As Michael Jordan championships go—and there were many—it’s among the most important and meaningful. It wasn’t his first. There had been three before it. It wasn’t his last, either. There would be a couple more before he moved on from the Chicago Bulls but the 1996 NBA title not only put the cap on one of the greatest seasons in NBA history, it was as … [Read more...]
1991 Michael Jordan Upper Deck Baseball Card Surges at 30-Year Anniversary
A few years before Michael Jordan eschewed the NBA to become a real live professional baseball player, he was featured on a special insert card in Upper Deck's 1991 baseball card product. The card quickly became one of the ones to remember during that year. The card was cool for several reasons. It held appeal because it featured Jordan, who was just then starting to win NBA … [Read more...]
Michael Jordan Rookie Cards Value Soaring: A Guide to Prices and More
This Michael Jordan rookie card isn’t scarce. Not in the true sense of the word. PSA has examined over 17,000 of them alone and when you count Beckett and SGC and the many cards sitting in sets or just left ungraded, it's clear you don't have to go far to find one. However, the 1986-87 Fleer Jordan rookie card is clearly the most popular basketball card ever … [Read more...]
Rare, Relevant and… Anonymous?? Michael Jordan’s 1985-86 Star Card
Stop me if you’ve heard this before… The title of “most hilariously stacked basketball set of the twentieth century” comes down to three names: 1961-62 Fleer (Wilt, West, Oscar, Elgin rookies, plus those of seven other Hall of Famers), 1969-70 Topps (99 cards, 15 Hall of Fame RCs, led by Lew Alcindor’s), and 1986-87 Fleer (Jordan, Barkley, Ewing, Olajuwon, Isiah, Dominique, … [Read more...]
Ricky Pierce Q&A: Signing Autographs in High School, Massive Television Room, Finishing Games
Ricky Pierce was a high school basketball standout at Garland High School in Garland, Texas. After finishing high school, he went to Walla Walla Community College before eventually transferring to Rice University in 1979. The sharpshooter was drafted in the first round of the 1982 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. After not seeing much playing time as a rookie, the 6'4 … [Read more...]
“Godfather of Dual-Swatch Autograph Cards” at Auction
If you grew up in the late 1980s or 90s, Michael Jordan was your guy. If your first basketball memories came a little later, you probably took a fadeaway jumper and yelled “Kobe!” Upper Deck once held the rights to autographs for both and now one of the ten copies featuring their first dual-signed card is on the market. Heritage Auctions is offering one of the ten … [Read more...]
Jewels in the Junk – 1990s NBA Sleepers
We’ve written, at some length, about the formative and transformative periods in the history of basketball cards. We all know the drill by now: star-studded 1961-62 Fleer gives way to, well, nothing for the better part of a decade. Topps redefines the hobby, first with its legendary 1969-70 set, then as the only game in town until early 1980s. Topps makes for the exit, again, … [Read more...]
1986-87 Fleer Basketball and “Rightful” Rookie Cards
In terms of the sheer depth and quality of their rookie cards, three basketball card sets forever stand alone. Why “forever”? Because, these days, it's unlikely that all major card manufacturers will simply bail on basketball for several years. The gorgeous 1961-62 Fleer set, for instance, is hilariously stacked, featuring rookie cards of inner-most circle legends Wilt … [Read more...]
2020 Sports Collecting Year in Review
It was like one long Stefon skit from Saturday Night Live. 2020 had everything. Millennial artists doing weird things to famous rookie cards. A case break party at a football stadium. Babe Ruth in a baggie. Pre-War white elephants in Yahtzee boxes. Russian ransomware. Card shows during a raging pandemic. And the hobby's hottest nightclub … [Read more...]
Jordan Finals Sneakers Gifted To Sonny Vaccaro Expected to Bring Huge Price
A pair of shoes worn by Michael Jordan during Game 4 of the 1991 NBA Finals has had a sole owner the last 28 years. But now, Sonny Vaccaro, who was instrumental in getting Nike to sign Jordan when he came out of North Carolina, forever changing the sneaker industry, is ready to part with them. The black Air Jordans were announced Tuesday as a lot in the joint auction … [Read more...]