Most sports fans collect memorabilia in some way or another. Some people, who have the money to spend, have great collections of athlete signed items, game-worn jerseys, etc. Then you have people like me, whose collection consists mostly of cheap stuff, like game ticket stubs, bobbleheads, mini-bats, and those little plastic baseball hats that they put ice cream in. Oh, and the genuine, game-used Eastern League baseball, thrown to me by Ron Johnson, back when he was manager of the Portland Sea Dogs. I wish I’d asked him to sign it for me. Johnson is now manager of the PawSox. Maybe I can bring that ball to a game there and see if I can get him to autograph it for me.

But today, I’m talking about the first type of sports collectibles…autographed, often game-used items such as balls, helmets, jerseys, etc. The real high-end stuff. These items are not only treasured by the serious sports fan, but they really are an investment. On a recent episode of Antiques Roadshow, this guy brought in a baseball that was signed by the entire Washington Senators team, sometime back in the 50’s. It was also signed by President Eisenhower, so it may have been from Opening Day, when it was traditional for the President to throw out the first pitch. Has this been brought back now that we have the Washington Nationals?

Anyhoo, I forget how much the appraiser guy said the ball was worth…but it was a LOT.

But we live in a different time now. It’s not as easy to get close to the athletes as it used to be, due to increased security and all. But you can still own stuff signed by your favorite players, thanks to HypedUpSports.com. They offer a huge selection of sports collectibles, in just about every sport, and many different athletes.

What is really exciting, though, is a new program they’ve recently introduced.  In a new partnership between Hyped Up Sports and Upper Deck, it is now possible for fans to send in pretty much any item they want, and have it signed by a top athlete, and authenticated by Upper Deck.  The athletes currently on board for this are:  Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant.

This could truly make for a one-of-a-kind treasure.  If you’re like me, you often take pictures at the games.  Say you went to a Chicago Bulls game when Michael Jordan was playing, and managed to snap a really cool picture of him.  How cool would it be to have a print made of that photo, maybe an 8 x 10, and send it to Hyped Up Sports to have MJ sign it?  You would then have a collectible that no one else in the world has, a photo taken by you, but signed by the athlete.  For the die-hard sports fan, it’s hard to put a price tag on something like that.

To get something signed, first you’d have to contact Hyped Up Sports to let them know exactly what it is you want signed, and by who.  They need this info in order to fit it into the athlete’s signing schedule.  They’ll also ask you to take a picture of the item and email it to them.  Once it’s put on the schedule, all you do is arrange payment, and wait for your signed, authenticated treasure to be sent to you.  Sounds very easy and hassle-free.

The players’ signing schedules are limited, so if you want in on this, visit hypedupsports.com for more info, and to start the process if you’re ready to go!