Memorabilia

July 04, 2023

I decided to spend a few days with my brother and sister-in-law in Kansas City over the 4th of July.  I drove up Sunday and arrived in time to attend the Royals-Dodgers game in the afternoon.  I had bought tickets and the required parking pass online and loaded them to my phone.  I flashed my pass and then met my brother at the gate.  I flashed my tickets at the gate, and we went seamlessly into the stadium.  I had gift cards to the Royals store that were only accessible at the stadium, so we went into the gift shop hoping to purchase a tee shirt or some other small item.  The shop was full of autographed balls and rows of jerseys along the wall.  The jerseys were autographed and were from current players.  They started at US$500 so I moved on.  Another wall had signed jerseys of “discontinued” players that were discounted to only US$175.  The balls were more reasonable but started at US$75.  I decided I did not need anything from the shop after all.  We did not purchase any memorabilia and made our way down to our front row seats near the right field foul pole.

When I went online, I found sports memorabilia refers to collectables associated with sports including equipment, trophies, sports cards, autographs, photographs, or anything collectors are willing to buy.  A multi-billion-dollar industry has grown up around sports memorabilia and items can be valued at millions of dollars.  Collecting sports memorabilia goes back to the early 20th century when people began to collect baseballs from games.  Many took these balls and asked the most popular player of the day (Babe Ruth) for autographs.  Over the years and as other stars joined their sports, memorabilia collectors broadened their horizons.  When the NBA, MLB, NHL, and NFL began selling their jerseys in stores during the 1980’s, game used jerseys also became a hot memorabilia item.  Game used can refer to an item worn or used during a game or pregame and can include an athlete’s personal attire.  This can also refer to equipment and other items used by a player in a game.  With game used you must decide whether to wash the item or if it is more valuable to you soiled (to stink or not stink).

While I was not willing to spend large amounts for memorabilia, I was surprised there were none of the tee shirts or ball caps that were available online.  On our way to our seats, we decided to get something to eat.  On a whim I asked if I could use my gift cards for concessions.  The young server looked at my card and then asked his supervisor.  She assured him it would work.  He rang up my sale and then stood perplexed trying to figure out how to run the gift card.  Again, the supervisor showed him to just scan in the bar code.  It worked and I had lunch for the day.  There were only a few vendors in the stands during the game and my brother tried to buy something.  The vendor told him the stadium was cashless only.  I gave him one of my gift cards and he went off to concessions.  While I may not have purchased any memorabilia (cost), we were at least able to use our cards to secure food and drinks.

Thoughts:  As we watched the game, I noticed several people arriving near us with the shirts and caps I had intended to buy.  After the game (Royals won 9-1) I was one of the last to straggle back up the steps and found someone had left their memorabilia bag laying beneath the seat.  I looked around and no one was there.  I picked it up intending to give it to the person who would obviously return to retrieve their purchase, but no one ever came back.  As I walked toward the exit, I saw the gift shop I had missed that sold these less expensive items rather than expensive memorabilia.  When I got back to the car, I opened my valuable package.  Instead of any hoped-for memorabilia, the bag contained two tags, a sales receipt, and a woman’s top sporting the words, “Virginia Beach”.  Looks like the only winner will be the local thrift shop.  What do they say about ill-gotten gain?  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.