Doug Kale published this piece in the January 1997 issue of Sports Card Trader, highlighting three significant sports collectibles events: The 1996 East Coast National, the Superior Sportscards Auction, where Marshall Fogel bought his 1952 Topps PSA 10 Mantle for $121k, and the September 21st sale of the Greztky/McNall T206 Wagner for $640,500.
There’s been talk around the hobby that the 1952 Topps PSA 10 Mantle cards could be worth $50M now; before Fogel displayed the card during the 2021 All-Star Game, he said he had rejected a $25M offer for it.
Here are a few photos from the Colorado Rockies Facebook page from that event.
Mario Alejandro introduced me to this card in his tweet from March 2024, and then I ran across the following picture of it in Issue 15 (Summer 1993) of Topps Magazine.
First, here’s a screen capture of what Mario wrote about the card
And here are the images he attached to the tweet.
Unfortunately, in their Topps Magazine blurb, Topps doesn’t add much more to the story. Mario alluded to the back of the card, which invited folks to show up at the Nikon House on Tuesday, April 13th, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. after RSVPing to Rebecca Kirisits. But that means the card had to have been distributed before then.
Perhaps it was handed out by Topps’s “paparazzi,” whose photos were displayed at Nikon House.
By the way, PSA has a single example, a gem mint 10, in its Pop Report.
Let me know if you have any more info about this card.
Bob Cousy helped revolutionize the point guard position while playing for the Boston Celtics between 1950 & 1963, contributing to six NBA Championships. During this time, Cousy was a 13-time NBA All-Star and received the MVP award in 1957. Beloved as a player, his retirement ceremony became known as the “Boston Tear Party.” His legacy is extraordinary, encompassing the organization of the National Basketball Players Association, the popularization of modern guard play, the elevation of the NBA’s profile, the reception of a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the naming of numerous basketball awards in his honor. Additionally, Cousy was well-known for his public stance against racism. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have many basketball card options, with only ten items needed to complete his PSA Master Set Registry. While many collectors target his 1957 Topps or 1951 Berk Ross cards for their collections, my favorite is the 1963 HP Hood Dairy oddball.
Bob Cousy retired in 1963 and went to work doing promotions and clinics for the H.P. Hood Dairy Company. These 2 3/8″ x 3 7/8″ cards were distributed during this time period. Bob Cousy confirmed to a collector friend of mine that he used these cards during the period from 1963-1966. One of the Massachusetts-based company’s slogans during this period was “Schoolboy or Celtic, they both get energy to burn from Hood Milk!” The cards come in two variations. The most common variation has a blue ink facsimile signature and says “yours for better fitness, Bob Cousy”. At the bottom of the card it has the Hood logo and below that, it has the “Boston Traveler” logo. The Boston Traveler was a newspaper that is now defunct. The other variation is in black ink and only has the Hood Dairy emblem. Currently, the reason for the difference in cards is unknown. The Boston Traveler newspaper did go out of business in 1967, so maybe Hood had plans to use these cards longer?? We may never know. The black ink Hood card appears to be the rarer of the two. Twenty years ago, it was believed that these cards were exceedingly rare. However, as time has gone on, we have seen a few small finds of these, which have brought the price down slightly. I’ve also included an image of an 11 x 17 advertisement for John Alden fine foods that uses the Cousy graphic from this card.
1963 HP Hood Dairy Bob Cousy Card Variations From VintageBasketball.com
Bob Cousy John Alden Contest Featuring The Same Cousy Image
I’m unsure when that overview was written, but regarding the black ink variation, Heritage Auctions sold a lot of nine of them in June 2022 for $1320.
1963 HP Hood Dairy Bob Cousy Cards – Fronts
1963 HP Hood Dairy Bob Cousy Cards – Backs
PSA doesn’t appear to differentiate between variations in its Pop Report, which contains 22 cards and six autographed copies; SGC has graded six.
Despite the cards’ relative scarcity, they’re not that expensive. In 2021, Probstein sold a trio of them on eBay: a PSA 5 sold for $202 in March, a PSA 6 went for $472 in April, and a PSA 4 for $143 in July. He also sold a PSA 2 for $406 in June 2014.
