John Carpenter has two words for the sports fans of the Ironton area: Thank you.

Monday, August 06, 2001

John Carpenter has two words for the sports fans of the Ironton area: Thank you.

Carpenter brought 300 pieces of his 4,300 item sports collection to the Lawrence County Museum over the weekend and was very appreciative of the turnout.

"I just want to thank the people of Ironton and the area who came to see the collection," Carpenter said. "There were some people who came back two and three times."

The collection, registered with Ripley’s Believe It Or Not as the largest private sports collection, filled two rooms of the museum. Carpenter said he plans to return with more items next year.

"They want me to come back around Memorial Day. I’ll bring some new things. I can’t bring them all. The museum wouldn’t hold all of them anyway," Carpenter said.

There were a lot of New York Yankees items, especially pictures and souvenirs of Babe Ruth, including a baby picture.

Ohio State fans had plenty of items to view such as an autographed photo of Heisman Trophy winner Les Horvath, head coach Jim Tressel, and an Ohio State football.

The collection had autographed jerseys, commemorative plates of such players as Mark McGwire and Ruth, and even an autographed picture of Ironton’s Coy Bacon, a two-time NFL All-Pro.

"I hope people like the collection. I’m adding to it all the time," Carpenter said.

More than 1,300 people have viewed the collection at various shows Carpenter has set up in the Tri-State area.