Innholdsfortegnelse for November 6, 2020 i Sports Collectors Digest

No question, 2020 has been the year of cards and COVID with the hobby successfully coping with the pandemic as it saw sales of high-end sports cards go through the roof. Can you say $3.9 million for a Mike Trout card? Or $1.8 million for a Giannis Antetokounmpo card? Or $1.8 million for a LeBron James card? Yeah, it’s been a pretty crazy year. And it’s not over. In a private sale brokered by the Mile High Card Company, a 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner card graded a PSA 3 sold for a record $3.25 million, becoming the highest price ever paid for a Wagner card by surpassing the PSA 5 “Jumbo” Wagner card that went for a then-record $3.12 million in 2016. It’s the third time in less than a…

1. $88,768 on 94 bids: 1996-97 Topps Chrome Kobe Bryant Refractor (PSA 10) 2. $85,000 on 15 bids: 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle (SGC 7.5) 3. $65,000 on 66 bids: 2003-04 Upper Deck Signature Class Duals LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, #1/15, autos (ungraded) 4. $64,800 on 64 bids: 2003-04 Topps Chrome LeBron James Xfractor, #15/220 (PSA 9) 5. $63,400 on 88 bids: 2003-04 Topps Chrome LeBron James Refractor (PSA 10) 6. $55,100 on 28 bids: 2003-04 Upper Deck SP Authentic LeBron James Rookie Authentics, #252/500, auto (PSA 10) 7. $52,100 on 63 bids: 2003-04 Topps Chrome LeBron James Refractor (PSA 10) 8. $38,600 on 48 bids: 2004-05 Upper Deck SP Signature LeBron James Inkredible Inkscriptions, #2/25, auto (PSA 10) 9. $37,601 on 80 bids: 2017 Panini Contenders Patrick Mahomes II…

When some veteran sports collectors hear “Tip Top,” they commonly think of a bread brand featuring images of baseball players slipped into the packaging: bread labels in 1952, cards in 1947. More advanced hobbyists might go back even further with the 1910 Tip Top Bread issue highlighting the 1909 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates. Yet around the time Honus Wagner and the Pirates won their first World Series in “aught-nine,” against Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers no less, thousands of loyal readers had already championed the sports publication Tip Top Weekly for several years. Produced by Street & Smith, a name associated with preseason sports preview magazines for decades (even though the S & S Company sold to Conde Nast Publications in 1959), Tip Top Weekly first landed at newsstands…

In December 2016, a Yankees pinstriped jersey worn by George Selkirk during the 1939 season fetched $22,796 at an event run by Grey Flannel Auctions. Interestingly, the uniform, featuring Babe Ruth’s old No. 3 on the back, sold for more than double the $10,000 salary Selkirk earned while wearing it for the Bronx Bombers that summer. Six months before that jersey sale, a game-used Selkirk Louisville Slugger bat from the late 1930s sold for $8,365 in a Goldin Auctions auction. But there was a catch: The bat featured a Lou Gehrig autograph that was graded an 8 by experts from PSA/DNA Authentication Services. Most Selkirk collectibles, though, can be had for a fraction of those costs. His Conlan TSN No. 388 card is just $3, while his 1935-36 Diamond Stars…

NOTE: TO SEND A LISTING, please follow the style seen here and email dstrege@aimmedia.com. In light of the pandemic, be sure to check ahead to ensure the show is still scheduled. ALABAMA Nov 7 AL, Scottsboro. Scottsboro Sports Cards & Memorabilia Show, Goose Pond Civic Center, 1165 Ed Hembree Dr., Scottsboro, AL, 35769. SH: 9am-2pm, T: 60+, A: free. Contact: Stephen Moore @ 256-599-0989 or stephen@jacksonssportscards.com ARKANSAS Nov 6-7 AR, Bentonville. 2020 Fall Bentonville Cardshow, Four Points Hotel, 211 SE Walton Blvd., Bentonville, AR. SH: Fri: 11am-7pm, Sat: 9am-5pm. T: 100, A: Free. Contact: Matt Canaday 479-586-4494, griffeyguy@yahoo.com CONNECTICUT Oct 24 CT, Trumbull. Trumbull Cards Show, Trinity Episcopal Church, 1734 Huntington Turnpike, Trumbull, CT 06611. SH: 9am-2pm, T: 20+, A: $1. Contact: Karen or Fred Riso – PH: 203-265-1813, Email:…

After an absence of almost five years, Collectible Classics (CCA) has returned to the auction circuit with a 588-lot auction closing Oct. 29. Sports and non-sport cards, autographs and memorabilia are being offered. CCA suspended operations in January 2016 when Judy Burk, who conducted the auctions with her husband John, was left requiring 24-hour care following a moderate heart attack and a failed medical procedure. Judy passed away in February 2020. John Burk credited several long-time collector friends with making the restart of CCA possible. “Mike Wheat, John Butch and Lou Swartz made significant contributions to getting this auction together,” John said. “So did Kevin Binder, who hosts and maintains our website.” John noted that Collectible Classics’ auctions are now online at auctionscc.net. According to John, the auction covers a…

