*** We would like to thank everyone who participated in our February 8, 2008 auction. We hope all the winners are happy with their new additions.

We will be setting up at the Reading Pa. Sports Memorabilia Show from February 29 through March 2. The show is located at the Greater Reading Expo Center, 2525 n 12th St in Reading Pa. We will be bringing hundreds of figural sports items including vintage bobbing heads, Hartlands, Gibbs-Conner banks and much more. We will also be looking to purchase like memorabilia. Please come visit us at Booth 402. ***

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BABE RUTH CLOCK RADIO

In light of the recent Congressional hearings about steroid use in baseball, I thought it was good timing to write a little bit about Babe Ruth. As most of you already know, Ruth may have single-handidly saved the game of baseball after the scandal of the infamous 1919 Chicago "Black" Sox.

After "throwing" the 1919 World Series, 8 members of the Chicago White Sox were brought before a commitee, much like Roger Clemens was the other day. Although they were exonerated after this hearing, the lords of baseball and more importantly Judge Landis, banned them from the game for their association with gambling. The game was reeling and in jeapardy of losing its fan base until the Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees after the 1919 season. Ruth captivated the country with his home run rampage of 1920. He belted 54 homers in his first year with the Yankees- which was more then every team in the American League that year. His exploits took fans minds off the scandal and is credited with saving the game. We can only hope that todays steroid scandal will not affect baseball's popularity- as I don't see another Ruth on the horizon.

Because of his massive popularity, Ruth memorabilia is still one of the most popular  among collectors. He endorsed everything from underwear to cigars and his image is still used in marketing today. If you decide to collect Ruth, there is a seemingly endless amount of memorabilia to find.

We recently obtained a very popular piece of "Ruth-abilia"- the clock that was issued shortly after his death in 1948. The clock is electric and sits on top of a wooden base. On the top mantle of the clock are three simulated bronze pieces. One is a bust of Ruth. Next to the bust are two baseballs with his lifetime home run stats engraved on each ball. This clock is a little different variation than most seen. It also contains a built in radio. This is the first one of this variation that we've seen in over 25 years in the hobby. We will be offering this piece in our Spring 2008 auction.

BABE RUTH FACTS

• Ruth holds the single season slugging average with an amazing .847
• Babe Ruth led the American league in home runs 12 times.
• In his 15 years with the Yankees, Ruth averaged almost 44 home runs per year.
• After being traded from Boston, Ruth out-homered the entire Red Sox team in 10 of the next 12 seasons.
• In 1927 when ruth hit 60 home runs, it was about 14% of all the home runs hit in the league. If a player today were to match that percentage, he would need to hit more than 300 home runs in one year.