Ed Tripp’s personal collection hits the auction block

Born five miles outside of Cooperstown in his grandparents’ farmhouse, Ed Tripp soon began his love of collecting and baseball. It began with Cy Young and Jackie Robinson signed baseballs.

Baseball filled his life. Tripp was on Cooperstown’s very first Little League team in 1951. His picture with the team is even in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Eventually Tripp moved away, married and started a family. The love of collecting and baseball drew him back to his roots in Cooperstown, eventually leading him to open Collectors World at 125 Main Street in Cooperstown. Collectors World featured autographed balls, bats, jerseys, baseball cards, and other signed memorabilia.

Collectors World was the place for baseball memorabilia and was famous for its Season Inductions Weekend autograph sessions in front of the Collectors World famous wall of famers.

Some of the Hall of Famers Tripp hosted at Collectors World from 1991 through 2002 included: Stan Musial, Warren Spahn, Johnny Bench, Steve Carlton, Charles Gerringer, Joe Morgan, Duke Snider, Whitey Ford, Juan Marichal, Eddie Matthews, Yogi Berra, and Lou Brock.

Not only was Collectors World a Cooperstown institution, Tripp himself was part of the fabric of Cooperstown and served as a trustee for the village of Cooperstown from 1998-2001. Attending many events at the Hall of Fame was just part of his life. He was instrumental in bringing top named concerts to Doubleday Field in 2005 with the Beach Boys and Herman’s Hermits.

Tripp retired from his collectibles shop in 2002 and moved to Texas for the warmer winters, while keeping his summer home right in the heart of baseball. In 2006 he retired to Texas full time with his wife, where he continues to root for his new favorite home team – the Texas Rangers.

Tripp has now decided to part with some items from his personal collection. Among the offerings of bats, balls, autographed books and other signed memorabilia are:

• A Texas Ranger bat signed by Ted Williams (manager/HOF) and Nelson Fox (coach /HOF). The signatures were collected by Rich Billings in the clubhouse.

• A New York Yankees baseball containing 14 signatures. The baseball includes signatures from Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra, and two Casey Stengel signatures.

• A Mickey Mantle autographed book.

What makes these items truly unique is that Tripp personally witnessed most signatures as they were being autographed by the ballplayers. All items will come with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Tripp, the same certificate as offered with items for 18 years at Collectors World, as well as a money back guarantee.

The phone auction will be held June 14-23. The auction hotline is 214-707-4001.

Phone lines will be answered during the auction time only.

For a complete list of auction rules, to pre-register or to view products, visit www.ejtcw.com.