Keeping up with the OJ theme, I thought I would pose the question to memorabilia collectors – How much of your collection is stolen?
Before I start getting bombarded with derogatory emails asking me how I could suspect such a thing, please read what I have to say below:

For many years, stolen memorabilia has ended up in tons of collections. It’s kind of weird if you think about it; mainly because the distribution of stolen memorabilia is basically accepted in this industry. This holds true especially in the game-used-equipment-collecting hobby.

How, you ask? Since the origin of nearly all sports, game-used bats, jerseys, balls and more have somehow managed to walk out of locker rooms and into people’s collections. Equipment managers, trainers, and even players and coaches have stolen equipment in order to sell the stuff to collectors.

How is this any different than what OJ is going through right now? Well, I guess it is a little different. OJ’s stuff disappeared from his house and not a locker room, but if a player or trainer takes a jersey (that is owned by the team) out of a locker room and then sells it, it is still stealing.

The funny part about this is the “acceptance” that YOU may be buying a stolen good. How many times have you seen in an auction description, with the following phrase?: “XXX comes from an equipment manager”

I am sure that sometimes the person who takes the piece gets permission from the team's owner or person in charge, but I know for a fact that many times the goods are taken when nobody is looking.

I have a strong feeling that some day all the leagues will start cracking down on this very thing. The NBA has hired MeiGray to take on the sale of some of its jerseys. The MLB also sells many of its pieces via MLB.com. NFL Auction gets jerseys from some teams, but not the majority.

That said, this is not good enough. I have said it before and I will say it again. I want to see every single jersey that is used used in game play, properly inventoried, so everyone knows what is real and what isn’t. Via this process, we would know exactly what game a uniform was worn, how many games it was worn and where it will end up (auction etc.).

There are too many real jerseys slipping out the back door and too many fakes that are entering the market. Something needs to be done.