As some of you have seen from my Mantel post history, one of my passions is researching sports memorabilia. Whether it’s figuring out whether a player wore a jersey, whose signature is on a baseball, or the origins of an oddball collectible, I love uncovering the history behind those items. As a one-time holiday gift (and because I have nothing to do thanks to a week off from work), I’ll perform a couple hours of free research for one Mantel user who wants to learn more about one of their collectibles. Here are the kinds of requests that are in my wheelhouse:

* You have an item with autos of one or more baseball or football players from any era but aren’t sure as to who signed them.
* You have a sports card from any era but aren’t sure as to the set, year, or player.
* You have a baseball or football jersey (any level from college to the pros) from the 1990s to today and either (a) think it might be game-used but aren’t sure, or (b) know it’s game-used but aren’t sure as to which specific year/game(s).
* You have a baseball or football jersey (any level from college to the pros) from any era but aren’t sure of the team or player.

If you’d like me to potentially research your item, post a summary of your research need below with photos and I’ll provide my findings/input for free. Note that this isn’t affiliated with Mantel in any way - I’m doing this purely on my own.