Let us find out what the Most Valuable Sports Memorabilia in The World is.
According to the dictionary, memorabilia refers to objects collected due to emotional attachment with valuable people or events.
Similarly, sports memorabilia might be a jersey that was once worn by a famous player, trophies, shoes, balls, autographs, valuable photographs, etc.
Any memorabilia that is autographed has more value than an unautographed one. Memorabilia collection, itself is considered a sport.
Collecting of sports memorabilia started as early as the 20th century.
This was not a big deal then; people just wanted a memoir for themselves. Online selling and buying of sports memorabilia have expanded the business worldwide.
Now, it is a huge business with a $15 Billion annual cash flow in 2023. The sports memorabilia market is blooming and expanding dynamically.
This industry is not always good, it is sometimes bizarre. For instance, a man from Wisconsin paid $10,000 to get his hand on chewing gum discarded by Luis Gonzalez.
So, if you are trying to get into this industry, do your research and keep your head in place. Also, start collecting. You could also be one of them on this list.
Quick Overview
Let us take a quick look at the 12 Most Valuable Sports Memorabilia in The World and the reason for its value.
| Memorabilia | Famous for |
| 12) Paul Henderson Jersey | The jersey he was wearing when he scored the winning goal in the 1972 Summit Series. |
| 11) Jesse Owens’ Medal | Gold Medal received by Jesse on 1936 Olympics |
| 10) Joe DiMaggio’s Journal | The hand-written journal of one of the best baseball players of all time. |
| 9) Babe Ruth Baseball Ring(1927) | He broke Baseball’s most important records, developed a new playstyle for baseball |
| 8) Mark McGwire’s Baseball | Mark McGwire got his 70th home run in 1998 |
| 7) Daniel Lucius Adams’ Rules of Baseball | ‘”The Laws of Base Ball” from 1857 |
| 6) James Naismith’s Rules of Basketball | Consisting of First 13 Rules of Basketball |
| 5) Babe Ruth Jersey | The jersey, worn by legendary Baseball player Babe Ruth (1920) |
| 4) Topps Mickey Mantle Baseball Card | Rarest Baseball Card |
| 3) Babe Ruth Jersey | Also, the jersey, worn by legendary Baseball player Babe Ruth (1928-1930) |
| 2) Rare Honus Wagner Baseball Card | Honus Wagner, being a spectacular player, pulled his card from cigarette packing. |
| 1) Original Olympics Manifesto | Manuscript of Coubertin’s founding principles and speech at Sorbonne University in 1892. |
Most Valuable Sports Memorabilia in The World
We have done our research and collected information from Sports Memorabilia and ESPN.
12) Paul Henderson Jersey
Value: $1.27 Million
Paul Garnet Henderson is an ice hockey player who played over 1000 games in NHL and WHA.
He played from 1962-1981.
Paul played for Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leaves, Toronto Toros, Birmingham Bulls, and Atlanta Flames.
He was a spectacular player, known for his speed. Also, he has exemplary skills at shooting. He scored the last winning score with 34 seconds remaining in the 1972 Summit Series.
Undoubtedly, this was the reason for the popularity and value of this jersey. His Jersey was sold in 2012.
11) Jesse Owens’ Medal
Value: $1.4 Million
James Cleveland Owens was an American athlete. He won four gold medals in Olympics in 1936 in a 100m race.
Certainly, he was the fastest of his time. There is a discussion if Jesse Owens is faster than Usain Bolt.
In fact, Jesse Owen’s personal best is higher than Usain Bolt’s in 100m dash. But, it is not that simple and other conditions affect the judgment.
In 1970, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. The 1936 gold medal was sold at an auction in 2019.
10) Joe DiMaggio’s Journal
Value: $1.5 Million
Joseph Paul DiMaggio is also commonly known as Joltin Joe and The Yankee Clipper.
He played in the MLB for 13 years for the New York Yankees.
He won the World Series Championship 9 times, AL MVP three times, AL batting Champion 2 times, and AL home run leader 2 times.
In addition, he was also selected in All-Star games 13 times. Undoubtedly, he is one of the greatest players in the history of MBL.
However big he was, he kept his journal. It had his lifestyle, games, daily activities, and life after Baseball. You can also find a copy on eBay.
9) Babe Ruth World Series Ring (1927)
Value: $2.1 Million
George Herman Babe Ruth was a spectacular Baseball player, breaking all records and just, being the best.
He was a 7 times World Series Champion, AL MVP in 1923, AL battling Champion in 1924, and 12 times AL home run leader.
As a result, his belongings were loved by all and were precious.
This 1927 World series ring represents an epic season in which he made a record of 60 home runs and 164 runs.
