They have made off with all of Yogi Berra’s World Series rings. Roger Maris’s most valuable player plaque from 1960? No longer hanging in the museum it belonged to. The 1903 Belmont Stakes trophy — now in the hands of persons unknown. A replica of an alligator-skin belt with a solid gold buckle given to the golfer Ben Hogan is perhaps encircling an unknown collector’s girth.
The items are just a few of the rare collectibles stolen in a string of thefts from New York to North Dakota in the past few years, part of what experts believe is a spike in purloined rings, plaques, trophies and other sports-related memorabilia that together are worth millions of dollars.