Below is a press release we have just serviced with our offer for an autograph by the infamous Steve Bartman. Stay tuned here to see if he shows and details on the auction of the autograph if he does.
The most money ever offered for one autograph is on the table, literally, at the 29th Annual National Sports Collectors Convention, scheduled for July 30 – August 3 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.
Show organizers and SportsBuy.com (formerly NAXCOM.com), a Sports Online Sales & Auction firm, announced today that a briefcase filled with $25,000 – that’s 250 $100 bills – is being offered to Steve Bartman on “Redemption-Reward Thursday” at the annual sports collectibles convention.
The Bartman signing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Central Time on Thursday, July 31, in the Tristar Autograph Pavilion inside the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.
“No one in sports memorabilia history has ever been paid $25,000 to sign one autograph – not Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, or any other athlete,” said Mike Berkus, co-Executive Director of The National.
“All Steve has to do is show up, prove he is in fact the real Steve Bartman – not some earphone-wearing imposter – and he’ll move to the top of the autograph value list,” said Wesley Hein, CEO of SportsBuy.com.
The photograph that The National organizers want Bartman to sign is, of course, the infamous image from Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series against the Florida Marlins. Once the picture is signed, it will be auctioned on SportsBuy.com to the general public with net proceeds being donated to a Chicago-based charity. This photo, signed by Steve Bartman, would be, arguably, the most sought-after collectible in the history of sports memorabilia.
“Steve Bartman has been a recluse for years, but we’re hopeful that he will accept our invitation and generous offer to appear at The National,” Berkus said. “We have personal security to provide to Steve at The National and to a destination of his choosing.”
If Bartman accepts the offer, he immediately will vault into an autograph stratosphere of his own. Just consider the past prices and values of former athletes for one autograph:
- Babe Ruth: $10,000
- Shoeless Joe Jackson: $7,500
- Lou Gehrig: $5,000
- Michael Jordan: $2,500
- Joe DiMaggio: $2,000
- Mickey Mantle: $1,000
The story has legs. Among the outlets picking it up:
Yahoo’s front page as of this writing.
Blogs:
July 23, 2008 at 3:09 pm |
[...] site called SportsBuy.com has offered Bartman $25,000 to show up and sign a single photograph. Yahoo, Chicago Sun Times, [...]
July 23, 2008 at 3:26 pm |
Save your money. The pussy will never show.
July 24, 2008 at 8:42 am |
Leave Steve alone.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=bartman
July 24, 2008 at 9:23 am |
Oh please, give the guy a break! It’s a gut reaction and he was watching the ball, not homeboy about to catch the ball.
They should make Steve Bartman Cubs jerseys. I’d buy one.