Ask Babe: More questions for the Babe

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Dear Babe: Years ago, my husband and I jumped rope for the halftime entertainment at a Lakers-76ers game. The next night we performed at a Clippers-Celtics game. We had three young children back then and got T-shirts signed for all three. We have two Lakers shirts signed by Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Jerry West and a few other Lakers and Charles Barkley, Julius Erving and several other 76ers. The Celtics shirt is signed by Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson and a couple of others along with Clippers including Norm Nixon and Don Cheney (coach). -- Nancy Cowgill, Grand Island, Neb.That's something to tell the kids and you've got the shirts to back up the story. T-shirts are not the best for autographs because they are hard to display and often fade. Plus, serious collectors would only want Lakers sigs on that shirt or Celtics players on the other one, although Dr. J. and Barkley are nothing to sneeze at. The signed shirts are probably worth around $100 each,'' said Brian Marren, vice president of acquisitions for www.MastroAuctions.com auctions in Chicago. Dear Babe: I have a brick that was given to me for my birthday. It is from Fenway Park on demo work done when some windows were opened to gain access to Yawkey Way. I understand that these were not for sale. This brick has a picture of the demo work attached to the side and Johnny Pesky's autograph on top where the original green paint is. I understand that these bricks were given to the governor, mayor and other people at the breaking of the walls. -- David Powell, AtlantaThere's always someone who can figure a way to turn trash into a collectible. Pesky, the former Red Sox who has a foul pole that carries his name, has been around throughout the autograph boom. His signature is not that hard to come by in Boston. "It is not worth a great deal-around -- $100-$200. There are actually a pile of them out there. Some of the workers took them home, and they were also hauled off in big loads with some people getting them after they were hauled away,'' said Mike Heffner, president of www.lelands.com auction house in South Dennis, Mass. Dear Babe: I have four ticket stubs for the game in which Henry Aaron hit his 715th home run. -- June Lumpkin, Carrolton, Ga.And here I thought everyone who had been to that April 8, 1974 game had already written to me about tickets and stubs. "Aaron 715 tickets are odd, because there were three parts to a full (ticket),'' said Chris Nerat, a Sports Collectors Digest columnist. "The one little stub is worth about $200-$400 depending on condition. I have picked them up for about $100 on eBay and have sold them authenticated by PSA for about $425."BABE NOTE: Donruss Americana is back for a second season with "Private Signings. Like its predecessor, it's packed with relic and autographed cards of entertainments celebrities, but there are a variety of sports figures included. Henry Aaron, Willie Mays and Jake LaMotta are three of the sets five "Headliners.'' The other two are former President George Bush and Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon. There are also five Sports Legends -- Peggy Fleming, Richard Petty, Dick Vitale, John Wooden and LaMotta. Finally, Americana includes a 30-card subset, "Ring Kings,'' featuring 30 mixed martial fighters. For more information on this high-end product that carries a $40 per park suggested retail price, visit www.donruss.com.(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)