As the popularity of collecting sports items continues to grow, the collectors of sports memorabilia are finding creative and innovative ways to display their collections.

While some collectors are satisfied to simply prop their item up in a corner for easy access, savvy collectors know that if the item is truly worth collecting, it's worth protecting, not to mention displaying with pride.

Sellers of sports memorabilia have come to realize the importance of display options to both the casual and serious collector, and so today many of the most successful retail outlets offer an impressive collection of sports display cases.

Whether it's a simple plexiglass case for that prized autographed football or your own hole-in-one golf ball, or an impressive shadow box sports display case sized just right for holding your favorite team jersey, finding the right display case is almost as important as the item you've collected itself.

Sports display cases make great gifts any time of year for those hard-to-buy-for sports nuts and collectors. Even those sports fans who aren't avid memorabilia collectors enjoy displaying their personal items in a special case designed just for that purpose.

Tom Schwahn, whose company Home-Team-Sports sells both memorabilia and the cases to keep them, says that well-made sports display cases are popular items for his online retail store.

"An attractive display case can turn even a simple item like your first home run ball or your favorite junior high school uniform into decorative art. Our customers who invest in expensive collectibles, such as autographed footballs, basketballs, or hockey sticks want to preserve the integrity of the item and safeguard it with the protection of an attractive and functional sports display case," Schwahn says.

Sports Collectors Daily, which covers all sorts of sports memorabilia and collecting news, says that display cases are nothing new, but the quality and variety has burgeoned in recent years.

Whether sports fans collect die cast Nascar replicas or NFL football helmets, chances are there's a quality sports display case built just for the item. The National Football League and Major League Baseball have both licensed lines of sports display cases that are available with engraved team logos.

Licensed MLB items include cases for baseballs, gloves, full size and mini batting helmets, baseball bats, baseball shoes, baseball caps and hats, bases and home plates, tickets, sports cards and more.

"It's important to protect your investment, and the best way to do that is to enclose it in a specially made case," Schwahn says.

Sports display cases add to the value of collectibles and many feature your choice of materials, including different types of wood trim, as well as glass, plexiglass, and even personalized engraving. Most come ready to mount to the wall or to display on a shelf, and when properly displayed you never need to worry that your young nephew will run off with your Joe Montana football or head to the links with your Arnold Palmer ball.

From the simple to the sublime, one particularly elaborate display case is the 4th Dimension Football Display. It's a specially constructed display case that uses reflection and mirrored insides to showcase every side of an autographed football. From a distance, the case looks like it's holding several footballs, when in reality, there's room for only one inside. It's a perfect example of how the way something is displayed can take it from being a singular item into an impressive work of art.

The business of collecting sports memorabilia shows no sign of slowing down, and for those whose collections have outgrown their shelf space or who are concerned about protecting their valuables, a sports display case is a smart idea.