Innholdsfortegnelse for May 1, 2025 i Sports Collectors Digest

Many baseball hobbyists have a cracked bat or two in their collection. That’s not rare. What makes a cracked bat in Rodney Tafoya’s collection unique is the fact that he threw the baseball that cracked the bat wielded by former big-league slugger Kirk Gibson. Tafoya tells the story, one of many in his second “Ageless Arm” biography, which details his amazing recovery from a massive stroke a few years ago. He typed that 40,000-word second book entirely on his cellphone, using a finger on his right hand. (Tafoya’s first “Ageless Arm” article appeared in the Nov. 20, 2020 issue of SCD.) The tale dates back to May 1990, when the Los Angeles Dodgers sent Gibson to their Class AAA affiliate in Albuquerque, N.M. to rehab from a hamstring surgery. He…

Imagine that your family owned a Major League Baseball team, and that you were enlisted to work in the front office. Imagine that every day you’d get to interact with MLB executives, players and coaches and see up close how a franchise is run. And, if you were lucky, imagine that during your family’s ownership the team won championships and became an American pop culture phenomenon. Sound like a fairytale to you? Well, it was a reality for Nancy Finley. During her childhood and teen years Nancy had a front row seat as her uncle, Charles O. Finley, along with her father, Carl (Charlie’s cousin), transformed the A’s from a downtrodden franchise in Kansas City to one of the great MLB dynasties in Oakland, capturing three consecutive World Series championships…

e Bay has added an option for trading cards purchased on its marketplace to be easily graded by PSA. eBay announced the new service March 31 for all individual, raw, non-autographed cards priced at $250 and above with more than two images in the listing. According to eBay, the feature will offer a more seamless process for card collectors, streamlining the grading process and adding more convenience. “Grading is a core part of the trading card hobby, and now the process to get from raw card to authenticated and graded is seamless when you build your collection with eBay,” said Ron Jaiven, eBay’s general manager, U.S. Collectibles. The new service will be more convenient for collectors to purchase PSA grading at checkout, with no extra steps. It also leads to…

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—I've been a Chicago Cubs fan for 55 years. My first experience at Wrigley Field was in 1969, a season that lives in infamy among baby-booming Cubs faithful, when they blew an eight-game lead in August to the Amazin' Mets, who were on their way to winning the World Series. As an 8-year-old, I don't remember much about that game, other than Hall of Fame third baseman Ron Santo committed an error against the Cincinnati Reds and came close to being charged with another one. I wasn't aware of the massive meltdown of the Summer of ’69, and it's probably just as well. It wasn't until the dawn of the 1970s that I jumped on the Cubs bandwagon, which extended to riding my Schwinn 5-speed to buy Topps cards…

Upper Deck has extended its longtime licensing agreement with golf legend Tiger Woods, who will continue to be a chief spokesperson for the card and memorabilia company. Under the extended deal, Upper Deck will continue to be the exclusive licensed producer of Woods’ trading cards, collectibles and autographed memorabilia, extending the relationship beyond 25 years. “We've been fortunate to work alongside Tiger for nearly his entire professional career, helping create connections with fans and celebrate moments throughout his historic journey with our collectibles,” said Jason Masherah, president of Upper Deck. “We look forward to continuing our relationship and building products dedicated to Tiger’s historic legacy.” Woods, who has won 15 major championships and elevated the sport worldwide, has helped Upper Deck grow the golf card and memorabilia category with a…

Richard Burns was a 12-year-old baseball fan when he discovered card collecting in 1957 in Coffeeville, Miss., population 1,000. Like many baseball fans south or west of St. Louis, he became a Cardinals fan even though he could not watch their games on TV or go to a game. “We only had radio in 90 percent of North Mississippi and listened to the games on the Cardinals network,” Burns, now 79, recalls. “We had no idea what the players looked like until we opened baseball cards. My first lesson in Spanish came from a baseball card— ‘Hoolyan Harveyair’ was spelled Julian Javier, and ‘Red Shandees’ was spelled Red Schoendiest.” Like many fans back then, Burns got most of his baseball news and information from the back of 1959 Topps cards…