Collector Tom Killeen is selling his partial set of autographed 1952 Topps cards at auction this week including one of the toughest signed cards from that iconic set. No, not Mickey Mantle. Killeen has one of the four signed copies of Howie Fox's card on PSA's Population Report. Fox spent parts of nine seasons in the major leagues from 1944 to 1954. He … [Read more...]
Topps Launches Muhammad Ali, NHL Now Sticker Sets
Topps introduced a pair of on-demand issues on Tuesday. They’re pushing out a Muhammad Ali set entitled “The People’s Champ.” It won’t be in traditional hobby box or set format, though. The cards are being released on a weekly basis with two offered every Tuesday. Topps calls it “a retrospect of the man considered the greatest of all time.” The cards … [Read more...]
Fogelman Collection Will Be Housed In New Museum in South Florida
Avron B. Fogelman once was a part-owner of the Kansas City Royals. But the memorabilia collection the successful businessman has assembled is positively regal. Fogelman, 79, has spent most of his life building a large memorabilia collection. Wednesday, he unveiled where his collection will be housed— in a 3,500-square-foot museum located on the campus of Florida Atlantic … [Read more...]
Auction Offers Chance to Go Cruising with a Babe (Uniform)
Babe Ruth’s name “is the most appealing in the game” of baseball, a sportswriter noted in 1938, three years after the Bambino's retirement. The Queen Mary 2 is the Grande Dame of luxury ocean liners. These two giants will share the spotlight for an upcoming auction that will feature the uniform the Bambino wore in 1938 when he was a first-base coach for the Brooklyn … [Read more...]
Ali’s Handwritten Speech Asking for Spinks Rematch Up for Auction
There is a reason Muhammad Ali called himself “The Greatest.” The late heavyweight champion handled a microphone better than any other boxer. “The Louisville Lip” could promote a fight or a cause better than any other athlete, taking his cue from the flamboyant professional wrestler of the 1950s, Gorgeous George. From the time he won the gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in … [Read more...]
The Bizarre, The Historic and The Most Memorable: Les Wolff’s Memorabilia Tales
This is Part 2 of a two-part series with sports memorabilia appraiser and authenticator Les Wolff. In Part 1, Wolff discussed his lecture series on the hobby and how to protect a collection. In Part 2, Wolff talks about his more memorable collecting moments. Les Wolff is known for his skills as an authenticator and appraiser of sports memorabilia. His work over more … [Read more...]
Muhammad Ali’s 1960 Hemmets Journal “Rookie Card”
While they weren’t found in packs of bubble gum or other consumer edibles, they are gradeable--and very rare. The 1960 Hemmets Journal Cassius Clay represents the first known trading card-like image of the man who would become a global icon. One of the six rated 8 is up for auction via Memory Lane with a current high bid of just under $3,000. One of the two … [Read more...]
Rare Ali-Liston II Fight Poster, Signed by Sonny, Up for Bid
It was one of the more bizarre sports stories of the 1960s. A much-anticipated rematch between the two biggest names in boxing shut down by a district attorney over concerns that the promoters were connected to organized crime and moved to, of all places, Lewiston, ME. Now, a poster for the Muhammad Ali-Sonny Liston fight that was to take place at Boston Garden—is going on … [Read more...]
Rare Boxing Cards, Memorabilia Hit Auction Block
Fresh off the sale of hundreds of baseball items including a new find of 1914-15 Cracker Jack baseball cards, Love of the Game’s first boxing-exclusive auction is open. The “Ringside” catalog, set to close Saturday, includes 250 lots of boxing-specific cards and memorabilia, and is curated by Love of the Game Auctions in conjunction with Adam Warshaw, author of … [Read more...]
Howard Bingham’s Ali Collection Part of Major Auction
A large collection of Muhammad Ali memorabilia including fight worn gloves and personal items given to friend and biographer Howard Bingham are on the auction block. LA-based Julien’s Auctions is offering hundreds of pieces in its Icons and Idols auction, set to conclude Saturday, December 3. Among the items up for bid are the gloves that Ali wore in his December 7, … [Read more...]