Steiner Sports sent out this tweet today that Cecil Fielder will be appearing at Louie’s and Johnnies Restaurant in New Rochelle,NY today July 31st at 12pm
Steiner Sports Memorabilia and Marketing
Head over to @CheeseSteakClam for some great food and fun times with Cecil Fielder tomorrow from 12-2!
| 2012 National Sports Collectors Convention Baltimore |
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Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) now has added extensive information about professional model baseball bats to PSA CollectibleFacts, its free online resource.
The new section, PSA ProBatFacts, is part of an ongoing expansion to create the Internet’s most comprehensive site for information and illustrations about sports and many non-sports collectibles. All of it is available free to the public.
“PSA ProBatFacts focuses on the weapons used by many of the most dangerous hitters in baseball history, their bats. We’re launching this new section of PSA CollectibleFacts with over 100 web pages on individual players and their bats, including hundreds of photographs. We’ll be expanding and adding many more current and former players, which also includes Hall of Fame members, in the coming weeks,” explained Joe Orlando, president of PSA and editor of Sports Market Report (SMR).
“Professional model bats are among the most desirable items in the entire sports memorabilia hobby. They are tangible pieces of sports history, used by the players to create that history.”
Each page of PSA ProBatFacts contains photographs and information about the types of bats used by each hitter, as well as specific player characteristics collectors should look for, such as heavy pine tar patterns on game-used George Brett and Willie Mays bats, or unique taping methods applied by Duke Snider and Ken Griffey, Jr. There is also biographical information about the players who used the bats, SMR Price Guide values, noteworthy auction prices realized and links to other informative articles.
The PSA ProBatFacts home page has informative articles and a link to an online video that clearly and concisely provides tips on collecting game-used bats and the kinds of player characteristics that may be found on professional model bats.
“We carefully selected the images of bats you’ll see on PSA ProBatFacts. When possible, it is important to showcase quality illustrations of the specific player characteristics that are mentioned on each player’s page. Many of the bats pictured are among the finest examples known,” said Orlando.
Another major section, PSA AutographFacts, is scheduled go online this fall with extensive information and illustrations for autograph collectors.
Babe Ruth’s earliest game-used N.Y. Yankees jersey known to exist set a record when New York auction house Lelands.com purchased it for a record $4.4 million – the highest price ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia. The public will have a rare opportunity to view the world’s most famous shirt when Lelands displays the jersey at the National Sports Collectors Convention on Aug. 1-5, at the Baltimore Convention Center.
“Babe Ruth is the king of all sports, the most iconic figure in sports history,” said Mike Heffner, president of Lelands. “We are ecstatic with the new owner’s decision to share this very rare, very special and very important piece of sports memorabilia with fans who would never otherwise have the opportunity to see it in person.”
The early 1920s jersey, purchased by Lelands this past May, was worn by the “Sultan of Swat” after coming over to the Yankees from the Boston Red Sox. It had previously been displayed at The Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum in Baltimore. An avid collector and baseball lover bought the jersey after one of the most high-profile and competitive auctions in the marketplace. The buyer, who wishes to remain anonymous, arranged for the jersey to also be displayed at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Bambino’s jersey will be under guard for the duration of the NSCC show.
To learn more about Lelands.com visit www.Lelands.com.
On July 30, Memory Lane Inc. will pull back the curtain on what could be one of the southern California-based company’s best catalogs ever. The Historic Rarities Auction features 13 pages of Babe Ruth memorabilia, much of it never seen before, dozens of high-end vintage sports card singles and sets, and one man’s massive collection of sports and historic autographs.
Many of the items in the auction will be available for preview at the upcoming National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore, birthplace of baseball’s most famous name.
Memory Lane has spent the past several months collecting what can best be described as a treasure trove of Ruth baseball cards and memorabilia, some of it never before offered for sale, including two Ruth rookie cards (a 1916 Sporting News PSA 4 and a scarce 1916 Famous and Barr SGC 10), a 1933 Yankees team-signed bat and items from the collection of The Babe’s pioneering sports agent.
“Baltimore is the perfect place to show off these incredible Babe Ruth pieces,” said Memory Lane’s J.P. Cohen. “The show is just a few blocks from his birthplace and museum, and you can almost trace his life through the items in this auction and see his generosity. You can really feel the history just by looking at them. Their stories are terrific as well.”
