The price of
celebrity
How much would you be willing to pay for David Beckham’s first car or James
Dean’s elementary school basketball jersey? What about a cigar that has been
half-smoked by Michael Jordan or a glass of water that has been sipped from
by LeBron James?
That such items and thousands more like them are trading for serious bucks on
auction sites such as eBay will be taken by many as a damning indictment of
our growing obsession with celebrity. I mean, where is the logic in buying a
cushion that was once sat on by Diego Maradona?
But even if one disapproves of the market, it cannot be disputed that it
provides a fascinating litmus test of the relative cultural importance of
the world’s sports stars. Take one of Beckham’s former cars. A BMW M3
convertible with thousands of miles on the clock, it sold for a staggering
£90,100 even though its “real” value was around the £15,000 mark. Can there
be a more persuasive testament to Beckham’s marketability?
The growing frivolousness in the memorabilia market is a trend that is set to
continue, with many on the lookout for anything that has even the vaguest
connection with the planet’s superstars. The reporter whose foot was run
over by Britney Spears put the offending sock on the market recently. Its
price presently stands at $561 (about £270). Waggish collectors have
actively been pursuing such things as a Tim Henman-signed milk bottle, a
strand of Bobby Charlton’s comb-over and a Sir Alex Ferguson-signed
hairdryer.
But there is also a rather more serious side to the market. Take the pair of
200lb punchbags used by Rocky Marciano when preparing for his defences of
the world heavyweight championship in the 1950s. Rugged and ravaged, they
testify to the pugilistic ferocity of the only world heavyweight champion to
retire undefeated. Auctioned for more than £150,000, their value was at
least partially driven by the scarcity of Marciano memorabilia: the champion
died in a plane accident at the age of 45.
But this is loose change compared with the baseball gear that dominates the
all-time most-expensive list. The ball struck by Mark McGwire to complete
his record-breaking 70th home run sold for more than $3 million in 1998
despite allegations that McGwire used steroids. The bat used by Babe Ruth to
hit his first home run at the Yankee Stadium sold for $1,265,000. And the
ball Barry Bonds hit for his record-breaking 756th home run was auctioned by
Matt Murphy, the man who caught the ball, for $752,467.
The world’s oldest ice hockey stick, dating from the 1850s, became the most
expensive nonbaseball piece of memorabilia when it was sold to a Canadian
buyer for $2.2 million last year. The most expensive piece of football
memorabilia is the oldest existing version of the FA Cup, which was snapped
up for £420,000 in May 2005. The sale, at Christie’s in London, beat the
previous record of £254,000 paid for the Jules Rimet World Cup in 1997.
The rapidly inflating price of memorabilia has generated fraud on a massive
scale. The most infamous case of recent times involved Pete Rose, a former
baseball player with the Cincinnati Reds who beat Ty Cobb’s record for
career hits in 1995, but who subsequently fell on hard times and set about
selling his gear. It was alleged in court that he had sold his
“record-beating bat” to several different collectors.
Another extraordinary case arrived in court yesterday after O. J. Simpson, the
former American football player and murder suspect, burst into a hotel room
in Las Vegas last month in an attempt to take sporting memorabilia that, he
said, belonged to him. Simpson has been charged with kidnapping with a
deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon, assault, conspiracy to commit
kidnapping, robbery and burglary, among other crimes. If convicted, he could
spend life in jail.
But back to the memorabilia. Perhaps the most infamous item sold is the
“Bartman Ball” named after the fan who supposedly ruined the Chicago Cubs’
chances of reaching the 2003 World Series by attempting to catch a foul ball
that was on the verge of being caught by a fielder. It sold at auction for
$113,000. In 2004 the ball was publicly exploded in a procedure designed by
Michael Lantieri, a Cubs fan and Oscar-winning special effects guru, and the
remains were subsequently used in a pasta sauce. Diners said that it left a
bitter taste in the mouth.
Every now and then you come across an absolute gem. Joe DiMaggio’s passport,
which recently sold for $4,800, is an item with undeniable cultural and
historical significance. Plastered with the stamps of nations visited by the
former New York Yankees centre fielder, it provides a unique portal into the
life of one of America’s most cherished sporting and cultural icons. The
growth of the sports memorabilia market is set to continue but it will be
fascinating to see how the various sports stars fare over time.
When Beckham retires, will his second-hand cars continue to command such a
premium? Will the present fevered demand for anything associated with Lewis
Hamilton continue if he fails to win next year’s World Championship? And
when will the price of a syringe used by Marion Jones command a higher price
than one of her discredited medals?
The price of fame:
(* Starting bid)
Ali v Foreman magazine
£60
An original boxing publication previewing the Rumble in the Jungle
1957 England v Hungary signed football
£1,500*
The match ball used when England lost at Wembley for the first time
James Dean’s vest
£1,250
The iconic actor’s elementary school basketball jersey, handmade by the school
coach
Olympic torch — Turin 2006
£2,500
The torch carried at the Winter Olympics
Rocky Marciano punchbag
£150,000*
The 200lb punchbag used by the only undefeated heavyweight champion of the
world
Brazil 1950 World Cup winner’s medal
£85
A World Cup winner's medal, sold for a song
Joe DiMaggio’s passport
$4,800
A portal into the life of one of America’s most revered sporting heroes
Michael Jordan’s half-smoked cigar
£400
The basketball legend’s cigar, with accompanying DNA
David Beckham’s car
£90,100
The former England captain’s BMW M3 Evolution convertible