1963 HP Hood Dairy Bob Cousy Cards
That said, a PSA 7 (the highest graded) sold for $2,247 on eBay in November 2024.
1963 HP Hood Dairy Bob Cousy PSA 7
Lelands sold the original photograph used for the card in November 2023 for $3,540.
Bob Cousy Original Photograph – Front
Bob Cousy Original Photograph – Reverse
Interestingly, I found an advertisement for Hood Milk for sale on eBay a while ago. It was described as coming from the Saturday Evening Post and is dated March 10, 1962, in the upper-left corner. The image looks like it could have been taken on the same day as the PSA Type 1 photo that Lelands sold, and the timeline fits the description of the Cousy card being used from 1963 to 1966.
Hood Milk Ad
The same image used on the 1963 HP Hood Diary Cousy card was also used for the souvenir program for “Bob Cousy Day” at Boston Garden on March 17, 1963, aka The Boston Tear Party. In April 2021, SCP Auctions sold the following team-signed copy for $3,769.
Bob Cousy Day Souvenir Program
The scarcity of basketball card options for iconic figures is an unfortunate reality of the hobby. However, Bob Cousy played a big part in the growth of basketball in America, which led to the abundance of basketball card options that emerged in the late ’80s.
Welcome to part four of my series about Upper Deck commemorative sheets. As with the baseball, hockey, and basketball ones, Upper Deck used the football sheets to celebrate specific events and sets as promotions for the brand. However, like the basketball ones, there isn’t a lot of documentation about the football ones out there either, so I’ll be categorizing them the same way, by the year printed on gold seal (or gold football) or for later years, the date printed between the words “Limited Edition” and the serial number.
1991 Upper Deck Football Sheet
The first Upper Deck football limited edition collector series sheet I ran across in my research was this one saluting the New York Giants defeating the Buffalo Bills 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV.
1991 Upper Deck Football Sheet – Redskins vs. Giants
The pictured cards are all New York Giants from the 1991 Upper Deck football set. However, the date on the sheet is October 27, 1991. That was a week nine game played between the Redskins and Giants that the Redskins won 17-13. So I presume this sheet was given away at that game, given the title of the sheet, “Redskins vs. Giants,” and the date. Upper Deck was honoring the Giants’ performance from the Super Bowl the year before; Super Bowl XXV was played on January 27, 1991.
1992 Upper Deck Football Sheets
Most of the Upper Deck football sheets I discovered were from 1992, and we can sort them into two categories: those released in partnership with Sports Collector’s Digest and the NFL playoff sheets.
TCDB explains that “Upper Deck produced eight different football sheets for insertion into the September 18, 1992 issue of Sports Collector’s Digest. 8,000 of each sheet were produced, and one was inserted into each SCD issue. Each measure 11’’ by 8 1/2’’.” Unlike most of Upper Deck’s other limited edition sheets, the backs of these aren’t blank; text was repeated across the back. Here are all eight variations.
1992 Upper Deck Football SCD Sheet – Version 1
1992 Upper Deck Football SCD Sheet – Version 2
1992 Upper Deck Football SCD Sheet – Version 3
1992 Upper Deck Football SCD Sheet – Version 4
1992 Upper Deck Football SCD Sheet – Version 5
1992 Upper Deck Football SCD Sheet – Version 6
1992 Upper Deck Football SCD Sheet – Version 7
1992 Upper Deck Football SCD Sheet – Version 8
Upper Deck gave away the AFC and NFC championship sheets at the Super Bowl Card Show III and the NFL Experience in Minneapolis. While the Super Bowl XXVI sheet was given away at various locations in the Minneapolis area during the week of the Super Bowl, it’s just weird to imply the Bills at Super Bowl XXVI champs since the Redskins ended up defeating them 37-24 on January 26, 1992.
1992 Upper Deck Football Super Bowl XXVI Sheet – Redskins
1992 Upper Deck Football Super Bowl XXVI Sheet – Bills
You can see that the NFC playoff sheet salutes the Redskins for defeating the Lions 41-10 on January 12, 1992, and the AFC sheet sales the Bills for shutting down the Broncos in a 10-7 game to earn a trip to the Super Bowl.
