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Youthful Doodles Costly for Sports Collectors

Innocently defacing cards, balls, comics makes items nearly worthless to collectors

By Doug Sweeney,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 21, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

(Newser) – Mickey Mantle never wore a beard, but that didn’t stop an 8-year-old Mets fan from giving him one, scrawling the words “You Stink,” on his 1968 Topps card. While such youthful indiscretions are fairly common, collectibles that could be worth hundreds, even thousands, of dollars are rendered worthless by childhood doodles, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“You see baseball cards, you see comic books and toys defaced all the time,” one sports-collectibles expert says. “Kids will use crayons, they'll chew on them.” As for the now-grown-up Mets fan, he’s fine with his Mantle, worth $1,500 without beard but $1.25 with: “I really don't care that I defaced it,” he says. “I really don't like this guy.”

The Postmaster General unveils the new commemorative stamps with Roy Campanella, Hank Greenberg, Mel Ott and Mickey Mantle.
The Postmaster General unveils the new commemorative stamps with Roy Campanella, Hank Greenberg, Mel Ott and Mickey Mantle.   (Getty Images)
Two baseballs, both pitched by Don Larsen in his perfect game in the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, are displayed during a preview for a memorabilia auction, Oct. 17, 2008.
Two baseballs, both pitched by Don Larsen in his perfect game in the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, are displayed during a preview for a memorabilia auction, Oct. 17, 2008.   (AP Photo)
This undated photo provided by Hunt Auctions shows the warmup jacket Lou Gehrig wore on May 2, 1939, the day he ended his streak of 2,120 consecutive games played.
This undated photo provided by Hunt Auctions shows the warmup jacket Lou Gehrig wore on May 2, 1939, the day he ended his streak of 2,120 consecutive games played.   (AP Photo/Hunt Auctions)
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