by Rich Klein In the Game always creates interesting concepts for their hockey cards. Their most recent issue is no exception; in fact, it got a tremendous amount of mainstream media attention because of its nature. The name of the issue explains everything about the product any collector needs to know. It’s called "Enforcers" and features a mix of active and retired … [Read more...]
Crooks Take Dirty Laundry, Leave $17,000 Case of Baseball Cards
Maybe all of the mainstream media talk about baseball cards not being worth anything anymore finally turned out to work in favor of a seller for a change. Maybe there's a shortage of briefcases and luggage in the Philadelphia thief community. Either way, a crime turned into a blessing in disguise--and a darn funny 'dumb crook' story. Steve Hart, owner of Baseball Card … [Read more...]
Editor’s Blog: 15 Years and 738,395 Memorabilia Cards
Oh, for the simplicity of 1995. The home computer wasn't yet mainstream. eBay was just a gleam in a west coast entrepreneur's eye. Cards were cards. Some cards were shinier than others. Most were still pretty plain. You bought a pack of cards and you got...cardboard. Then came 1996 and the revolution that swept the modern trading card industry into something much … [Read more...]
Industry Under Microscope in Wake of Jersey-Gate
Despite the best intentions of many, the perception rears its ugly head again anytime a new scandal crops up. The sports memorabilia industry draws all kinds of adjectives into mainstream media articles: fraud, tainted, fake. Even at a time when positive steps are taking place and even leagues themselves are getting involved in the marketing of game-used and game-worn items, … [Read more...]
Card Show Coverage
Who says the card show is dead? Crowds may not be as big as they once were thanks in large part to the internet, but you can still find some shows that have found a footing for the long haul. They're still enough of a curiosity to bring out members of the mainstream media. Even smaller shows are a draw for local newspapers that are trying to offer coverage of various … [Read more...]
Sharp Dressed Men: 1909 Tigers Team Photo
Getting the boys together for a team picture was an occasion to dress the part of a professional, even if most of mainstream America still had a less than honorable view of ballplayers. Like many photographs of the day, a 1909 Detroit Tigers team gathering was taken in photographer's studio. Captured for eternity are some of the game's all-time greats during their … [Read more...]
Cinci Duo Finally Gets Wagner Card Slabbed
It's been beaten up. Dragged through the mud. Cursed. Reviled. Verbally spanked. And that's just speaking metaphorically. The Honus Wagner baseball card Ray Edwards and John Cobb own is still in the same shape it was in when they say it was uncovered at an estate sale years ago, but the community of mainstream authenticators and collectors are convinced it's just … [Read more...]
Editor’s Blog: Legal Bills, Smash ‘n Grab, Snip ‘n Swap
There's never a dull moment in the hobby. Well, OK, sometimes. You've never tried coming up with stories the week between Christmas and New Year's have you? This Editor's Blog almost wrote itself. We start with the always interesting New York Daily News, which has a story about legal bills associated with this court case....and who's paying them. Read Michael … [Read more...]
10 Great Vintage Bowman Baseball Cards
They were born in the post-War boom and faded quietly away as Topps, that young buck, took over with a monopoly it would hold for 25 years. Bowman baseball cards had plenty of young fans during their 1948-1955 heyday, though. As Topps celebrates its 60th year in the cardboard business while offering up voters choices for its all-time top 60 list, we look wistfully back to … [Read more...]
What Happened to Ball That Ended Phillies’ Drought?
It's been 30 years now. A long time, but not long enough to where "baseball memorabilia" was a foreign phrase. There was a lot of collecting going on then. In fact, the hobby was just starting to go mainstream with more shows and more collectors popping up. The next year, everything exploded when Fleer and Donruss broke the Topps monopoly. So why did the last out … [Read more...]