Not every PSA-graded set of cards is listed on the company’s Set Registry. Some are quietly pieced together by collectors who opt not to put them in the data base. Now, those who do chase one of the hobby’s most notable vintage football sets 
will have a chance to own cards from one of those sets.
Baseball Card Exchange (BBCE) recently acquired a high-grade near set of 1957 Topps Football on its most recent buying trip to the Southeastern US. 
Unlike most top end sets being built by those who favor graded cards, this one was never entered on the online registry where it could be measured against others.
Safe to say, though, it was a beauty.
“The collector assembling this set was quietly on his way to potentially building the top ranked 1957 Topps Football Set, with a keen eye towards centering. It’s quite remarkable how many dead-centered examples he owned, to which I’m sure he spared no expense to acquire them,” said Reed Kasaoka, head buyer for BBCE. “As his collecting focus changed – like I’m sure we’ve all experienced at least once in our lives – he decided it was time to sell. Having worked with us for several years, he knew that we were strong buyers for a collection like his, and we were his first and only call.”
The collection consisted of 140 of the 154 cards in the set – all graded PSA 8 or better – including an impressive 79 different PSA 9s. More than half of those graded 9 have a population report in the single digits.
“Like most of the deals Reed buys for BBCE, I finally get to see them once he arrives back in the office. Sometimes it means waiting two weeks or more to see the collections, which up until that point, I’ve only heard about,” stated Steve Hart, the owner of BBCE. “I was so anxious to see these cards; at one point, I stopped helping Reed unload the truck so I could start looking at them. It goes without saying, I was quite impressed with our latest acquisition.”
The Johnny Unitas rookie card was graded 8 and sold almost immediately through the company’s eBay store. More than two dozen others have also found their way into the hands of collectors who have been working on their own high-grade sets. The ’57 set can be a challenge because of scuffed surfaces in addition to normal age and centering issues associated with decades-old cards.
Kasaoka was busy on the buying trip, completing 11 appointments over eight days throughout Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, with the company spending over $250,000 on vintage PSA graded and authenticated cards, autographed trading cards and thousands of others set for examination in the coming weeks.
The 1957 football cards were added to the rest of their graded inventory and are now listed in the BBCE eBay store.
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