JewishSportsCollectibles

Upcoming Appearance: Jewish Boxer Dmitriy Salita

Dmitriy Salita Meet and Greet promotional materials.
Photo courtesy of Facebook.com/Dmitiy Salita.

Orthodox Jewish welterweight boxer Dmitriy "The Star of David" Salita is scheduled to take part in a meet and greet scheduled for 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8, at the Chabad House of Greater Hartford, Connecticut, according to several recent postings on the boxer's Facebook page.

According to the Chabad House's web site, the cost to attend the function is $12 for advance registrations and $15 at the door. No program appears on the organization's site, and there is not indication that Jewish boxing collectors are prohibited from obtaining autographs or photos with the famed fighter.

Born in 1980 in Odessa, Ukraine in the former Soviet Union, Salita moved to Brooklyn at age nine, according to his Wikipedia bio, to escape anti-Semitic violence. Bullied in Brooklyn schools, Salita took up karate and boxing to learn to defend himself, and began boxing competitively at age 13.

He won a championship in the April 2001 New York Golden Gloves competition and turned pro at age 19 later that year. Salita holds a record of 35-1-1, according to BoxRec.com, with his last victory coming over Brandon Hoskins on October 20, 2012. Salita was scheduled to fight Hector Camacho, Jr. on February 9, 2013, but the fight was cancelled.

Salitas is fully observant, keeps kosher and observes Sabbath, refusing to fight before sundown on Saturdays, or on Jewish holidays.

In a recent interview in Ha'aretz with Israeli sports journalist Raphael Geller, Salitas says his religious observance sometimes makes it difficult to schedule fights, and hints that he may be seeking opportunities outside the ring.

As indicated in this October 2012 posting on JewishSportsCollectibles.com, Jewish boxing fans have access to a small, but varied, number of Salita collectibles.

Salita signed
boxing gloves.
Photo courtesy DSalitas.com.

The boxer, who fights wearing trunks that bear a Star of David, maintains a web site, on which he sells merchandise, including autographed, training ring worn boxing gloves and signed fight worn corner jackets. Cost for either item is $250 plus $20 shipping.

There are also a number of high quality images available on Salita's web site. The action shots would make nice additions to a boxing collection, especially if a collector could get a print signed by the Jewish fighter.

Orthodox Stance DVD. Photo courtesy of OrthodoxStance.com.

Salita is also the focus of a documentary film, titled Orthodox Stance. DVDs of the film can be purchased on Amazon.comand eBay, but not from the film's web site.

A search of eBay yielded little beyond the DVD, at the time of this posting.

Amazon.com sellers were offering no Salitas memorabilia, other than Orthodox Stance at the time of this posting.

Likewise, Beckett.com lists no boxing card for Salitas, and the Beckett Marketplace was also void of the fighter's collectibles.

Certainly, other Salitas collectibles exist, including tickets, programs and promotional materials for his fights.

For fans who collect friends and tweets, Salida is active on Twitter (@DSalita) and Facbook.

Do you know of other Salitas collectibles exist? What memorabilia associated with the fighter do you have in your Jewish boxing collection? Are you planning to attend the upcoming meet and greet with Salitas?

Let JewishSportsCollectibles.com readers know by commenting below.

Jewish Gymnast Aly Raisman 'Dancing With the Stars'

Aly Raisman Olympic montage photo. Photo courtesy of eBay.

Aly Raisman – the Jewish gymnast who captained the 2012 U.S. Women's Gymnastics Olympics team in London, earned a gold medal for her floor routine choreographed to Hava Nagilia (the celebratory Hebrew song that is a staple at bar mitzvahs and weddings), and honored the Israeli Olympians slain at the 1972 Munich Olympics – is currently competing on ABC's Dancing With the Stars.

As captain of the “Fierce Five,” Raisman was a media darling before the start of The Games, and her star rose further with each metal-winning performance.

In addition to her gold medal for floor exercises at the London Games, the first ever gold in the event for an American female gymnast in the event in Olympic history, Raisman earned gold with the U.S. Team in the all-around competition, the first for the U.S. Women since 1996, and a bronze metal for her individual performance on the balance beam.