1992 Upper Deck Football NFC Champion Sheet – Lions vs. Redskins
1992 Upper Deck Football AFC Champion Sheet – Broncos vs. Bills
All four playoff sheets have 1992 dates on the gold football seal and feature 1991 Upper Deck football cards. Here’s the Comic Bowl sheet.
1992 Upper Deck Comic Bowl Sheet
1994 and 1995 Upper Deck Football Sheets
The 2006 Standard Catalog of Football Cards says four sheets were issued at the Super Bowl Card Show VI in 1995, and it included the Rookie Class 1994 sheet, the Jan. 26-29, 1995 sheet, a sheet saluting the St. Louis Rams, and another saluting Dan Marino. However, the sheets I found don’t seem to align perfectly with that checklist, and the “Limited Edition” dates are slightly different.
This first sheet appears to be associated with Upper Deck’s Collector’s Choice brand and features Marshall Faulk. I’ll note that a 1994/95 Collector’s Choice Crash Super Bowl XXIX set was available at the NFL Experience card show in Miami, so it’s possible this sheet was available there.
1994 Upper Deck Collector’s Choice Football Rookie Class of 1994 Sheet
This next sheet, the Rookie Class of 1994, also has a 1994 date and advertises the Upper Deck football set due to launch in August 1994. That seems like a weird item to be shared at the Super Bowl Card Show in 1995.
1994 Upper Deck Football Rookie Class of 1994 Sheet
I also ran across a pair of Joe Montana sheets with 1994 dates on them; one celebrating his three Super Bowl championships, and the other a few of his biggest comebacks.
1994 Upper Deck Football Joe Montana Super Bowl Sheet
1994 Upper Deck Football Montana’s Magic Sheet
The next sheet was definitely for the Super Bowl since it has Super Bowl Card Show VI printed along one side and Super Bowl XXIX on the other.
1995 Upper Deck Football Super Bowl Card Show VI Autograph Sheet
If The Standard Catalog was correct, here’s the Rams sheet they described, with a 1995 seal and copyright.
1995 Upper Deck Football Salutes the Saint Louis Rams Sheet
And here’s the 1995 sheet celebrating Dan Marino’s records.
1995 Upper Deck Football Salutes Dan Marino Sheet
And finally, a 1995 sheet celebrating Joe Montana.
1995 Upper Deck Football Salutes Joe Montana Sheet
FYI, The 49ers, behind QB Steve Young, defeated the Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX on January 29, 1995. Also, during this time, Upper Deck had a lot of inserts and unique sets devoted to both Marino and Montana.
Conclusion and Further Reading
I imagine there are more football sheets out there, so if you run across any, please leave a comment or email me. Anyway, that wraps up my four-part series about Upper Deck commemorative sheets. If you haven’t checked them out, here are the previous three articles about the Upper Deck Baseball, Hockey, and Basketball sheets; I hope you enjoyed the nostalgia!
Sports Card Magazine’s monthly auction report highlighted an incredible item in its April 1998 issue: the sale of a completely signed 80-card 1959 Fleer Ted Williams Set!
Based on the magazine’s date, the Sportsworld “All Boston” Auction must have been in December 1997 (I can’t find any other references to the auction). And, as you can read, the set of signed Williams’ Fleer baseball cards sold for $11,694.
While they highlighted card no. 69 in the text; I think they meant 68 because that’s the actual number for the “Ted Signs for 1959” card they featured in the image.
REA has recently sold a pair of these signed cards for some modern market context. This first example is a PSA 5, which sold for $1,920 in the spring of 2024.
The second example was this PSA 2, with a much nicer signature, that sold for $1,560 in October 2024.
Card 68 is definitely the key card in the set; other signed 1959 Fleer Ted Williams cards sell for a lot less; for example, this “Ted Reaches 400th Homer” sold for $276.50 on eBay back in November 2024.
Welcome to part 3 of my series about Upper Deck commemorative sheets. This one, dedicated to basketball, has been the toughest to organize, research, and write about since they seem to be the least discussed across the hobby of the four major sports. In fact, TCDB only has 1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball (with 12 sheets on the checklist) and 1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball (with 13 sheets on the checklist) sheets on it. However, as you will see, there are other years. They’re also tough to organize because the dating on them is inconsistent. You see, The Upper Deck Baseball sheets all have a single year printed on the seal, and the hockey sheets all corresponded to specific games or events that aligned with the NHL season, so they were easy to categorize. However, with Basketball, Upper Deck has sheets that have single years (i.e., 1991 or 1992) and others that align with the NBA season that crosses calendar years (i.e.’ 91-92 or 1992-93), so I will categorize them by the year printed on the gold seal or for later years, the date printed between the words “Limited Edition” and the serial number.
