An autographed Pelé soccer ball, a signed Wilt Chamberlain plaque commemorating his 100-point game, and a authentic Shaquille O’Neal jersey were just some of the tens of thousands of dollars in collectibles stolen over the weekend in a brazen break-in at Gilbert’s Sports Nostalgia shop at 222 North Main. St., in Natick. Owner Gary Gilbert is now putting out the word in hopes that someone will come across some of his missing valuables and reveal a possible suspect or suspects in the case.
A July 9 Natick police report show 8 officers (1 detective) responded to the incident on Sunday that left broken windows on the outside and ransacked inventory on the inside. Gilbert, who lives nearby the shop, said he was thankful for the response by police. We reached out to the police for an update, and will revise this post if we get one.
Gilbert’s daughter, Becca, shared upsetting photos from the scene.
When we swung by on Wednesday morning things had been boarded up.
Gilbert posted online earlier in the week: “I’m unhappy to report that we have had a massive break-in and robbery at Gilbert’s Sports Nostalgia in Natick……the main glass door was shattered and when the inner door did not give in they broke in through the back side window….and totally ransacked the place along with stealing a ton of cards and memorabilia……so…I just wanted to mention a few of the significant pieces stolen so if by some miracle we can track the perpetrators down…”
In addition to those mentioned above, other stolen items include autographed Barry Sanders and John Elway football helmets and a miniature John Madden helmet that’s signed. Plus “a ton of mixed rookie cards.” Gilbert’s not optimistic about a recovery, but you never know.
The shop will be closed for at least a couple of weeks, then will be open by appointment for starters.
This isn’t the first significant setback experienced by the business owner during his career. Gilbert’s survived a huge flood in Needham in 1992. The store was there for 21 years, and has been in Natick for the past 23. Lesser hits to the business took place during the baseball stoppage in 1994 and during the steroid era in the late 1990s.
“Becca had a life-saving heart transplant in 2005 …which makes this easier to handle in comparison,” Gilbert says.
While the break-in and robbery has been a horrible experience for Gilbert, he said the outpouring of concern and offers to help have been overwhelming.
“Hundreds of people have reached out on social media and email, some volunteering to help us clean up, and amazingly, some adults and kids offering to GIVE us their stuff to help replace inventory,” he said. “No need, but incredibly kind.”
Gilbert’s has continued to generate interest in its offerings in part through a kid’s collecting club—Gilbert’s Gorillas—for ages 5-15. Some 2,400 kids are members, giving hope that this business will recover even from this terrible incident.
Please send news tips, photos, ideas to natickreport@gmail.com
If you’d like to contribute $ to support our independent journalism venture, please do….
Leave a Reply