All Star Dealers premiers Jan. 24 on Discovery

This article was originally published in Antique Trader
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Every day, the sports memorabilia action house Grey Flannel receives hundreds of items. Some are all-stars, poised to reap thousands for the consigner and owner Richie Russek; while others get benched, falling victim to cheap knock-off material or forged signatures.

How does Russek separate the MVPs from the DOAs? That’s up to Russek’s army of expert sports memorabilia authenticators on ”All Star Dealers” premiering 8 p.m. EST Jan. 24, 2012. Its “SportsCenter” meets “CSI” as the Grey Flannel team uses detailed investigation methods and state-of-the-art tools to determine what items are the real deal.

Russek, with sons Michael and Darren, is on the hunt to find ‘em all in the brand new series on Discovery. From the extraordinary – a long-forgotten Mickey Mantle autographed baseball, to the extra-ordinary – Mike Tyson’s cup, get ready to play in the big leagues with these “All Star Dealers.”

“Sports is more than just what happens on the field, it is rich with emotion and history,” said Nancy Daniels, Executive Vice President of Production and Development for Discovery Channel. “All Star Dealers” opens the door into the world of incredible sports memorabilia where every stitch and smudge tells a story, raising the stakes for buyer and seller alike.”

More on Grey Flannel: The firm entered the auction arena in the early fall of 1999. Grey Flannel Auctions to date has held 26 auctions in their 10 year history, satisfying collector needs and auctioning one-of-a-kind pieces of memorabilia with highlights like “The Called Shot” 1932 Babe Ruth Game-Used Jersey, Yankee Stadium Organ played by Eddie Layton, Jim Brown Cleveland Browns Game-Used Jersey, Pete Maravich LSU Game-Used Jersey, and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame entire collection of enshrinee plaques.