How to Display Sports Memorabilia

There are many ways to display sports memorabilia. The best option usually depends on details like budget, space, lighting, and the size of your collection. Showcasing a single jersey or pennant is quite different from having a whole room full of memorabilia. Here are a few sports memorabilia display ideas to take your collection to the next level.

General Display Considerations

If you’re looking to display sports memorabilia, our team has compiled several sports memorabilia display ideas for your collection.

Where to Place the Items

While you can display sports memorabilia around your home, most people prefer keeping these items in one central location. It could be a whole room, a single wall, or even a table. Sports items tend to have more impact when they’re in the same spot, so make sure to experiment before looking at other designs.

Lighting

The best display areas have enough artificial lighting to showcase the items. Sunlight is particularly bad when displaying sports memorabilia because it can make things fade, so try to limit the amount of sunlight your collection is exposed to. If possible, have no windows in the room, or at least use blackout curtains.

Display Cases

Many people display sports memorabilia in cases of varying sizes, from small enough for a single helmet or ball to full-size cases capable of housing numerous items.

It’s best to get a case after deciding how many items you want in your collection. Otherwise, you may find yourself running out of space to display sports memorabilia. Glass fronts on display cases are optional, but is one of the more popular sports memorabilia display ideas for keeping dust and other debris away from your collection.

Organization

If you display sports memorabilia piled together, it could look cluttered. Think of your memorabilia as art and display sports memorabilia using the same principles. Also, try to hide hooks and other display elements. After all, your memorabilia alone should be the focal point.

Keep Clutter Away

To display sports memorabilia well, keep unnecessary papers, tools, equipment, and other items away from your display of sports memorabilia. It should remain one of the cleanest parts of your house. Doing this helps reinforce the atmosphere of your collection.

If you’re unsure whether something fits near the collection, ask yourself if you think a museum would have it on display. Taking this approach can usually help you figure out what should be in sight as you display sports memorabilia.

Consider Hiring Someone

Don’t feel like you have to design the display yourself. You could hire an interior designer to provide ideas for displaying sports memorabilia in your home or even a college student with the right experience.

Sports Memorabilia Display Ideas

Here are a few details to remember when you want to display sports memorabilia.

Jerseys

Jerseys do well in flat frames (like those for pictures) designed to hold them. Additional decorations on the outside, possibly with trading cards in two corners, can further accent how you display sports memorabilia. Frames work particularly well for keeping dust and other debris off of a jersey, ensuring it stays in good condition for as long as possible.

Shirts

Shirts do well with anything that works for a jersey. Alternatively, you can put a shirt on a mannequin to display sports memorabilia in three dimensions. You may be able to get a model that matches the original athlete, which can add a level of authenticity to your display of sports memorabilia.

Pennants

Pennants do well when hung either straight down or at an angle, but should never point up as you display sports memorabilia. These tend to do best in groups. For example, you can hang two pennants on either side of something else, or have a string of them hanging in a row along one wall.

Try to match pennants when you display sports memorabilia. For example, if you have things from three different sports teams, keep the pennants for each team in their respective sessions. Otherwise, they could look out of place.

Cards

You can get plastic stands for your cards to provide information about them. That is a popular way to display sports memorabilia, but you can also fit cards into other items. For example, many people put a card or two along with a jersey to help show an athlete’s face.

For larger collections, consider a thin glass-front cabinet to display sports memorabilia. Make sure it’s the right width, so the display is even, with several shelves to hold the cards. These can get unexpectedly heavy with the glass, so be sure to securely anchor these to the wall.

Helmets

If you have just one or two helmets, consider showcasing them in a glass case on a table. One way to display sports memorabilia is to have the helmets face each other to symbolize competition. Make sure to secure the helmets to the base so they don’t shift around.

Should you have more than two helmets, hang them on the wall instead. You can arrange the colors and patterns to your liking, but helmets tend to do best if they’re angled forward, to the side, or straight down. Helmets can get dusty and may be difficult to clean, so consider keeping them behind glass to maintain their look for the perfect display of sports memorabilia.

Game Balls

Game balls tend to do best at waist-to-shoulder height as they’re easy to see from different angles. Keep these toward the middle of your sports memorabilia display. Aside from looking well there, it’s usually better to be able to look at a game ball from multiple angles, and you can’t do that as effectively if they’re in a corner.

Take Your Collection to the Next Level

Whether you have a single item or a museum-sized collection, deciding how to display sports memorabilia is important for enjoying them to the fullest. These sports memorabilia display ideas are perfect solutions for your precious items.

Now you know how to display sports memorabilia, are you looking for authentic team-issued sports memorabilia? At Locker Room Direct, we have a wide selection of sporting goods, from jerseys to apparel, just waiting to be added to your collection. We donate 100% of our proceeds to our non-profit charity to provide faith-based support to collegiate and professional athletes. Contact Locker Room Direct today to learn more.