Vintage Professional Wrestling Collectibles

Several wrestling board games have been produced. Probably the most well known and most collected is the Von Erich Family Championship Wrestling Game. Produced in the mid-1980's, it can usually be found on eBay for around $25.

In 1983, Bernie Lopez Productions put a Mil Mascaras game on the market. It can be found on eBay for around $25, in nice condition.

The toughest wrestling game to find in nice, intact condition is the Verne Gagne Wrestling Game, produced in the 1950's. Two versions of the Gagne game was produced: One was produced as a separate game, and the other was a part of a six game package. Both are equally hard to find, but the "six game package" gets the most collector attention, primarily because of the Mickey Mantle association. Both versions will bring in excess of $100 - the "six game" version, much more in mint condition.

Many wrestlers have recorded singles and record albums. Most were better in the ring than they were in the studio.

Some record albums to add to your collection are "In This Corner ... The Musical World of Antonino Rocca"(MGM E4183 mono, SE4183 stereo). This one can be picked up on eBay for around $10.00. Only opera fans are going to want the album for anything except the photo of Rocca on the cover in the ring, in mid-air.

While a wrestler, Sweet Daddy Siki had a side career as a performing country singer. After he retired, he spent more time performing his own music, and he also worked as a DJ. Siki recorded three albums. The most collectible Siki cover for wrestling collectors is "Sweet Daddy Siki Squares Off With Country Music." Siki's three albums can be found for between $10 and $25 each.

Jackie Fargo and Len Rossi both recorded singles while working for Nick Gulas in the 1960's. Jackie recorded "I Just Dropped In To Say Goodbye / Little Rosa (Western Records) under the name Jack Fargo. Rossi's sole record was the self-penned" Wrestlers' Prayer" with "Mary Stay Away from My Grave" (Miracle Records). These records had very limited distribution, but surprisingly neither are difficult to find. I have seen them on eBay for less than $10.

The Exotic Adrian Street recorded an album, Shake Wrestle 'N. Roll" in the mid-1980's. The album was self-distributed by Adrian and Linda. It can still be ordered directly from Adrian and several other sites on the net.

By the end of the 1980's, it was common for wrestlers to dip their toes in the music business. The WWF released a hit record album featuring their superstars. Jerry Lawler, the Rock and Roll Express, Freddie Blassie, Jesse Ventura, Michael Hayes, Dusty Rhodes and Austin Idol were just a few wrestlers who recorded 45's and albums. Most of these were sold only at shows or through wrestling related venues. Some have become very hard to find collector's items.

The earliest professional wrestling cards were produced in the late 1800's as tobacco cards. Like all tobacco cards, these are very hard to find in nice condition.

The first complete set of professional wrestling cards was produced by Parkhurst of Canada in 1954 and 1955. It was a 196 card set picturing most of the day's top stars. These can be picked up fairly cheap on eBay as singles, but assembling an entire set one at a time is challenging. The entire set in nice condition could bring more than $500.

Wrestling cards are crossover collectibles, collected by trading card generalists, so they attract attention beyond what can be expected for most wrestling collectibles.