gov135

Monday, October 20

Donruss will add swatches to cards

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By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/sportsbusiness/ne...0/1642358.html

NEW YORK -- Some will call it an act of desecration, others will say it's simply the state of the business.

A Babe Ruth game-worn New York Yankees home jersey from 1925 was cut on Monday by a card company that will insert swatches of the jersey into packs.

The company, Donruss, purchased the jersey -- believed to be one of three Ruth pinstripe jerseys in existence -- at an auction last summer for $264,210.

One ceremonial 1-by-1 inch cut of the jersey was made by Donruss president and COO Bill Dully, with Ruth's daughter, Julia Ruth Stevens, assisting at the ESPN Zone in New York City. The jersey will immediately go back to the company's headquarters in Arlington, Texas, to be sliced and diced into 2,100 pieces.

"When I first heard about it, I had reservations," said the 86-year-old Stevens, who noted that she was comforted by the fact that full jerseys are on display both at the Hall of Fame and the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum in Baltimore, Md. "But, now I realize that it's going to mean so much to people that get these cards, that get the jersey, it's going to make it real special."

The company plans to put pieces of the jersey on cards that will be inserted into baseball card sets through 2006. The jersey has no number on the back, as the flannel predated numbering by four years, and has "G.H. Ruth" sewn inside the collar.

Greg Schwalenberg, curator of the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum, which currently is displaying a 1930 Ruth jersey on loan, wasn't excited about Donruss' intentions. Schwalenberg said he knows that the act is a demonstration of the reality of the high-priced sports memorabilia market.

"Because items like this sell for so much money, it's getting hard for us to get people to donate stuff now," Schwalenberg said. "Who wouldn't want to try to turn it around and make a lot more money off it? But since it's hard to educate the public with a piece of jersey, we certainly wouldn't endorse something like this."

Jay O'Neill, a baseball memorabilia collector from West Des Moines, Iowa, stated concerns about how far the industry is willing to go to create collectibles.

"I don't mind including swatches from current players," he said. "There are hundreds, if not thousands of game-used articles available for each player. But only three Ruth uniforms! All in the name of the almighty dollar! What's next? Cut up a Revolutionary War uniform of George Washington for Donruss' 2004 Great Presidents series? Maybe pieces of an original Declaration of Independence?"

Dully, noting that the creative sales ploy could draw detractors, remains undeterred.

"There's always going to be controversy," Dully said. "But something like this is just the reality of the free market and the reality of capitalism."

The first opportunity to get a Ruth jersey card will be in Donruss packs in November. Dully said that company officials had faith that Donruss could make a return on its investment from the Ruth jersey based on previous success of putting the cut-up jerseys of legends in their packs.

Donruss previously has inserted pieces of a road Ruth flannel in its packs, and also has used diced-up jerseys of football legends such as Doak Walker, Red Grange and Jim Brown.

"The bottom line is that items like this were once only available to a couple of people and now it's available to everyone in the United States," Dully said. "People from Tampa to Indianapolis to Sacramento can now hold a piece of Ruth's pinstripe jersey."

Prices for packs with the Ruth jersey inserted will range from $2.99 to $150.

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at Darren.rovell@espn3.com.


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I consider myself a traditionalist. But I have trouble getting upset over this. Although there are only three in existence - this one was in private hands and would have been hanging on some rich guys wall where noone could see it.

The problem I do have is understanding the inflated market for this stuff. Wait and see how much these things go for on Ebay. Where is the value in cards like this? It's a card with a one inch piece of cotton on it. I guess I just don't see why it holds value to collectors.

Any thoughts? Do you consider the cutting of the uniform desecration? Would you actually bid on one on Ebay?

MontanaXVI

I do not really have a problem with something like this, here is a couple reasons. First of all a Joe Blow like me would NEVER have a chance in hell of getting something like a Ruth Jersey, this gives ANYONE a small chance to get a piece of history, also like stated above it would be hanging on some rich guy's wall showing off that is why this stuff costs soooo much people see it and HAVE to have it and go all out (see point 1)

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Halx

This also raises the worth of the jersey over all. Each card will no doubt be worth far more than it's share of the jersey.

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crewsor

I do have a problem with them destroying such a rare artifact merely for publicity. Given a choice I would much rather have seen it donated to a museum or any other public display. Its gone forever now.
That said, I think memorabilia as a whole is grossly overvalued, and that price inflation contributes to stunts such as this.
No way is any ball or Jersey worth the going price these days to me. But I guess its all about what the market will bear.

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Kurant

It's just Babe Ruth, he's human like all of us. He's not a superhero, or the president, or the pope. He's Babe Ruth. Big deal, cut them all up, throw them in the trash for all I care.

captain

This is tough. I would rather them cut it into little pieces than hang it on a wall in someones living room so only a few can see it.

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captain

MontanaXVI

dont get me wrong donating it to a museum would have been the way to go and if i read correctly in an article maybe the one above the ruth museum's jersey is only a loaner they dont even have one of their own. but letting everyone have a small chance to get a piece i think is great, prices wil be waaay overblown that i do not agree with.

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bonbonbox

I see the swatches worth nothing, the jersey priceless. A peice of turf from the Packers playing feild is a clump of grass with dirt on it. The feild intact is historic. Do I say don't cut the jersey or tear up the feild? Go ahead, progress tears up old things, that's the way it is.
George Herman Ruth wasn't the pope or a prez, even superhero. Super heros are fictional. Popes are, well, popes. Presidents are a dime a dozen. The Babe is the greatest baseball player ever. Fact is he played every position. Pitched in the World Series, got a lot of hits, and struck out plenty too. He wasn't using high tech fitness equipment, or taking diet supliments. Ate hotdogs, plural, during the games, drank too. Partied till the wee hours, went out the next day and did it again. Years go by, things change. Cutting up a jersey for promotion is the sign o' the times. Doesn't make it bad, doesn't make it good.

petergriffin24

Those cards will go for a pretty penny I'm sure might have to start buying boxes of cards like the days of my youth!!