Innholdsfortegnelse for August 1, 2025 i Sports Collectors Digest

Rookies Kristian Campbell, Matt Shaw and Cam Smith have made significant contributions for their respective teams during the first half of the 2025 MLB season, while big stars like Juan Soto, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman and Max Fried have been major additions to their new teams. Those rising stars and potential All-Stars highlight Topps Baseball Series 2, which hit the market on June 11. The new set features rookie cards for key players as well the first cards of several big stars with their new teams. Other highlights include: NOTABLE ROOKIES Campbell (Red Sox), Shaw (Cubs), Smith (Astros), Roki Sasaki (Dodgers) and Luisangel Acuna (Mets). BIG STARS, NEW TEAMS Star players with their new teams include Soto (Mets), Tucker (Cubs), Bregman (Red Sox), Fried (Yankees), Blake Snell (Dodgers), and Corbin…

The sports collectibles industry descends on suburban Chicago for the 45th annual National Sports Collectors Convention, the hobby’s five-day holiday that is a mix of the Super Bowl, Word Series, Stanley Cup Finals, and more, all under one roof. Collectors, legendary athletes, celebrities and the like will attend The National starting on Wednesday July 30 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. More than 100,000 are expecting to regale in cards, autographs, pack breaks, game-used and game-worn memorabilia, and so much more. It’s long been said that if there’s a special piece of sports memorabilia that you want, you will find it at The National … or it doesn’t exist. “We expect this year’s National to be even bigger than last year. Cleveland [in 2024] was a…

Although the sports card collecting world will be laser focused on the 45th National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago July 30-Aug 3, that doesn't mean the new release calendar takes a vacation. Here’s a few products that are released prior to The National to give collectors reasons to blow part of their NSCC budget. 2024 PANINI IMMACULATE FOOTBALL During the first week of July, one of the most anticipated high-end releases each year is Immaculate Football, which again delivers high-quality memorabilia, autographs and a mix of other relics and signature combos. Each hobby box contains just one base card or parallel, so finding even a base card of your favorite NFL star can be challenging. Immaculate cases consist of six boxes. Each box holds one incredibly important six-card pack. Rookie…

The TRISTAR Autograph Pavilion at the 45th National Sports Collectors Convention will be the largest ever with about 60 first-time signers among nearly 150 confirmed guests. And there will be at least 83 Hall of Famers from baseball, basketball and football. Even legendary New York Knicks fan Spike Lee, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame SuperFan Gallery in 2024, is making his debut signing autographs at The National. Lee likely will be one of the most sought-after signatures at this year’s National. “Spike Lee is one of the most famous fans in any sport. He will be very popular at The National,” said TRISTAR Productions Vice President Bobby Mintz. The 2025 National is the summertime spectacular for the hobby. It is the Super Bowl of sports memorabilia,…

Roland Harper had his best season in 1978 as a running back for the Chicago Bears in their first season under head coach Neill Armstrong. The team finished 7-9 and failed to make the NFL playoffs for the 14th time in 15 seasons. Still, Harper had personal bests in games played (16), games started (16), rushing attempts (240), touchdowns (6), receptions (43), receiving yards (340), and receiving touchdowns (2). And yards rushing (992). Coming up eight yards short of 1,000 still haunts Harper decades later. “Eight yards … that’s all I needed,” he said without hesitation. In the Bears’ final game of the 1978 season, on the road against the Washington Redskins, there was less than a minute remaining and Chicago fell on the ball twice to run out the…

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 ARKANSAS July 19 AR, Siloam Springs. Vintage Sports Collectibles Show, Holiday Inn Express, 2100 US…

The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. has become a second home for card collectors. This year will mark the 11th time in the last 23 shows that the National Sports Collectors Convention will be held at that venue in the northwest suburb of Chicago. The 45th annual National will run July 30-Aug. 3. In fact, every other year for the past decade and a half, Rosemont has been the host. But the convention in 2026 will deviate from that pattern. With Rosemont previously set for the 2025 and ’27 shows, dealers also voted to hold the 2026 show in Rosemont as well. That means for the first time in show history, the same city will not only host The National in back-to-back years, but for three years…

