by Rich Klein The "Sterling" name is a brand Topps uses to show their "high-dollar" products. Sterling is usually used in conjunction with Bowman and implies a very heavy emphasis on rookies and/or prospects. The 2011 Bowman Sterling football program fits right in with that theme. Each Sterling "mini-box" comes as part of a "master" box contains six mini-boxes. Each mini-box … [Read more...]
Canseco Selling Autographs… Interviews?
Jose Canseco has gone all Pete Rose. Nearly every day, he can be found at a memorabilia store inside a Las Vegas resort hotel on the strip, signing autographs for pay. The fact that he's doing it isn't shocking. The fact that someone actually thought there might be a market for him is what's strange. The cheapest Canseco autograph, an 11x14 photo is $59. But that's a … [Read more...]
Rich’s Ramblings: Good, Bad and Ugly of Card Shops
by Rich Klein After talking about Lud Denny, and getting some really good war stories from Bill Barron, we're taking these ramblings back to a place also real close to my heart: The Hobby Store. Our ramblings have taken us on many places during these past few months, but a very underrated aspect of the hobby is the local card store. This weekend, I was interviewing a … [Read more...]
What’s in Joe Namath’s Closet?
Part of being a Topps' spokesman is doing a lot of interviews. That job fell to Hank Aaron earlier this year. Hammerin' Hank appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and did plenty of other guest spots on network and major market TV. Now, it's Joe Namath's turn. A few weeks back, we showed you his appearance on Letterman where he talked about popping out of bed to … [Read more...]
David Price Autographs Will Be Added to Jeter Marketing Blitz
The pitcher who gave up Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit has agreed to an autograph deal of his own. David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays will sign memorabilia to be marketed by Steiner Sports. Among the items being sold are some that carry Jeter's autograph with the Price inscription "I Gave Up DJ's 3K" . Some of the memorabilia is already being sold. Price's signature, not … [Read more...]
Thousands of Rare Sports Photos Now Available
The Chicago Tribune's efforts to monetize its mammoth inventory of original archive photographs, including thousands of rare sports photos, continue. As we reported in April, Masterpiece Marketing Group, a dealer of original newspaper archive photographs, has been working with the Tribune and other newspapers to create an online storefront. Newspapers have locked away … [Read more...]
Iowa Collector Reunites Stolen Photo With Boston Library
It looked like a potentially great find. Browsing eBay earlier this spring, David Maus came across a photo with the name "Cuppy" on the back. Knowing his baseball history, Maus knew the photo had to be George Cuppy, the pitcher who spent the 1890s as the number two starter for the Cleveland Spiders. The number one guy? Fella named Cy Young. Maus bought the photo for a … [Read more...]
Leslie Jones Photo Archives Mesmerizing
What is surely among the most remarkable archives of black and white news photography is coming out of the shadows. The Leslie Jones photo archive, donated by the late Boston photographer's family years ago, has now been digitized by the Boston Public Library and the images are being released online. Jones photographed countless subjects and events during his career in the … [Read more...]
Baltimore Sun Library Added to Growing Photo Inventory
They sit in the offices of newspapers and magazines, waiting to be discovered. Millions of images taken by photographers across the country, telling countless stories and taking anyone who looks at even one of them back in time to a singular moment or place. Historic images, many of which feature sports subjects, are gradually becoming available to fans and collectors as … [Read more...]
Removing Sharpie Signatures from Glossy Surfaces
Sometimes the ink smudges. Sometimes you decide you'd rather have it signed by someone else. Sometimes the autograph is so bad you just want to start over. But what do you do when a Sharpie autograph is already splashed all over your photo, baseball card or other glossy item? It may not be hopeless. The Prismacolor Colorless Two Tip Blender Pen (available on eBay) is a … [Read more...]