I ran across this advertisement for “beautiful 4 color cardboard storage boxes” in the October 1977 issue of The Trader Speaks but haven’t been able to find any more information about them! If you have any, please reach out.
The Industry
What is a Topps X-Out Unopened Box?
Vintage unopened sports card material has been a popular segment of the hobby for a while now. One of the more prominent companies and industry leaders in the segment is the Baseball Card Exchange (BBCE), owned and operated by Steve Hart. Steve even authenticates unopened packs for PSA. In June 2020, they posted on their Facebook page about the “X-Out.”
Since not every collector has a Facebook account, I wanted to summarize their post and add more information so that everyone can learn a little more about unopened cards.
In the past, retailers pre-ordered boxes of cards, and if they didn’t sell all of them, Topps allowed them to return unsold boxes for credit.
For instance, let’s say that Topps originally distributed a Baseball Wax Box to a dealer for $20. Then, at the end of the season, Topps would allow the dealers to return that box for a $17 credit. Topps would in turn “re-sell” (blowout) those boxes to dealers for $10. (These numbers are fictitious and just used as examples). Well, they had to have a way to keep the “unsavory” dealers (there might be one or two lurking within the industry!) from buying those boxes for $10 and “re-returning” them for $17. Hence, the “X-Out” was born. When a box was returned, it was given the “X-Out”. From 1981 to 1988 Topps used various markings to identify “X-Outs” on wax, rack and cello boxes in all major sports and non-sports issues.
BBCE
It seems as though they used everything from a crayon or marker to a 4” paintbrush to put an ‘X’ or a line across the top of the box. This ‘X-Out’ signified that the box had already been returned once, and it could not be returned again.
BBCE
Often, they just drew a line across the box as well.
The ‘X-Out’ marking on some years were worse than others. I think that 1984 was the worst as they seemed to very, very generously deface the lids of their boxes that year. Another problem with the ‘X-Out’ is that they usually put the boxes back into the cases without letting the marking dry completely. So, when the boxes are removed from the cases today it results in many of the lids being torn off.
BBCE
The following picture of a 1984 Topps Football Box shows a piece of another box stuck to the top.
Topps also marked the outside of those cases with “Final Sale” stamp.
You can see “FINAL SALE NOT TO BE RETURNED” stamped on this 1983 Topps Baseball Unopened Rack Pack Case.
A few former card shop owners have shared that they received some cases marked “final sale” in which none of the boxes were “X-Outs.” It’s possible that Topps had certain products that could only be returned for a limited amount of time and, therefore, didn’t require marking. Or maybe other products could only be returned by the case. One dealer noted that rack pack boxes that they received were never marked.
Additionally, there are cases from before 1981 that are marked “Final Sale,” indicating that exchange programs started earlier. For example, the 1979 Topps case below shows “Final Sale,” but we haven’t seen any boxes from this era with an “X-Out” on it. I’m assuming Topps noticed some shady behavior and started marking the boxes in 1981.
Non-sports cards followed the same pattern, as you can see on the Garbage Pail Kid box which has a black line across it, and the 1978 Topps Jaws 2 Case marked “Final Sale.”
If you have any other information or comments about “X-Out” boxes or “Final Sale” cases – be sure to share them in the comments section below.
Check out The Unopened Archive for more!
A Bobby Bonilla Advertisement For Ultra PRO Platinum Hologram Pages
Bobby Bonilla was a spokesman for Ultra PRO in early 1992. Do you think they’re still paying him today, like the Mets?
If you weren’t tracking:
After being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers part way through the 1998 season, he signed with the New York Mets for a second time in 1999. When the Mets wanted to release him at the end of the year, he negotiated a settlement whereby the Mets would pay him $1.19 million on July 1 every year from 2011 through 2035, a date that has become known in Mets fandom as “Bobby Bonilla Day”. He is also paid $500,000 by the Orioles every year from 2004 to 2028 due to them also having a deferred contract with him.
Wikipedia
PS, I scanned the Ultra PRO advertisement from the April 1992 issue of Trading Cards Magazine.
1949 Topps Pixie Bubble Gum X-Ray Round-Up Advertising Poster
Today, we present a 1949 Pixie Bubble Gum X-Ray Round-Up Advertising Poster from Topps’ early days.
