|
|
I HAVE OWNED THIS PAIR OF FOOTBALLS FOR THE PAST 15+ YEARS AND PRIOR TO THAT THEY WERE KEPT IN A FILE CABINET WEATHERING AWAY!
THE HISTORY BEHIND THESE IS SOMEWHAT UNCLEAR. I WAS TOLD BY THE SON OF THE FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE RAWLINGS COMPANY, THAT THESE WERE ALL OF THE PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES THAT ENDORSED THEIR FOOTBALLS AT THAT TIME. ONE WOULD NOW CALL THEM THE PROFESSIONAL ENDORSEMENTS. THE TIME FRAME IS UNCLEAR, BUT, THE SIGNATURES CLEARLY DO SHOW A BRACKET OF TIME IN WHICH THESE WERE CREATED/SIGNED.
I HAD THESE PROFESSIONALLY FRAMED OVER A DECADE AGO IN FLORIDA WHERE THEY SAT ON DISPLAY IN MY CONDO IN WEST PALM BEACH TILL JUST EARLIER THIS MONTH WHEN I HAD THESE SENT TO ME.
AS YOU CAN SEE, A LOT OF THE SIGNATURES HAVE FADED INTO OBLIVION AND UNFORTUNATELY ARE LOST FOREVER. THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN TO THE SURVIVING SIGNATURES AS WHEN THIS WAS FRAMED, A SHEET OF NON-STAINING MYLAR WAS PLACED OVER THE REMAINING SIGNATURES TO PRESERVE THESE FOR SUFFERING THE SAME FATE AS THE OTHERS. THE TECHNOLOGY BACK IN THOSE DAYS DID NOT EXIST, NOR DID THEY THINK OF PRESERVING THIS NOW HIGHLY COLLECTIBLE PIECES OF AMERICAN SPORTS HISTORY!
THESE FOOTBALLS WERE MADE BY THE RAWLINGS COMPANY AS THE SIGNATURE FOOTBALLS (WITH THE WHITE PANELS) ARE NOW MADE TODAY. IN FACT, I ALSO HAVE ANOTHER EXTREMELY RARE FOOTBALL OF THE MIAMI DOLPHINS UN-DEFEATED SEASON OF 17-0-0 SIGNED BY ALL OF THE PLAYERS AND COACHING STAFF!! THIS I MIGHT CONSIDER SELLING OFF AT SOME POINT-IN-TIME IN THE FUTURE. BUT FOR NOW, LET'S RETURN TO THESE COOL AND RARE FOOTBALLS.....
THE FRAMES MEASURE OUT AT 21 X 14 X 2.5 INCHES (53CM X 36CM X 6.5CM) AND THE SEALED FOOTBALLS ARE AROUND 14 1/2 INCHES X 8 1/2 INCHES X 1/2 INCH (37CM X 22CM X 1.5CM).
I HAVE NEVER TAKEN THE TIME TO COUNT OR EXTRACT ALL OF THE NAMES FROM THESE FOOTBALLS, IT IS VERY OBVIOUS THAT THESE ARE AUTHENTIC AND GENUINE. SOME OF THE EASILY RECOGNIZABLE SIGNATURES ARE THOSE OF BART STARR, JOHNNY UNITAS, MERLIN OLSEN, GALE SAYER, PAUL FLATLEY, JOE ROBB, SAM SILAS, ROB REYNOLDS, CHUCK WALKER, JIM HART, DAVE WILLIAMS, JOHN THOMAS, BRUCE GOSSETT TO NAME BUT A FEW! LITERALLY DOZENS UPON DOZENS OF OTHER NAMES ARE HERE AND IF I HAPPENED TO OMIT ANY, I AM SORRY AS THE LIST IS LONG AND MY PICTURES DO A GOOD JOB SHOWING WHAT THESE LOOK LIKE AND WHO ELSE ALSO SIGNED THESE FOOTBALLS.
SPEAKING OF WHICH, IF YOU WOULD LIKE ADDITIONAL PICTURES, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME AND PLEASE PROVIDE ME WITH YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS, SO I MAY SEND THESE TO YOU.
WHAT ELSE CAN ONE SAY ABOUT SOMETHING AS RARE AND UNIQUE AS THESE PROFESSIONALLY FRAMED CHUNK OF AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL HISTORY! YOU CAN BET NO ONE ELSE WILL HAVE ITEMS LIKE THESE IN THEIR COLLECTION. HOW OFTEN DO YOU SEE THE SIGNATURES OF BART STARR, JOHNNY UNITAS, MERLIN OLSEN, GALE SAYER (AND DOZENS MORE) ON A SINGLE PIECE!! I WOULD BET ONLY ONCE AND HERE IT IS!!
I AM IN NO RUSH TO SELL THESE OFF AND I AM NOT WILLING TO SEPARATE THESE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ASK. MY PRICE IS FIRM AND THERE IS NO ROOM TO MOVE (WELL UPWARDS THERE IS)..... FOR AS WITH EACH PASSING DAY, THESE WILL ONLY INCREASE IN VALUE AND DESIRE. I DO RESERVE THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE THIS OFFER AT ANY TIME WITHOUT ADVANCE NOTICE, BUT, WHEN/IF THESE DO SELL, THE SALE WILL BE FINAL AND I WILL NOT RE-NEG ON THE SALE.
