Collecting Memorabilia by Don Crossley

The game of cricket has had me hooked since I was a five year old during the 2nd World War. My Grandfather took me to a match and I found it exhilarating to watch a fast bowler uproot a stump and send it cartwheeling. It turned me immediately into a fast bowler until my early twenties. Apart from playing I have been involved with collecting cricket memorabilia since the early 50's, when my mother bought me a book or two from a church bazaar.

Later in life while being a sales representative travelling around England and Wales my boss encouraged me to have a second string to my bow and build on my hobby, which now includes soccer ephemera up to the 70's and 80's, also boxing material up to the same period. But for an oldie collector, nothing too modern! Due to being in the merchant navy in the 1960's, I also have an historical interest in this field of collecting.

In 1987 I along with a few other collectors helped to form the world wide Cricket Memorabilia Society and this has created a band of friendship throughout the globe and a real enjoyable pastime in retirement. Items such as autographs, books,dinner menus paintings, prints and letters, which are easily filed and stored.

If you have any sporting items or if you know of anyone wishing to dispose of such and want to find a new home for them, please get in touch for I have numerous contacts with people of similar interests to myself. Its a wonderful way to make friends, in the last few days a person has communicated with me from a letter I wrote in July 2000. It was stored for future reference and just recently a bereavement had a family asking if I was interested in some sporting material.

I hope I can bring a smile to someone in the early days of Spring.

Don Crossley