Be a Sport: Own a Piece of Athletic History

	Autographed Picture of Babe Ruth

At least Ruth was as good as his game.

"I don't believe in collecting modern-day [players]," Siegel states.

He has a point, what with recent steroid scandals and other variables. One day you've got an item signed by a gridiron great, and the next, it's rendered notorious at best by a double-murder accusation.

Siegel's house runs auctions and sells items direct, as well as owning a gallery within Mickey Mantle's restaurant in New York City.

For those who'd covet something from a current idol, there's not only eBay(EBAY Quote - Cramer on EBAY - Stock Picks) (where Barry Bonds' #715 ball, which moved him past the Babe's record, was auctioned two years ago for over $220,000) but also outfits such as AllAuthentic.com, in Riverside, Calif., which at one recent point was selling a Derek Jeter-signed baseball for a reasonable $349, and a Wayne Gretzky jersey for a somewhat pricier $899.

The Steiner Sports Store on Long Island is another reputable outlet, running both auctions (a baseball signed by both the legendary Joe DiMaggio and Mantle was recently bid up to $2,500) and authenticated sales.

As Brandon Steiner points out on the store's Web site, "Autographed memorabilia by athletes like Hank Aaron, Joe Namath, Magic Johnson and Muhammad Ali is the hottest new solution for personal and client gifts, as well as sales incentives, employee recognition and charity fundraising auctions."

Obviously, collecting can be about a person, a team or a sport.

Siegel says that the Yankees are far and away the most popular of all, but scarcity as well as acclaim can drive prices sky-high.

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