In the latest edition of Card Back Q&A, former Orioles All-Star Gregg Olson talks religious analogies and 1991 Donruss, spring training haircuts, his curve ball and the hazards of being a closer. Tony Reid-You were a Donruss Diamond King, which is a big deal. 1991, it stated ‘You can't get to heaven without a strong bullpen.’ They called you a guardian angel. What are … [Read more...]
Gregg Olson Q&A: Topps Rookie Card, Mancave in the Making and Conversations with Castro
Nebraska native Gregg Olson was a high school pitching phenom. He led Omaha Northwest High School to four state titles, even throwing a no hitter in the state championship game to cap off his senior season. He was featured as one of the “Faces in the Crowd” in an issue of Sports Illustrated back in 1984. The powerful closer attended the Auburn University and continued to … [Read more...]
Lefty “Groves” and Jack Dunn: 1921 White’s Tip Top Orioles Remain a Rarity
Bakery cards are generally among the more difficult types of pre-war cards to find. Often, these were regional issues limited to a small area. As such, they sometimes focused on only specific teams. One of these is the 1921 White's Tip Top Baltimore Orioles set. 1921 White's Tip Top Baltimore Orioles Cards The Tip Top name will be known by many pre-war collectors for … [Read more...]
Notes: TV Story on Flooded Shop; Second ’54 Bowman Pack Break Set; O’s Braille Gamer Auction
Last week, Bob D’Angelo reported on the flash flood that swept through a Madison, WI sports card shop that had been in business since the 1980s. The Baseball Card Shoppe had outlasted other stores and gained quite a local following over the years but the damage this time was devastating. Over $300,000 in retail goods was lost, according to owner Tom Daniels, who is now … [Read more...]
Orioles’ 2016 Game-Used Gear Brought Big Bucks as Spring Jersey Auction Opens
The Baltimore Orioles Charitable Foundation got quite a windfall from the team’s game-worn and game-used memorabilia last year. The club revealed this week that it sold $500,000 worth of jerseys, helmets, caps, baseballs, bases and other items via sales and auctions last year while it opened an auction for 2017 spring training jerseys worn last weekend. The Foundation and … [Read more...]
Notes: Collectors Profiled; 1971 Topps Sheet; the $1.98 Football Hartland
Their post-season lasted just one game and while fans in and around Baltimore were disappointed, there was at least one guy in Iowa who was also a little down in the dumps. Terry Sullivan doesn’t have to look far, though, to recall when the Orioles were on top. Sullivan lives in Davenport, about 850 miles from Camden Yards. While most folks in that neck of the woods root … [Read more...]
Zach Britton’s Not-So-Game-Worn Jersey Garners Attention
As if losing an extra-inning wild card game wasn’t enough, Baltimore Orioles fans have spent a week being tortured again over an online auction. After the O’s lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in extra innings on the night of October 4, manager Buck Showalter was roasted by some for not bringing All-Star closer Zach Britton, his best pitcher, into the game to face the Jays’ … [Read more...]
Notes: New PSA 9 Rose RC; All-Star Auction; O’s ’66 Throwbacks
A week after one of them sold for more than $150,000, another 1963 Topps Pete Rose graded PSA 9 is on the auction block. With a week left in the bidding, it was sitting at over $120,000. The first PSA 8.5 Hank Aaron rookie card offered since 2014 is up for grabs as well and appears likely to cruise past six figures with ease. The annual All-Star Game Auction takes … [Read more...]
5 Brooks Robinson Cards Capture Career of the ‘Human Vacuum Cleaner’
When I attended junior high school in early 1971, one of the sports magazines I read contained a clever poem that paid tribute to the 1970 sports season. One verse summed up the defensive skills of Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson. "Pity the poor Big Red Machine, Brooksie stripped its motor clean." The poem might have come from Sport magazine, but I am not 100 percent … [Read more...]
Brooks Robinson Collection Brings $1.44 Million
Memorabilia from the life and career of Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson sold at auction Saturday night with fans and collectors scrambling for a piece of the most popular player in Baltimore Orioles history. Robinson, now 78, decided to consign his awards, championship jewelry and game-used items he’d saved to benefit a charitable foundation he and his wife Connie … [Read more...]