The Worst Sports Memorabilia Investments You Can Make

Swing and a miss.

Cameron Berkman

Mar 19, 2013

Swing and a miss.

We love stale bubble gum as much as the next guy, but the T206 Honus Wagner might be just a little exorbitant for our tastes. The origins of the $2.8 million dollar piece of paper are explored by the Barnicle brothers in a documentary short as part of the excellent 30 for 30 series. It seems that the famous piece of memorabilia – once owned by Wayne Gretzky – may have been tampered with, to the tune of $2 million dollars worth of fraud. The charge is so severe that the FBI has gotten involved in what is presumably their first baseball card-based case. However, the T206 isn’t the only piece of memorabilia that has inexcusably emptied fans’ bank accounts. Here are some duds that, at best, are worth their weight in manure.

Memorabilia – The Barry Bonds Ball

How much is too much? $752,467

When you think of the owner of such an important piece of baseball history, the man responsible for this is not who immediately comes to mind. However, in what he described as “totally not a publicity stunt,” Marc Ecko bought the famous ball and had fans vote on what he should do with it – donate it, shoot it to the moon, or inscribe it with an asterisk (which was the landslide winner). Buying a ball just to completely devalue it? Hope you sold a lot of T-shirts, Marc.

Memorabilia – Babe Ruth’s Cap (With Added Davis Wells Grossness)

How much is too much? $537,000

Hefty Lefty David Wells decided to throw down a cool $35K of his own money to take home a piece of history – Babe Ruth’s cap. He sold the hat in 2012 for $537K, netting him a considerable profit. What changed with the cap in that time? Well, Boomer wore the cap in the first inning of a 1997 game against the Indians. Congratulations, highest bidder – you’ve just won half a million dollars of David Wells’ sweat.

Memorabilia – Andre Agassi’s Ponytail

How much is too much? Literally Any Price

A sports bar/house of horrors apparently paid “several thousand dollars” for Agassi’s sheared ponytail. Boy, they must have felt like fools when he revealed that he’d worn a wig for all of those years. Not like they felt when they were purchasing somebody’s disgusting hair to put on display.

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The Worst Sports Memorabilia Investments You Can Make

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