’s why the term curio cabinet is quite popular. They come in different sizes and are made of different materials. The 5 shelf curio shown below  is simple and relatively low cost but offers collectors ample opportunity to showcase some of their most popular items. It’s thin and can easily be placed in a corner in a room that is already pretty tightly packed with memorabilia.

 

 

If you’re tight on space but want a nice-looking cabinet with plenty of shelves, a wood veneer curio like this one might also be an excellent addition. It can bring alive a room with the classy elegance it provides. 

 

 

If you like the all-glass, completely open look to show off your best collectibles in a smaller space, here’s one possibility–and it’s not that expensive. 

 

There are also smaller display cases customized for individual items like jerseys, signed baseballs, cards, etc. They are built with the collector in mind. These types of display cases are good add-ons and can fit in a variety of places.  

There’s a plethora of options to keep your items safe. Here are some of the best customized display cases.

 

Whatever you choose, we hope you find the perfect display case that keeps your items valuable and locked away from the dangers of dust and moisture.