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
These sheets have a gold seal with a single year, “1991”, on them.
These first two are very similar, one for the June 26, 1991, NBA Draft and another Draft-related one given away at the 12th National Sports Collectors Convention; neither have actual Upper Deck released cards depicted on them.
The following sheet has a similar design to the previous ones but has 1991/92 Upper Deck cards pictured. The sheet was likely a giveaway at the Hawks vs. Pistons game held on November 27, 1991 (the Pistons won 100-91). Also, the Upper Deck logo in the bottom right corner now says 91/92.
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Hawks vs. Pistons
The following example celebrates the Lakers playing in the McDonald’s Open in Paris, France, on October 18/19, 1991. However, no cards are pictured, and the logo has no date.
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – McDonald’s Open
The Open took place at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France. It featured four teams: Slobodna Dalmacija, who were the 1990-91 FIBA European Champions Cup winners; Motnigala Joventut, who were the champions of the 1990-91 Liga ACB; Limoges CSP, who were the runners-up of the 1990-91 Nationale 1A, and the Los Angles Lakers who were the runners-up of the 1990-91 NBA League. The Lakers won the Open, which was a pre-season tournament for them.
Then there are a few ‘Stay In School’ examples with a Limited Edition 1991 Seal. The first, with Bob Lanier and Otis Smith, has a 1991 Upper Deck logo, while the examples with Pistons and Nets logos in place of Otis Smith have a 91/92 Upper Deck logo towards the bottom. The Hawks vs. Pistons sheet pictured previously also has a ‘Stay in School’ logo.
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Stay In School
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Stay In School Pistons
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Stay In School Nets
1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
These sheets all have a gold seal with “’91-92” on them.
Upper Deck appears to have given this sheet away during All-Star Weekend in Orlando, held February 7-9, 1992, in conjunction with the Slam-Dunk Championship.
Another sheet that looks a lot like the slam dunk one and is labeled a sample appears to have been intended for the Timberwolves vs. Knicks game on February 29, 1992.
1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Timberwolves vs. Knicks
The Lakers played a home game on February 26, 1992, against the Knicks, the same date as this sheet from Upper Deck commemorating the’ 71-72 World Champion Lakers team.
1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Lakers February 26, 1992
The following sheet is also a sample copy, but it looks like it was supposed to have been given away at the Clippers vs. Pistons game that was played on March 31, 1992. Whether they were or not, I have no idea.
1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Clippers vs. Pistons
This sheet commemorating John Wooden, Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, and Bob Knight is dated April 4-6, 1992. It looks like it was a promotion at the NCAA Final Four.
1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NCAA Final Four
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
These sheets all have a gold seal with “1992” on them.
Upper Deck continued promoting their sets at the 1992 NBA Draft held on June 24, 1992. This first sheet commemorates the draft and shows the top draft choices in 1991. Notice the 1992 date on the seal in the bottom left and the 1992 on the Upper Deck Logo on the bottom right of the sheet.
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – June 24, 1992 NBA Draft
Upper Deck also appears to have made specific sheets for each time; here are the Clippers and Bullets examples.
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – June 24, 1992 NBA Draft Clippers
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – June 24, 1992 NBA Draft Bullets
Upper Deck used a similar design as a giveaway at the Charles Smith Battle of the Basketball Stars in June 1992 (I think on June 21).
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Battle of the Basketball Stars
The Golden State Warriors sponsored Hoop It Up event, held earlier in June, had its own Upper Deck sheet, too.
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Hoop It Up
Next, and this is one of the more popular Upper Deck Basketball sets, is The 1992 USA Basketball Team example.
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – 1992 USA Basketball
Finally, this Utah Jazz example has a lot in common with some of the 1991/92 examples since it has the ‘Stay in School’ logo, too. However, the Upper Deck Logo is for 92/93.
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Utah Jazz Stay In School
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
These sheets all have a gold seal with “1992-93” or “1992/93” on them.
