There is an ever-growing market in sport memorabilia, and

sports-related keepsakes include signed commemorative photos,

baseballs, footballs, basketballs, pucks and jerseys. A Google

listing of corporations hawking these items produces almost

five million business sites! A few of the items on offer cost

thousands of dollars.

Where there are so many eager and gullible customers, con

artists are sure to show up. A San Diego federal judge who

recently sentenced many sports autograph forgers to prison

said, "Life, liberty and the pursuit of the national pastime,

has been undone". The prosecution stemmed from an FBI

investigation called Operation Bullpen, which closed down a

professional criminal organization that forged and sold sports

goods enhanced with bogus autographs. Sixty search warrants

were served, more than two dozen forgers arrested, and a

warehouse with ten million dollars worth of fake merchandise

was seized. The ring leaders received three years in prison and

loss of assets to the IRS. Both current and faux "antique" items

were involved.

Any sports fan who has a signed souvenir would be wise to

question its authenticity. Phil Halpren, the assistant federal

attorney who worked to prosecute the forgers, stated that fraud

is so pervasive in the sports memorabilia market that unless you

personally watch as an athlete signs an item, odds are greater

than 50 % that it's forged. Athletes most popular with the

public are a hit with forgers, too. Halpren said, "If you see a

Mark McGuire signature, it's almost a guarantee, 99.9%, it's a

forgery." Certificates of authenticity can be fabricated with

as much ease as the collectible item they supposedly validate,

so this is no protection.

Vendors are fighting back in an effort to maintain the

integrity of the market. Disney, which owns ESPN, will commence

next year to auction signed sports memorabilia online. Disney

says it will authenticate the signatures with holograms

encrypted with the item's identifying information and

tamper-proof package seals, videotaping the entire process.

Sophisticated forgers can even develop holographic seals which

appear real to the untrained eye. Even so, the great majority

of forgers are amateurs, and usually even a basic anti-forgery

system is likely to deter them.

Baseball and football are the most popular sports in America,

however some famous hockey players like Wayne Gretzky and Bobby

Orr are popular targets for forgery as well.

With the large selection available, both in stores and on web

sites, fans can avoid a lot of fraud by applying common sense.

For instance, a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth selling for

$500 is obviously a fake, because such a cost is unbelievably

low, too low for real market conditons. As well, it pays to

know a little bit about the development of baseballs and pens.

If you see baseballs supposedly signed in the '20s and '30s

with Sharpie pens, these items are obviously fake, because

these pens weren't invented yet in that era. To quote Phil

Halpren : "I have seen Babe Ruth balls signed on a Bobby Black

American League President ball. So, you know, he was president

in the early '80s. That's impossible to have been done. However

someone did it."

So, while it's enjoyable to have a peice of sports history to

call your own, the motto to follow is : buyer beware. Unless

you are a professional trader who knows how to authenticate

merchandise, do not acquire an item strictly for its potential

resale value, because you can be disappointed by what you

sooner or later get back for it. Purchase an item you

personally like and intend to keep, and do not spend thousands

of dollars. This ensures that you will be happy when you admire

your acquisition, without the lingering doubt that you have lost

a massive amount of money on something of dubious value.