Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WEST JORDAN — A man believes he has one of the largest private collections of sports memorabilia, if not the largest, in the state. Or, he had it.
John Berry said most of his collection was stolen over the weekend, when the trailer that contained it vanished from a parking area at the Vista Montana Condominiums.
“When I came out, I was like, ‘ugh!’” Berry exclaimed Tuesday. “They would have had to have manually had to have enough strength — two or three guys — to lift it up and to move it over.”
Berry said he had parked the trailer close to a wall and boxed it in with his truck.
“This is rough!” Berry said.
Among the contents of the trailer were numerous signed jerseys and photos of athletes.
Berry said the memorabilia conservatively would be valued at roughly $125,000.
“I’m trying not to be emotional,” Berry said, teary-eyed. “It’s a lifetime love, and just to take everything that I’ve worked for — thousands of hours.”
Berry said he had accumulated his collection over the past 30 years and regularly takes it to shows.
West Jordan Police Sgt. J.C. Holt said officers were actively seeking leads.
Berry said he has already been in contact with his sports memorabilia connections in Utah and surrounding states, as well as local pawn shops.
The trailer is described as 10 feet long and gray in color, with Utah license plate number 240187Z.
Anyone with information is asked to call the West Jordan Police Department at 801-840-4000.
