JewishSportsCollectibles

Ryan Braun Public Signing

Ryan Braun 2012 Topps Triple Threads Hebrew Hammer card. Photo courtesy of BlowOutCards.com.

Legends of the Field, a Wisconsin-based sports card shop and memorabilia dealer, is scheduled to host a public signing with Jewish Major Leaguer Ryan Braun on Saturday, June 8, 2013 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. in Mequon, WI.

The event is Braun's first public signing in five years, according to the company's web site (read about some of Braun's previous private signings here).

Collectors can purchase a variety of baseballs, bats, helmets, photos and artwork for signature. Jewish baseball collectors can also submit their own items to be autographed.

Collectors unable to attend the event in person can send in items to be signed, but memorabilia must be delivered to Legends of the Field by no later than Thursday, June 6.

Autographs on baseballs and flat items, less than 16"X20" cost $149.99. Signatures on premium items, including bats, helmets, jerseys, etc., cost $179.99. Inscriptions cost $79.99 each.

Additional information about the signing and items available for purchase is available on Legends of the Field's site, or by calling Legends of the Field at (262) 367-1300. 

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Topps 2013 Opening Day cards. Photo courtesy of Topps.com.

Braun is featured on the packaging for Topps' 2013 Opening Day card products, and Jewish baseball collectors have access to thousands of Braun cards. These include minor and major league cards of all form and fashions, with dozens of limited edition, autograph and memorabilia card varieties (Beckett.com shows 2,700+ different cards for Braun).

Among Braun's cards area 2012 Topps Triple Threads autographed memorabilia card bearing Braun's "Hebrew Hammer" nickname (pictured above).

There are thousands of other Braun cards and collectibles listed on eBay, and available for direct purchase in the Beckett.com Marketplace, Amazon.com, the MLB.com Shop and MLB Photo Store.

These include cards; bobble heads and figurines; photos; jerseys; bats; tickets associated with notable games; programs, yearbooks and other ephemera.

Jewish Baseball Players artwork. Photo courtesy of JewishBaseballPlayer.com.

Braun is also featured in the Jewish Baseball Players limited edition lithograph by sports artist Ron Lewis and promoter Greg Harris.

The Brewers star is also the subject of several Sports Illustrated covers, as detailed in this JewishSportsCollectibles.com posting. Collectors can purchase back issues of SI from Amazon.com or eBay, and can buy reprinted from SportsIllustrated.com.

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What Braun memorabilia should JewishSportsCollectibles.com readers know about? What Ryan Braun memorabilia do you have in your Jewish baseball collection?

Do you plan to attend or buy anything from the upcoming Braun signing?

Let JSC.com by commenting below.

Welcome Back, Danny Valencia

Danny Valencia. Photo courtesy of MLB.com, Orioles.com.

Danny Valencia has been called up from the minors by the Baltimore Orioles, according to JewishBaseballNews.com.

Valencia made his Major League debut in 2010 with the Minnesota Twins. He batted .311, swatted 7 HRs and 40 RBIs over 85 games, and garnered enough votes to finish third in the A.L. Rookie of the Year polling, according to JBallNews. After a significant sophomore slump in 2011, Valencia was sent to the minors by the Twins in 2011 and then traded to the Red Sox, for whom he appeared in just 10 games before being traded to the O's in the off-season.

Valencia had a strong showing with Baltimore in 2013 Spring Training, but started the season with the AAA Norfolk Tides. He performed well in the International League, batting .306 in 40 games with 11 HRs, 14 doubles and 35 RBIs before his call-up.  

Recalled on Sunday, May 19, the newest Jewish Major Leaguer whacked a double in his first at-bat of his first game with the O's.

Jewish baseball collectors have access to numerous of Valencia cards and memorabilia.

Valencia has more than 200 different cards, according to Beckett.com. 

This includes a wide variety of big league issues from Topps and Bowman. In addition to his standard cards, Valencia's pasteboard includes dozens of limited edition color variations, autographed and memorabilia cards, and serial numbered limited edition printings.

     

Among my favorites are Valencia's 2010 Topps Update Rookie card, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen, 2011 Topps Triple Threads autographed memorabilia, and 2012 Topps cards, pictured above.

Danny Valencia New Britain Rock Cats card. Photo courtesy of eBay.

Valencia's minor league cards include team issues from the 2005 Glacier Pilots, 2006 Elizabethton Twins, 2007 Beloit Snappers, 2008 Fort Meyers Miracle, 2009 New Britain Rock Cats, 2010 Rochester Red Wings, as well as 2009 AA and 2010 AAA Top Prospects cards.

All of these cards are available on eBay, Amazon.com and in the Beckett.com Marketplace.

Minor league cards collectors can also look on MinorLeagueNetwork.com, STB Sports, and MinorLeagueSingles.com.

Prices vary widely, depending on the seller and the scarcity of the card you seek. 

