Innholdsfortegnelse for November 1, 2021 i Sports Collectors Digest

When the first night game in MLB history took place in May 1935 at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field, nine-month-old Roberto Clemente enjoyed the focus of his large family. Thirty-six years later, in the inaugural night game in World Series history, Clemente shined under the artificial illumination, stroking three hits as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Baltimore Orioles in Game 4 on Oct. 13, 1971. The Bucs stopped the O’s in seven games in that Fall Classic and Clemente, along with his stellar defensive play, registered a hit in each game — the same hitting milestone he reached in 1960 as Pittsburgh beat the New York Yankees in that historic series — to win World Series MVP. Clemente, in a sense, lived under multiple spotlights when you combine his baseball exploits and…

David Cone might have one of the most valuable, untapped baseball collections in America. During his perfect game, hurled against the Montreal Expos on Yogi Berra Day (July 18, 1999) at Yankee Stadium, every baseball tossed out of the contest was kept in a bag for future use in practice. Of course, no one knew Cone was in the process of making major league history. “At the end of the game, Joe Torre secured that bag and gave them to me,” Cone said. “So, there’s about two dozen game-used baseballs from the perfect game that I have.” Cone earned five World Series rings, the 1994 American League Cy Young Award and was a five-time All-Star while compiling a sparkling 194-126 record during his 17-year career from 1986-2003. Collectibles and memories…

Fanatics plans to sell trading cards directly to consumers, cutting out distributors and middle men and creating a one-stop-shop for collectors. Fanatics has acquired the licenses to manufacture baseball, basketball and football trading cards beginning in the next few years. Its deal with the Major Baseball Players Association goes into effect in 2023, while deals with MLB, NBA and the NBA and NFL players unions begin in 2026. The deals mean the company’s new Fanatics Trading Cards division will replace Topps and Panini as the officially licensed manufacturer of baseball, basketball and football cards, possibly ending an era of sports cards. Fanatics Chairman Michael Rubin indicated, however, that “it’s absolutely possible” that Fanatics may try to buy one of the current card manufacturers. Rubin appeared on CNBC recently and outlined…

PWCC Marketplace takes pride in doing things differently and breaking new ground in the sports card industry. The largest trading card seller on eBay for the past decade, it was the first to create a vault for collectors to store their most valuable cards. It has brokered record sales for some of the highest-selling cards in the industry. Now it has designed a new, fast-paced way to conduct monthly auctions. “It’s different, just like everything we do at PWCC,” said Jesse Craig, PWCC’s director of business development. “We don’t necessarily follow the industry norms, and I think it’s had a lot of success.” PWCC launched a new Monthly Auction on Oct. 7. It features more than 40,000 cards, its largest auction to date, and offers new extended bidding features designed…

John Elway burst onto the sports scene as a dynamic field general for Stanford University in 1979. The uber-talented, multi-sport athlete starred on the gridiron and on the baseball diamond for the Cardinal. The strong-armed outfielder was drafted in the second round of the 1981 draft by the New York Yankees. He even spent some time in the minor leagues playing short-season ball for the Oneonta Yankees. He showed such promise that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner planned to add him to the big league squad by 1985. The Yankee pinstripes were not meant to be, however, as Elway fulfilled his destiny and became one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. Elway spent his entire 16-year NFL career playing for the Denver Broncos and at the time of his retirement…

Eddie Healy has plenty of stories to tell about the bond over baseball that he shared with his dad, Edward III. The pair had memorable moments attending Baltimore Orioles playoff games in 1996 and ’97. The hometown Orioles were always a hit with the Healys. “I did the eulogy at the funeral and I referenced that in there, that that was a pinnacle father-son moment at a young age where you’re just hooked from there on out,” Eddie said. The senior Healy unexpectedly passed away at 55 years old in May 2014. What he left his son wasn’t surprising. Instead, it has become a gift that is paying dividends for his family. Dad was a baseball card collector, who cherished the cardboard he picked up when he was young. Healy’s…