When Topps released its first basketball set in the fall of 1956, the NBA had just inaugurated its MVP award by naming a third year pro from the St. Louis Hawks as the 1955-56 winner. Making sure Bob Pettit was in the set was a no-brainer. Selected second overall in the 1954 NBA draft, Pettit lived up to expectations. Owner of a second MVP award in 1959, he is best known … [Read more...]
Topps Made History with 1954-55 Hockey Set Despite MIA Canadian Teams
During the 1954-55 NHL season, Topps took their first attempt at producing a set of hockey cards. Never before had any sports card manufacturer mass-produced a set of hockey cards in the United States, showing again how aggressive Topps was in attempting to capture the biggest piece of the pie just two years after their 407-card baseball card set debuted. Parkhurst also … [Read more...]
1951 Bowman Baseball Set Offers Mantle, Mays, More
A year before one of the biggest releases in baseball card history, the 1951 Bowman Baseball set ushered in a little history of its own. It just took us all a couple of decades to understand the importance of each. The '51 Bowman set featured cards slightly smaller than modern ones today at 2 1/16" x 3 1/8" but they were still bigger than the squarish cards that Bowman had … [Read more...]
Toughest PSA 9 Football Rookie Cards of the 1970s
Topps owned a virtual monopoly on football cards during the league's explosive growth period following the AFL-NFL merger. Although it is easy to come by an ungraded version of most any 1970s Topps football rookie card, locating high-grade examples of some of them can be a challenge. The list below doesn’t include every 1970s rookie card, just a large sampling of the most … [Read more...]
5 Underrated 1933 Goudey Baseball Cards
Piecing a set together can take time and get a little expensive. So can buying the big kahunas in the set: Babe Ruth (four of them) and Lou Gehrig. But for those marking what is the unofficial transition from tobacco and candy cards to the gum era, finding underrated 1933 Goudey baseball cards is one way to collect the ultra-popular set. Sold inside waxy paper with a stick … [Read more...]
Minor League Cards of 2015 Hall of Fame Class
A strong Hall of Fame draft class in 2015 included three first ballot pitchers and a third ballot position player. Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz all racked up over 3,000 strikeouts in their careers respectively (Johnson got well over 4,000) while Craig Biggio who was a lifetime Houston Astro, racked up 3,080 hits in his 20-year career. Since Johnson, Smoltz … [Read more...]
Yankees Game-Used Bases and Baseballs a Hot Seller
When building a man cave, sports memorabilia is a must. Whether it be signed baseball, jerseys or game used goods, there are a number of pieces that could fit nicely into the collection. The king of this high-end sports memorabilia is Steiner Sports. Based out of New York, Steiner has plenty of Yankees game-used bases and baseballs for sale thanks to an exclusive contract with … [Read more...]
Top 10 Ted Williams Cards Span 4 Decades
Perhaps the best hitter of all-time, Ted Williams was also a United States marine who served his country in two wars and was quite the ladies’ man back in the day. He lived a colorful, long life and left quite a legacy on and off the field. “Best” lists are always subjective, but below are arguably the top ten Ted Williams cards from his playing career. A first ballot Hall … [Read more...]
Billy Martin Cards Chronicle Fast, Furious Life
On Christmas Night 1989, a Yankee legend was killed in a car crash. Billy Martin died on December 25, 1989 when the pickup truck he was in crashed on an icy road in upstate New York. He was 61 years old. It was a sudden ending for a man full of life and controversy, whose baseball career had begun 40 years earlier. From fresh-faced rookie to embattled manager, Billy … [Read more...]
5 Underrated T205 Cards
The American Tobacco Company’s successor to their T206 baseball card product, T205 cigarette cards are often overlooked because of how closely they followed after T206. No, there is not an ultra-rare Honus Wagner card in the set worth millions, nor is there a Honus Wagner card in the set at all. What the 220 card set does feature are gorgeous gold borders. Yes, they are … [Read more...]