YOU WILL HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF HITTING THE LOTTERY THEN EVER LOCATING THESE AGAIN. FOR ONCE THESE SELL OFF, CHANCES ARE BETTER THEN AVERAGE, THAT THEY WILL END UP IN SOMEONES PRIVATE COLLECTION AND ONLY SEEN AGAIN BY A VERY, VERY SELECT FEW! I HAVE CONSIDERED PLACING THESE ON LOAN IN THE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME WITH MY OTHER MIAMI DOLPHINS FOOTBALL OF 1972, BUT, WE WILL TRY THIS ROUTE FIRST..... WHO KNOWS, NEXT TIME YOU WALK THROUGH THE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME, THEY MIGHT JUST BE THERE!
THESE RARE SIGNED AND FRAMED FOOTBALLS WILL BE SENT TO THE NEW OWNER VIA UPS AND AS STANDARD WITH THESE FOLKS A TRACKING NUMBER WILL BE ISSUED AND RELAYED TO YOU ON THE DAY THAT I SEND THIS MODEL OFF TO YOU. THESE WILL, OF COURSE, BE FULLY INSURED.
FOR MY INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS, PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR A PRICE QUOTE AS THESE WILL BE SENT TO YOU ONLY VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS AND FOR THEIR FULL DECLARED VALUE (FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES). THE PRICE QUOTED IS HIGH, BUT ANY AND ALL UNUSED POSTAGE MONIES PAID TO ME THAT GOES UNUSED, WILL BE FULLY REFUNDED VIA A PAYPAL CREDIT.
THIS IS A ONE-OF-A-KIND OFFERING AND AS MENTIONED ABOVE, YOU WILL NEVER HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO OWN SUCH A RARE PIECE OF AMERICANA SPORTS HISTORY ... AT ANY PRICE!!
THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME A CHECKING ME OUT! NOW THAT YOUR HERE, YOU MIGHT JUST WANT TO TAKE THE EXTRA TIME AND CHECK OUT SOME OTHER COOL AND UNUSUAL PORSCHE, "PORSCHE DESIGN", BENTLEY AND AUDI ACCESSORIES THAT I HAVE LISTED IN MY E-BAY STORE THIS WEEK/MONTH...... (AND YES..... THERE ARE SOME OTHER ITEMS THAT ARE PRETTY COOL OUT THERE AND NOT PORSCHE RELATED ... WELL SOME AT LEAST!!).
FROM TIME-TO-TIME, I DO TOSS IN SOMETHING NON-AUTO RELATED, LIKE THESE FOOTBALLS, I DO LIKE TO KEEP IT INTERESTING!!
THE EASIEST WAY TO DO THIS WOULD BE TO TAKE A "WALK" THROUGH MY STORE AND TO DO THIS, ALL ONE WOULD NEED DO IS TO LOCATE THAT LITTLE "RED" DOOR A TOP THIS PAGE (JUST BELOW MY SELLERS NAME AND FEEDBACK TALLY) AND A SINGLE CLICK WILL "OPEN" THE DOOR TO MY STORE....
IN ORDER TO STREAMLINE YOUR SEARCH, ONCE YOU HAVE ENTERED INTO MY STORE HERE ON E-BAY, YOU WILL SEE THAT TO THE RIGHT THERE IS A "SEARCH BAR" ... IF YOU JUST WANT TO SEE MY "PORSCHE MUSEUM" LISTINGS ONLY, SIMPLY TYPE IN "PORSCHE MUSEUM" AND CLICK ON ENTER. NOW ONLY THOSE MUSEUM ITEMS THAT ARE LISTED WILL POP-UP. IF YOU WANT TO SEE SOME BENTLEY ACCESSORIES, TYPE IN "BENTLEY" AND YOU GOT IT ... ONLY MY ACTIVE AND LISTED BENTLEY ITEMS WILL POP-UP.... I THINK YOU GET IT NOW....
SO NOW THE REAL FUN STARTS......
AS ALWAYS, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION ON THIS RARE ONE-OF-A-KIND FOOTBALL OFFERING AND FOR ANY OTHER CONSIDERATIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE GIVEN ME IN THE PAST.
JOE
INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS ... PLEASE TAKE NOTICE:
I AM NOW TESTING EBAY'S NEW GLOBAL SHIPPING SERVICE FOR BOTH THEIR PRICE RATE AND SERVICE. IF ANY OF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THEIR PRICING, PLEASE CONTACT ME THROUGH EBAY MESSAGING AND I WILL QUOTE YOU USING THE USPS FIRST CLASS "REGISTERED" MAIL RATES. THIS IS WHAT I HAVE ALWAYS USED IN THE PAST, BUT, SOME OF YOU FOUND THIS TOO COSTLY (HENCE MY TESTING EBAYS METHOD).
PLEASE NOTE: PLEASE CONTACT ME DIRECTLY AND WE WILL SEEK ALTERNATIVES TOGETHER. ALSO NOTE, THAT I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DUTIES, TAXES, FEES OR ASSESSMENTS WHICH CAN AND MIGHT BE LEVIED BY ANY FOREIGN GOVERNMENT.