Danny Valencia signed ball. Photo courtesy of eBay.

Among the Valencia memorabilia available on eBay and Amazon.com at the time of this posting were signed bats, baseballs, jerseys, batting gloves and mini helmets, along with a variety of autographed and unsigned photos. Prices range from $30-a few dollars to more than $250, depending on the item.

As always, buyers beware. 

Two photos featuring Valencia in his Twins uniform are available for purchase on the MLB.com Photo Store. 

Danny Valencia walk-off hit. Photo courtesy of MLB.com Photo Store. Photo by Hannah Foslien, Getty Images.

This includes an image of his teammates mobbing Valencia after an extra-innings game-winning hit. 

No Valencia memorabilia is available for sale in the MLB.com Shop, as of this posting.

In 2010, following his call up to the Majors during his rookie campaign for the Twins, I obtained a through-the-mail autograph from Valencia. I've subsequently mailed to him during Spring Training on two different occassions, without success. Has anyone else obtained Valencia's signature, either in person or through-the-mail.

What Valencia cards and memorabilia do you have in your Jewish baseball collection? Have you met him? Let JSC readers know by commenting below.

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.

MLB New Jew Review: Nate Freiman

Nate Freiman Topps Debut. Photo courtesy of JSC.

Nate Freiman is the newest Jewish Major Leaguer to take to the diamond. 

The 6'8" first baseman made his big league debut April 3. The A's claimed Freiman from the Houston Astros, who placed Freiman on waivers late in Spring Training after he was acquired by the team from the San Diego Padres in December's Rule 5 Draft, according to JewishBaseballNews.com.

An all-star at every level in the minors, Freiman quickly adapted to the majors, crushing his first home run in just his 14th at-bat. The video of the 3-run shot is impressive to watch.

Nate Freiman 2012 Bowman. Photo courtesy of eBay.

Jewish baseball collectors have access to numerous cards and collectibles associated with the Team Israel and Oakland A's star.

Freiman's baseball cards include both minor and major league pasteboard.

His major league issues include 2010 Topps Pro Debut, 2011 Bowman Prospects, 2012 Bowman Prospects. 

While few in number, Freiman's cards include numerous variations, limited edition, autographed and one-of-a-kind issues (visit Beckett.com for a checklist).

Freiman's major league cards are available for purchase on eBay (also a good source for minor league sets and singles), Amazon.com and the Beckett Marketplace.

A former Duke star (he hold's the team's career record for home runs), Freiman's minor league cards include team issues from the 2009 Eugene Emeralds, 2010 Ft. Wayne TinCaps, 2011 Lake Elsnore Storm and 2012 San Antonio Missions.

Freiman is also featured on 2012 Texas League Top Prospects and 2010 Midwest League All-Star cards. 

Nate Freiman 2006 Delaware Cows. Photo courtesy
of JSC.

Freiman is also the subject of a limited edition region issue baseball card issued by the 2006 Delaware Cows. The now-defunct team played in the Great Leagues Summer Collegiate League. 

Jay Sokol, a Columbus, Ohio insurance executive and baseball enthusiast, served as the Cows' general manager from 1997-2010. Sokol contacted JSC in October 2012, following the posting of the article about Nate Ebner, and was kind enough to share one of Freiman's Cows cards with me.

Sokol, who is Jewish, tells JewishSportsCollectibles.com that the Delaware Gazette (a local newspaper) produced only 150 Cows team sets, and that the cards "were strictly a giveaway and distributed at the [team's] last home game of the season."

I have never seen Freiman's Cows card listed on eBay. MinorLeagueNetwork.com, a site specializing in minor league card sales, lists several Delaware Cows team sets for sale, but does not include a price in the listing of the 2006 issue.

Possible sources for Freiman's minor league cards include STB Sports, a seller of minor league sets, and MinorLeague Singles.com, which sells minor league singles. As of this posting, neither seller offered the Cows card or set. Both, however, offer Freiman's affiliated minor league cards and sets.

Nate Freiman Team Israel autographed photo. Photo courtesy of eBay.

Collectors comfortable with making purchases on eBay can find a variety of Freiman signed balls and autographed photos on the auction giant.

These include images of Freiman playing for Team Israel in the 2012 World Baseball Classic qualifiers. Freiman batted .417 and hit four home runs playing for Israel, according to Wikipedia.

There are also several game-used and signed bats listed for sale on eBay, as of this posting. As always, buyer beware.

Nate Freiman signed ball. Photo courtesy of eBay.

No photos of Freiman are available in the MLB Photo store, and no A's memorabilia (other than customer-customized jerseys) can be found in the A's online store, as of this posting.

Likewise, no Freiman memorabilia is available on the official Duke online store or Duke athletics auction sites.

If the big righty continues to hit in the majors as he has in the past, these will be short lived trends.

Do you know of any other cards or collectibles? What Nate Freiman memorabilia do you have in your Jewish baseball collection? 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.

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