Baseball cards and a collector's legacy

My stepfather passed away this past Friday. He was an avid baseball and film lover and had amassed a huge collection of sports memorabilia and famous movie star autographs over his life.

As I go through his collection I realize how meticulous he was and also how much he collected not for profit but mostly for the love of the hobby. Much like my comic book collection which I know won't ever amount to much he collected many autographs and signed baseballs. He did not however get many of them certified which is a hard thing to pass on to other collectors. Along with sports related material his film posters and framed pictures are quite a sight to behold.

Don't get me wrong there are many hidden gems in his collection (which is a bedroom sized vast amount) but the true gems are things like the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid autographed photo that will hang proudly in my spare bedroom for years to come now. Going through his unsorted and stored cards and pictures is something I want to do to finish what he started. He was midway through organizing and storing his things in player specific binders when he simply lost the energy to get through all the things in that spare room he had. The collection is vast and will span many months over the course of a year to sort and store properly but it is the fun of seeing what he had that will propel me forward. Plus I know he would have wanted it that way in the end. Someone needs to take care of his things. My mother also needs the room to get some living space. She can breathe easier and store more things if I keep that collection he had under check and get it properly stored.

It will be a monumental task do not get me wrong. Besides cards and autographs there are decades old magazines, signed baseballs and much more. Below are a few things I found in the first batch. Over the next few months I will post more.