Collectors of Jewish Olympic memorabilia have access to a wide range of Raisman collectibles.

Her cards (visit Beckett.com for a more inclusive checklist) include:

• A 2012 Topps Olympics issue, including parallel, autograph and memorabilia cards;
• An ACEO trading card;
• A limited edition FA Productions Olympic preview card;
• and, a 1/1 artist sketch card by an illustrator known as "Q."

     

Aly Raisman Topps Olympics memorabilia card. Photo courtesy
of eBay.

Raisman's 2012 Topps Olympic autographed editions offer a variety of different limited edition printings. The Rainbow (one-of-a-kind) Gold (limited to 15), Silver (30) and Bronze (50) versions. The Topps memorabilia cards include feature Olympic pins, American flag patches and swatches of fabric from competition-worn leotards.

Raisman's cards sell for a little as a few dollars to as much as $200 in the Beckett Marketplace, Amazon and eBay, depending on the variation and scarcity of the card a collector is seeking. 

Other Raisman memorabilia includes a variety of unsigned and autographed photos, available on eBay and Amazon.com. These include group and individual photos, candid and action shots. As always, buyer beware when purchasing signed items from the auction or retail giants.

"Fierce Five" SI Cover. Photo courtesy of Amazon.com.

Raisman and her Olympic teammates are featured on the cover of the July 23, 2012 issue of Sports Illustrated (see JSC.com's previous posting for a list of other Jews to grace the cover of SI).

Back issues of SI can be purchased on eBay and Amazon.com. Reproduction covers were not available for purchase on SI.com as of this posting, but should be in the near future.

Aly Raisman NY Post Cover. Photo courtesy of NYPost.com.

The Jewish gymnast also graces the cover of the August 8, 2012 issue of the New York Post. The paper carries the headline "Star of David: Jewish girl wins gold, honors slain Israeli Olympians.

eBay or Amazon.com are the most likely source of back issues of the newspaper. eBay or Amazon are likely your best source for finding back issues.

Named as a "Bostonian of the Year" in 2012 by the Boston Globe, Raisman was honored at a Red Sox game last year, where she threw out the first pitch. Raisman autographed baseballs sell for between $100 and $200 on eBay.

A wide variety of other Olympic memorabilia, including a "Got Milk ad" picturing Raisman and other Olympians, tickets, programs, books (including The Fab Five) and DVDs are also available.

Raisman participated in the 2012 Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions. Tickets and programs from the tour are no doubt obtainable, and Raisman and her fellow Olympians were featured on Corn Flakes box put out by the cereal company. Boxes featuring Raisman can be found on eBay occassionally. 

Aly Raisman Pandora ad. Photo courtesy of Aly Raisman/
Facebook.com.

Raisman has endorsement deals with, among others, Pandora. She is featured in the jewelry company ads, which some Jewish Olympics enthusiasts might want to add to their ephemera collections.

An active social media user, anyone wanting to "collect" bits and bytes in the forms of posts and tweets can follow Raisman on Facebook and Twitter.  

Do you have any Raisman memorabilia in your Jewish Olympics collection? What's your favorite piece? Have any JewishSportsCollectibles.com readers had a chance to meet the Olympic star or obtain her autograph? 

Let JSC know by commenting below.

***

 

Orthodox Boxer Dmitriy Salita Fights October 20

Dmitriy Salita (left) vs. Ronnie Warrior Jr. Photo by Alex Gorokhov, courtesy of www.dsalita.com.

Orthodox Jewish welterweight boxer Dmitriy "The Star of David" Salita will step into the ring as part of the opening night fights at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, October 20.

Salita will fight either Brandon Hoskins, according to a report on KaplansKorner.com, in one of the under card bouts scheduled for the grand opening event.

Salita's story is intriguing.

Born in 1980 in Odessa, Ukraine in the former Soviet Union, Salita moved to Brooklyn at age nine, according to his Wikipedia bio, to escape anti-Semitic violence.

