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