Near the far end of Cleveland’s I-X Center, a 530,000-square-foot space filled with cards, photos, bobbleheads and helmets for the National Sports Collectors Convention stood a display case with a jersey faded to a grayish-blue hue. It traveled to Cleveland from Wrigley Field via an armored transport and it’s expected to be auctioned off for more than $30 million. Advertisement Babe Ruth wore the uniform top in 1932, as he called his shot during Game 3 of the World Series.
Some items at the overwhelmingly bustling convention, seem mythical, even when separated only by glass. There’s a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey from the 1947 World Series, game-worn jerseys of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson, as well as Barry Bonds’ 755th home run ball. Or, for the movie buffs, there are a pair of ruby slippers Judy Garland wore 85 years ago while portraying Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz.
” All I’m here for, though, is to find a David Justice card in an ever-so-slightly different price range. When I was a kid, Justice was my favorite player, the owner of the smoothest left-handed swing by anyone not named Ken Griffey Jr. I batted righty, but I’d venture to the other side of the box when playing in the neighborhood just so I could attempt to replicate that thing of beauty.
When Justice was traded to Cleveland in 1997, I imitated the swing daily and watched it nightly. My 2-year-old son has an Aaron Judge rookie card — a gift from a family friend — resting on a b.