Sports Memorabilia History

Learn About Sports Memorabilia History

It could be said that collecting sports memorabilia goes back to the first decades of the 20th century, when many people would collect baseballs from baseball games and many asked Babe Ruth for autographs.

As years passed and many other sports stars joined their sports, memorabilia collectors also began to broaden their horizons. When the NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL began selling their jerseys in stores during the 1980s, game used jerseys also became a hot item among sports memorabilia collectors.

Former NBA player Dennis Rodman was famous for taking off his jerseys and throwing them to the stands after his games were over. Michael Jordan is probably the basketball player whose memorabilia is most sought after by collectors.

The highest price fetched for a football (soccer) match worn shirt is $224,000. The shirt belonged to the legendary Pelé, who wore it during the 1970 World Cup final in which Brazil went onto win.