British Columbia-based Vintage Sports Images is hoping sports fans and collectors are thinking ‘photos’ for the upcoming holiday season. The company has built a significant presence on eBay and just launched a large store featuring vintage original slides and negatives of athletes in a variety of sports from different eras.
The online agency has an extensive inventory of never before seen images of sports legends and heroes, as well as lesser-known players who shared in their glory.
We have images that no one, except the photographer, has ever seen before,” says Eric Olsen, Owner of Vintage Sports Images. “These are sold as collector’s items that offer the sports fan a stroll down memory lane, for a reasonable price. I have been told that going through the images is like going through your parents’ attic.”
With Canada as its home base, you might expect to see a large number of previously unseen hockey negatives–and you’d be correct. The images range from early 1960s game action from the Original Six franchises to dozens of shots of Wayne Gretzky from his late-career days in Los Angeles and New York. NFL negatives and slides include the likes of Terry Bradshaw, Joe Namath, Ken Stabler, Bob Griese and Dan Marino. Numerous images of Bobby Orr, Muhammad Ali and other top shelf athletes are reflected as well.
Vintage sports photographs have become one of the hottest segments of the sports memorabilia industry, with original Type One photographs dating from the era of Babe Ruth often selling for thousands of dollars.
Vintage Sports Images has just launched a new website and has pushed its eBay inventory to over 2,500 images, where they are a ‘top rated seller’ (click here to see their listings).
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