Old School Rules
Quite a few interesting releases have hit the shelves over the past few weeks, including baseball cards for the stretch run of the MLB season and football cards to get everyone ready for the season that's about to begin. Still, two of the products I've enjoyed opening the most are baseball sets with a decidedly retro feel: Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball and Upper Deck's Goudey Baseball.
Both products take their looks from well-known sets from the formative years of trading cards. Goudey cards were made by the gum manufacturer of the same name in the 1930's and featured the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx. The origins of Allen & Ginter go back even further to the tobacco cards of the late 19th Century, cards that featured all kinds of subjects besides athletes.
The modern versions succeed by staying true to the spirit of the originals. Topps makes sure to have both base cards and insert cards of lot more than just baseball players in Allen & Ginter. Likewise, Upper Deck uses Ken Griffey Jr. and Derek Jeter to take the places Gehrig and Chuck Klein occupied in 1934, and has subsets and inserts - like the Sport Royalty autographs - that pay tribute to other Goudey sets. And both brands mix their throwback elements with the modern bells and whistles today's collectors expect.
Oh, and Goudey even has a direct tie to the Olympic Games in Beijing, with autographed cards of U.S. beach volleyball stars Misti May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers and sprinter Sanya Richards.
Most of all, though, what Allen & Ginter and Goudey have in common is that they're fun. That's something that often goes overlooked in this hobby, but it's an important reason why most collectors got started in the first place. Even if throwback sets aren't usually your thing, you might find something in these two to pique your interest.
More Beijing Buzz: Phelps Autographed Card on Fire
So while writing about the potential effects of the Olympics on sports cards yesterday, I forgot that the most decorated athlete in Beijing - that would be U.S. swimming sensation Michael Phelps - has a few cards of his own.
Fortunately, the folks at Donruss helped remind me with a link to an AP article about the rapidly rising value of a 2004 Phelps autographed card. Pictured here, the card in question is from the Fans of the Game insert that captured signatures from stars of TV, movies and other sports who were big supporters of a particular NFL team. In Phelps' case, it was his hometown Baltimore Ravens.
The article states that about 300 of the autographed cards were produced (there is a more common non-autographed card as well) and that they were trading above $500. A quick check of some of them up for sale on eBay shows they could go even higher if Phelps finishes his amazing shot at eight gold medals. This example will close after all of Phelps' swims are finished and is already above $400 as I write this.
Another cool card currently up for auction is this Michael Phelps/Matt Biondi dual autograph that was given to random attendees at the 2005 Kit Young Hawaii Trade Conference. One word of caution though: if you want to join in on Phelps-mania, it may be best to wait until the Beijing Games have been over for a while, as prices on his cards and collectibles are obviously going to be highest while the world is still caught up in his exploits.
Image courtesy of and copyright Donruss Playoff.
So Far So Good for "Redeem Team"
The 2008 Summer Olympics are nearing the halfway point, and while they've been full of exciting moments, they probably won't affect the card collecting hobby too much. There simply aren't many sports in the Games that have cards made for them.
One notable exception is the U.S. men's basketball team, which has earned the moniker "Redeem Team" as it attempts to reclaim the top spot in the basketball world after a string of disappointing international performances over the past few years. Though the roster of the 2008 team may not quite have the star power of the 1992 Dream Team, it does boast the game's biggest stars in Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and has yet to be challenged through three games.
It's probably fair to say American fans aren't quite as invested in Olympic hoops success today as they were 20 years ago, but if the Redeem Team takes care of business, I wouldn't be surprised if some of its players see a nice short-term boost of interest in their cards - especially players like Chris Paul and Dwight Howard who are just starting to come into their own. Below are rookie card checklists for some of the key members of the team in case you'd like to jump on board as they go for the gold.
Upper Deck, Donruss Announce First Favre Jets Cards
As a follow up on my last post about Brett Favre and the potential frenzy over his first Jets base cards, it appears collectors won't have to wait too long to see them. Both Upper Deck and Donruss announced Friday exactly which football sets would feature Favre in his new duds for the first time.
Stating that it had been planning for a potential trade, Upper Deck said its first base card of Favre as a Jet would appear in SP Rookie Edition Football, currently scheduled for a November release. But a product coming out much sooner, NFL Icons Football, will have manufactured letter patches in its Immortal Letterman insert set that will spell out "Broadway Brett."
Donruss managed to get a new Favre card into Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Football, on tap for the first week of September. There's a catch though: only retail boxes sold at Target, Wal-Mart and other retailers will have the card (pictured here), since the hobby boxes were already packed out. Replacing Kellen Clemens as card #101, it will be short printed compared to other commons in the set.
You can keep up to date on these and other 2008 football releases that will be taking advantage of Favre-mania by visiting the new release calendar at the link below.
Image courtesy of and copyright Donruss Playoff.
Get Ready New York Collectors: Favre Headed Your Way
The story that seemed to monopolize the sports media came to a conclusion late Tuesday night. Yes, the Brett Favre saga finally ended when the Green Bay Packers agreed to trade the future Hall of Famer to the New York Jets.
There's little doubt that in the short term, Favre's football cards will see a boost in interest - though maybe not a huge one, since he's already one of the most collected players in the NFL. Any fans from the Green Bay area who bail on No. 4 should be more than made up for by new Jets fans, a long-suffering bunch who will welcome their new quarterback with open arms. Even the first 2008 base cards picturing Favre in a Jets uniform could be hot commodities in the short term.
