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A CHANCE TO OWN A PIECE OF SPORTS HISTORY,
MICHIGAN SPORTS HALL OF FAME TO AUCTION MEMBER PLAQUES
DETROIT (June 2, 2009) – Michigan sports fans and sports memorabilia collectors will soon have a unique opportunity to own a treasured piece of baseball history in the state of Michigan. A one-time sale of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame bronze plaques of 49 diamond legends ranging from Ty Cobb to Al Kaline and Charlie Gehringer to Hank Greenberg will be offered for sale in an on-line auction to fans beginning June 8, at www.legendaryauctions.com.
The decision to make the plaques available to collectors through a partnership with Legendary Auctions is in conjunction with the MSHOF's on-going evolution and mission to develop a permanent interactive sports experience that will showcase a new form of recognition of the honorees accomplishments through state-of-the-art, web-enabled multi-media content from extensive searchable archives complete with photos, news articles, audio and video highlights. Legendary Auctions was selected by the MSHOF after a comprehensive local and national search process for an auction partner with significant national experience.
"The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame has embarked on a mission to not only recognize our inductees in a new and expanded way, but to create an exciting opportunity for fans to experience the rich history of sporting excellence in Michigan in exciting way consistent with the global trend of interactive sporting exhibits," said Ray Scott, MSHOF chairman and Class of 2007 member.
The MSHOF is making the baseball plaques available for sale as part of a methodical and strategic evolution of the organization's mission, to create an exciting new interactive experience in a future permanent home for the Hall of Fame. The effort began in early 2008 with the debut of the interactive MSHOF Road Trip '08 mobile marketing experience that traveled to major events throughout Michigan including GM River Days; the Buick Open; the Michigan State Fair and select professional and collegiate sports events ranging from the MSU v. U-M football game in Ann Arbor to Lions and Tigers' games and the NCAA's Hoop City fan experience at the 2009 NCAA Final Four. After discussions with a variety or MSHOF members and their families or descendents about their wishes for future recognition, and in response to requests from Cobo Center officials to find a remedy for the plaques' current location, the MSHOF Board of Directors researched the latest industry data and studies on sports history and entertainment facilities, and determined that future visitors will demand a rich and entertaining sports history experience that 100 words on a plaque unfortunately cannot adequately deliver.
The opportunity to purchase the baseball plaques will be the first in series of periodic and themed auctions from the MSHOF and Legendary Auctions. Future MHSOF auctions may include Hall member plaques from Detroit's other pro sports teams, Olympic-sport athletes, boxing or other themes.
"We believe that collectors will be extremely interested in purchasing these one-of-a-kind historical sporting treasures," said Doug Allen, president Legendary Auctions. "From the considerable experience of Legendary Auctions, we expect that certain collectors may be interested in purchasing not only individual plaques of baseball icons such as Ty Cobb or Al Kaline, but collections of Michigan Sports Hall of Fame baseball plaques such as the plaques of all Detroit Tigers who have had their numbers retired, or those of the Tigers' G-Men, as the popular press of the era dubbed Charlie Gehringer and Hank Greenberg."
Click here to view a list of the plaques being auctioned.
For more information on the auction, visit www.legendaryauctions.com.
The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a 501©3 non-profit organization.
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