1996 was a memorable year. The Nintendo64 was released, Macarena dominated the airwaves, and the New York Yankees recaptured the title after a 12-year drought. But before the Yankees clinched their 23rd championship, Jeffrey Maier, a 12-year-old, shifted the momentum in the Yankees' favor late in game 1 of the ALCS.
On October 9th, with the Yankees down a run in the bottom of the 8th inning and with the bases empty, Derek Jeter hits a deep shot to right field but falls short of clearing the fence. Before Oriole's outfielder Tony Tarasco could catch it, Maier reaches over the wall and pulls the ball into the stands. Without replay being an option at the time, it was ruled a home run. The Yankees would eventually win the game on a homer by Bernie Williams in extra innings. The glove the Maier used to change the course of the game sold at Heritage Auctions for $15,000!
In August of that year, while Macarena swept the nation, 50,000 fans at Yankee Stadium helped set a record for most people to do the Macarena simultaneously. Two months later, it was Jeffrey Maier who had Yankee fans dancing in the aisles. Maier received national attention. Soon after the play, he did an interview with Jim Gray from NBC in front of fans. He was also a guest on several talk shows. In the following months and years, he would receive offers for travel, to be in commercials for a major jeans distributor, and to make a small appearance in a Hollywood film. He even got an offer to appear on a baseball card.
It's a moment in baseball that is still being discussed to this day.
The video below has Maier talking about his experience that night.
WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING
Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1979 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss it or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want to be appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.
We always offer a FREE APPRAISAL for your collection here at the Just Collect site. Just click here:
We offer many ways to evaluate your cards other than using our website, too.
If you can make the trip here like the son from my hometown did for this collection- we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here.
We keep a LIST of the card shows we'll be attending. Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.
If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out. We recently took a trip to California to purchase a collection that included three Jackie Robinson 1948 Leaf rookie cards that you can read about here.
We have another location in New York you can meet us at; read all the information here.
If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back with shipping fees paid by us! We can offer our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. Simply contact the office to set up this option.
OUR BUYING PHILOSOPHY
We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!
Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.
CONTACT US ANY TIME
Whether you have vintage cards or modern wax you want to sell, you can reach out to us any time!