The collection of Ruth items is just the beginning of a large catalog event that includes high-grade vintage cards and unopened packs, autographs and other memorabilia.
The Ruth rookie card that leads off the auction carries an opening bid of $25,000. One of the hobby’s hottest cards just now getting its due, it shows The Babe as a Red Sox pitcher, just a short time after he began his pro career as a minor leaguer in Baltimore.
There is a bat carved from an Indiana tree that was taken to Yankee Stadium in 1933 by two brothers who got 24 Yankees – including Ruth and Lou Gehrig – to sign it. The bat will open at $10,000.
Several unique items have been consigned from the estate of Ruth’s friend, Christy 
Walsh, generally considered to be the first-ever sports agent including Walsh’s own 1947 World Series press box pass with signatures of Ruth, Cy Young and several other well-known players.
In addition to the Ruth rookie cards, Memory Lane will offer hundreds of scarce and high-grade vintage cards from virtually every era of collecting. Another highlight is the 1909 E90-1 American Caramel Ty Cobb. Only 116 of this particular card have ever been graded with only two higher than the PSA 7 example offered in this auction.
T206 collectors in search of the elusive T206 Sherry “Magie” error will find one offered in the Historic Rarities catalog. Graded 2.5 by PSA, the card is one of the hobby’s most sought after and iconic specimens. Magee’s name was quickly corrected in subsequent printings and for decades, collectors who want to own every card in “The Monster” have searched high and low for this legendary error card. MLI is also offering the one and only T206 Mint 9 Germany Schafer card with a $1,000 opening bid.
From the 1933 and ’34 Goudey sets come quite a foursome. There are two different 1933 Goudey Ruth cards and two different Lou Gehrig cards from the 1934 Goudey set, all graded Near Mint 7 by PSA, each with a $2,000 minimum bid.
There is a 1911 T3 Turkey Red Cy Young (PSA 4.5), a PSA 8 1938 Goudey Joe DiMaggio, 1939 and 1940 examples of Play Ball Ted Williams (both PSA 
as well as a 1940 Joe Jackson (PSA 7), a 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson rookie (PSA 7) and several other high-grade 1948 Leaf cards including the Satchel Paige rookie, a Ted Williams…and yes…a high grade Babe Ruth.
Gateway Stamp Company out of St. Louis was a prolific distributor of first-day covers and the man who owns what is likely the most comprehensive, complete collection is a collector named John Oakley. He not only collected more than 1,100 of the autographed, postmarked envelopes; he chronicled how many of each were made, whether he bought them originally signed or unsigned, values and more. Oakley has consigned his collection to Memory Lane for this auction. The lot, with a conservative estimated value of $30,000-$50,000 includes several U.S. presidents, astronauts and sports stars like Michael Jordan, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Bear Bryant, Walter Payton, Johnny Unitas, Wilt Chamberlain, Roy Campanella, Muhammad Ali and many, many more Hall of Fame caliber personalities.
Unopened pack collectors will find seldom seen items like a 1959 Topps cello and a 1960 Topps rack pack.
Basketball card collectors will take aim at a BGS 9.5 Michael Jordan rookie card.
Football card collectors will see cards like a mint 1966 Philadelphia Gum Dick Butkus rookie.
Those items are just the tip of the iceberg in the auction, which includes more than 1,300 items and will close August 18. Bidding will be available by phone or online at MemoryLaneInc.com.
You can view the items, pick up an auction catalog and sign up to receive future catalogs during the National Sports Collectors Convention. Memory Lane will be at booth 117B near the front door of the Baltimore Convention Center.
Huggins and Scott’s fourth Masterpiece Auction of 2012 begins on Monday July 30 at noon eastern time. Bidding will be available until Thursday night August 9th with the 30-minute rule beginning at 11:00pm eastern time.
Many of the pieces listed below will be available for viewing at the H&S booth #325P at the National Convention in Baltimore, MD from August 1-5. The company’s offices are located only 45 minutes from the Baltimore Convention Center and if you would like to come preview any lot in the auction, their offices are open for appointments to view as many items as you would like.
As usual, you’ll find a huge variety of items aimed at virtually every level of collector but there are several highlight pieces in this auction. Lot number one is the earliest known Edson Pele game-worn and signed Santos FC jersey ever publicly offered. The jersey dates to a specific 12-month period from August 1962 to August 1963, when Pele was just 21-22 years old. The jersey was exchanged with an opponent named Luis Catharina when they opposed each other in a club match in Brazil, just after he led Brazil to it’s second World Cup Championship.
