Memorabilia

The bat was sitting on a table with a dozen others, obscured in a clutter of bruised and battered wood. And yet, with its reddish hue and its brilliant sheen, customers were instantly attracted to it. "That's one of the last bats Mike Schmidt ever used," said Michael Montbriand, a Sacramento, Calif., dealer at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago. "It's a beauty, isn't it?" "How do you know that was really one of the last bats Mike Schmidt ever used?" someone asked.

Out at a small airfield in Burlington County called the Flying W, there's a restaurant that was once decorated with memorabilia from the days of zeppelins, those rigid lighter-than-air vehicles that crossed the Atlantic until the fateful 1937 explosion of the Hindenburg at Lakehurst, N.J. Among the memorabilia was an article that noted that zeppelins might be susceptible to perishing while high in the sky. If they lost power, they would float...

Some "collections" are rather small, such as as a single Balch Institute photo of Civil War veteran Robert Riley wearing the uniform of the 7th Regiment, Colored Troops. On the other hand, the Jack Franklin collection at the African-American Museum contains 300,000 photos of Philadelphia's black community, taken over a 50-year period. Now, it's a lot easier to find that yellowing photo of the Colored Troop veteran and Franklin's photos - ranging from black beauty pageants to Black Power rallies - thanks to this month's release of a 135-page booklet with the long title: "The Directory of African American Collection in Greater Philadelphia and Selected Suburban Areas.

Hunt Auctions, the Exton sports-memorabilia outfit whose sales frequently take place in conjunction with major sporting events all over the country, will help Boston's Fenway Park celebrate its 100th anniversary with a sale there featuring the personal collection of Ted Williams - who spent his entire major league baseball career playing with the Red Sox. The 700-lot sale April 28 will also feature Fenway Park historic memorabilia, notably the...

A disagreement between the Pittsburgh Pirates and a restaurant might keep old scoreboard numbers, seats and windows from Forbes Field out of the Pirates' new ballpark. The Pirates played at Forbes Field before their move in 1970 to Three Rivers Stadium. Three Rivers is soon to be demolished and the Pirates will move this season to the new PNC Park. The Pirates would like to display Forbes Field items at PNC Park when it opens, but the Pirates and the Allegheny Club restaurant disagree on who owns the memorabilia.

Less than a year after his death, some of Robin Roberts' most prized possessions are for sale. Items such as Roberts' Hall of Fame induction ring, his 2008 World Series ring, 1950 National League championship ring, and a bat used in the 1952 All-Star Game are going up for auction. On April 12 at the Diamond Club in Citizens Bank Park, a live event will be conducted by Hunt Auctions. Attendance will be limited on a reserved basis. A $20 reservation fee will be charged, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Phillies Charities.

The April auction schedule opens this weekend with two suburban sales offering unusual and perhaps unique items, and continues with the promise of major activity midmonth - notably the sale by Freeman's of a major private collection of pewter. The first of this weekend's sales takes place tonight at Briggs Auction in Garnet Valley, which, as part of its regular Friday night event, will be offering a single-owner collection of more than 2,000 books related to railroads, as well as railroad memorabilia.

A collection of Atlantic City memorabilia, recalling those days when it was famous for its ocean piers and burlesque, not its casinos, will be offered at 10 a.m. tomorrow by Barry Slosberg Inc., 232 N. Second St. It is one of several sales next week rich in nostalgia. The 250 lots of Atlantic City memorabilia, mostly photos, postcards and publications, were consigned by a Philadelphian who used to work at the Trocadero and at the Shore, Slosberg said. Among the more rare souvenirs in the collection are two symbolic "keys" to the city, one about 6 inches long, the other about 10. "I hear these are impossible to find," Slosberg said.

The Millville Army Air Field Museum has added seaplane memorabilia to the artifacts on display in what is billed as America's first "defense airport. " Late last year, the museum assumed responsibility for the Seaplane Base Museum in Essington, Delaware County. Robert Mills - whose father, Frank Sr., founded the museum in 1915 - is retiring and closing the facility. The Millville museum is on the grounds of a former World War II fighter-pilot training facility that is now the municipal airport.

The Hall of Fame has asked lefthander Jamie Moyer for some sort of memorabilia to commemorate his record-setting game on Tuesday, when the 49-year-old became the oldest pitcher ever to win a major-league contest. Moyer wasn't sure whether the Hall wanted his glove or maybe his whole Colorado Rockies uniform, but he said he would send something to Cooperstown. "To have your name mentioned with great players of the past or Hall of Fame players, it's pretty special," the former Phillie said after his seven efficient innings beat the San Diego Padres, 5-3. Moyer is 49 years and 150 days old. Jack Quinn of the Brooklyn Dodgers was 49 years and 70 days old on Sept.