Bullied in school, Salita took up karate and boxing to learn to defend himself. "That is how it all started. I got called into the principal's office. I got suspended a few times, but I got my respect. I started kicking some ass at school."

Salita began boxing competitively at age 13, won a championship in the April 2001 New York Golden Gloves competition and turned pro at age 19 later that year. He has since won 36 fights, losing only one match and fighting to a draw in one, according to BoxRec.com.

Orthodox Stance DVD.
Photo courtesy of
OrthodoxStance.com.

Salita signed
boxing gloves. Photo courtesy DSalitas.com.

While growing up in Brooklyn, Salitas was exposed to Orthodox Judaism and became fully observant. He keeps kosher and observes Sabbath, refusing to fight before sundown on Saturdays or on Jewish holidays.

Jewish boxing fans have access to a small, but varied, number of Salita collectibles.

The boxer, who fights wearing trunks that bear a Star of David, maintains a web site, on which he sells merchandise, including autographed, training ring worn boxing gloves and signed fight worn corner jackets. Cost for either item is $250 plus $20 shipping.

There are also a number of high quality images available on Salita's web site. Most (like the one featured above) feature the boxer in the ring, and would make nice additions to a boxing collection, especially if a collector could get a print signed by the Jewish fighter.

Salita is also the focus of a documentary film, titled Orthodox Stance. DVDs of the film can be purchased on Amazon.com and eBay, but not from the film's web site.

The trailer for the documentary can be seen below.

A search of eBay yielded little beyond the DVD, at the time of this posting. A poster for Salita's 2009 championship fight against Amir Khan, which Salita lost by knockout in 76 seconds, is for sale on the auction giant.

Khan vs. Salita poster. Photo courtesy of eBay.

Amazon.com offers photos, puzzles and photo mugs with images of Khan from the fight, but none of Salitas.

Beckett.com lists no boxing card for Salitas, and the Beckett Marketplace was also void of the fighter's memorabilia.

Certainly, other Salitas collectibles exist, including tickets, programs and promotional materials for other fights.

For fans who collect friend and tweets, Salida is active on Twitter (@DSalita) and Facbook.

What other Salitas collectibles exist? What memorabilia associated with the fighter do you have in your Jewish boxing collection? Let JewishSportsCollectibles.com readers know by commenting below.

Sidney Franklin, American Jewish Bullfighter

Sidney Franklin. Photo courtesy
of Amazon.com.

As I learned via a recent tweet from @JewsnSports, September 20, 1923 marked the ring debut of American Jewish matador Sidney Franklin.

Franklin is a fascinating, and controversial, sports figure -- and that's no bull!

Born Sidney Fromkin to Orthodox parents in Brooklyn, New York in 1903, Sidney ran away from home at age 18 to escape his abusive father, according to this biography in Great Jews In Sports.

Franklin started a poster business, producing artwork for bullfights. On something of a dare from a friend who believed that Americans couldn't be matadors, Franklin trained for his first bullfight, according to the Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports.

Thus began Franklin's colorful career. He fought in Mexico, then became the first American to fight in Spain, becoming a full matador in 1945. At his peak, Franklin made more than $100,000 a year as a bullfighter, according to Great Jews in Sports.

Franklin suffered for his sport, too. In 1930, Franklin was gored so severely that he required multiple surgeries to repair extensive injuries that left him near death and unable to fight for several years. He survived, only to "die in obscurity in 1976," according to the Jewish Daily Forward.

Franklin's life was lived in the spotlight, though. He met Ernest Hemingway and was immortalized in one of the writer's great works, was profiled in a masterful write-up in the New Yorker, published an autobiography and starred in a movie.

Curiously, for all his fame and self-promotion, the matador has never been inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame or the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

***

Jewish sports collectors have access to a surprising amount of the bullfighters' memorabilia.

Sidney Franklin KTAV Card. Photo courtesy of Joshua Platt.

Beckett.com shows one trading card for the Jewish matador, number 4 in the 1963 Jewish Sports Champions cards produced by KTAV published as part of an activity book by the same name. None of the individual cards are for sale in the Beckett Marketplace, however.