I scanned this image from Mastro’s June 2006 Classic Collector Auction. Since it was an internet-only auction event, none of the items in the catalog included a description. I presume there were descriptions online, but their site has long been deleted.
The Modern Hobby Guide To Topps Chewing Gum: 1938 to 1956 includes a few words about the gum and card set within a discussion about 1949 being the year of many cards:
With the tempered success of Magic Photo giving way to the realization that the lifespan of a top selling set was about six months, Topps came out with a new gum tab called Pixie in the summer of 1949. The cards sold with this gum were called X -Ray Round -Up, as Topps continued to identify the gum and cards separately. Featuring well drawn, vivid color renderings of a series of subjects such as Pirates and Wild West stars on one side, a piece of “X-Ray film” was needed to see the line drawing on the other. Made of red cellophane, the film cancelled out red lines on the back of the card thereby revealing the X-Ray. A piece of X-Ray film was included along with each card. The set was actually marketed featuring the X-Ray pictures as the primary component as Topps slowly learned the business of “inserts”.
Interestingly, some of the illustrations of Indians in the set were closely based on old tobacco cards that had been issued in the 19th Century. The portraits on these cards, which were a quantum leap forward from the simplistic drawings that comprised Tatoo, were probably illustrated by the art agency of Solomon & Gelman.
The guide also offers a multi-page set synopsis; it’s free to download here.
Hake’s Auctions sold one of these poster signs for $275 in 2009, describing it as 20.5 ” x 26″.
A 1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee Ad
If you read modern hobby guides about the 1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee set, most will say that the cards were available from the artist for $3.50. Well, here’s an ad from the March 1977 issue of The Trader Speaks proving it!
Note that not only were sets advertised for $3.50, but you could get “2 sets for $6.”
Laughlin described the set as 32 cards based on baseball’s most memorable moments, like Hank Aaron’s 715th home run.
Bowman’s 5-Star Series Picture Card Collectors Club
I quickly snapped this photo while scurrying about the 2024 National Sports Collectors Convention because it looked familiar.
Once I got home from the show, I remembered the logo was also on the back of 1950 Bowman baseball and football cards.
Details are super scarce, so please contact me if you have more info, but in the early 50s, I remember collectors mentioning that Bowman tried having a collectors club akin to Topps’ Trading Card Guild (Picture Card Collectors Club). The Topps Archives mentions it in a piece titled Re-Rack. Given the boxes below, it could have been how Bowman re-packed unsold cards.
I found that Lelands has sold a pair of these boxes. This first one was titled 1953-54 Bowman Television & Radio Stars/Power For Peace Partial Cello Box (27/36).
It sold for just under $2k in February 2019.
This second example is a 1953 Bowman Power For Peace/NBC Radio & Television Stars Cello Box with 14 Packs. It sold for $879 in March 2022.
The BBCE website has an out-of-stock 1953 Bowman TV & Radio Stars Cello Box that they had offered for $8k.
I also had the following early Bowman cello box in my photo archives; REA sold it in 2021 for $3,960. They resold the same box in August 2024 for $6,900.
Again, please let me know if you have more information about Bowman’s 5-Star Series Picture Card Collectors Club.
Check out The Unopened Archive for more!
From Sketches to Collections: The 1969 Topps Basketball Rulers
I’ve noticed a surge in interest around the 1969 Topps basketball rulers lately. There are more collectors, increased sales, and a growing enthusiasm for the first basketball card inserts. In this article, I’ll provide a quick overview of the 1969 Topps basketball rulers, highlight a few notable sales, delve into the story behind the original line art for the set auctioned at the famous Guernsey’s Topps Auction, and what it reveals about the set’s composition, particularly the intriguing missing ruler #5. I’ll wrap up by showcasing some incredible photos from the collection where many of those original pen and ink drawings ended up.
1969 Topps Basketball Rulers 101
These 2-1/2″ x 9-7/8′ Topps basketball brightly colored cartoon drawings were printed on a paper-like perishable product, folded, and inserted in 1969 Topps basketball packs (one each). However, that year, Topps advertised them as Super-Star Pin-Ups on the wrapper and box.
