Items from one of the world’s top sports memorabilia collections are going to be available for fractional ownership through a new partnership. Sports memorabilia investment platform Collectable announced Monday it had reached agreement on a new multi-year partnership with Sports Immortals that will offer partial ownership of items from the private collection via shares offered by Collectable.
Billed as “the largest and most diverse assortment of sports memorabilia,” the collection was started by lifelong collector Joel Platt, who spent decades acquiring one million artifacts, many of them tied to North America’s most famous athletes.
Housed in South Florida, Sports Immortals covers the spectrum of categories including game worn uniforms and equipment, autographed balls, photos, tickets, programs, awards and other items. Platt’s son Jim is now managing the huge collection.
“The fractional ownership platform offers us a new and exciting way to keep the memories and accomplishments of the greatest athletes in sports history alive and as relevant today as they were back then,” he stated. “We have some of the rarest artifacts in existence – alongside Collectable, we’re thrilled to start sharing several of these items and their stories with sports fans all over the country.”
Sports Immortals will retain equity in every offering, including one of Muhammad Ali’s championship belts, which will kick off the partnership when shares go on sale Thursday. The retained ownership will differ per item and will be made public in the offering section of the Collectable app.
Among the items to be offered in the coming weeks are:
- Wilt Chamberlain’s game-worn and autographed Overbrook High School uniform. The uniform was obtained by Joel Platt directly from Chamberlain’s mother during a visit to her home in Philadelphia on June 26, 1961 and later signed by Chamberlain.
- Muhammed Ali’s World Boxing Council (WBC) Championship belt awarded in 1976 for his victory over George Foreman on October 30, 1974. The belt was obtained directly from Muhamad Ali’s father, Cassius Clay Sr. during a visit to his home in Louisville, Kentucky on February 22, 1989.
The value of the belt is listed at $428,000; Sports Immortals will retain about 70 percent ownership.
- Jackie Robinson autographed Louisville Slugger “stats bat.” Pioneering collector Harry D. Evans, inscribed Robinson’s statistics from the 1949 season in honor of Robinson winning the 1949 National League batting title and then he had him autograph the bat.
- Lew Alcindor game-worn UCLA warm-up jacket from 1969 NCAA Championship Game. The jacket has been photomatched to the post-game celebration after the Bruins’ third straight NCAA championship.
- 1965 Johnny Unitas game-worn and autographed road jersey, obtained from former Baltimore Colts equipment manager Fred Schubach.
“Sports Immortals has a jaw-dropping collection of sports memorabilia, arguably the greatest the world has ever seen,” said Ezra Levine, CEO of Collectable. “Seeing and experiencing the collection first-hand was a surreal and visceral experience. I knew, then and there, we had to find a way to bring their collection to Collectable. Through this partnership, and through Collectable’s fractional ownership model, collectors and sports fans will have the opportunity to own some of the most iconic pieces of sports memorabilia the market has ever seen.”
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