Post War Cards – Page 12 – Vintage Sports Cards – Baseball – Basketball – Football

1992 SkyBox NBA Trading Card T-Shirts – Rare Collectibles from the ’90s

December 27, 2024 by John

SkyBox turned their cards into collectible T-shirts in 1992. Originally featuring 22 players, these sold out quickly—Today, if you’re lucky enough to find one, be prepared to pay a premium for this wearable slice of ’90s card culture.

I learned about these through the April 1992 issue of Trading Cards Magazine. Rick Celum used to write a piece called “Hot off the Presses,” where he shared current events about notable collectibles. Here’s an example image from the article and the words he wrote about them. I’d love to find a shirt with that Dee Brown card!

Unfortunately, I don’t know what 22 stars were first made available or who the list expanded to if you’re looking for a childhood favorite. But, as I said in the intro, no matter the player, these T-shirts aren’t cheap today.

This Larry Bird was listed on eBay in November 2024 for $120.

The seller of this XL Jordan T-shirt wants $600 for it on Etsy (and it’s missing a tag on the bottom front). I did find another example there for just $183, though.

This Magic Johnson Skybox shirt had an auction minimum bid of $150 with a buy-it-now option of $400.

And finally, and more reasonably, this Clyde Drexler shirt sold for $50 in October 2024.

If anyone’s got a stash of these shirts, fresh in the box, congrats—you’re sitting on a cotton goldmine!

Vintage Hobby Threads: The 1983 Topps Baseball Card Tee Shirts

December 26, 2024 by John

Those who follow me on X/Twitter know that I collect hobby-related books, magazines, periodicals, etc., and that I’m building “The Hobby Library.” In mid-2023, I bought a program from the Fourth Annual National Sports Collectors Convention held in Chicago from July 7-10, 1983.

One of the advertisements inside the program from Fenway Sport Enterprises caught my attention, so I tweeted it out to ask if anyone had one of these Baseball Card Tee Shirts.

The Baseball Card Tee Shirt Advertisement

The ad shows a Dodgers and Yankees shirt but explains that team shirts were also available featuring the Brewers, Mets, Cardinals, Angles, Red Sox, Phillies, Orioles, Royals, and White Sox. They mentioned using 1983 Topps baseball cards, including update (traded) cards “such as the Billy Martin Yankee card, the Garvey Padres card, and Seaver Mets card.”

1983 Topps Traded Martin, Garvey, and Seaver Cards

In response to my Tweet, SABR Baseball Cards responded with photos of a “Yankees are Topps” shirt they found on Etsy. Notice the Hanes 50/50 tag, just like the ad mentions.

1983 Yankees are Topps T-Shirt – Image 1

1983 Yankees are Topps T-Shirt – Image 2

1983 Yankees are Topps T-Shirt – Image 3

However, the shirt isn’t the same as the young boy’s in the advertisement. The Guidry and Gossage cards are swapped on the bottom, and the Billy Martin card photo on the t-shirt is nothing like his actual 1983 Topps Traded card! So, SABR asked if there could be a Mets shirt somewhere with an ultra-rare Darryl Strawberry rookie card or Seaver that folks don’t have.

1983 Yankees are Topps T-Shirt – Billy Martin Card

I wonder if PSA would grade one of these “cards” cut out from the shirt.

Happy collecting!

Revisiting 1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders – An Auction Snapshot From 1991

December 25, 2024 by John

Back in September 1991, goober’s auction catalog dedicated a full page to 1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders, with estimated values that might surprise collectors today. Three decades later, I’m taking a look at what those values were back then—and how much they’ve changed in today’s market.

I’m presuming those card conditions are accurate; here’s an approximate comparison of each lot to the most recent sale on PSA’s Auction Prices Realized page (which isn’t as all-inclusive as it used to be but still a decent guide). And as for inflation, $1,000 in 1991 is approximately $2,314 today.