Hunt Auctions, the Exton sports-memorabilia outfit whose sales frequently take place in conjunction with major sporting events all over the country, will help Boston's Fenway Park celebrate its 100th anniversary with a sale there featuring the personal collection of Ted Williams - who spent his entire major league baseball career playing with the Red Sox. The 700-lot sale April 28 will also feature Fenway Park historic memorabilia, notably the...

Toward the end of the National Constitution Center exhibit "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen," which opens on Friday, there's a section called Book of Dreams. To get there, you walk by the 1960 Chevrolet Corvette that Springsteen bought in 1975 after the success of Born to Run , and pass through rooms lined with fliers advertising gigs by early Springsteen bands like Steel Mill and Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom. There are trophies like the 1994 best-song Oscar for "Streets of Philadelphia," and artifacts such as the jeans and T-shirt the Boss wore on the cover of 1984's Born in the U.S.A.

  Three sales next week will offer items appealing to the metallurgically minded: a gold presentation trophy; a collection of brass model railroad trains, and advertising signs made of tin. Off to the smelters. The gold presentation trophy is a highlight of Wiederseim Associates' Mid-Winter Antique Auction, beginning at 9 a.m. Feb. 11 at the Ludwig's Corner firehouse in Glenmoore. One of 650 lots in the sale, it is part of Wiederseim's continuing liquidation of the estate of the late John E. du Pont.

California-based SCP Auctions has listed 100 items of Julius Erving's personal collection for sale, including his 1983 76ers world championship ring. Other items on the auction block include his ABA championship rings from 1974 and 1976 with the New York Nets, MVP trophies from both the NBA and the ABA, and jerseys. Bidding on scpauctions.com begins Friday. Coincidentally, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday that a Georgia bank is suing the former Sixers great and his corporation, the Erving Group Inc. of Atlanta, over a $200,000 line of credit.

THERE WILL BE no on-court action from the 76ers anytime soon that will remind you of the team's glory years, culminating in the NBA title in 1983. That's no knock on the current state of the Sixers, just a fact, because the ongoing lockout means it will be quite some time before any NBA basketball hits the floor. But if you're looking for some way to recall those glorious seasons, particularly Julius Erving, you can do it. Just get the wallet out and be ready to empty it. Erving, who spent all of his 11 NBA seasons with the Sixers after a stellar career in the ABA, is auctioning a boatload of his personal memorabilia in conjunction with SCP Auctions' fall offering.

  The 82d All-Star Game for Major League Baseball, scheduled July 12 in Phoenix and the occasion for the All-Star Fanfest July 8-12 at the Phoenix Convention Center, will again set the scene for Hunt Auctions' summer sale of historical sports memorabilia. The first 204 lots of the 500-lot event are from the personal collection of Curt Schilling, the former Phillies and later Red Sox pitching ace, according to the Exton auction house's website. They include autographed photos, jerseys, and playing equipment.

A Columbus tattoo-parlor owner whose purchase of Ohio State football memorabilia triggered an NCAA investigation of the school pleaded guilty yesterday to drug trafficking and money laundering charges. The federal charges against Edward Rife didn't directly involve Ohio State, but the university first learned of the memorabilia sales through the federal investigation into Rife. Football coach Jim Tressel resigned after it emerged he had known of his players' involvement with Rife and didn't report it to the NCAA or his superiors for more than 9 months.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (3 p.m., NBC10) - Katie Holmes; Kim and Kourtney Kardashian; OneRepublic. Entertainment Tonight (7 p.m., CBS3) - Actress Tatum O'Neal; the upcoming film Moneyball . The Insider (7:30 p.m., CBS3) - Actor Ryan Reynolds; hot headlines. So You Think You Can Dance (8 p.m., Fox29) - The auditions and callbacks are over, and the competition begins in earnest for those dancers who made it this far. Starting Wednesday night, they'll perform live in front of Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, a guest judge, and the fans at home, whose votes will ultimately pick the winner.

The attorney whose email tip to Jim Tressel launched a scandal that led to his forced resignation as Ohio State's football coach and possible NCAA discipline for the school is being investigated for legal misconduct by the Ohio Supreme Court. Sanctions against lawyer Christopher Cicero could range from a public reprimand to permanently losing his law license. State Disciplinary Counsel Jonathan Coughlan alleged in a filing yesterday that Cicero violated professional conduct rules by revealing information from interviews with a potential client.