Innholdsfortegnelse for February 1, 2025 i Sports Collectors Digest

At 6-4 and nearly 260 pounds and among the strongest, most aggressive defensive players in the NFL, the nickname “The Manster”—half man, half monster—fit Randy White like his Dallas Cowboys football helmet. White came to Dallas in 1975 and within a few years was one of the stars of the Cowboys' “Doomsday Defense.” As a defensive tackle in 1978, he was co-MVP of Super Bowl XII with teammate Harvey Martin as the Cowboys beat Denver. White earned a spot on nine straight Pro Bowl teams in 14 years en route to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. At the University of Maryland, White helped revamp the Terrapins’ college football program with his work ethic and stellar play, including being named the ACC Player of the Year, a unanimous All-American, and…

I first noticed the 1997 Upper Deck Legends Football set in the old Tuff Stuff magazine, and then I caught a real-life glimpse of the cards on store shelves at Walmart the next Spring. I bought several packs and cracked them at home later that night. This is long before I was on eBay scouring the internet for cards I wanted in my collection. I barely knew what eBay was in the late 1990s and we had a mostly tenuous dial-up connection that created long wait times for images to load. I started this journey with the Upper Deck Legends set the old-fashioned way: I saw the set in a magazine and bought them in a brick-and-mortar store. I quickly fell in love with the set. I loved the photography,…

SAN ANTONIO—There’s no question who’s leading the “hot” category here for collectors. There’s Victor Wembanyama, and then everyone else. The San Antonio Spurs’ second-year player and 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year is a hobbyists’ dream, especially locally. Anything and everything tied to Wembanyama is hot, hot, hot. With no signs of cooling off. WembyMania is madness, said Victor Nava, 39, owner of Boomtown Sports Cards. “In San Antonio, we are on the front lines, so we see all the hype front and center. He is already a legend here in town; he is so beloved. He is a humble kid and we all love him.” Wembanyama, the 7-4 center who turned 21 on Jan. 4, is already regarded as one of the greatest NBA prospects in a generation. Many…

Rickey Henderson, baseball’s all-time stolen base leader, almost didn’t become the “Man of Steal.” Instead, Rickey, who often referred to himself in the third person, wanted to become the next Walter Payton, or perhaps even like two-sport star Bo Jackson. “You know, my dream was to play professional football, but Mom said, ‘No.’ She didn’t want her baby to get hurt,” Henderson said in November 2023 while accepting the Louisville Slugger Living Legends award. “I was disappointed because football was my number one. I sat on the bed in my room and cried for an hour because I loved football more than baseball. But in the long run, Mom was right, because today I’m healthy. I don’t walk with no limp.” Henderson, who was drafted by the Oakland A’s in…

Beckett Media & Collectibles has a new owner as collectibles company Collēctīvus Holdings has purchased Beckett, Dragon Shield, and Southern Hobby Distribution. Collēctīvus announced that it had secured lending agreements that will revitalize the company’s ability to invest in all three Collēctīvus brands as well as its growing portfolio. “We’re thrilled. It’s truly a new beginning,” said Kevin Isaacson, CEO of Collēctīvus Holdings. “We enter 2025 with an incredible team of dedicated hobbyists, motivated investors, and a dedicated customer base that appreciates our 100-plus-year commitment to success across the Beckett, Dragon Shield, and Southern Hobby companies.’’ Beckett had been one of the sports collectibles hobby’s top grading and authentication companies, but lost market share over the past few years, falling behind grading rivals PSA, SCG and CCG. Dragon Shield produces…

When slugger Dave Parker was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame recently, it was like a member of the family was being inducted into the shrine. He was family, having played with the fabled “We Are Family” World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates of 1979. Parker’s gritty style of play fit right in with that Pirates team, a club with a never-say-die attitude that was remembered for playing hard in every game during the season and postseason, no matter what the score. They chose as their theme song the Sister Sledge hit “We Are Family,” picking each other up like a band of brothers during a grueling season in which they finished in first place, two games ahead of a hard-charging Montreal Expos team in the National League East. They then…

