Innholdsfortegnelse for November 1, 2025 i Sports Collectors Digest

Confession time. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been an NBA fan or followed the pro game closely. I was a huge basketball fan as a kid in the 1970s. I played the game or shot hoops nearly every day, couldn’t wait to watch the Sunday NBA game on CBS, and collected trading cards of favorite players like Alex English and Pete Maravich. I was captivated by Bird, Magic and the Celtics-Lakers rivalry of the 1980s, and then followed Air Jordan’s reign right on through the ’90s. But like many older fans, I lost interest in the NBA over the next 20 years or so. From the increasingly poor quality of play to Michael Jordan running the hometown Hornets into the ground to the league’s myriad of on-…

Sometimes we meet someone for one reason and it turns into an unexpected friendship. In 2017 I met broadcaster Dan Tortora at High School Media day for football. I was a football defensive coordinator for a local high school team and my son Jordan was the starting quarterback coming off an excellent 2016 campaign. Dan interviewed us separately for his radio show. We didn't live far from each other and we wound up striking up a friendship. My heavy involvement in the sports card hobby as a collector and dealer came to light and Dan mentioned he had some cards and invited me over to check them out. Both being sports fans, we started watching some games together or grabbing lunch occasionally. Dan himself is a lesson in perseverance and…

After a 16-year hiatus, Topps is once again producing licensed basketball cards. Topps’ parent company Fanatics took over the exclusive NBA license on Oct. 1. Panini had held the license for the last 15 years. Fans of Topps flagship, Topps Chrome and Topps Finest are in for a real treat when those products are released. It’s been a long time coming. “I’m excited in general,” Sports Card Investor founder Geoff Wilson said. “I feel like the Panini products have run their course to a degree. We had a great run of Panini Prizm, but in recent years it has not been as high of a quality. In recent years, Panini in general has gone away from game-used patches in a lot of their higher-end sets and the quality hasn’t been…

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 Nov 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 Nov 22 AL, Sheffield. Muscle Shoals Sportscards and Memorabilia Show, Clarion Inn, 4900 Hatch Blvd., Sheffield, AL 35660 SH: 8am-2pm. T: 30. A: Free. Contact: Leroy Willis 256-412-2184; popandhoney@yahoo.com ARIZONA Nov 14 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 CALIFORNIA Nov 15-16 CA, Citrus Heights. Capital City Card Show, Citrus Heights…

Willie Mays left us in June 2024, but the legendary center fielder remains front and center among card and memorabilia collectors. Recent weeks have seen a rash of high-dollar Mays auctions on eBay. Take a look at this sampling of 10 healthy prices paid for Mays treasures: • $21,170 on 56 bids for a 1959 Topps card graded PSA 9. The close-up photo of Mays truly pops thanks to the bright yellow background. The reverse side notes that Mays lost the 1958 batting title on the season’s last day (.347 to Richie Ashburn’s .350). • $19,750 on 45 bids for a 1952 Topps rookie graded SGC 6.5. A PSA 9 specimen has sold for as much as $245,000. • $19,735 on 43 bids for a bold and colorful 1964 oversized…

When LeBron James made his NBA debut in 2003, he instantly became one of the faces of basketball. As his popularity surged, so did interest in his cards. Some of James’ rookies are the most recognizable pieces of cardboard in the hobby. That became quite evident when four of James’ cards landed in the top 25 of all cards produced in the last 25 years. Content creator Adam Gray and GemRate founder Ryan Stuczynski partnered to conduct a straw poll that was voted on by 450 collectors and a panel of 45 experts in the hobby. The general community of collectors made up 50 percent of the vote, while the experts accounted for the remaining half. “The whole idea of it is if you were to just put all the…

KOBE’S JORDAN SI COVER SELLS AT AUCTION A rare example of Babe Ruth’s iconic rookie card is coming to auction and could challenge baseball card records. One of only 10 examples of the classic 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth rookie card will headline the Fall Sports Catalog Auction at Heritage Auctions Oct. 24-26. Though known as baseball’s first great slugger, Ruth started his MLB career as a left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. But his 1914 rookie card highlights the city where he was born and began his baseball career—Baltimore. Chris Ivy, Heritage’s director of sports auctions, calls the card “one of the rarest cards of any issued during Ruth’s career.” Of Ruth’s rookie card, only 10 have been graded, with Heritage’s SGC 3 example the second-highest grade. It…