|
Bet as you click at the World betting and gambling directory with online sportsbooks, free no deposit casinos, multi player poker rooms, financial markets betting, lotteries, bingo and more...
|
|
Padraig Harrington left no stone unturned in his bid to reach the top of his profession and in the wake of his Open triumph this summer he was applying the same methodology to enjoying the spoils. By the time the Irishman had made his first competitive appearance following his Carnoustie play-off victory over Sergio Garcia he had already ordered 1,000 pin flags of the Open’s 18th hole to commemorate his first Major. The flags, he said as he prepared for the WGC Bridgestone Invitational tournament in Akron, Ohio, 10 days after lifting the Auld Claret Jug, would be mementos he could give out to friends, sponsors, charities and the like to commemorate his finest hour to date. Yet Harrington had not been the only one snapping up the Open 18th flags. During his first practice round at the Firestone Country Club he said he thought there would be a few already going up on the E-Bay trading website. “I think I’ve already donated,” the Dubliner said with more than a hint of sarcasm. “I had four people follow me yesterday and they had at least 20 each to be signed … all for their grandchildren.” Harrington’s experience is not unique. Such is the value of the burgeoning sports memorabilia industry, currently estimated to be worth US$5 billion, that the modern sports star is very aware of the value of an autograph, whether they are still for star-crossed young fans to treasure for a lifetime, or end up for sale to the highest bidder in the internet. In the United States some of today’s stars and former greats even charge for their autographs, taking part in signing sessions organised by memorabilia dealers. Disgraced baseball great Pete Rose, for instance, charges $40 per autograph to collectors for his autograph, making three appearances a week in a memorabilia shop in Vegas. In a On a more innocent level,
American children and youths, almost exclusively male, are certainly spending
more than they used to on sports cards, mostly of baseball players, according to
a market survey conducted in August. KidSay
Tracker is a monthly report created to monitor the spending habits and trends of
youth respondents. In
2006, nine per cent of boys reported they collect sports cards. In 2007, the
percentage has grown to more than 40 per cent. Card manufacturer Upper Deck
called the increase "staggering" but the company is not alone in
making a concerted effort to recapture a lucrative sector of the memorabilia
market. Upper Deck has spent several million dollars to run targeted baseball
television commericals on youth and child-oriented television networks such as
Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network during the past two Major League Baseball
seasons. And a 1909 tobacco card of legendary player Honus Wagner, one of less than 100 Wagner cards known to exist sold this year for $2.8m. Even in poor condition, a Wagner can sell for more than $100,000. What has really made the industry front page news, however, is a bizarre incident involving former American footballer turned actor turned cause célèbre OJ Simpson. Twelve years since being acquitted of the murder of his ex-wife in one of the most high profile court cases in US history, Simpson learned this week he will once again face a criminal trial, facing a dozen charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping, springing from a Las Vegas hotel confrontation in September during which he is accused of storming a guest’s room with five acquaintances and departing with a trove of memorabilia including a number of items related to his pro football career. Simpson and two of the acquaintances will stand trial, and all three could face up to life in prison if convicted of the kidnapping charge. The three other men with Simpson testified against the three defendants during the preliminary hearing after making plea deals. The hearing heard how Simpson and the group of men entered a room at the Palace Station Hotel-Casino on September 13 and left with pillowcases and boxes filled with memorabilia that included a number of Simpson items but also hundreds of pieces related to the sports careers of the football great Joe Montana and baseball stars Pete Rose and Duke Snider. The police report stated that Simpson, 60, and his group left with items including eight autographed footballs, two plaques, a photo of him with J. Edgar Hoover and three ties he said he wore during his 1995 criminal trial for the murders of his former wife and her friend. Though Simpson was acquitted, he was later found liable for the deaths in civil court. Pete Williams is an expert on the industry and the author two related books, “Card Sharks” and “Sports Memorabilia for Dummies” He has also served as an expert witness in high-profile lawsuits involving baseball memorabilia related to Ted Williams and Barry Bonds. Williams takes a dim view of
Simpson’s decision-making about his “Simpson showed poor judgment
on any number of levels by busting into a “Imagine that. Would you risk prison time to retrieve a bunch of common photos that you had signed? Why not just sign some more? “The Vegas stash… wasn't exactly rare memorabilia. Heck, the value of the memorabilia probably won't pay for more than an hour or two of Simpson's legal expenses.” That stuff may well pay for even less time. The more days he spends in court the further removed he gets from his former heroic status as a sporting icon. “Prior to OJ’s criminal
issue, he was a player like Joe Montana, a fan favorite, well liked,” said
Ross Tannenbaum, who owns a chain of around 30 sports memorabilia shops named
Field of Dreams. “In general, we don’t sell OJ Simpson stuff. There really
isn’t much demand for it. People do recognise him for his football-playing
abilities, but at the same time people are turned off by him.”
|
|
