KEN KARRSON: 'Exceptional' collection lives up to its name

Now this is a collection.

As much as we'd all like to believe that whatever trinkets we own are unique, the fact is most of them are rather commonplace. Be it trading cards, sports equipment, periodicals or signed pieces, chances are someone somewhere has the same thing we have -- perhaps several somebodies do.

But once in a great while, we hear about a true rarity. So it is with Jim Wiggins.

I learned about Wiggins through an e-mail from RR Auction in New Hampshire, which reported the sale of items gleaned from his “exceptional sports collection.” The press release also called it “a phenomenal assortment of one-of-a-kind and some never-before-seen items.”

As I've mentioned previously, I generally regard such descriptions as frothy. PR folks, after all, are prone to overstatement.

However, several visual samples of Wiggins' collection were sent along as attachments to the e-mail, and this time the hype seems to be legitimate. Among them, for example, is a photo of Muhammad Ali personalized to Wiggins with the words “World Heavy Weight Champion 1967” also included in the inscription.

Another photo features a very young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar standing near a basket with a ball held high over his head, just inches from the top of the cylinder. The picture shows Jabbar in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform and was shot so long ago that “Lew Alcindor” was still the name the 7-foot-2 NBA Hall of Famer used.

Jim Brown personalized a photo for Wiggins as well, and both Jackie Robinson and Bill Russell also signed pictures. Russell's handwriting was sloppy enough to make a physician cringe, but in later years, people were paying upward of $300 to get his Bill Hancock.

And how many Lew Alcindor items or ones signed by Muhammad Ali 44 years ago are floating around? Chances are they won't be found at the next collectibles show you attend.

Almost as impressive as his sports artifacts is Wiggins' life story.

The term “Renaissance man” certainly seems to apply -- he spent time as a journalist, educator and military officer, and holds a Ph.D in education, three masters degrees and one bachelors. His areas of study ranged from business administration to international relations.

Wiggins' work as a journalist obviously afforded him access to sports figures that many people never get, but even before embarking on that career, he was usually successful in his autograph hunting. Wiggins once received a two-page, handwritten letter and signed image from Ty Cobb after writing to him, and baseball legends such as Babe Ruth, Connie Mack and Honus Wagner also returned pictures after signing them.

Remember, this was during a time when autographs were typically scribbled on a piece of paper or book. Few people thought to get actual photos signed.

The auction ended Wednesday, meaning all of you would-be bidders are out of luck. Oh well, maybe we can lay our hands on some Joe Charboneau baseball cards.

This column is solely the writer's opinion. Reach him at kenneth.karrson@nwi.com.