Top-scoring sporting memorabilia through the ages

We can’t get enough of collecting the very best merch the sporting world has to offer! 

By taking a step back in time and looking at what’s been favoured over the years, we’ll help you figure out what brandable sporting merch would work best for your brand. 

So whether you’re attending, organising, or hosting your own event, it’s time to get results with branded merch!

It’s time to kick off the season with a trip down memory lane. 

If you’re looking for the very best in branded sports merchandise, download your free copy of our On the Ball brochure now, or chat with one of our merchandise consultants today. 

A brief history of sporting memorabilia

Sporting memorabilia hasn’t always been like it is today. 

In the 19th century, sports fanatics would often save items from the games they attended.

Ticket stubs and programs were super popular and were kept to trade with other fans. 

In 1896, the first modern Olympiad took place in Athens. This required specialised clothing for athletes - the beginning of what would later become team jerseys!  

In 1908, regulations were amended at the London Games so that uniforms HAD to be worn by participating teams. This helped to distinguish what team players belonged to and added a sense of cohesiveness to the event. 

“Every competitor shall wear a sleeved jersey and loose drawers to the knees, and any competitor shall be excluded unless properly attired. [...] Every competitor shall be supplied with and wear on back and front during competition a distinctive number corresponding to his number in the programme.”

Source: The Fourth Olympiad, London, 1908, Page 404

When it comes to official sporting memorabilia though, the Boston Red Sox were the first team to take the exciting leap. They sold souvenirs at their games in the early 1900s, and by 1915 they were selling a whole range of items such as bats, balls and photographs. 

After this, the market exploded! By the 1950s, there was a booming trade for sports collectables across a whole different range of teams and leagues. 

And this is where sporting collectables that we know and love today come into play (pun intended!).

Read more: The 10 best brandable sports promotional products: 2023

Sports cards

The most popular sports merchandise EVER has to be sports cards! 

Baseball cards were first introduced in the late 1800s, with football, basketball and hockey cards coming soon after in the early 1900s. 

A lot of cards have been super popular over the years, with some in a whole league of their own. 

Like the T206 Honus Wagner 1909 baseball card, for example, selling for £5.4 million in 2021. This card was made by the American Tobacco Company from 1909 - 1911 when production stopped, making it a very rare (and expensive) card.

If you love sports cards, why not create your own for your brand? We offer a range of bespoke merchandise playing cards that you can completely personalise and customise to your brand’s content! 

Find out more: Chat with us about brandable bespoke cards

Sports Jerseys

Sports jerseys are a great piece of memorabilia for fans who want to feel truly connected to their favourite player or team. 

First sold back in the 1980s, if they were actually worn during a game, that made them even more popular.

Famously, former NBA player Dennis Rodman had a habit of taking off his jersey at the end of a game and throwing it into the crowd! 

However, one of the most expensive pieces in sports jersey history was a New York Yankees baseball jersey worn by Babe Ruth in the 1920s. It sold for £4.4 million in 2019. 

Recently, in September 2022, a Jordan jersey that was worn during an actual game sold for a whopping $10.091 million. 

If you want your brand to get a piece of the jersey action, check out our brandable sports tops - perfect for a game of b-ball.

Football shirts

By wearing a football shirt, you’re showing your support for your favourite team. They’re full of sentimental meaning. They’re glory. They’re pride.

"People put such a value on these bits of polyester, Not just in terms of money, but sentiment. There's a romanticism”
Collector Ian Bentley

It’s about memories - they’re a reminder of what went down on the pitch. It’s about communicating what type of fan you are with who you support. 

It’s ultimately about being part of the team. 

"Sometimes it's memories that are very personal, but even social and world history can be reflected, and patterns and designs echo the time they were made, so you'll see elements of the wider culture."
Collector Phil Delves

The most famous football shirt has to be Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” Argentina jersey that sold for £7.1 million in May 2022. This was worn in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England. Whilst wearing it, Maradona scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal, as well as the ‘Goal of the Century’. 

Football shirts have even taken the spotlight recently with the Mary Earps’ England shirt conundrum. 

Fans are in an uproar because you can’t actually purchase an official Earps shirt. This means they can’t show their support for their favourite player, now dubbed ‘Mary Queen of Stops’. 

And the reason is all because Nike, who is the creator of the replica shirts, don’t create goalkeeper replica kits for either the England women's or men’s teams. 

“For my own family and friends and loved ones not to be able to buy my shirt, they are going to come out and wear normal clothes and I know that sounds like 'Oh Mary, what a horrible problem', but on a personal level that is really hard.”
Mary Earps, England goalkeeper

A petition has been launched to request Nike to rethink its decision, which has already gained an amazing 70,000 signatures. 

This just shows how current and popular sports memorabilia, and football shirts in general - are! 

Check out our extensive sportswear range to get your brand’s football faves. 

Update: Good news! Nike has announced that they will now produce a limited run of replica Mary Earps goalkeeper shirts.

Hats!

Hats are a great piece of branded sportswear! For that optimum brand impact, you seriously can’t go wrong with a branded hat. 

For example, at the F1 British Grand Prix this year, you might have spotted these eye-catching Lewis Hamilton 2023 team driver caps in the crowd. An iconic piece of neon green stand-out merchandise! Plus, they’re exclusive, so even more sought after. 

Source: motorsport.com

Then, of course, there was the biggest craze of this summer so far - bucket hats! 

Yep, England’s cricket team wore their branded bucket hats with pride. 

If you’re loving the bucket hat fad, check out our range of excellent brandable ones.

Find out more: Brandable bucket hats

Home run merch you’ll love

Want your brand to hit it outta the park? Then we’ve got all the best sporting merch you need. 

Get the ball rolling with your next sporting campaigns, from celebration favourites to sporting saviours.

Download your free copy of our On the Ball brochure now, or chat with one of our merchandise consultants for all your top-scoring promotional merchandise needs.