Dear Babe: I have a color photo of George Foreman's knockout punch of Michael Moorer. I got the photo from the Associated Press. George signed it for me on a cruise. -- John Gillam, Port Orchard, Fla.
In one of the biggest upsets -- at least from an age standpoint -- 46-year-old Foreman regained the heavyweight title with a 10th round KO of Moorer on Nov. 5, 1994, in Las Vegas.
Foreman, who was trailing on all scorecards, caught the 26-year-old Moorer with a short right to the chin and that's all she wrote. It was Moorer first title defense after wresting the crown from an aging Evander Holyfield. Foreman had lost the title to Muhammad Ali in Zaire at age 26 in 1974.
Foreman first came to prominence when he won a gold medal in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Unlike John Carlos and Tommy Smith, who offered up Black power salutes on the medal stand as the National Anthem was played after the 200 meters final, Foreman waved a small American flag to celebrate his win.
The ubiquitous Foreman is no shrinking violet, having carved out a nice post-boxing career as a pitchman -- first for Meineke and McDonald's and then for the Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine.
His signature is not hard to come by.
"The Foreman signed photo is around $40,said Mike Heffner, president of www.Lelands.com auction house in New York.
Dear Babe: I have a framed print (9-x-32) of the final play from the Patriots final game at Foxboro Stadium on Jan. 19, 2002, known as the "Snow Bowl" game against the Oakland Raiders. With the print are a commemorative hologram ticket of the old stadium and the present Gillette Stadium. Also framed is the stub to that game along with ticket stubs from the AFC title game against the Steelers and Super Bowl XXXVI against the Rams. -- Bob Slosek, Nashua, N.H.
Unless the print is extraordinary, this is going to be a case of the framing being worth more than the items. The print and commemorative stub have little collector value. The Super Bowl stub is worth around $50, while the AFC title game stub might bring $20-$25. The Snow Bowl stub is in the same range. Chris Nerat, a consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com), David Kohler, president of www.scpauctions.com, and Mike Heffner, president of www.Lelands.com, all agreed with that assessment. A full Super Bowl ticket from that year would have value. "We have full unused tickets to this game for around $200 PSA graded," Kohler said.
Dear Babe: I saved my ticket stub from Super Bowl I, played at the L.A. Coliseum in January 1967. It's still in pretty good condition. -- Steve Ledder, Sun City, Calif.
The first NFL-AFL championship game was played on Jan. 15, 1967, in the Los Angeles Coliseum before 61,946 fans. The Green Bay Packers drubbed the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10.
"A nice stub from SB I can be worth all the way to $1,000, but an average-condition stub is worth about $400-$500," said Chris Nerat, a consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com).
In addition to the value of your stub, Nerat provided some insight into the name Super Bowl. Most folks believe the Super Bowl moniker was attached with SB III. While ticket stubs and programs did not refer to the game as the Super Bowl, there was other memorabilia out there that did proclaim the first game a "Super Bowl." Nerat has a light plastic hat with red, white and blue cloth around the outside that says "Super Bowl." It supposedly was obtained from the estate of a former Packers' board member.
(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak@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.)
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