Im not going to lie. I got this idea while reading the book “The Wax Pack.” I bought a copy of Brad Balukjian’s brilliant book early in the pandemic. I read with great enthusiasm about his cross-country trip to meet up with many of the big-league ballplayers he found in a random pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards. While reading about Brad’s encounters with the likes of Steve Yeager and Don Carmen, I spotted among my sports collectibles a baseball covered in small red signatures. Sixteen professional baseball players scrawled their names on my ball, all virtually on top of one another. I remembered that I had the ball signed at a one-off minor league baseball game in my hometown of Burlington, Vt. in 1993. I knew that the teams…

With the hype, anticipation and a huge TV audience both in the U.S. and globally, the Super Bowl has long been the crown jewel of professional team sports championships. With Super Bowl LIX scheduled for Feb. 9 in New Orleans, this article focuses primarily on cards at least 30 years old with connections to the Super Bowl, the championship game that began in January 1967 when the quickly maturing American Football League first battled the seasoned National Football League in a title game between the rivals. That said, let’s start with a few quick nods to some of the first few Super Bowl cards that Topps produced, beginning with the 1972 game. Card #139 in the ’72 issue exhibits a scrambling Roger Staubach as the Dallas Cowboys quarterback led a…

Respect—that’s all the late Dick Allen wanted during his 15-year Major League Baseball career (1963–1977). The seven-time All-Star didn’t always get that courtesy in a career marred by bigotry and racism, which relentlessly gnawed at him. That intolerance—especially by fans and the media—cast him in a controversial light, often unfairly. But now, 47 years after leaving the diamond, the Philadelphia Phillies’ first black superstar has received the ultimate respect by being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The vote on Dec. 8 by the Hall’s 16-member Classic Era Committee to give Allen a plaque in the hallowed Hall as part of the class of 2025 came four years and one day after Allen passed away at age 78. Never in dispute during Allen’s career was his outstanding talent. Wielding…

Professional wrestling may not be as popular as during WWE’s Golden Era (1980-93) or the Attitude Era (1997-2002) during the Monday Night Wars, but it still attracts millions of sports and non-sports fans. That was never more evident than in 2021, when thousands of wrestling fans packed the TRISTAR Autograph Pavilion at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago. Wrestling legends Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair attracted the largest autograph crowd of the weekend, posing for photos and signing autographs for long lines of fans. And while not as popular as traditional sports cards, professional wrestling cards also attract strong demand. Cards of legends like Hogan, Flair and The Rock attract five- and six-figure prices and Hogan recently set a record with his 1982 Wrestling All Stars card selling for…

NOTE: If you have a show listing, follow the style below and send to jowens@aimmedia.com. ALABAMA Feb 15 AL, Scottsboro. Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, Scottsboro Goose Pond Civic Center, 1165 Ed Hembree Dr., Scottsboro, AL 35769. SH: 9am-2pm. T: 150. A: Free. Contact: Stephen Moore 256-599-0989; Stephen@jacksonssportscards.com; jacksonssportscards.com Feb 15 AL, Gardendale (North Birmingham). The Flip Sports Card & Collectibles Trade Show, Gardendale Civic Center, 857 Main St. Gardendale, AL 35071 SH: 10am-4pm. T: 100+ ($75-85). A: $5 Contact: Daniel TheFlipTradeshow.com ARKANSAS Feb 7-8 AR, Bentonville. GG2 Sports Cards Show, Four Points Hotel, 211 SE Walton Blvd., Bentonville, AR. SH: Fri: 11am-6pm; Sat: 9am-5pm. T: 145 A: Free. Contact: Matt Canaday gg2sportscards@gmail.com Feb 15 AR, Conway. Conway Sports Card Show, ELITE, 1400 Old Morrilton Hwy #3513, Conway, AR. SH:…