Card collectors will pick from an abundance of 19th and 20th century rarities including professionally graded and raw examples of cards from a variety of designations, including an extremely tough N566 Newsboy Cabinet of John Ward (Arms Folded) SGC 50; a 1907 Ty Cobb Rookie Wolverine Postcard SGC 60 (highest graded); the largest collection of high grade and low pop T206 cards the company has ever offered. Several highest graded Southern Leaguers and high grade Hall of Famers are 
on the block including a SGC 84 Christy Mathewson (Portrait); an E92 Dockman and Sons Honus Wagner PSA 6 and many, many more. The collection of 1950s material is tremendous, with a 1952 Topps Mantle SGC 60, 1951 Bowman Mantle PSA 6, 5 and 4, 1952 Topps Andy Pafko #1 PSA 7 and an incredible number of PSA and SGC graded 1952 Topps cards ranging from NM 7 to Mint 9; the only graded example of a 1958 Hires Root Beer Test card of Jim Busby and two different 1990 Topps George Bush cards (of only 100 total made).
The recent Black Swamp Find of E98 cards has brought the set to the forefront and Huggins and Scott will feature a near complete set of this 1910 issue in the auction. The set is missing only one of the 30 cards.
There are several Master and Near Master sets from the 1950s with many key cards graded; the #6 and #9 registered complete sets on the PSA registry for 1962 and 1965 Topps Football, respectively; along with numerous “shoebox” collections (always a crowd favorite).
With the National in Baltimore, it’s appropriate that among the game-worn items in the sale is a 1970 Brooks Robinson signed Orioles home jersey (and a matching game-used cap). Yankee fans will gaze on a 1950 Tommy Henrich game jersey and pants, Cubs fans will see a 1963 Cuno Barragan flannel (graded MEARS A-10) and there will be an Al Corwin 1954 World Series bat and 1955 game-used road New York Giants jersey and pants.
Various years, styles and teams of game-used warm-up jackets up for bid include a 1940s New York Yankees Frankie Crosetti, 1971-74 Bob Forsch Houston Astros Shooting Stars, and a 1979 Lenny Randle New York Yankees.
There’s intrigue behind a silver cigarette case that is inscribed “To My Best Friend Lou – Yours Babe Ruth (possibly to Lou Gehrig). Bidders will also see one of the finest 1962 Mickey Mantle/Roger Maris Stellar Radios in the original box; a possibly unique Gibbs-Conner Philadelphia A’s Bank that is dated and has no hat; a tremendous 1906 Type 1 Chicago White Sox George Lawrence oversized photograph (only one of six known); a collection of game programs and tickets, including Mickey Mantle’s 1951 Major League debut ticket stub; Roberto Clemente’s 3000th hit ticket stub and several World Series tickets from 1913-1986 and many more.
Moving to the gridiron, there is a 1954-1960 Jim Mutscheller game used Baltimore Colts helmet and a 1950s Championship Era Colts Sideline Cape.
There is a large number of autographed lots including baseballs, bats, lithographs, photographs and others consigned by collectors from all across the country. Highlights include: a 1927 Babe Ruth/Lou Gehrig dual-signed baseball where they appear on the same panel; a 2010 Historic Autographs (1 of 1) Dual Autograph card of Babe Ruth and Roger Maris; a pair of Babe Ruth signed photographs; several team-signed baseballs from the 1920s-present day; possibly the very last check ever written to Cal Ripken Jr. from the Rochester Red Wings; and a pair of vintage boxing gloves signed twice by Rocky Marciano and other early boxing greats.
If political or Americana collecting is your hobby, this auction features a number of very early American historical autographs including Jeb Stuart, Ulysses Grant, Jefferson Davis, Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Edison (PSA 10), Harry Houdini, Margaret Mitchell, Helen Keller, Walt Disney, Neil Armstrong and much more.
A federal grand jury in Chicago indicted sports memorabilia executives Bill Mastro and Doug Allen on fraud charges, alleging that the pair — once the most influential figures in the multi-billion dollar collectibles industry — routinely defrauded customers, rigged auctions and inflated prices paid by unwitting bidders.
