For weeks, I was writing and publishing a newsletter over on SubStack. However, I feel there is more value in keeping content predominantly here on PostWarCards.Com. So I’m transitioning the newsletter to a new feature here on the site called This Week in Sports Cards. This is a recurring, ‘editor’s blog’ style post, with shorter pieces that don’t warrant a full blog post, influenced by things I’ve seen lately in the hobby, along with links to great blog posts from the sports card community, an overview of card news and events, and some great tweets, of course.
I feel like there was some solid content over in those newsletters, so some of the material will be transitioned to longer-form blog posts or re-written and updated here in This Week in Sports Cards.
Thanks, and please let me know if there is anything you’d like to see down in the comments or over on Twitter (the social network I’m most active on).
1975 TCMA All-Time New York Yankees
There has been a lot of news about risking card prices during the pandemic and a lot of discussion about how people (and most importantly, kids) are being priced out of the hobby. Despite that recent run-up in prices, there are still tons of low-cost options in the hobby. And this isn’t the first time the hobby has experienced run-ups.
Years ago, when I was collecting 1952 Topps baseball cards, I was about 75% of the way through the set, and prices started skyrocketing. I was getting out-bid, heavily, on every card I needed. So I started looking for cheaper alternatives within the vintage market, and I stumbled across the 1975 TCMA All-Time New York Yankees set.
According to my handy dandy 2010 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards:
The best players on the best team in baseball history are featured in this collectors’ edition. Cards measure 2-1/2’’ x 3-3/4’’ and feature black-and-white photos on front, with white borders. Player name and position are printed in a white strip toward the bottom of the picture. Backs have a list of the all-time team.
I haven’t been able to figure out why the Standard Catalog says the cards are black-and-white, most of mine have a blue hue, and I’ve seen some with a brown tone but very few that are black-and-white. Nevertheless, The 12 cards all feature hobby/Yankee legends, and I went all-in on the set. I have over 80% of all graded copies now and at least a hundred raw cards (plus a pair of uncut strips). And outside of grading fees, I spent maybe $150 on all of them. Today, a raw set is about $25.
Just this week, I picked up a signed Red Ruffing card for my TCMA collection:
The point is that there are hundreds of sets like this, across all the major sports, that give you the chance to enjoy the hobby without breaking the bank. Don’t let the news of million-dollar card sales deter you from the joy of collecting cardboard.
Hobby Reads
- The Topps Archives, my absolute favorite sports card blog, wrote about the Topps Art Department’s influence on card boxes.
- Night Owl Cards wrote a great article about the 1976 Hostess set, which he calls the most ‘human’ of card sets.
- SABR Baseball Cards highlighted a few notable female baseball card artists, past and present.
- Sports Collectors Daily published an excellent interview with Pete Rose.
- And I wrote about my sports card library.
Popular 1970s Oddball Baseball Sets
I’ve long collected the 1975 TCMA All-Time NY Yankees set, Night Owl Cards wrote about the 1976 Hostess set, and then I saw this incredible photo of a collector’s 1970 Kellog’s collection.
These are clear signs that the universe wants me to run down a few 1970s oddball baseball sets that you might want to consider collecting.
- 1970 Kellog’s
- 1971 Ticketron
- 1972 Bowery Savings Bank
- 1976 Hostess, Dairy Isle, Chilly Willee, Crane, Isaly’s
- 1977 Burger King, Pepsi-Cola Baseball Stars
- 1978 Papa Gino’s
In the News
- eBay will be releasing a new scanning tool to support speeding up the process for listing cards.
- Topps and Mickey Mantle’s estate reached a deal. Do you think a modern 1952 Topps Mantle replica could sell for more than an original?
- The Atheltic published an article about Mother’s Cookies baseball cards.
- MLB wrote a few words about a unique Topps Project70 artist.
- Joe Orlando, the president of Collectors Universe (PSA Cards parent company), wrote about the avalanche of cardboard they have been trying to stay on top of and grade.
Best Baseball Card Decade
I ran a poll on Twitter, about two weeks ago, asking folks what their favorite baseball card set decade was. And here are the results.
The 1950s was the clear winner due to the overwhelming artistry and hobby influence of 1950-53 Bowman cards and 1952-1956 Topps sets. The second most influential factor in how people voted was that they voted for the decade they grew up collecting as kids.
I’m a devoted early Bowman fan, so the 1950s would have had my vote for what it’s worth.
Hot Tweets
Contact me at john@postwarcards.com if you have any updates, news items, comments, corrections, suggestions, or questions. All are appreciated.