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The Hobby of Collecting Sports Memorabilia

When you think of baseball memorabilia and sports collectibles, what immediately comes into your mind? Do you think of baseball cards or do you think of the signed jerseys, the throwback jerseys, jackets, hats, helmets, the pictures, and hero posters? Fans know that there are several ways of showing their loyalty and patronage by accumulating items of their favorite team or sports star.

People collect for other sports as well, such as NASCAR, golf, baseball, football, and basketball. Some items that are found to be enjoyable to collect are bobble heads, posters, die-cast models, and the newest items are The Fat Heads items. These are life-like, life-sized replicas of sports heroes that can be safely stuck to your wall. With all of the things you can collect, sometimes it is no wonder that some are confused as to where to start or how to start collecting sports memorabilia and sports collectibles. Collecting any sports memorabilia or sports collectibles is a very personalized pastime that has significance based more on the collector’s likes and passions as much as the accomplishments of the individual athlete or team.

For those of us who want to buy a family member or a friend something unique related to their favorite NASCAR driver, basketball, baseball, football or golf player, team, or sport, what do we look for? If they are into baseball memorabilia, you might want to consider the New York Yankees. This baseball team is one of, if not the most celebrated baseball team in the world, plus their rosters from past to present has been studded with all-time greats. Then again, perhaps they are hooked on NASCAR. Then you have Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, and the reigning champion Jimmy Johnson. We cannot forget the late and great Dale Earnhardt Sr. whose memorabilia have not only doubled up but tripled after his demise, and seem to be growing in value even more each year. As with many great painters like Picasso, Earnhardt fanatics consistently decline to permit his ambition and legacy to give-up the ghost.

NASCAR collectors do not only have a wide selection of cars to choose from, but now they can get Plush Bears configured after the driver, bios, annuals, key chains, lighters, plates, and much more. You will even find out that baseball memorabilia and sports collectibles have spread into the Christmas decorations, with entire villages and decorations for the tree to the roof of your sports fan’s home.

Furthermore, there are a lot of other sports greats as well, like Ben Roethlisberger, Shaquille O'Neil, and Nomar Garciaparra. Moreover, let us not forget the ever-resounding Michael Jordan. When throwback jerseys were mentioned, you may or may not have realized how much these have influenced sports memorabilia, but in 1980, when the NBA, MLB, and NFL started to market both new and used game jerseys, the collectors wanted even more.

The die cast scene has changed as well. Fire trucks were a hot item at one time, but they have revolved back to the older muscle cars and the newer hotrod collectibles. Of course we always have the sports collectors who will grab anything from a sketch of Tiger Woods to a vintage Los Angeles Lakers team photograph. Even the seven-time conqueror of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, has a strong following for memorabilia and sports collectibles.

When it comes to the monetary value of the objects you collect, remember that the more celebrated the superstar, the more expensive the baseball memorabilia and sports collectible items will be. If the item can be verified as authentic in some way, that really adds to the value. Be careful and don’t lose any items related to your sports collectible or sports memorabilia. These would include the original box, any correspondence or signatures, receipts, etc. These will all help to make the item more valuable and collectible.