An eBay search at the time of this posting yields no Franklin KTAV cards and just one copy of the 1963 activity book, Jewish Sports Champions, in which the card is featured.

Amazon.com shows three listings for the Jewish Sports Champions book, though none of the listings make specific mention of the cards. Same for ABEbooks.com. Collectors interested in buying the book for the trading cards should, therefore, be careful.

Amazon.com does have a number of Franklin items available for purchase, other than the KTAV activity book.

These include photos of Franklin, along with coffee mugs and a jig saw puzzle bearing his image. 

Bullfight from Brooklyn. Photo courtesy of Amazon.com.

Also for sale on Amazon are copies of the matador's autobiography, Bullfighter from Brooklyn: An Autobiography of Sidney Franklin.

An article in the Jewish Daily Forward article about Franklin describes the bullfighter's autobiography as "self-promotional" and "largely fictitious."

I've not read the book, and am no expert on Franklin, so I cannot render critical judgement, one way or another. I would, however, suggest that any Franklin collection would be incomplete without the matador's own book. 

While I could find first editions of Franklin's book, I found no signed copies on Amazon, ABEbooks.com or eBay. Certainly autographed copies of Franklin's autobiography must exist. Do any JewishSportsCollectibles.com readers have one on their shelf?

Bart Paul's 2009 biography, Double-Edged Sword: The Many Lives of Hemingway's Friend, the American Matador Sidney Franklin, provides an outsider's look at Franklin's life. The book describes Franklin as "a gay man in the most masculine of worlds who triumphed over prejudice and adversity as he achieved what no American had ever accomplished, teaching even Hemingway lessons in grace, machismo, and respect." 

A well-written critical review of the book in the Jewish Daily Forward details the biography's short comings. These problems aside, Double-Edged Sword is, nevertheless, a must-have addition to any Franklin collection.

Double Edged Sword. Photo courtesy of Amazon.com.

As the Paul's title details, Franklin was a friend of Ernest Hemingway's. As such, the bullfighter also figures prominently in books by and about the famed author.

The most notable of these is Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon, in which "Papa" devotes an entire chapter to Franklin.

"Franklin is brave with a cold, serene and intelligent valor," writes Hemingway, "but instead of being awkward and ignorant he is one of the most skillful, graceful and slow manipulators of a cape fighting today."

As the Jewish Daily Forward review notes, Hemingway "overpraised" Franklin in the book, and the friendship between the author and bullfighter cooled shortly thereafter. This well-deserved criticism aside, Death In The Afternoon also makes a worthwhile addition to a collector's Franklin book shelf.

Franklin was profiled by the New Yorker magazine, in a piece hailed as some of the best sports writing in the magazine's history, according to Wikipedia. Collectors can read Lillian Ross's story about Franklin in The Only Game in Town: Sportswriting from The New Yorker. 

As mentioned above, Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports and Great Jews In Sports also contain biographies of Franklin. These books are worthy general additions to any Jewish sports memorabilia collection or library, well beyond their inclusion of the biographies they have of the matador. 

The Kid From Spain. Photo courtesy of Amazon.com.

According to the Jewish Daily Forward, Franklin appeared with Eddie Cantor in
The Kid From Spain, a comedy film "in which Franklin provides serious bullfighting expertise juxtaposed with Cantor’s clowning."

Critical reviews aside, a copy of Franklin's on screen appearance -- available on Amazon.com on DVD and VHS -- would make a nice addition to any collection of the matador's memorabilia.

A search of eBay for "Sidney Franklin bullfighter" or "Sidney Franklin bullfighting" yields numerous Franklin collectibles, in addition the above books and movies.

Sidney Franklin comic book. Photo courtesy
of eBay.

These include numerous vintage photos of Franklin and several newspapers reporting on the matador's exploits. Among the most interesting items are a 1920s promotional poster and a 1944 comic book.

Do you have any Sidney Franklin memorabilia in your Jewish sports collection? Share your thoughts with JewishSportsCollectibles.com readers by commenting below.

'Ole!

