After decades of collecting, man is selling his memorabilia

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - It started with Elvis.

Jimmy Long, now retired after years of selling cars, began collecting things that caught his eye. And many, many things caught his eye.

Over four decades, he’s collected hundreds, if not thousands, of baseballs, jerseys, photos and other memorabilia.

“I started collecting Elvis things,” Long said, “and Marilyn Monroe, I’ve always loved her; James Dean and other icons of that era. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had more than I really needed.”

He has autographed items, from the usual photos to boxing gloves, baseballs, basketballs, footballs and jerseys. And there are plenty of autographed flags from The Master’s golf tournament.

A basketball with Michael Jordan’s autograph is among Long’s favorites.

He also has 20 autographed guitars, including Rod Stewart, Bonnie Riatt, Merle Haggard and James Burton.

Having held on to his vast collection over the years, he decided to sell some of it.

“I’ve collected so much over the years, I can’t hardly get in the house,” he said with a laugh.

Most of the items were selected by Long, but he also has friends who are on the lookout for him. Estate sales make for great finds, and if Long doesn’t see something, a friend will call him if they think he might like something.

And Long hasn’t stopped collecting. Even with this vast collection, he continues to add more. Essentially, opening the store to sell some of the memorabilia enables him to find more collectibles.

What he decides to buy depends on what grabs his attention at any moment.

“One day I might be on baseballs, and I have at least 150 autographed baseballs already,” he said. “I’ve got the big boys like Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio. I really want a Babe Ruth ball, but he’s really out there. I can’t afford him even if I sold everything I don’t think.”

A walk through his store, Sports and Entertainment Memorabilia on McCullough Boulevard, reveals how extensive Long’s collection is.

“I don’t have too much of one thing - I’ve got too much of a lot of things,” he said.

While he’s been collecting for 40 years, most of it was accumulated in the past 10 years. Most of the autographed items are certified to be authentic, with the paperwork to prove it, Long said.

But not everything is for sale. The autographed Marilyn Monroe photo and the Mickey Mantle signed jersey are for display only, as is a Michael Jackson display.

One unique item is a matchbook signed by John Gotti, who was the boss of the Gambino crime family in New York.

“You don’t get something signed by a gangster very often,” Long chuckled.

Long is happy to be a guide through his store, and has plenty of stories to tell. He said the memorabilia isn’t meant to collect dust.

“This isn’t a museum, but if I can’t sell this stuff, I’ll just open it as a museum,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

And just because he’s selling as much of his collectibles as he can doesn’t mean he won’t get something he really likes.

“Right now I’m in a selling mode. I’ve been in buying mode for years,” he said. “But if there’s something I like, I’ll get it.”

The store is located at 2885 McCullough Blvd., Suite E2 in the Belden community. Call (662) 871-5447 for more information.

___

Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, https://djournal.com