FIREBRICK, KY – John Carpenter has been collecting sports memorabilia since the 1970's.
- Collection features approxiamtely 7,000 items
- Includes autographed photos, baseballs, football helmets, and jerseys
- Ripley's certified as world's largest private sports collection in 2001
His mom worked at a jewelry store in Portsmouth and the store's owner had a connection to Miami Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti. That's where the first autographed picture came from.
They were good friends and so he asked him one day if I can have an autographed picture of Nick Buoniconti,” Carpenter said in an interview with Spectrum News 1. “I wanted it because I was a big Dolphins fan.”
Four decades later, Carpenter's collection has grown to approximately 7,000 pieces. The collection is mostly pictures, but also includes baseballs, jerseys, cereal boxes, and football helmets.
His most cherished items include a leather helmet worn by Jim Thorpe.
“Jim Thorpe played his last game here November 27, 1927, when they beat Columbus 32-0. Scored four touchdowns. That was his last game ever in the state of Ohio.”
Carpenter is referencing Thorpe's time as a player-coach with Portsmouth in the 1920's – about the time Thorpe started playing basketball.
Carpenter can recite statistics, game scores, sports records easily off the top of his head. And just about every piece he's collected he can recall the story of how he got it.
A letter signed by Marilyn Monroe in the 1950's sits next to a photo of Monroe and baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.
Carpenter also has a signed Babe Ruth baseball.
“It could be worth a lot of money, that's what people say,” Carpenter said. “But I don't look at that, I just look at collecting. This little guy here from Firebrick, Kentucky, likes to collect the memorabilia and really I've slacked off a lot, I'm not as interested as I used to. But I'll keep it here until someone offer's me the chance at a museum someday.”
Carpenter would like to have a museum to put his items on display. He wouldn't dare sell anything and told Spectrum News 1 he'd likely give it to Ripley's before anything else.
In the 1990's, Carpenter first got hooked up with Ripley's at the urging of a friend. In February 2001, Ripley's certified Carpenter's collection as the largest private sports memorabilia collection in the world. At the time, he had around 4,000 pieces.
Ripley's museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, has a small exhibit featuring Carpenter's collection. And Carpenter's sports facts have been featured in Ripley's cartoon artwork for years.
The collection really started to grow in the late 1980's when Carpenter hosted a local sports radio show in Portsmouth. He'd call up sports figures all across the country for interviews, he'd then ask for a signed picture.
Carpenter said he interviewed the likes of Bob Costas, Al McGuire, Warren Spahn, and Eddie Robinson. Through the years he's struck up relationships with Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown, Yankees owner, the late George Steinbrenner - whom he would spend time with in Columbus during Clippers games when the club was still affiliated with the major league team.
He has autographs from Harry Carey, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and former Buckeys football coach Urban Meyer – although that autograph is from Meyer's time at Florida.
Carpenter is a big Yankees fan and has his own bobblehead. He's been featured on a Wheaties box, appeared in national print publications, and on various television programs.
His hometown of Firebrick has a population of about 200. There are no traffic lights, grocery stores, or gas stations. But there is a sign on the edge of town near State Road 8: “Firebrick, Kentucky. The Home of John Carpenter's World's Largest Private Sports Collection. Recognized by Ripley's Believe It or Not” February 2001.”
