BALTIMORE — Steve Terman is a collector by nature.
“I started collecting coins, I started collecting stamps, and I started collecting political stuff,” Turman said.
He is a history buff at heart.
“A lot of the collections I have are not only based on celebrities, but also based on history,” Turman said. “Everyone wants Babe Ruth or Brooks Robinson or Johnny Unitas. I wanted those, but I also wanted something that represented the history of the Baltimore Orioles.”
As a child, Turman loved sports.
“I've always been interested in sports,” he said. “I played sports. I followed sports. I read the sports pages every day.”
And now, after more than 40 years of collecting pieces of Baltimore history, Turman's Eastern Shore home could double as a Baltimore baseball museum.
“That's the Baltimore Black Sox. They were a very famous team,” he said.
All the photos, pins, paperweights, tickets, scorecards, jerseys, hats, helmets, bats, gloves, balls, trophies, and rings help tell the history of baseball in Baltimore.
“There's a bunch of 1966 Baltimore Orioles jerseys in there,” Turman said. “That was the year they won their first world championship. I remember listening to the radio and seeing Curt Gordy on TV like it was yesterday. All those memories come back. ”
Those are memories from when the Orioles were at the top of the baseball world.
“For me, the Orioles started in 1954, and that's where the Orioles started becoming great,” Turman said.
Turman has many 1-of-1 items in his collection, but one of his favorites is the lineup card from Game 4 of the 1966 World Series, when the O's won their first World Series championship.
“To me, it's more than history,” Turman said. “I mean, it feels wrong sometimes to do something like that because it's such an important part of the baseball history of the Baltimore Orioles.”
And you can't talk about Orioles baseball history without mentioning Turman's favorite player, “Mr. Oriole” Brooks Robinson.
“I think it was just his ability,” Turman said. “Years later, I learned that he was as good a baseball player as any Hall of Famer, and a much better person. He was the greatest man ever.”
Turman has collected several important Brooks Robinson items over the years.
“I'm still looking for Brooks Robinson's helmet with the brim cut off, and I'm still looking for the real Brooks Robinson glove,” Turman told WJZ in 2004.
Twenty years later, he has both.
“It's just a gorgeous Brooks Robinson glove,” Turman said.
But some of his favorite collections have a personal touch.
“These are his cufflinks,” Mr. Turman said. “A lot of my friends would say, 'Why would you want that?' For me, the connection to Brooks was actually stronger on this piece than on a lot of other pieces, because this is a Hall of Famer. Because it was the person Brooks was, as opposed to Brooks, the third baseman” for the Orioles. ”
One of Turman's gems tells the story of a lost connection.
“A friend of mine went to Las Vegas and told Brooks that his partner was collecting Baltimore Orioles and Brooks Robinson stuff, so Brooks wrote me a letter and said, 'I'm sorry we couldn't meet you in Las Vegas. I know you have a collection and I'd love to see it.'My best, Brooks Robinson.'It's one of my most treasured possessions. ”
Turman said he has mostly stopped collecting, but there are two items he would like if he had the money.
“The two best pieces were the 1966 World Series ring and the 1970 World Series ring,” Turman said. “If I had the money and could sell and buy a lot of things, I would buy them, but I'm sure both of those rings are in great private collections.”
Although Turman is open to selling some of his collection, there are two items he said he would never part with: Babe Ruth's bat and a custom Brooks Robinson jersey.
And he gave his wife clear instructions on what to do in the future.
“When I die, I want Babe Ruth's bat and jersey to be in my coffin,” Turman said. “I sold Babe Ruth's bat, but I still have his jersey.”