Down the road, it will depend on how Favre and his new team perform. Winning the AFC East will be a difficult task thanks to the presence of the New England Patriots, but the Jets look like they have enough talent to make the playoffs. And as fans in the New York area know all too well thanks to last season's run by the Giants, once you get there, anything can happen. If there's another level of popularity possible for Favre, winning a Super Bowl in New York would get him there.
Keep an eye on the cards of Aaron Rodgers and rookie Brian Brohm too. With Favre gone, Rodgers gets the chance to prove he was worth the high draft pick and money the Packers have invested in him. If it turns out that he's not the answer, expect collectors to jump on Brohm while he's waiting in the wings.
Beckett Gets a Facelift
They've been counting down to this day for a while, and now the staff at Beckett Media has unveiled the beta version of the new Beckett.com. I had a chance to play around with it earlier today and found things I both liked and disliked about the new site.
First the pros. The look is clean and simple, and the main page is fully customizable - as long as you don't mind signing up with an email address for a free account. The more interactive parts of the site, like Beckett's forums, have been given an increased presence and should be more popular than ever. Tools for organizing your collection also received improvements, and I know I'm not alone in occasionally needing some help in that area.
As for the cons, I didn't find the new navigation to be very intuitive save for the large search bar at the top of the page. It also seems like the hobby news section (which is the part of Beckett.com I use most often) has been somewhat downplayed.
Regardless of how you feel about Beckett's sometimes precarious balance of business and journalism, it's worth spending a few minutes investigating the new site. More than ever it is what you make of it, and collectors of all experience levels should find at least a few things that are useful or helpful.
Chicago on My Mind
Because of The National, that is. I definitely wish I could have made it to the Windy City to take in all the sights and sounds of the most prominent sports cards and collectibles show in the U.S., but it just wasn't in the cards this year - no pun intended.
How am I handling not attending the big show? I'm checking in on the updates from the folks at Beckett.com. But mostly, I'm coping by cracking open some new football cards.
I've already had a chance to bust a box of 2008 Topps Football. Later this weekend, I'll also have an early review of 2008 Donruss Threads Football, which was one of my favorite Donruss Playoff products of 2007. It might not quite replace being in Chicago, but it's the next best thing.
Image courtesy of and copyright Upper Deck.
Griffey Leads Names on Move at MLB Trade Deadline
Pudge Rodriguez's trade to the New York Yankees may have the most impact on the 2008 playoff race. The Dodgers' acquisition of mercurial slugger Manny Ramirez may get the most headlines. But for baseball card collectors, the deal that took place at yesterday's MLB trade deadline that probably made them sit up and take the most notice was the one that sent Ken Griffey Jr. from the Reds to the White Sox in exchange for two players and cash.
That's taking nothing away from Rodriguez or Ramirez, who are both great players, and Pudge may get a small increase in his card values now that he's in the Big Apple. Griffey though, has been a hobby legend since he first appeared in Upper Deck's debut baseball set, and interest in his cardboard has remained high even through his injury-plagued time in Cincinnati.
Never was that more true than this season, when he reached the 600-home run mark for his career, and it's no coincidence that he's been a fixture on the top 10 hottest sellers list on Beckett.com for most of 2008. Since he's already a lock for the Hall of Fame, the last thing missing is a shot at a World Series ring, and joining the White Sox may give him a legitimate chance before he hangs up his spikes.
It's with that in mind that I highlight Junior's rookie card checklist at the link below, a list that just happens to include one of the most famous baseball cards of all time.
Card Companies Ready National Exclusives
The biggest show for sports cards and collectibles in the United States is less than a week away. The 29th edition of the National Sports Collectors Convention (better known simply as The National) starts Wednesday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago.
Along with a truly diverse selection of cards and memorabilia and a star-studded lineup of autograph guests, The National is always a great place to pick up cards you can't get anywhere else - at least without buying them on the secondary market. Card companies always have some exclusive goodies in store at their company booths, usually as part of redemption programs. Collectors who open a certain number of packs or boxes of that company's product receive cards made just for the show.
Increasingly, the manufacturers are making low-numbered memorabilia cards and autographs part of the mix. Case in point, the Derek Jeter/LeBron James/Wayne Gretzky triple autograph pictured here.
If you're thinking about heading to the show, you can find more details on these exclusives and a lot more information on my 2008 National profile page.
Image courtesy of and copyright Upper Deck.
Topps Adds Autographed Logo Cards to Finest Football
Finest Football is usually a pretty straightforward product: base cards and rookie cards on Topps' Chrome stock, generous helpings of Refractor parallels and autographs. It's a simple but effective formula that's served it pretty well.
That doesn't mean it can't use any tweaking though, especially since competition makes all the card manufacturers continue to try to innovate and improve with each successive season. In the case of 2008 Finest, Topps is punching up the content with autographed NFL logo cards of some of this season's top rookies.
As you can see from the Darren McFadden card pictured here, these cards will pair an autograph with the entire NFL shield from the player's jersey, and they are limited to just 15 copies. They aren't the first cards of their kind - Upper Deck, especially, has been using game-worn shields in 1-of-1 cards for a while - but they definitely look cool and it's hard to see them not becoming a popular addition to Finest.
This season's edition of Finest Football is currently scheduled to go on sale on September 18, but you can keep an eye on its actual release date with About.com's Sports Cards New Release Calendar.
Image courtesy of and copyright Topps.