$25,000 Cash Waiting for Steve Bartman

Infamous Cub fan Steve Bartman failed to show up at the National Show despite the offer by the promoters and SportsBuy.com to pay Steve $25,000 for a single autograph. For the 24 hours prior to the 1 pm deadline, a briefcase filled with 250 $100 bills was on display. This gave gawkers, not to mention friends of Steve, ample opportunity to confirm the veracity of the offer with their own eyes.

By the time 1 pm came around, several hundred people were there waiting for Steve’s arrival. A 10 minute, then 5 minute and finally 1 minute countdown came and went after the briefcase was closed and taken away by the armed guards who had been watching the money.

One of the people who had been hoping for Steve to show up was the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) who would have been the recipient of the net proceeds of the sale of Steve’s autograph, which the promoters had estimated could sell in excess of $100,000.

The good news is that many people in attendance donated money to the JDFR anyway and the National Show organized a raffle benefiting the JDFR. They are a very worthy organization and we encourage all to support them. Please visit their site for more information.

We received quite a bit of emails concerning the promotion. Most (though not all) was in support of Steve feeling that he should show up and take our money. We agree. Our promotion was aimed to promote the National Show, get us some press for SportsBuy, and do something good for Chicago charities via the donation of net proceeds. We sorry if anyone was offended and the end result was that as promotions go it was quite a success.

Update:

Matthew Efron as Steve Bartman

No this isn’t the real Steve Bartman but someone dressed as him for Halloween. The sender did not tell us if people threw beer at him or if he was escorted out of the party.

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.

Orlando Sentinel.

Blogs:

Baseball Card Blog

White Sox Blog

Huliq

Hello Rocky

Independent Sources