JewishSportsCollectibles

Colt Cabana Wins NWA Wrestling Championship, Again

Colt Cabana, "the first ever openly Jewish NWA Champion" is now a two-time NWA champion, as reported by The Great Rabbino (thanks, Rabbi!) and WWE News. 

The list of Jewish professional wrestling champions is a short one. Cabana (real name Scott Colton) joins Goldberg and Macho Man Randy Savage (the "who's Jewish" expert Neil Keller lists Savage as having a Jewish mother) as the sport's other champions.

JewishSportsCollectibles.com reported on the death of Cabana memorabilia last year, after Cabana won the belt the first time.

My assumption that Cabana's success in the ring in 2011 would lead to more collectibles being available outside the squared circle proved wrong. 

Cabana still doesn't get much love as far as main stream memorabilia goes (unlike Jewish wrestler Goldberg, who has collectibles aplenty).

For now, the best for memorabilia remains the wrestler's web site. Cabana offers DVDs, "worker shirts," wrestling masks, pins, posters and photos, and a variety of t-shirts. Many items can be autographed.

The "I Jewish Star Colt" t-shirt ($20) and pin ($8) are likely to be the items of most interest to collectors seeking an obvious ethnic identity in their memorabilia.

Autograph collectors wishing to meet Cabana can find a list of his upcoming appearances on his web site.

An eBay search turns up plenty of DVDs featuring Cabana's matches, but no Cabana trading cards, action figures, etc. I stand by what I wrote last year, that programs, ticket stubs, promotional posters, etc. must surely exist.

What say you, JSC readers? Any Colt collectibles in your possession?

Photos courtesy: NWAWrestling.com and WeLoveColt.com.

Goldberg's Wrestling Return

"The most famous Jewish wrestler of all time" (let the arguments begin!) will step back into the squared circle for tzedakah.

Former WCW and WWE champ (Bill) Goldberg plans to participate in an upcoming wrestling match in Africa to raise money for a variety of charities, according to late August postings on AllWrestling.com and TMZ.com.

Special thanks to TheGreatRabbino.com for the alert to these articles.

As JewishSportsCollectibles.com readers may remember from this 2010 posting, there exist a bevy of Goldberg collectibles for Jewish wrestling enthusiasts.

These include trading cards, signed photos, programs, poker chips, action figures, posters, t-shirts and much more -- including a few items relating to Goldberg's brief, pre-wrestling football career -- all of which can be found on eBay. 

A variety of Goldberg's wrestling trading cards are also available on Beckett.

Do you have Goldberg in your collection? Has anyone 'graphed the grappler? Any in-person experiences to share with JSC readers?

 

Colt Cabana: The First 'Openly Jewish' Wrestling Champion

According to a recent posting by The Great Rabbino, the latest addition to the short list of Jewish professional wrestling champions is Colt Cabana.

Cabana -- who The Rabbino calls "the first ever openly Jewish NWA Champion" -- joins Goldberg and Macho Man Randy Savage (the "who's Jewish" expert Neil Keller lists Savge as having a Jewish mother) as the sport's other champions.

Unlike Goldberg who has scads of memorabilia, Cabana doesn't get much love outside the ring.

He has no trading cards, action figures, etc. Surely, ephemera -- including programs, ticket stubs, promotional posters, etc. -- must exist from Cabana's long career.

I suspect this dearth of collectibles will change rapidly, however, as NWA marketers look to capitalize on the new champion's status.

The best source for Cabana memorabilia is the wrestler's web site.

Among the items for sale is are DVDs, posters, "worker shirts," wrestling masks, pins, photos and a variety of t-shirts. Prices range from $8-$20.

The "I Jewish Star Colt" t-shirt ($20) and pin ($8) are likely to be the items of most interest to collectors seeking an obvious ethnic identity in their memorabilia.

On the open market, a search of Colt Cabana on eBay reveals hundreds of wrestling DVDs featuring the Jewish grappler, but little in the way of additional memorabilia. Ditto on Amazon.com.

Entrepreneurial collectors might also be able to find memorabilia associated with the Jewish wrestler during his college football career at Western Michigan University -- where he played under his birth name, Scott Colton.

Autograph collectors wishing to meet Cabana can find a list of his upcoming appearances on his web site.

Do you collect Jewish wrestling (be sure to check out numerous articles on the subject published on The Great Rabbino)? If so, what Cabana items do you have in your collection? What other Jewish wrestling memorabilia do you have?

On the flip side, do you think, as suggested by Ron Kaplan of Kaplan's Korner, that wrestling even qualifies as a "sport"?

Feel free to post comments below.

Photos courtesy: NWAWrestling.com and WeLoveColt.com.

Goldberg Collectibles

I'll stay out of the debate about whether a professional wrestler is an "athlete," as the goal of this blog is to report on collectibles associated with Jewish sports figures -- of all kinds.

One of the latest inductees into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was football player turned wrestler Bill Goldberg. 

From a collecting standpoint, the wrestling celeb is a pasteboard persona. He's got dozens of cards, most of which book for a just a few bucks. They can be easily found on eBay and Beckett.com.

One (possibly) useful resource for finidng out what Goldberg cards are out there is Jeff Allender's House of Checklists. The site includes links to non-sports (wrestling is considered "entertainment" and/or non-sports cards for purposes of check lists; I don't make the rules, I just report 'em).

Goldberg also appears on a scratch-off lottery ticket. An interesting addition to any collection.

He's also got wrestling memorabilia including posters, programs and magazines, a branded "skull cap" (his rabbi would be proud!), t-shirts, ticket stubs and a host of other items.

You can occasionally find memorabilia associated with Goldberg's brief stint with the Atlanta Falcons, like this supposedly game-used jersey on eBay.

For TV and movie buffs, Goldberg has an extensive on-screen resume. From The Longest Yard to Family Guy to Desperate Housewives, there are opportunities to get memorabilia associated with each of his screen credits. You can check out Goldberg's full credit list @ IMDB.com.

Has anyone 'graphed the grappler? Do you have Goldberg in your collection? Any in-person experiences?

National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Museum To Induct Seven

The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Museum will induct seven Jewish sports personalities during the organization's 18th annual induction ceremony on Sunday, April 18.

Inductees include:

• World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) two-time world heavyweight champion Bill Goldberg.
• Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg.
• Seventh-degree black belt judo star and member of the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame, Rusty Kanokogi.
• Four-time Olympic gold medal swimmer Jason Lezak.
• Penn State Women’s volleyball championship coach Russ Rose.
• Dick Traum was the first runner to complete a marathon with a prosthetic leg.
• Alan Veingrad, former Super Bowl champion offensive lineman, turned Chabad-Lubavitch and author.

The induction ceremony starts at 10:30am at The Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center, 74 Hauppauge Road, Commack, NY. For tickets or additional information contact Alan Freedman at 631-462-9800end_of_the_skype_highlighting, X119.

Thanks to Ron Kaplan for alerting readers to this event.

Anyone planning to attend the event? Can you share photos of the ceremonies?