The sports card community is on the verge of its Super Bowl, World Series, NBA and Stanley Cup Finals, all rolled into one at the National Sports Collectors Convention. The Windy City has more than its fair share of iconic sports teams, including baseball squads from the north and south side of town, the NBA Bulls, NHL Blackhawks, and my lowly NFL Bears. I've been working on narrowing down my personal want list and bulking up my sports card slush fund in order to achieve a few collecting goals at the show of all shows. Personally, I'm trying to add a few iconic rookie cards to my collection in baseball, basketball and football. I have my sights set on a 1939 Playball Ted Williams rookie or 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle…

In collecting circles, the term “first appearance” is generally reserved for comic books. We all know the sports collectibles hobby focuses on sports cards and memorabilia, so we use that term in a different way in regard to some of the legendary athletes making their first appearance at the TRISTAR Autograph Pavilion at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago. I've been lucky enough to meet and rub elbows with many athletes at TRISTAR signings over the years and it is truly an experience like no other. We lead off with our baseball list, and boy, do we start with a few huge ones. MIGUEL CABRERA A member of the exclusive 3,000-hit and 500-home run club, Cabrera will be making his first NSCC appearance. “Miggy” is a 12-time All-Star, two-time…

Ichiro Suzuki is un–deniably one of the most iconic players in baseball history, revered for his incredible career both in Japan and Major League Baseball. Ichiro will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27 along with CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dick Allen, and Dave Parker. As a trailblazer and Hall of Fame inductee, Ichiro’s trading cards have become an essential part of the sports card collecting world. From his early days in Japan to his rise as an MLB superstar, his cards are not only coveted by collectors, but also serve as a tribute to his lasting impact on the game of baseball. Known for his exceptional hitting and consistency, Ichiro's cards showcase his time with the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Miami Marlins. Some…

Josh Richter vividly remembers acquiring his very first Superfractor. As the card boom during the pandemic started winding down in 2021, Richter bought a 2017 Panini XR Rookie Jumbo Swatch Auto 1-of-1 of Patrick Mahomes. The card of the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback features a patch with a giant KC logo from a hat. It’s graded Beckett 9 with a 10 autograph. “I thought for the first one it might as well be one that I’ll invest in and hopefully give my kids one day,” Richter said. “I bring it to shows to show it, but it’s never for sale.” Once Richter got a taste of owning a 1-of-1 card, there was no turning back. The 24-year-old now has around 500-600 Superfractors in his high-end collection. “I like the rarity…

Third-party grading has been big business for years, but it has really ramped up since last year’s National Sports Collectors Convention. PSA continues to set the gold standard for this segment of the hobby, while CGC is making a major push in the race for second place. SGC and Beckett (BGS) round out the top four grading companies by volume. According to GemRate, in May 2025, those four companies set a new record by grading 2.432 million cards. Exactly one year earlier, that quartet combined to grade a then-record 1.78 million cards. In May of this year, PSA graded a whopping 1.6 million (1,658,000) cards, with CGC logging 570,000, GemRate reported. SGC slabbed 145,000 cards, while BGS graded 59,000. All four companies are expected to have a major presence at…

With the 18th overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft, the Washington Bullets selected center Dave Corzine following his standout career at DePaul University in Chicago, where he played from 1974-78 and still holds the record for the most rebounds in school history (1,151). Corzine also sits among the top five in DePaul history for career points (1,896) and shined in the 1978 NCAA Tournament, scoring 46 points against Louisville in the Sweet 16. He was named Honorable Mention All-American that year and was inducted into the DePaul Hall of Fame in 1994. And in February, Corzine had his No. 40 DePaul jersey retired by the school. “There have been so many great players at DePaul. To have my jersey retired, it was a tribute to those teams, the importance…

NEW YORK CITY—The second edition of Fanatics Fest NYC promised to be “better, bigger, bolder.” It turned out to be all three. The sports and pop-culture bonanza at New York’s Javits Convention Center June 20-22 included a card show, celebrity meet-and-greets and star-studded panels headlined by some 500 sports and entertainment stars, including Tom Brady, LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama, Jay-Z, Kevin Hart, and John Cena. Casual collectors and hobby veterans of all ages flooded the two-floor show for the chance to buy and trade cards, snag autographs and see rare memorabilia all under one roof. The show attracted over 125,000 attendees, shattering last year’s 70,000 attendance number. “I came here for the cards, but I ended up seeing Tom Brady and LeBron James up close,” said Trey Morgan, a collector…