Over the past weeks, we have discussed the similarities between this year's Phillies Post-Season opposition and that of their 1950 counterparts, "The Whiz Kids". As this site is often visited by collectors of baseball memorabilia, I thought it might be helpful to offer some suggestions on how to put together a very nice display for a favorite World Series Team. I will begin with starting a collection for a team that played, lets say, before 1975 - a "vintage" team. The next blog will discuss putting together such a collection for "modern" and current teams. All suggestions are made with full awareness of the current economic climate, and the planned displays should be within most, if not all, collector's budgets.
Since we have been discussing the 1950 World Series, lets use that as an example. If you are a Phillies or Yankeees fan and would like to honor that World Series team with a display, here are some thoughts. The first essential is a program from The Series from each of the ballparks. As with most paper items, price varies considerably with condition. If you must have a pristine or "mint" copy of the program, then it will cost you more. If, like me, you prefer your vintage program to look like a vintage program (I believe the current phrase is "gently used"), then you are in much better financial straits. Such a program for the 1950 World Series should not cost you no more than $40 -50 for each team.
The next essential is a ticket stub from each of the parks. The more compulsive members of the collecting club, might well want a ticket from each game, but either way, these make great display pieces. As noted before, condition plays a large part in the cost of these tickets, but if you are happy with a stub with rounded corners, or even a minor crease, then $50-60 dollars should get you one from Yankee Stadium or Shibe Park. Remember, "back in the day", tickets were actually torn, and the fan kept only part of the ticket. It is such a stub that I discussing at present. Sometimes an unused or "full" ticket can be found from an older World Series game, but these are rare and priced accordingly. An unused whole ticket will probably cost you around $200.
Once you get your programs and stubs you will want to get some plastic protectors to put them in. The plastic not only protects the item, but makes it look and display better, and renders it easier to handle without damage. Hard and soft plastic sleeves can be found at hobby shops, virtually and card or autograph show, and at numerous on line sites. They are very inexpensive.
In the old days, when you bought the program, you often got just the program, and had to buy the scorecard separately. Thus, you will want a scorecard from one of each team's home games.
These are a little harder to find, but should be obtainable in the $50 range. Next, no World Series collection would be complete without a pennant, and there are often more than one pennant for each team. Again, condition will determine price, as will age and scarcity, but a nice pennant from the 1950 Series for either team should cost about $80-120 depending on style and condition.
If you search the internet sales sites, you should also be able to find some other items that were sold at the two stadia during the games. These include pins, small pens in the shape of baseball bats, and the ever popular team "Picture Pack" containing about a dozen black and white photos of the key players. These items are generally not expensive, and for a small outlay can really add some "texture" to your display. These are the things that you and others will remember from those old games.
If your budget will permit, the last items I would suggest acquiring are press pins and press passes for each team in That Series. These items are rarer,as they were only given to working media covering the games, and there were many fewer reporters in those days. The pins are often quite attractive, and really provide "something different" to your display. Unfortunaely, in good condition, therse will set you back abot $150-200 in good condition. They are, however, a very good investment.
Press passes, VIP parking passes and other "oddball" items can also be wonderful additions to your display. Putting the above items together on a bookshelf, or matted and framed on a wall, should provide you with years of goos memories of that one special World Series team you loved.
For the older teams, game used jerseys and other equipment are out of the question for all but a very few. The good news is that excellent reproduction versions can be obtained (You might try Mitchell and Ness, for example). A framed jersey from that special team really adds a lot to a display, and you can also wear it when you like. Next time I will talk about collecting Post-Seson items for recent teams, and the challenges posed by expanded playoffs, bar coded tickets and a myriad of other modern "improvements to the game".