First, I found three examples featuring 1992/93 Upper Deck basketball cards in this category (those with 1992-93 dates on the seal). The first is saluting the Atlanta Hawks; the second was likely a giveaway at the Bull’s April 20, 1993, home game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Both of these sheets have a 92/93 Upper Deck Logo on the bottom left corner. The third sheet, however, doesn’t have a serial number and has a 1993 Upper Deck Logo; it’s for “The Ultimate Hoop It Up 3-On-3 Match Up, East VS West.”
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Atlanta Hawks
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Chicago Bulls
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Hoop it Up
Next are a pair of sheets with 1993 Upper Deck logos; the first appears to have been a giveaway at a Cavaliers home game against the Cavs on January 12, 1993. and the second salutes Larry Bird at his retirement ceremony on February 4, 1993, at the Boston Garden.
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Cavs vs. Celtics
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Larry Bird Retirement Ceremony
This final 1992-93 sheet salutes All-Star Heroes in conjunction with the Upper Deck Trading Card and Memorabilia Show held during Utah All-Star Weekend in February 1993.
These sheets all have a gold seal with “1993” on them.
There are a couple of categories of 1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets. The first, again, were developed in conjunction with the NBA Draft (June 30, 1993) and appear to have been made for each team. The Upper Deck logo has 1993 on it. Here are examples for the Blazers and Sonics.
1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Draft Blazers
1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Draft Sonics
There’s also a more general Upper Deck NBA Draft sheet that depicts the Top Draft Choices from 1992 on it.
1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – June 30, 1993 NBA Draft Top 1992 Choices
Next, Upper Deck made sheets for the NBA Jam Session events held in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, in August and September 1993.
1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Jam Session
This next sheet has me a little confused; American Airlines sponsored the 1992-93 three-point contest before AT&T took over in 1993-94. But the cards shown are 1992/93s – perhaps this sheet was made to announce the partnership.
1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Long Distance Shootout
The following Upper Deck basketball sheet is dated March 2, 1993, to celebrate the Bucks’s 25th anniversary. The Bucks had a home game against the Mavericks that evening. It’s odd that the sheet doesn’t have a 1992/93 date like the Cavs vs. Celtics sheet pictured in the previous section.
I only ran across a single sheet with “1993-94” on the seal, but I’d bet there are others. This one features Bulls players for a game held on November 13, 1993. The Bulls played the Celtics that night. Notice the 93/94 Upper Deck logo on the lower right corner.
1993-94 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Chicago Bulls
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
Upper Deck replaced the gold seal with a sort of emblem this year, but all the sheets display “1994” between the words’ Limited Edition’ and the serial number.
Upper Deck, again, made commemorative sheets in conjunction with the NBA Draft held in Indianapolis on June 29, 1994. Here’s the Seattle Supersonics example.
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Draft Sonics
There are a bunch of other ‘Limited Edition’ 1994 Upper Deck basketball sheets, including the following for the Long Distance Shootout, the All-NBA Team, 1994 All-Rookie Team, the Knicks, All-Star Weekend, the Michael Jordan Tribute Night held on November 1, 1994, and the 1993-94 Upper Deck Special Edition set.
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Long Distance Shootout
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – All-NBA Team
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – All-Rookie Team
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Michael Jordan Tribute Night
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Upper Deck Special Edition
1995 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
The 1995 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets have similar emblems to 1994’s, but the date is now “1995”.
I found three sheets with 1995 dates on them. Again, the first two were for the NBA Draft held in Toronto on June 28, 1995. One is generic for the event; the other has Kings-specific information on it.
1995 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Draft June 28, 1995 Toronto
1995 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Draft Kings
Upper Deck also released a sheet for their Predictor Series Cards.
Now, despite sharing 43 Upper Deck Basketball Commemorative Sheets in this article, it’s not even remotely close to an exhaustive checklist. What’s really cool about these basketball sheets compared to the baseball and hockey ones is the variety. Upper Deck appears to have released them at NBA games, off-season events, in conjunction with the draft, at the All-Star Game, and as generic advertisements for upcoming sets.
Keep an eye on the blog because I’ll be wrapping up this series with Upper Deck’s football commemorative sheets!
