Innholdsfortegnelse for July 1, 2025 i Sports Collectors Digest

As a sports fan, this was supposed to be a thrilling spring for me. The Braves were expected to contend and my Carolina Hurricanes were among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. But as the Braves limped into June still under .500 and the Hurricanes washed out in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in three years, my annual spring disappointment led to a surprising development. For the first time in years, I watched the NBA Playoffs. I have been down on the NBA for awhile, mainly because I live in Charlotte, the most abused and disenfranchised fan base in the league. We are just two hours from Tobacco Road, where Michael Jordan reigns and college basketball is king. Yet the greatest NBA player of all time…

JJ Hoover lived out one dream of playing professional baseball. Now, he’s living out a second dream of running his own hobby shop. Hoover opened Hoov’s Hangout in the northern Kentucky town of Alexandria—just 15 minutes from downtown Cincinnati—on March 15. Hoover spent five of his seven MLB seasons pitching for the Reds. He found his way back to the Queen City area following his playing career in 2022. After a hiatus from collecting during his big-league days, Hoover returned to his childhood habits and got into cards and eventually started up his own store. “I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and I’ve wanted to create something,” Hoover said. “After I left the big leagues, I didn’t realize how much I missed the community involvement and the involvement with people…

Topps is bringing its Debut Patch program to UFC, with UFC Debut patches unveiled at events and then used in trading cards. The UFC Debut Patch program debuted May 31 at ESPN FN 189: Blanchfield vs. Barber. Topps unveiled its Debut Patch program in MLB during the 2023 season, creating several valuable rookie cards of top first-year stars like Paul Skenes and Elly De La Cruz. It expanded the program to MLS in 2024 and WWE this year. Upon making his UFC debut, Andreas Gustafsson had a UFC Debut Patch applied to the right sleeve of his walkout jerseys before the fight. The patch was removed after the bout and transported to Topps’ facilities in Dallas, where it will be inserted into a 1-of-1 card. Gustafsson will then sign the…

"To be in, or not to be in.” Let the record show I'm not a Reds, Phillies or Expos fan. You don't have to be to realize how great Pete Rose was. He was a first-ballot, unanimous Hall of Famer had he not broken one of baseball's cardinal sins. Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age but I actually felt bad for Rose. Yes, I know he was his own worst enemy and what he did wasn't a “one-time” mistake. I can't stop thinking about how Rose lived, ate and slept baseball. How he hustled, not like every game might be his last but like every play might be. He became one of the toughest outs in baseball and one of the game's greatest hitters, breaking baseball’s all-time hit…

In a major move to protect collectors and preserve the integrity of high-end trading cards, Upper Deck announced May 28 the launch of a revolutionary authentication feature set to debut with the highly anticipated release of the 2023-24 Upper Deck The Cup Hockey set. The new feature specifically targets a longstanding issue plaguing the collectibles market known as “patch swapping,” a fraudulent practice where counterfeiters alter premium trading cards by replacing embedded memorabilia patches with more desirable versions to inflate their value. “What we’ve seen over the last decade-plus is that we are fighting counterfeiters and scammers at an unprecedented level because of all the interest in the industry,” said Upper Deck President Jason Masherah. Each Rookie Patch Auto card—some of the most sought-after trading cards—will now include a slabbed…

NOTE: If you have a show listing, follow the style below and send to jowens@aimmedia.com. ALABAMA July 12 AL, Birmingham. Sports Card Show at America’s Oldest Baseball Park, Rickwood Field, 1137 2nd Ave., W Birmingham, AL 35204. SH: 9am-4pm. T: 20 A: Free. Contact: Mike Newton 205-616-2761; mnewton@rickwoodfield.org July 19 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 ARKANSAS July 19 AR, Siloam Springs. Vintage Sports Collectibles Show, Holiday Inn Express, 2100 US 412, Siloam Springs, AR 72761. SH: 9am-5 pm. T: 30. A: Free. Contact: Larry Yeager 918 845 4257; vinsprtcrds@hotmail.com ARIZONA July 13 AZ, Sun City West. Diamond in the Ruff Sportscard and Pokemon Show,…

Look out, world. Jac Caglianone has arrived in the big leagues. Talk about fast-track success. Kansas City drafted the former two-way college star in 2024 after he hit .419 with 35 home runs and pitched to a 5-2 record. At the close of Caglianone’s 2024 Florida Gators season, the Royals got him into 50 minor league games between High-A ball and Fall League competition. To start the 2025 season, KC assigned the 6-foot-5, 250-pound slugger to Double-A. All he did there was hit .322 with nine homers and 43 RBI in 38 games. After a promotion to Triple-A in May, the first baseman/outfielder stayed scorching hot, hitting .319 with six HRs and 13 RBI in 12 games. On June 1, Omaha Storm Chasers manager Mike Jirschele informed Caglianone he was…

Card companies have demonstrated for decades—a century really—that they will put almost anybody on a trading card, from presidents to celebrities to one-hit wonders and celebrity wannabes. Topps has continued the trend with recent cards of pop culture icons, historical figures, and pop-up stars. It’s latest non-sports card to make headlines features new Pope Leo XIV. According to Topps, a Topps Now Pope Leo Gold Refractor numbered #42/50 sold for $888, which Topps pointed out was a record for a Pope. Not to be outdone, a White Smoke variation numbered to /267 soared to a record $900. The #5/5 variation of Pope Leo has also been pulled, prompting the collector to declare on X: “I’m shaking in espiriti santi.” As Topps pondered on social media, wonder what a #1/1 Pope…