1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #7 Street/Johnson $2000-2250; $7,500 PSA 8 in May 2020
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #8 Birmingham/Turner $2000-2200; $990 PSA 8 in May 2020
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #23 Speaker/Wood $700-800; $3,585 PSA 8 in May 2016
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #29a Mathewson/Devlin (Giants) $2250-2500; $3,120 PSA 7 in May 2000
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #29b Devlin (Rustlers)Mathewson $800-900; $6,751 PSA 8 in November 2017
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #29d Mathewson/Meyers $1000-1250; $7,800 PSA 8 in May 2020
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #35 Engle/Speaker $650-700; $1,596 PSA 8 in November 2019
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #39 Cobb/Moriarty $3250-3500; $18,600 PSA 8 in May 2020
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #48g Jennings/McGraw $750-800; $2,880 PSA 8 in April 2020
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #48h Mathewson/Meyers $$800-850; $4,920 PSA 8 in May 2020
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #50b Young/Kling $1000-1250; $6,060 PSA 8 in August 2017
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders #75b Cobb/Moriarty $3250-3500; $23,330 PSA 8.5 in August 2018

Generally, the relative prices have held over the last 30 years; happy collecting!

Woody Gelman’s Personal Collection of Card Samples, Including A 1969 Color Deckle-Edge Prototype of Sandy Koufax

December 24, 2024 by John

Finding Woody Gelman’s personal collection of card samples would be a treasure for hobby enthusiasts today. However, this auction of over 160 sports and non-sports samples, including a 1969 color Deckle Edge prototype of Sandy Koufax, was from April 2000 and likely broken up.

The image in the catalog was really small, so the scan isn’t super clear, but the Koufax is a scaled copy of the 1964 Topps Giants Koufax card.

The Topps Archives has a great post about Gelman’s filing system, including better scans of the Koufax and King Kong pages. He said these albums have been “looted and pillaged over the years with all the pages and files being scattered across the hobby landscape with reckless abandon, stymying any hope of getting a complete picture painted.”

I did find one related item on eBay with an asking price of $175: Gleman’s IDEA page for the Topps “Magic Photo”Hidden Pictures” Hocus Focus set. Unfortunately, the seller said the cards were removed 15 years ago.

Topps Remembers The Magnificent Multi-Sport Champion Jim Thorpe

December 23, 2024 by John

I shared Topps Magazine’s tribute to Willie, Mickey & The Duke in early October. Well, the ‘Topps Remembers’ series continued, and in their final issue (Fall 1993, No. 16), Topps featured a fantastic piece on the legendary multi-sport champion Jim Thorpe!

Given the article, I thought sharing some of his most significant cards made sense. Note that PSA does have a Master set for Thorpe that currently requires 112 cards, though no one currently even has 10% of them.

Today, his two most well-known cards are probably his 1955 Topps All-American card (I highlighted the original wire photo in April 2024) and the 1933 Goudey Sport Kings card.

In the spring of 2016, REA sold this 1955 Topps All-American PSA 9 copy for $5,100.

Heritage sold this PSA 8 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Thorpe card for $7,767 in May 2015.

However, he has a few cards that are much tougher to track down, like this 1916 Famous & Barr card (there are a handful of variations of this card) that Heritage sold for $4,182 in November 2010.

Thorpe also has a Zeenut PCL card; REA sold this one in the spring of 2022 for $39,600.

And if you’re looking for a cheaper Thorpe, I recommend the card he shares with Teddy Ballgame.

Unlicensed Treasures – The 1974 Broder 1957-58 Pacific Coast League Popcorn Baseball Card Set

December 22, 2024 by John

A single ad in The Trader Speaks can be a window into a whole new world of vintage cards—like the 1974 Broder Pacific Coast League Popcorn set!

That’s Maury Wills, then of the Seattle Rainiers, pictured in the ad, card #1 in the set.

Today, a “Broder” is often referred to as any unlicensed set, but the Broder’s were actually a father/son duo who made a bunch of unlicensed cards starting in the ’70s through the ’90s.

The 2” x 3” black-and-white 1974 P.C.L. Baseball “Popcorn” Cards set is based on the cards that Seattle Rainiers put in popcorn boxes starting in the mid ’50s. The 1974 set was printed on really thin cardstock, and in sheets that were crudly cut, since you’ll see remnants of other cards on the edges of the cards pretty often. The back’s are pretty minimalistic, too. PSA has only graded a handful, but this Steve Watson was listed on eBay in November 2024 for $28.88.

Beckett says the set has more than 200 cards, and that they were issued over two series that were available for $5.75 each. The advertisement above shows two 55 card series for $4.25, but it’s likely the Trader Speaks ad was for an early release (so maybe the set extended into 1975 since the ad was placed in a December 1974 issue) since TCDB lists 235 cards in its checklist and there are complete sets available on eBay for $450 (with a Best Offer option) advertised as also having 235 cards.

For more about the Broder family, the PCL, and these cards, check out this blog post from Wrigley Roster Jenga and this one from SABR.