Dear Babe: I have a ticket stub from the Feb. 25, 1964, fight between Sonny Liston and Cassius Clay (now Muhammad Ali) in Miami. I was there with my father -- really exciting.
-- Bob McGrath, Redding, Calif.
That fight in Miami changed boxing forever. Clay stunned everyone, winning the heavyweight title at just age 22 when Liston failed to answer the bell for the seventh round. Liston had won the title in 1962 with a first-round knockout of champion Floyd Patterson. Patterson got the same treatment in the 1963 rematch -- knocked out in the first round. With a 35-1 record, Liston was a huge favorite that night in South Florida against the brash Clay, who had amassed a 19-0 record after winning a light-heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics.
As for value, it appears from the scan you sent that the stub is creased.
"With the creases, it is worth around $300," said Mike Heffner, president of www.Lelands.com. "Without creases, it is worth $500. If it was a full, unused ticket, it would be worth thousands."
Dear Babe: I have four boxes of Pro Set PGA cards. Each box says it contains four sets of 101 cards each -- 75 players, 25 seniors and one bonus card.
-- Rozella Rea, Riverside, Calif.
Unfortunately, there's not much of anything that Pro Set issued in the late 1980s and early 1990s that has any value.
The products were overproduced, and when the company went belly-up, tons of unsold merchandise ended up in the secondary marketplace. The 100-card golf sets were sold at dollar stores.
I checked with Dave and Adam's Card World (www.dacardworld.com). It confirmed that boxes included four factory sets. The boxes were selling for $9.95, but have been reduced to $7.95 plus shipping and handling. That's just $2 per set. A quick check of eBay completed auctions showed just one three-box lot that sold for $23.99 plus $11 shipping. That's just $8 per box or $2 per set.
Individually, most cards have little value. Payne Stewart, who was killed in a plane crash in 1999, usually sparks some interest, as does Tom Watson. On the senior side, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer are the standouts. However, the only cards I saw that sold on eBay were cards graded as Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) 10, the highest grade. Nicklaus sold for $20 and Palmer went for $15.
Dear Babe: I have a baseball that has been signed by former Dodgers, including Tom Lasorda, Darryl Strawberry, Eddie Murray, Brett Butler, Bob Ojeda, Lenny Harris, Kal Daniels, Orel Hershiser, Mike Scioscia, Gary Carter, Kevin Gross, Jay Howell, Chris Gwynn, Alfredo Griffin and Tim Crews.
-- Jim Edward, Corona, Calif.
This isn't as varied a group as you think. It looks to me to be a ball signed by the 1991 Dodgers. While it is true that all played for the Dodgers, only Scioscia and Hershiser had their best playing years in L.A. Butler might be a close second. Crews and Ojeda are linked because, as players for the Cleveland Indians, in 1993 they were involved in a boating accident in Florida during spring training. Crews and Steve Olin died in the mishap.
On the positive side, Lasorda, Carter and Murray are Hall of Famers.
The 1991 version of the Dodgers finished in second place in the National League West -- just a game behind the Atlanta Braves. A ball signed by that team is worth $100-$150, said Mike Gutierrez, consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com), and Mike Heffner, president of www.Lelands.com auction house in New York.
(Babe Waxpak is written by Bill Wagner. If you have a question for Babe Waxpak, include your full name and hometown, the card number, year and manufacturer or send a photocopy. Please do not send cards. The address is: Babe Waxpak, Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or email babewaxpak@charter.net.)
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