Player Cards and Yellow Headers: The 1971 Topps Baseball Rack Packs

There are so many nuances to collecting vintage unopened products that you need to be aware of if you don’t want to waste a ton of money on fakes, and another one that has been brought to my attention lately. Unfortunately, I don’t have any hands-on experience with this one, which has to do with … Read more

Collector Issues Part 1: Mike Aronstein and TCMA

While flipping through the April 1998 edition of Sports Card Magazine and Price Guide, I stumbled upon a fascinating article authored by T.S. O’Connell titled “Collector Issues” with a subheading that read ‘Once upon a time in the hobby, there weren’t enough cards for collectors to collect (no kidding)… so TCMA, Larry Fritsch, and Mike … Read more

A Hobby GOAT: The Iconic 1963 Fleer Baseball Checklist Card

If you’ve been following my writing, you’ll know that I’m a little obsessed with checklist cards. I even have a page dedicated to them called Checklist Central. After studying checklists over the past few years, a resounding realization has taken hold: standing at the pinnacle of the hobby niche is the “1st Series” 1963 Fleer … Read more

Vintage Hobby Threads: The 1983 Topps Baseball Card Tee Shirts

Those who follow me on Twitter or read my editor blog last April know that I collect hobby-related books, magazines, periodicals, etc., and that I’m building “the hobby library.” A couple of weeks ago, I bought a program from the Fourth Annual National Sports Collectors Convention held in Chicago from July 7-10 in 1983.  And … Read more

Cracking the Code: 1974 Topps Baseball Cello Packs

When it comes to 1970s Topps baseball cello packs, some of the scarcest and priciest are those from 1974. They’re also particularly popular with the vintage unopened community for being the last of the jumbo cello packs. However, quite a few fakes exist. One way to identify legitimate packs is through the pack’s product code, … Read more

Trifectas of Treasure: 10 Legendary Sports Cards Featuring 3 Players

Among the myriad of sports cards, there’s a unique subset that features not just one, not two, but three iconic players on a single card. These cards capture extraordinary convergences of talent, highlighting team success, legendary individual accomplishments, a bit of hobby history, and family success. In this post, I’ll share ten of the most … Read more

The Allure of 1978 Topps Dynamite Magazine Panels: A Must-Have for Collectors

Today, I’m wrapping up my five-part series of articles focused on 1978 Topps baseball and its associated sets and promotions. Here are the previous four articles, in case you missed them: In this one, I’ll discuss the six-card 1978 Topps uncut panels that came inside issue 47 of Scholastic Inc’s Dynamite Magazine. It’s a super … Read more

1978 Topps Team Checklists: The Essential Resource for Baseball Card Collectors

In addition to their base set and partnership with Burger King in 1978, Topps offered a full sheet of team checklists as a wrapper redemption. The cards share the same design as the team checklists distributed as part of the base set, with just a few card stock differences. Topps designed the cards for collectors … Read more

Exploring the Four 1978 Topps Burger King Sets: A Unique Collaboration

I kicked off my exploration of 1978 Topps Baseball and its accompanying sets last week with a comprehensive guide to the 1978 Topps base set. This article is going to explore Topps’ 1978 collaboration with Burger King. Topps kicked off their partnership with the national fast food chain in 1977 with a set of cards … Read more