NCCC
Sports items will be sold to aid fund
SANBORN — For the person who just can’t get enough of professional sports memorabilia, the Niagara County Community College art gallery is the place to be Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The college will be selling the extensive memorabilia collection of Mark C. Miller, a sports enthusiast and the longtime assistant bookstore manager, who died almost two years ago.
The proceeds will go to the Mark C. Miller Memorial Scholarship Fund, which has been set up to provide scholarships to NCCC students who need help in purchasing books for school.
The cash-and-carry event features the sale of some 600 items, including jerseys, helmets, sports cards, footballs, hockey sticks and baseballs autographed by many famous pro athletes. It even includes some NASCAR items.
For example, it offers numerous baseballs signed by famous New York Yankees such as pitchers Whitey Ford, Don Larson, Catfish Hunter, Goose Gossage and Andy Pettitte; first baseman Don Mattingly; and slugger Reggie Jackson. The collection also includes balls signed by New York Giants star outfielder Willie Mays, Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller, Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman Duke Snyder, Texas Rangers ace pitcher Nolan Ryan and Cincinnati Reds stars Pete Rose and Johnny Bench.
It also includes a football signed by former Buffalo Bills star running back O. J. Simpson and a jersey autographed by former Chicago Bears star running back Gale Sayers.
Sale hours will be from 4 to 8 p. m. Friday, 9 a. m. to 7 p. m. Saturday and 9 a. m. to 4 p. m. Sunday. The NCCC Foundation, which will run the sale, reserves the right to close the sale based on the number of items that remain.
The event, planned in conjunction with the college’s “Balloons Over Niagara” bicentennial celebration, was made possible by Miller’s father, former NCCC President Gerald Miller, who donated his son’s collection to the school.