But the insert makes it clear why the hobby renamed them ‘rulers.’
Every blank-backed color ruler displays a caricature of the subject to the right of a standard ruler, accompanied by an arrow indicating their height, extending from the player’s depicted height to the ruler. The player’s name and team are in an oval near the top or bottom of the card.
The insert number (of 24) and copyright information are printed in small black text along the bottom right-hand side.
Despite the numbering of 24, the set only has 23 cards. #5 was never released, but we will talk about that later when we cover the original line art. One of the reasons the set is so popular, beyond the bright colors and unique design, is that it’s got huge star power. Twenty of the 23 players are Basketball Hall of Famers. Plus, the cards are relatively scarce; Topps never printed basketball cards as massively as they did baseball – PSA has only grade 3658 1969 Topps Rulers with the most for Lew Alcindor with 360.
Given the folds and paper stock used, ultra-high-grade copies are scarce; there are only 49 PSA 10s and 179 PSA 9s, leading to some really high sales prices.
Before the hobby boom and the set’s resurgence, Robert Edward Auctions sold a complete set in March 2019, advertised as #2 on the PSA Set Registry (8.91 GPA) for $7200. It included nine Gem Mint 10 examples, ten Mint 9s, and four Nm-Mt 8s.
More recently, in September 2023, Memory Lane Inc. sold the #11 set on the registry (6.04 GPA) for $8065. It had just three PSA 8s to go with seven 6s, ten 5s, one 4, and two 3s.
These individual sales exhibit the set’s recent growth in popularity and price:
- A PSA 9 Billy Cunningham sold for $2500 in September 2023.
- A PSA 9 Gus Johnson sold for $2000 in September 2023.
- A PSA 5 Jerry West sold for $1525 in April 2023.
- A PSA 8 John Havlicek sold for $528 in March 2023.
- A PSA 8 Lew Alcindor sold for $4150 in February 2023.
- A PSA 10 Lew Alcindor sold for $9600 in January 2022.
- A PSA 10 Gail Goodrich sold for $1560 in January 2022.
Even raw lower-grade lots of cards, without the super-stars, sell for $20-$50/card.
1969 Topps Basketball Rulers Original Line Art
I mentioned earlier that despite the cards being marked ‘of 24,’ only 23 different rulers are on the market. The hobby learned why in 1989 when Guernsey’s auctioned off a lot of the original line art in their famous Topps Auction – they mislabeled them as pen and ink drawings used for the height scales on the backs of 1958 basketball cards.
The auction included 23 pen and ink drawings, but you might notice a few peculiarities. First, the original card artwork for #12 Nate Thurmond and #13 Hal Greer weren’t included. However, those surfaced in late 2020 when REA auctioned off the pair for $3360.
The other interesting thing is the inclusion of Celtic legend Bill Russell and 5x All-Star Rudy Larusso (spelled Carruso on the auction page). The Topps Archives believes because the NBA and Topps knew the 1969-70 Topps season would be Russell’s last, and the decision to make a 1969-70 basketball set was made at some point after Russell’s retirement but before Larusso’s on October 1st, Topps likely intended for Larusso to be the 5th card in the set. He added that it’s also possible Alcindor was swapped in for Russell, and Larusso’s retirement caught them off-guard. The “Carruso” sold for $100 in 1989, and the Russell went for $2250. The Topps Archives shared that Bill Schonsheck bought the Russell and many other pieces in 1989, which brings me to where much of this art is now.
1969 Topps Basketball Rulers Original Line Art Today
PSA wrote an article about the 1969 Topps Rulers in March 2011 and included a few quotes from Christopher Sanchirico, a business partner of Bill Schonsheck. They reported that Sanchirico owns the Larusso artwork and that, over the past 20 years, had acquired the artwork for 15 of the 25 players that Topps had drawings for. When you check out Sanchirico’s collection online, you can see many original pieces of artwork framed with released rulers! However, it looks like some items from his collection have been popping up for sale recently.
Wrap-Up
The 1969 Topps Basketball Rulers are an incredible vintage basketball insert set appreciated today for its star power, scarcity, and fantastic design. The cards also display incredibly well; I ran across this framed example and got major hobby envy!
