Innholdsfortegnelse for December 15, 2024 i Sports Collectors Digest

LEADING OFF I have to tell you, I had a blast putting together this issue. I had wanted to do something on vintage football cards since visiting the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer. Roaming the hallowed halls of gridiron greats rekindled my love for football cards and gave me the urge to look up cards of some of the game’s early legends. Like most collectors, I got my start collecting baseball cards as a kid. But I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw my first pack of football cards. Everybody had baseball cards. They were available everywhere and you could pick up a pack for a quarter or less. But football cards were harder to find. And they were mysterious, unraveling a mystery. Football cards gave you…

Is the jury still out on Aaron Judge? That’s a rhetorical question, of course: Judge is a locked-in hobby star. With 315 homers and a .288 average in nine seasons, and as captain of the New York Yankees, he has earned his place in the uppermost echelon of baseball’s most collectible stars. But … the fact remains that Judge continued his postseason struggles in 2024, going 9 for 64 (a meager .141 batting average). A look at eBay auction results shows his playoff performance may have affected his collectibles prices—at least in the short term. Consider: On eBay in the three months prior to the final out of the World Series (during which the Dodgers dispatched the Yankees in five games), we counted nearly two dozen Judge cards that sold…

When Fanatics Collect launched its online marketplace in July, it hoped to challenge top auction houses and marketplaces like Heritage Auctions, Goldin and eBay among the top sellers of sports cards in the hobby. It’s first big high-end card to hit the auction block is one of the finest vintage cards to come to market since the record-breaking sale of the $12.6 million 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card (SGC 9.5) at Heritage in 2022. Up for bid at Fanatics Collect is the highest graded version of the iconic 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #149. The “Red Ruth” card is graded PSA 8.5, with none graded higher and only two carrying the same grade. The card carries a higher grade than the 1933 Goudey Ruth (PSA 8) currently displayed in the Smithsonian…

THE HOBBY IS THE PEOPLE One of my hobby mantras is “hobby your way,” and in ways that make your hobby experience enjoyable. I recently had my friend, Brad Askew, on the podcast and no one embodies that approach as much as he does. In the early 1980s, Brad and his father and his uncle got heavy into collecting baseball cards, but his first introduction to trading cards mirror my own—cards from the blockbuster movie “Jaws.” Fast forward to 1982. While watching the MLB Saturday Game of the Week, a tilt between the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers, he became a fan of Orioles first baseman Eddie Murray, and his road to “super collecting” began. No one can accuse him of bandwagon jumping as Murray was in the early stages…

A collection of game-worn memorabilia from Michael Jordan’s historic college basketball and NBA careers and the 1992 Olympics sold for $8.5 million at Sotheby’s. The collection featured five museum-quality pieces spanning Jordan’s college career at North Carolina to his celebrated “Last Dance” season with the Chicago Bulls. The white-glove auction was highlighted by a game-worn jersey from Jordan’s legendary 1996-97 championship season with the Bulls, which sold for $4.7 million. Worn in at least 17 games, the jersey is the only red road jersey authenticated by MeiGray Authenticated from Jordan’s first five championship seasons that has emerged publicly. It came directly from the Bulls and had remained in a private collection since its sale from the team. Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collectibles, said the results of the Jordan…

Items from the personal collection of Ted Williams sold for more than $1 million in the 21st annual Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory live auction presented by Hunt Auctions. The auction was highlighted by the sale of Williams’ 1946 American League Most Valuable Player award and his 1958 American League Batting Title silver bat. The MVP award sold for $528,750, the most ever for an MLB MVP Award. The silver slugger award sold for $270,250, with both awards attracting heavy bidding. The auction, held annually around the World Series, featured more than 500 lots of historic baseball memorabilia. The Ted Williams Collection was consigned by his daughter, Claudia, who passed away last December. It featured a variety of items spanning Williams’ playing career and post-career. Other highlights included: Williams’ Presidential…

As the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs continue to put up strong numbers during the NFL’s regular season (9-1 through Week 11), their chances of becoming the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls looks more realistic. Meanwhile, while the 2024 season plays out, here is a quick look at the first Super Bowl in January 1967 and, in particular, a Topps card set produced later that year—both with a solid Chiefs’ presence. Originally billed as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game—later called Super Bowl I—the contest marked the first battle of its kind between the rival organizations, the relatively new American Football League (1960 inaugural season) and the National Football League, with roots back to the 1920s. In this milestone matchup the AFL champion Chiefs went up against the NFL…

Leaf Trading Cards leans heavily on a former right-handed power hitter who played Division I college baseball, with time at first base and in the outfield. His collegiate career ended in 2021 after playing 22 games for St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, and in 2022 he was a member of the Pecos League Championship-winning team, the San Rafael Pacifics. CJ Breen, the director of marketing & licensing for Leaf Trading Cards, seemingly should attend corporate meetings wearing Easton batting gloves or a Rawlings glove on his left hand. “I had several job options in the sports industry to work for sports agencies and in the college athletic ranks,” said Breen, who ultimately opted for Leaf, where he brings a young creative approach with the ability to build connections and…