NOW COLLECTORS ARE SEEKING A DIFFERENT KIND OF YEARBOOK

High school yearbooks preserve time. That best friend, that first sweetheart, prom night and even the math teacher you never really liked. They`re all there, ready to come alive as you turn the pages.These days, some high school yearbooks are valuable for more than just old times` sake. Sports memorabilia dealers have unearthed tomes chronicling athletes` feats years before they made it big, and prices are soaring.Joe Valle of Cardboard Dreams in Madison, Conn., recently sold a 1979 yearbook from Reitz Memorial High School in Evansville, Ind., for $1,400. Young Don Mattingly, who played baseball and football at Reitz before donning Yankee pinstripes, is shown prominently throughout the volume.”It all depends on the collector and what he`ll pay,” said Valle.”People who want yearbooks usually specialize in collecting memorabilia from only certain players and have to have everything ever made on that player.”Yes, people will collect almost anything. The thing about high school yearbooks,...