Steiner Sports’ First Catalog Auction Underway

[iowa49erfan]

Shold be some good stuff!

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com...tion-underway/

Autograph and game-used memorabilia collectors know Steiner Sports now has several thousand different items on its popular website, but not until the recent arrival of its first-ever auction catalog has the true scope of the company’s imprint on the sports memorabilia hobby been on display.
It’s not likely that the history of American sports been told so thoroughly through autographed memorabilia than with the Steiner catalog, which includes a mind-boggling assortment of signed items from every major sport in nearly every era.
Accompanied by game-worn and game-used items from the company’s partnership with several pro and college franchises including the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Cowboys, Alabama, Syracuse and Notre Dame, the catalog auction being distributed to collectors around the world includes over 1,000 lots.
Bidding is now underway and will close over two nights, November 17 and 18.
“We decided to do an auction catalog for several reasons, but maybe the most important is that we now have so many incredible pieces of history that you just can’t get your arms around them by looking online,” said Auction Director Steven Costello. “They deserve their own spotlight and a full-color catalog that can be paged through and read at your leisure is the perfect way to illustrate that.”






The items have been drawn from a variety of sources, though and some are decidedly not of recent vintage. Among the highlights is a baseball signed by Babe Ruth and members of the 1948 Cincinnati Reds. Obtained at a spring training game, it represents one of the last baseballs The Babe signed in public before his death later that year.
“There are a lot of Ruth signed balls out there but this is truly rare and unique,” Costello said. “You can only imagine the thoughts that occupied Babe’s mind as he sat in the ballpark that day. His body was failing him but he still loved to sit in the sun and this ball proves he was still accommodating and generous to his fans.”
The ball, however, is but one of a handful of Ruth-signed items in the catalog. There is another ball, circa 1927, a ball signed by Ruth and members of the 1938 New York Giants and a double signed Ruth personal check.
Do you know who gave up Babe Ruth’s first, 500th and last home runs? Steiner not only does, but commemorates the Bambino milestones with a framed, matted display piece that includes cut signatures of Jack Warhop, Willis Hudlin and Guy Bush below matching period photos of Ruth.
Other Yankee and Hall of Fame greats are well represented in the auction. There is a ball autographed by Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. Numerous Mickey Mantle signed items, pages from a DiMaggio diary, 500 home run club signed balls, and literally dozens of multi-signed photos, bats, team balls and other relics.
Steiner’s partnership with the Yankees has allowed the company to offer one-of-a-kind memorabilia including a ‘set’ of 16 numbered seats from the old Yankee Stadium, #1-16, a numeric representation of some of the franchise’s greatest players.






Collectors with an eye for the unique can even bid on the bullpen phone from the old ballpark, where numerous relievers were summoned to warm up or enter a tight situation. The phone has been signed by the greatest of them all, Mariano Rivera, who added the title of the theme song to which he entered so many games, ‘Enter Sandman’.
Rivera and Derek Jeter are the two most iconic and long-time members of the modern era championship Yankee teams. A number of Jeter items are in the auction including a game-used bat from the season in which he passed Ruth on the all-time team hits list and a base from the game in which he tied Lou Gehrig’s hits mark.





Many pieces of the former home of the Yankees have made their way into the catalog, a lot of them now carrying autographs, including a light blue seat back signed by 38 pitchers who have worn pinstripes, another signed by 30 players and coaches and still another signed by the three perfect game pitchers, Don Larsen, David Wells and David Cone. There is even a piece of the famous Stadium wall autographed by long-time favorite Paul O’Neill, who added ‘The Warrior’ to his name.






The auction is more than baseball, however. Football memorabilia includes 1970s Dallas Cowboys photos carrying over 30 autographs of former greats, a huge array of 16×20 photos signed by members of Super Bowl championship teams from New York (Jets and Giants), New England and Pittsburgh and a Walter Payton autographed jersey.
There are college sports items including pieces from Steiner’s exclusive partnerships, a large 1980 Olympic hockey team multi-signed photo, a Bobby Orr “flying goal” signed photo, multiple Michael Jordan signed pieces and many others.
Contemporary superstar autograph lots include LeBron James, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Joe Mauer and others.
Boxing fans and collectors will see an impressive group of Muhammad Ali signed and framed classic photos, many depicting his career, others showing Ali with great sports and entertainment contemporaries including Bill Russell, Lew Alcindor and The Beatles.
The auction catalog will allow bidders to buy from Steiner at a price they feel comfortable with. The only question will be…which ones?
“We can definitely respect the auction companies who’ve been putting these out for years,” Costello said. “It’s a lot of work. It’s also been a pleasure, though. There are so many great moments and so many great items with which we’ve been able to capture them that we really do feel like we’re telling a very cool story through this auction.”
For a free copy of the catalog, contact Steiner Sports via their website or by phone at 800-759-SCORE (7267). Bids may also be placed on line.