Innholdsfortegnelse for October 1, 2025 i Sports Collectors Digest

SCD contributor Greg Bates describes collector Brian Pirrip as a hobby ambassador and man of the people. I knew that was the case as soon as I met Pirrip at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago in July. I met dozens of collectors and colleagues at The National, but no one demonstrated more enthusiasm and passion for the hobby than Pirrip. During our brief conversation, Pirrip talked about some of his recent adventures traveling the country, giving away cards, ripping packs, and meeting new collectors. He also told us about his friend Joe, a collector from Tennessee that Pirrip befriended and has helped replace his addiction to drugs and alcohol with an incredible passion for collecting. Pirrip paid for Joe to travel to The National and gave him $1,000…

The hobby has hit Hollywood. Well-known businessman Kevin O’Leary, who appears on the hit TV show “Shark Tank,” teamed up with investors Matt Allen and Paul Warshaw to purchase the highest-selling sports card of all time. The trio of investors purchased a 1-of-1 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant card for a record $12,932,000 in Heritage Auctions’ Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction. The card, graded a PSA 6, surpassed the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle SGC 9.5 that fetched $12.6 million in August 2022, also through Heritage Auctions. The 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Logoman Jordan and Kobe card features the stunning signatures of two of the game’s greatest players. The Logoman patch of Jordan is gold, worn during the 1996-97 campaign, the NBA’s…

By now most are aware there's a new king of the hill when it comes to sports card sales. The 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant #1/1 Logoman card, graded PSA 6, sold recently at Heritage Auctions for almost $13 million. Imagine if the grade had been higher. But with a thicker card stock, the buyers are purchasing the card more than the grade. Many obviously know that these thicker cards don't grade as well as their counterparts with thinner stock. The buyers are a conglomerate led by Kevin O'Leary, aka “Mr. Wonderful” from “Shark Tank.” His two other investors are business partners Paul Warshaw and high-end collector Matt Allen, who is known more for his moniker “Shyne150.” Together they recently formed a high-end collectibles platform called Secure…

The three most iconic baseball card sets in the hobby are arguably the 1909-11 T206 tobacco card set, 1933 Goudey, and 1952 Topps. But the 1948-49 Leaf Gum Co. release stands tall with those legendary sets. Rookie cards of Jackie Robinson and Leroy “Satchel” Paige, stars Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Stan Musial, and former legends Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner highlight the 98-card set. The ’48-49 Leaf set became the first major baseball card set following the end of World War II. The historical significance of the set ranks it up there with the all-time greats. “I think absolutely if you’re going to expand those top three to a top five, the ’48 Leaf Baseball is either four or five, has to be,” said Leighton Sheldon, owner of Vintage…

Brian Pirrip never intended to become a hobby ambassador. But the longtime collector is a man of the people, and he’s shown that in various ways in the last few years. Between handing out packs to anyone and everyone around the country to starting a company that specializes in state-of-the-art hobby cases, Pirrip is well entrenched in the industry. Pirrip’s background is in entertainment. He’s been a music producer and television producer; he was Mr. Hollywood, Calif. “I was living in West Hollywood during the pandemic, but I was doing a television show with China at the time that dealt with tourism and I had a little tourism company as well,” Pirrip said. “So, the worst possible business you can be in during the beginning of the pandemic is television…

For a complete listing of upcoming shows, visit www.sportscollectorsdigest.com NOTE: If you have a show listing, follow the style below and send to jowens@aimmedia.com. ALABAMA Oct 25-26 AL, Florence. Sports Card & Collectibles Show, Florence Coliseum, 702 Veterans Dr., Florence AL 35630. SH: Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 10am-4pm. T: 80 ($125). A: Free. Contact: Josh Johnson 256-607-7020 ARKANSAS Oct 2-5 AR, Ft. Smith. Vintage Sports Collectibles Show, Central Mall, 5111 Rogers Ave., Ft. Smith, AR 72903. SH: Thurs-Sat 10am-7 pm; Sun 12-5 pm. T: 50. A: Free. Contact: Larry Yeager 918 845 4257; vinsprtcrds@hotmail.com ARIZONA Oct 10 AZ, Glendale. Diamond in the Ruff Sportscard and Pokemon Show, Comfort Suites, 9824 W Camelback Road Glendale, AZ. SH: 5pm-9pm. T: 40 ($40). A: Free. Contact: Joey 602-908-1597; psastud1976@yahoo.com Oct 12 AZ, Sun City…

Second-year NFL quarterbacks make intriguing subjects: Will they continue evolving—or will they succumb to the dreaded sophomore slump? With a new season upon us, we’ll find out soon how these four young-gun QBs fare: • Jayden Daniels: Washington appears to be in good hands with their remarkably poised field general. All the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner did was lead Washington to a surprising 12-5 record, throwing for 25 touchdowns vs. only nine interceptions. He also ran for 891 yards and accounted for another six TDs. The big Daniels card the past month? A 2024 Panini Donruss Optic Downtown Gold insert sold for $18,000 on 38 bids. Marked #4/10, the card carried a grade of BGS 8.5. A month earlier, an ungraded example of the same card, marked #8/10, sold for…

Travis Rowe returned to his childhood roots last year. All it took was one 2024 Topps Chrome Baseball mega box to get the juices flowing again. When he ripped open the packs, there was a parallel card Rowe had never seen before. It was a Mike Trout image entirely in black and white. Rowe jumped online to find out what he pulled was a Negative Refractor. “It piqued my curiosity,” said Rowe, who was a big collector during the late 1980s and early ’90s. “A lot of the Refractors and stuff are all numbered, so because this one wasn’t, it just really captured my attention. I started kind of researching it on eBay and different outlets and started kind of buying more because I thought they were cool. Next thing…

Feb. 27, 2022 began like any other day for Bill Reynolds and his son, Hunter. They spoke on the phone as Hunter's grandmother drove him to practice around 9 a.m. Only about 20 minutes after that conversation, Bill received a phone call no parent should ever receive. It was a heartbreaking and soul-crushing moment as Hunter had been killed in a car accident in Perry County. Nothing would be the same from that moment forward. The young, kind-hearted athlete lived and breathed sports. He was enamored by Steph Curry and his amazing skill set. His dad jokes that Hunter would rather talk about Curry than do his homework. I think we can all relate to that. Curry is probably much more exciting to talk about than fifth-grade math. Incredibly quick-witted,…