All in all, his team won 110 games that season. The Babe Ruth 1927 World Series Ring was sold in 2017 at an auction.
8) Mark McGwire’s Baseball
Value: $3 Million
Mark David McGwire is commonly known as Big Mac. He played for the Oakland Athletics from 1986 to 1997.
He also played for St. Louis Cardinals from 1997 to 2001. Big Mac was undoubtedly one of the best home run hitters in the history of MLB.
This is the all-time famous 70th homerun ball. This game was the most-watched regular-season game in ESPN history with 10.6 million viewers.
Mark broke the record of 61 home runs with 70 home runs. He won the World Series Championship twice, AL Rookie of the Year in 1987.
He is also the winner of the Gold Glove Award of 1990. The baseball was sold to McFarlane after the 1998 season.
7) Daniel Lucius Adams’ Rules of Baseball
Value: $3.26 Million
Daniel Lucius Adams is regarded as a major character in the sports industry. He wrote the laws of baseball in this manuscript in 1857.
This manuscript was used by the modern Baseball authorities to come up with a set of rules for the game.
He is also the creator of the shortstop position in baseball. Even though this memorabilia surfaced in 1999, the author wasn’t known. So, it was kept aside.
After research, it came to light that the writer was Daniel Lucius. In 2010, Doc Adam’s Rules of Baseball was sold.
6) James Naismith’s Rules of Basketball
Value: $4.3 Million
James Naismith’s Rules of Basketball consists of 5 principles and 13 rules of basketball.
Now, you might ask what’s so special about the 13 rules? What’s valuable is that James Naismith, the writer is the inventor of Basketball.
Naismith used two peach baskets and a soccer ball. The baskets were put at each end of the gym and 10 feet above the floor
In this way, he invented basketball in 1891. The James Naismith Rules was sold to David Booth in 2010.
5) Babe Ruth Jersey(1920)
Value: $4.42 Million
We already know how valuable Babe Ruth was in the history of baseball. So, his belongings being most valuable comes as no surprise.
Babe Ruth 1920 Jersey was sold in 2017 and set the then-record of being most valuable. He did not wear this jersey to any game.
He wore it in the film- The Pride of the Yankees which made the jersey popular and valuable.
4) 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Baseball Card
Value: $5.2 Million
Mickey Charles Mantle who was an all-rounder on Baseball Field. He played all positions- center field, right fielder, and first baseman flawlessly.
He has won World Series Champion 7 times, AL MVP 3 times, Triple Crown in 1956, and Gold Glove Award in 1962.
In addition, he was 20 times All-Star. All in all, he is still one of the best Baseball players.
Thus, making the Mickey Mantle card immensely valuable. The card was sold for $2.8 Million in 2018. It was sold last November to Rob Gough.
3) Babe Ruth Jersey(1928-1930)
Value: $5.64 Million
At number three, we again have Babe Ruth Jersey from 1928-1930. By now, we know that Babe Ruth was a phenomenal player and he deserves this hype.
Babe Ruth played for 22 seasons overall. He played for New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves.
It was sold in 2017, breaking his previous record of 1920 Jersey.
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2) Rare Honus Wagner Baseball Card
Value: $6.6 Million
The story of this Rare Honus Wagner Baseball Card is very random. Honus Wagner is not a well-known player.
However, he was a spectacular baseball player. He was also known as “The Flying Dutchman.”
He won the World Series Championship in 1909 and NL batting champion 8 times.
In addition, he was NL RBI leader 5 times and NL stolen base leader 5 times.
There are only 57 copies of the T206 Honus Wagner Baseball Card.
As a result, these are rare and expensive. Wagner didn’t like smoking, random right? This is the only reason the Baseball Card has much value.
He was a part of the series of cards-T206. These cards were included in Cigarettes packs. So, he demanded to pull his cards off.
This is the reason there are very few of these left. It was sold in an auction in early August 2021.
1) Original Olympics Manifesto
Value: $8.8 Million+
Undoubtedly on number 1, we have The Original Olympics Manifesto.
The Olympic Manifesto is a 14-page manuscript that sketches the framework of modern games.
Pierre de Coubertin who was a French advocate for modern athletics wrote this manuscript.
All in all, he envisioned and mentioned new strategies and technologies which would help modern games become a success.
He had an idea of uniting the world together with sports and athletics. In 1896 when the first Olympics took place, his dream came true.
It was sold for $8.8 million in an auction in December 2020.
Facts about Sports Memorabilia:
- 93% of the sales of sports memorabilia take place in the US.
- Over 200 million people are collectors of memorabilia.
- The New York Yankees are most popular in this industry.
- Trading Cards rule this industry.
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