2020 PANINI PHOENIX FOOTBALL Back for its fifth year, Panini Phoenix is packed with more Opti-Chrome than ever. Phoenix Football features a 100-card base set—Base Fire & Ice—that has veterans from all 32 NFL teams. There are also 13 color parallels in the base set. Rookies Color Burst features 100 of the top players from the historic 2020 NFL Draft. Sequentially numbered parallel versions are something to look for. Rookie Autographs Orange is an auto variation of the Rookie set, featuring SP parallels. On average, each box of Phoenix delivers at least one rookie autographed memorabilia card; be hunting for other versions of RPS Rookie Auto Jersey. Collect dual-swatch autos of some of the top rookies in RPS Rookie Auto Dual Jersey Prime Green, loaded with memorabilia and authentic autographs;…

Due to age and the lower-grade paper used for these “pulps,” surviving copies of Tip Top commonly exhibit at least mid-level wear. Several different issues turned up in a recent eBay search, so a decent selection is normally available on that site. Understandably, prices vary for different reasons, but an average Tip Top with a sports cover sells for $10-$20. A few have sold over the summer for $30-$45, but they had the sports theme, artwork and condition to justify those prices. EBay also shows a couple sellers hawking a DVD ($12-$16) containing hundreds of issues of TTW. To get a taste of Tip Top without even dropping a nickel, visit the Cleveland Public Library website (CPL.org). On its homepage, in the upper right-hand corner, first click on the “Search…

Dick Allen was one of the most controversial athletes of his time. He was the embodiment of a superstar: talented, charming and enigmatic. But to Louis Santoro, Allen will always be remembered as the unexpected guest his father brought home one night in 1968. “My dad knew him from the local racetracks,” Santoro recalls. “They both liked horse racing. My dad was a charismatic, friendly guy who knew how to talk to people. He befriended Allen and the next thing you know he’s sitting in our living room.” The memory of the visit lit a spark in 11-year-old Santoro – and not only because he got a personalized autograph from the baseball superstar that night: “To Louis, my good buddy, best wishes and all the coolness, Your Man, Rich Allen.”…

MORE LOSS — In a tough year for baseball, three more Hall of Famers passed away in October. Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson and Joe Morgan all died within nine days of each other, sparking tributes from all corners. The announcements came on the heels of a number of other 2020 baseball deaths, including Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Horace Clarke, Jim Wynn and Johnny Antonelli. Below, we take a closer look at Ford, Gibson and Morgan memorabilia. CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD — Whitey Ford played on a star-studded team, so he didn’t get the accolades he should have. But look at those stats—he had a record of 236–106, 45 shutouts and a sparkling ERA of 2.75. And his “ace” status carried over into World Series play: He had a 10-8 record…

OCTOBER 14: 2020 Panini Spectra Football 14: 2020 Topps Gold Label Baseball 16: 2020 Panini Contenders Baseball 16: 2019-20 Leaf Lumber Kings Hockey 21: 2020-21 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Basketball 21: 2019-20 Panini Encased Basketball 21: 2020 Panini XR Football 23: 2020 Leaf Trinity Football 28: 2019-20 Clearly Donruss Basketball 28: 2020 Panini Phoenix Football 28: 2020 Panini Prizm WNBA Basketball 28: 2019-20 Topps Museum Collection Bundesliga Soccer 28: 2020 Topps MLS Major League Soccer 30: 2020 Panini Flawless Collegiate Football NOVEMBER 4: 2020 Panini National Treasures Baseball 4: 2020-21 Panini Prizm Draft Picks Basketball 4: 2020 Topps Dynasty Baseball 5: 2020-21 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey 6: 2020 Topps Update Series Baseball 6: 2020 Topps Baseball Silver Pack 1985 Chrome Update 6: 2020 Leaf Autographed Basketball Photograph Edition 11:…

Some might have regarded the assignment as Mission Impossible, might have wilted under the white-hot spotlight. After all, what act in the history of baseball – perhaps in the history of sports – could be tougher to follow than Babe Ruth in The House That Ruth Built? But George Selkirk knew exactly what he was up against. He understood that succeeding his idol and the idol of millions of other baseball lovers would be as daunting as trying to hit a fastball with a twig because each time he stepped into the batter’s box he would be competing against two opponents – the pitcher and Ruth’s legend. But, after toiling in the minors for eight years and after batting .313 with 38 RBI in 46 games following his call-up to…

As I am writing this, the shortened baseball regular season of 60 games has come to an end, and the playoffs have begun. It was in mid-March, my second day in Florida to take in spring training activities, that I got word the season was being put on hold. As the Grapefruit League came to a screeching halt, I returned home thinking that the season would probably get started around the first of May, surely by June, at the latest. So much for that idea. Little did I know what was to come and just what it would do to my season of collecting as well. I have not been to a card show since February. I usually travel around the Southeast, attending shows throughout the year. I enjoy searching…