COLLECTIBLES MARKET ON WIN STREAK : SPORTS MEMORABILIA HOT COMMODITY AGAIN.

Byline: Laura Koss-Feder The New York Times

The numbers are eye-popping. A $12 baseball that left the pitcher's hand on Sept. 6 was worth $500,000 after it landed in the right-center-field stands, smacked there by Eddie Murray of the Baltimore Orioles for his 500th career home run.

A 1910 Honus Wagner baseball card, originally given away by a tobacco company, was auctioned in September for $640,500.

Baseball, obviously, is no longer just a game of inches.

The market for sports collectibles, weakened in 1994 by the baseball strike, has bounced back, with average values rising about 15 percent in the past two years.

Although collectors say that some of the high prices, like that for the Murray baseball, are aberrations, the general climb in the prices of some classic items is creating interest in the whole market.

It also means strong demand when new memorabilia become available. In September, an auction of items from the old Boston Garden, where the Celtics and Bruins played, raised $505,195.

Also in September, the University of Notre Dame, which is renovating its stadium on its campus near South Bend, Ind., sold items such as lockers and seats.

The auction at Christie's East in New York, part of a larger sale of sports memorabilia, attracted about 400 people; although only 30 items were sold, they brought $27,027. The school plans a much larger auction this month in South Bend.

``Some big buyers were very nonchalant about spending this kind of money,'' said Tim McCarthy, chairman of Admiral Awards Inc., an Indianapolis manufacturer of plaques and trophies that helped the university with the auction.

The Chicago White Sox auctioned items in 1991 from the old Comiskey Park, which was replaced by a new stadium across the street. The team raised $800,000. Jeff Szynal, team historian and curator, estimated that if the auction were held today, it would bring in three times as much.

The market may be heating up, but collectors say it takes knowledge, luck and timing to make money.

``Don't collect this kind of memorabilia mainly for investment purposes; do it for the love of the sport and the particular athlete,'' said Camron Bussard, group manager of marketing services for Upper Deck Authenticated, a Carlsbad, Calif., distributor of sports memorabilia.

One collector who loves sports is Greg Ring, 37, of Memphis. Ring began collecting baseball cards 10 years ago and has a room in his house with about 10,000 balls, bats, jerseys, programs and postcards from various sports. He values his collection at $100,000, and plans to pass it down to his two children, ages 4 and 6.

``I want my grandchildren to know what I enjoyed and what I was like,'' Ring said. ``I don't have anything that tells me what my grandfather was like or what he did.''

The most popular sports for collectors are baseball, football, hockey, boxing and basketball, said Joshua Evans, chairman of Leland's Auction House in New York, which specializes in sports collectibles. Sought-after memorabilia include stadium and arena items, hockey paraphernalia and pre-1970 team-autographed baseballs.

Before buying items, collectors should check them for forgeries by consulting with a reputable authenticator or an auction house that has sports memorabilia consultants on staff. It also helps to be a little clairvoyant - that is, being able to predict about two years in advance the big events for a particular team or player, Evans said.

``You don't invest in what's hot now,'' he said. ``It will only go down in value.''

David Mona, 53, of Minneapolis, who owns the Field of Dreams sports memorabilia stores around the country, says items from women's sports have been growing in popularity and should become valuable in about 10 years. He said that as recently as four years ago, there was no market for these items, but that about 2 percent of his customers now collected them.

Mona recommended buying baseball and basketball collectibles from the 1950s and 1960s, as well as footballs autographed by teams from the 1960s and 1970s. Also, any item signed by Michael Jordan is prized, Bussard said. But, be wary, he said: 80 percent to 90 percent of supposed Jordan collectibles have forged autographs.

Dealers and collectors also agreed that college sports collectibles were less profitable than those from professional sports.

Evans recommended holding on to most items for at least two to five years to give them time to appreciate. For example, collectors said the baseball a young fan caught off the bat of Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees for a controversial home run during this year's American League playoffs eventually could be worth $2,500.

Evans also warned against acquiring items immediately after the associated sporting event, recommending instead that collectors wait about six months to two years to buy.

One-of-a-kind sports collectibles can appreciate 10 percent to 20 percent annually, McCarthy of Admiral Awards said. In addition, public perception of an athlete is crucial in determining the long-term value of an item, Bussard said. For example, Muhammed Ali has remained popular for decades, and items signed by him may well continue to be solid investments.

Mona, who says he has 2.9 million baseball, football, hockey and basketball trading cards in his collection, recommended buying memorabilia from a dealer or distributor with a no-questions-asked return policy. Collectors should also obtain references in addition to having items authenticated.

But doing all that still doesn't guarantee big profits. Steve Wolter of Cincinnati has been an avid collector since 1950 and has turned his hobby into a business, running Sports Investments, a memorabilia shop in Montgomery, Ohio.

He has the bat and ball that Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds used in 1985 to break Ty Cobb's record for the most career hits, as well as the red Corvette that Rose was given after that game. Wolter says he is proud of his collection but that it has not made him rich.

``People are in this business because they love the stuff,'' he said. ``But it's a struggle to make a profit.''

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Photo: Greg Ring, 37, estimates the value of his collection at $100,000.

The New York Times