***

Author's note: Collectors who want to know more about Sidney Franklin,  should contact the American Jewish Historical Society in New York. AJHS maintains a Franklin archive. The collection consists of "photographs of Franklin performing in the bullring, or posing with Spanish and Latin American matadors or famous Americans ... . There are also audio recordings of Franklin, a film proposal, clippings and a copy of Franklin’s autobiography." According to AJHS, additional photographs of Franklin and correspondence between the bullfighter and Earnest Hemingway are housed in the Ernest Hemingway Papers at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

 

Ed Sabol, Founder of NFL Films

Goal Line Art Card of Ed Sabol, 2011 Hall of Fame inductee, founder of NFL Films. Photo courtesy of eBay.

With the death on Tuesday, September 18 of Steve Sabol (read JewishSportsCollectibles.com's remembrance of Steve Sabol here), I thought it an appropriate time to examine the collectibles of Steve's father, Ed Sabol.

The 96-year-old founder of NFL Films, 2011 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame has a wide variety of memorabilia available to Jewish football collectors.

Ed Sabol's football cards include a Goal Line Art Card (photo right), produced for each Football Hall of Famer as well as a Class of 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame special issue card set, produced by Panini, part of an eight-card set given away at the Hall of Fame on Induction Day.

Collectors can purchase the complete, unsigned 2011 Induction Class Goal Line Art Card set from the Football Hall of Fame's web store for $27.99.

Sabol's individual Goal Line Art card can be found on eBay for $10 for unsigned cards, with autographed cards selling for between $75-$100. Amazon.com sellers are offering authenticated and autographed Ed Sabol Goal Line Art Cards for $90-$165.

Ed Sabol Hall of Fame card. Photo courtesy
of eBay.

The elder Sabol is also featured on a 2011 Panini Timeless Treasures card (#10), with a sticker, standard card and autographed card varieties available, according to Beckett.com.

The limited edition Induction Day giveaway Panini cards sell for $1-$20 on eBay.

The unsigned Timeless Treasure sticker is available on Amazon.com for $0.39 and from the Panini sticker and standard card can be found in the Beckett Marketplace for $0.25-$2.10.

Ed Sabol HOF signed football.
Photo courtesy of ProFootballHallofFame.com.

The Football Hall of Fame web store offers a variety of Sabol memorabilia for purchase, including individual and Induction Class items. These include several Ed Sabol photos and plaques, single signed and group autographed footballs, an Induction pin and yearbook.

Ed Sabol signed HOF mini helmet.Photo courtesy
of Amazon.com.

A variety of mini helmets, bearing the NFL and Hall of Fame logos, autographed by Ed Sabol are available on eBay and Amazon.com.

My personal favorite, however, is more specialized mini helmet.

Ed Sabol graduated from The Ohio State University, where he was a varsity swimmer. According to Wikipedia, Sabol qualified for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, but refused to participate because the Games were being hosted by Nazi Germany.

In 2011, OSU's Wexner Center for the Arts honored Sabol before his Hall of Fame induction by screening a series of classic NFL Films.

An eBay seller with a deep appreciation of history is offering an OSU mini helmet signed by Sabol for $159.99.

Signed Ed Sabol HOF induction photo.
Photo courtesy of eBay.

A wide variety of other memorabilia is available on eBay. These include autographed and unsigned photos of Ed, and Ed with Steve Sabol, first day covers and cachets signed by Ed, autographed footballs and index cards, and Induction Day programs and ephemera. As always, buyer beware.

On Amazon.com, Jewish football collectors can also find a photo of Steve and Ed Sabol, signed by both men (certified by PSA/DNA), along with signed photos of Ed. 

Less personal Sabol collectibles include the thousands of NFL Films videos available on VHS tape and DVD. Nearly all of the films in the Football Hall of Fame's video store are NFL Films products. Amazon.com lists more than 2,000 NFL Films titles and eBay offers nearly 900.

What Ed Sabol memorabilia do you have in your Jewish football collection? Have you had the chance to meet the NFL Films founder? Share your thoughts with other JewishSporstCollectibles.com readers by commenting below.