This magazine was a bit lighter than the 750 page bound book that arrived via UPS
I expect Sports Illustrated to show up in my mailbox on a weekly basis. I recently received the SI issue featuring the New York Yankees “Core Four” the front cover followed by the latest issue with Big Ben. That I expect. When the UPS man makes a visit with a special delivery, this is not so expected. So when he dropped off a package which weighed and initially felt like someone sent me a phonebook, I was a bis surprised.
It was only after I ripped open the box that I realized the contents didn’t resemble the yellow pages. In fact, it was a 750 page, 8 1/2 x 11″four-color bound book from sports auction house Robert Edward Auctions. Now I remembered. My best friend’s father, Michael, was the reason this had arrived. About a month ago, he told me via email to call the Robert Edwards Auction company just to see the types of auctions they had in the book.
He has always been a great resource of sports information so I just did it and forgot about the package until it arrived.
I used to collect baseball cards and trade them with Michael’s son, Rob. To this day we joke about how many 1977 baseball cards of Doyle Alexander each of us used to have. It was Michael who got me hooked on autograph collecting as a kid. This was a passion and I used to collect all kinds of autographs. I grew up at a time when this was a hobby, not a business. I never collected an autograph thinking how much it might be worth one day. I have never sold an autograph for money. Never. It was never about that as a youngster. I remember rushing out ot my mailbox hoping I would receive a letter from a far off place with a new signature to add to my collection.
One day, Mike showed me part of the autograph collection he had, which was passed down from his father. It was nothing short of amazing. The collection was more than just baseball or related to sports. It included astronauts, President’s of the United States, inventors. An amazing collection for sure.
That’s why when this sports auction book reached the house, it instantly caught my attention. I had to take a look at histroy and see what the current day values of classic sports collectables are. You know items like Babe Ruth’s Bat (sold for $95,000) as well as Babe Ruth’s Rookie Card ($70,000) and let’s not forget World Series Programs — the 1903 World Series Program – Game One at Boston! (sold for $70,000)
There was also one or two non baseball items that I found interesting. For example, there was the 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Formerly Owned by President Barack Obama that sold for $22,500 as well as Lone Ranger Original Artwork for Card #35 (sold for a more affordable #3,250).
The down-side to all of this was the timing. The catalgoue that I had ordered from Robert Edward Auctions took a month to arrive and I only had 24 hours to review it before the massive auction ended. it would have been nice to have it in time to see all the pricing before the auction closed. Maybe next time they will get the new book to me a bit earlier.
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Picture of Honus Wagner Card from the Auction's Web Site
Specific Items from the Auction.
The Honus Wagner Baseball Card was was put on sale for $50,000 as a starting bid and sold for $250,000. Here is a description and a link to the specific auction.
Description: Every T206 Wagner naturally has a great story, sharing the Wagner legend that is now part of classic American folklore, and every Wagner also has an additional story relating to its provenance. Collectors have always been fascinated with all aspects of the history of Wagners: how they were discovered, where they have been purchased, when, for how much, where they have been, how they have happened to survive. This is a particularly interesting card in that it has never been up for auction, or been photographed, or even been seen before in the modern collecting world. To Wagner scholars, it would appear to be a newly discovered card. That conclusion, however, would not be accurate. Despite having never been seen before, this is not a newly discovered Wagner. It has been known for many decades and may even be one of the earliest known of all Wagners. It has simply not had occasion to be seen or made its whereabouts known in any way in modern collecting times. It has been the prize possession of two private family collections going back many decades. We have taken the liberty of calling this example "The Connecticut Wagner" simply because that is the state in which it was long ago purchased by our consignor. The card has actually been consigned by a father-son collecting team, who had (and still have) a great interest in vintage cards, and were very active in the 1980s, even setting up at local card shows to sell new cards to make money to buy old cards for their personal collection.
USC was back in the court on Monday but beleive it or not, it had nothing to do with Reggie Bush or Athletic violations.
For a different take on the same story, I suggest you check out this article, by the Sunnews.com It certainly gives a different perspective on a passionate issue for two proud schools, Trojans and Gamecocks. 