The indictment unsealed Wednesday also says that Mastro altered the world’s most expensive baseball trading card, the Honus Wagner T206 that has fetched millions in a series of high-profile sales since Mastro bought it for $25,000 in a Hicksville, L.I. memorabilia shop in 1985. Its owners have included NHL great Wayne Gretzky, who purchased the card in 1991 along with Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall for $451,000.
“Defendant Mastro represented that Mastro Auctions had sold the most expensive baseball card in the world, a Honus Wagner T206 card,” the indictment says. “In making this representation, however, defendant Mastro knowingly omitted the material fact that defendant Mastro had altered the baseball card by cutting the sides of the card in a manner that, if disclosed, would have significantly reduced the value of the card.”
According to the indictment, Mastro Auctions also sold what it claimed was Elvis Presley’s hair years after Allen learned that DNA testing proved the locks did not come from the King of Rock. Additionally, the company sold a 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings trophy baseball, even though Mastro knew there were questions about its authenticity.
Mastro, the founder of Mastro Auctions and the brother of Randy Mastro, Rudy Giuliani’s former deputy mayor and longtime aide, was charged with one count of wire and mail fraud. His attorney, Michael Monico, said he expects the case will be resolved without a trial, indicating that Mastro is cooperating with authorities.
Mastro dropped out of the hobby in 2009, after he shut down Mastro Auctions, which once generated as much as $50 million a year in sales. He sold his legendary memorabilia collection in 2010.
“Bill accepts responsibility for the actions that led to this case,” Monico said. “For many years, Bill has dedicated himself to religious and charitable works.”
Allen, the company’s president before it went out of business in 2009, faces 14 counts. Allen and former Mastro Auctions executive Mark Theotikos, who was charged with six counts of wire and mail fraud, formed Legendary Auctions after Mastro Auctions crashed. The maximum penalty for the fraud charge is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, although federal guidelines make it unlikely that the defendants would face the maximum sentence.
Former Mastro employee William Boehm was also charged with one count of making false statements to agents ivestigating the case.
Christened the “Gretzky T206 Wagner” after the hockey great purchased it, the card was sold by Gretzky to Wal-Mart in 1995 for $500,000. It toured the country in a traveling memorabilia museum, has appeared at baseball’s All-Star game and has been the headliner at national card shows, including the National Sports Collectors Convention. It became the first million-dollar baseball card in history in 2000 when Chicago collector Mike Gidwitz sold it for $1.27 million to collector Brian Seigel.
The card is now owned by Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick, who paid $2.8 million for it in 2007 from Tom Candiotti, the former major league pitcher. It was on loan to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown until March. Kendrick declined comment on the indictment.
Card collectors have long believed that the Gretzky T206 Wagner was cut from a sheet and trimmed, which is taboo in the hobby and would significantly reduce its value.
In their 2007 book “The Card,” Daily News reporters Michael O’Keeffe and Teri Thompson reported that the card had been cut from a printer’s sheet and was further trimmed by Mastro to make it appear as if it had come from a 1909 pack of cigarettes.
“The Card” quoted Bill Hughes, a member of the Professional Sports Authenticator team that graded the card, admitting he knew the card had been altered.
“The card is so outstanding, it would have been sacrilegious to call that card trimmed and completely devalue it,” Hughes explained.
The 1869 trophy ball named in the indictment was consigned to Mastro Auctions by dealer Peter Nash, according to a lawsuit filed last year in New Jersey federal court by collector Corey Shanus against auctioneer Rob Lifson and his company Robert Edward Auctions.
Nash, best known as “Prime Minister Pete Nice” of the 1980s hip-hop group 3rd Bass, has been embroiled for years in a series of legal and financial battles stemming from his memorabilia business, and sources have told the Daily News that the FBI has questioned them about the ex-rapper.
Chicago prosecutors declined to comment when asked if other indictments were expected.
The Chicago indictment is the result of an investigation into fraud in sports memorabilia that was initiated by the Chicago FBI and other federal agencies in 2007.
Three sports memorabilia dealers accused of selling bogus game-used jerseys to trading-card companies and other collectors pleaded guilty to mail fraud in Illinois federal court in November. Several other dealers were charged last year with selling counterfeit jerseys.
“Bidders must remain mindful of the maxim, ‘buyer beware,'” said Gary S. Shapiro, Acting U.S Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “Consumers have a right to be protected from deceptive and dishonest sales practices, and we will prosecute those who fraudulently rig auctions at the expense of bidders.”
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