Best Western Sued After $2M Card Theft Raises Alarms Across the Hobby
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A lawsuit filed in Ohio has put a spotlight on one of the hobby’s most pressing concerns: the growing wave of high-value sports card thefts. Memory Lane Inc., a California auction house, is seeking $2 million in damages from Best Western after a package of vintage baseball cards vanished at the chain’s Strongsville hotel in 2024.
The shipment contained 54 rare cards, including Hall of Famers and two headline pieces — a 1909 Ramly Walter Johnson and a 1941 Ted Williams valued at nearly $90,000 combined. FedEx confirmed delivery to the Best Western Plus, but when a Memory Lane employee arrived, the package was gone.
Investigators determined that hotel staffer Jacob Paxton intercepted the shipment and passed it to an accomplice, Jason Bowling. While 52 cards were eventually recovered, the Johnson and Williams remain missing. Paxton is now serving a four-to-six-year prison sentence, while Bowling was handed community supervision. For Memory Lane, the losses weren’t only financial. In a business built on reputation and trust, even a single lapse can have lasting effects.
In July 2025, Memory Lane escalated the matter with a civil lawsuit against Best Western International and the local operators. The filing accuses the hotel of negligence in its hiring and oversight, essentially arguing that the chain put irreplaceable collectibles at risk by employing someone unfit to handle guest property. With Best Western’s global presence and billions in yearly revenue, the case could have broader implications for how hotels and shipping partners are expected to safeguard high-value goods.
Theft in the hobby, however, isn’t confined to hotels. The National Sports Collectors Convention has faced repeated problems over the past two years, with coordinated show-floor thefts targeting some of the most valuable cards in existence. A 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie and a 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie were among the cards stolen in 2025 despite increased security measures.
As the value of sports cards continues to rise, so does the risk. Collectors and dealers are now turning to heavier precautions — locked cases, cameras, and tighter insurance coverage — just to protect themselves at shows and during transit.
The Best Western case may ultimately set new expectations for accountability, but in the meantime, the message for the hobby is clear: valuable cardboard needs the same level of protection as fine art or jewelry.
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