For the past couple of decades, Decatur resident Floyd Williams along with his son, Floyd Williams III, have been collecting sports autographs whenever they can get them.

“It’s a hobby that I am very fond of,” the elder Williams said.

“Sometimes it is harder to get autographs, but we try to get things we like signed regardless of who is signing it.

“It can be very addicting,” he added.

Williams said he believes that between the two collections they have close to 4,000 autographs.

The way he and his son have obtained a collection like this was by attending special events, mail orders and friends across the country.

In Williams’ collection alone, he has everything from signed Wheaties boxes to signed Sports Illustrated magazines.

Of all the items Williams has collected over the years, his favorite item is a framed baseball magazine from 1955 featuring Mark Grissom and Hobie Landirth.

“I have collected a lot of great stuff over the years and I am pretty proud of it all,” Williams said. “This is something that I want to do as long as I am able.”

Clai Brown, city manager for Avondale Estates, has been going to Georgia Tech football games since he was a child and has a collection of Yellow Jacket paraphernalia to prove his fandom.

“I have always been a big Georgia Tech fan, so naturally as the years went by I collected a lot of different things,” Brown said.

Brown has everything from a signed football by former Yellow Jackets head coach Chan Gailey to a 2-foot-tall Buzz that drives around singing the school’s fight song.

But of all the Georgia Tech items Brown has, he said his favorites are his hats and jerseys.

“When people know you’re a fan of any kind of team, you are going to get a lot of gifts,” Brown said.

“I think I have something with a Yellow Jacket on it for every occasion imaginable.”