Randy Arozarena has rocketed to prominence during this baseball postseason. But Arozarena’s journey was long and difficult. It included a treacherous trip on a boat five years ago from his native Cuba to Mexico and a positive test for COVID-19 earlier this year, but now the Tampa Bay Rays’ 25-year-old outfielder is living up to the nickname he earned in his native Cuba — El … [Read more...]
Collector Gives Hundreds of World Series-Related Items to Alma Mater
In 1943, baseball World Series programs featured cover photos of soldiers and sailors overseas listening to baseball games. In the 1968 series, Cardinals’ center fielder Curt Flood was blamed for a misplayed ball but went on to change the game forever with his campaign for player free agency. And in 2004, the Cardinals’ loss seemed inevitable against the curse-busting … [Read more...]
New Book A Big Ticket For Stub Collectors
For ticket collectors, Russ Havens’ new self-published book is the ultimate stub hub. The “2016 Illustrated Ticket Stub Price Guide” was released last month. It’s a colorful, 136-page book that displays a cross-section of more than 700 event tickets throughout history. The subject matter is mostly sports — the World Series, Super Bowl, college bowl games, championship boxing … [Read more...]
Fleer, Laughlin Combined For Memorable World Series Sets
They were quirky and colorful, full of history, affordable and lots of fun. Fleer tapped into baseball’s postseason past when it released its 1970 World Series set. This was a 66-card set that covered every World Series from 1903 through 1969, and it began a decade-long run of postseason cards produced by Fleer. The cards had colorful cartoon drawings on fronts, … [Read more...]
Time to Wake Up to Royals’ Rookie Cards?
Now we know what kind of World Series it will be. It will feature the Panda and the Moose. Other notables will include Captain Underpants, Country Breakfast, Big Game James and the Freak. It should be quite a show as the San Francisco Giants fight their third World Series battle in five years while the Royals enter the ring for the first time in almost three decades. And … [Read more...]
You Never Know What You’ll Find in an Old Baseball Book
We all have our stories about garage sale, flea market, antique or card show finds. Little (or sometimes big) nuggets that manifest themselves in unusual ways, unexpectedly adding to our collections. They are part of the reason we collect; to uncover something no one else had found. Many times they’re cheap or even free. Sometimes, we’re the beneficiary of someone else’s … [Read more...]
Hunt Auctions to Offer Mazeroski’s 1960 World Series Uniform, More as Part of Slugger Auction
Hunt Auctions will present a selection of materials from the personal collection of Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski at the upcoming Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Auction, including the jersey he was wearing when he hit the World Series-winning home run in 1960. Regarded as one of the finest defensive players of his era Bill Mazeroski … [Read more...]
Don Larsen’s 1956 World Series Perfect Game Uniform Brings $756,000
The uniform Don Larsen was wearing when he pitched baseball's only World Series perfect game sold at auction Wednesday night for $756,000. The jersey and pants drew 22 bids in a sale conducted by Steiner Sports. Bidding began on the October 8 anniversary of the day Larsen shut down the Brooklyn Dodgers. The final bid was $630,000 and Steiner tacked on a 20% buyer's … [Read more...]
Giants the Most Bargain Priced 2-Time Series Champ?
With their World Series sweep of the Tigers Sunday night, the Giants became the first National League team to win two titles in three years since the Big Red Machine in the mid-1970s. That team was stacked with future Hall of Famers and superstars. Johnny Bench. Pete Rose. Joe Morgan. Tony Perez. The Giants have Buster, Marco, Pablo and Sergio. Who? Well, maybe you … [Read more...]
Tax Implications Spurring Sudden Sales of Sports Stars’ Memorabilia?
It's been a familiar story lately. Retired player or coach selling off a special item or collection, ostensibly to pay for the education of family members. Jim Palmer did it. Don Larsen's doing it. Bob Knight. Ozzie Smith. For collectors with cash, it's like being in a kid in a candy shop. Whenever well known sports personalities let go of the tangible items that … [Read more...]