In July 2000, REA sold two 1973 Topps “1953 Reissue” Test Sets in their internet/telephone auction held in partnership with eBay. The cards are awesome, but I dislike that PSA calls them reprints on the flips; they’re a little more unique than a “reprint!”
I’m not sure if there’s been some more modern research into the cards, but here’s what my Standard Catalog says about them:
Long before Topps reprinted virtually the entire 1953 set in its “Archives” program in 1991, selected cards from the ’53 set had been reprinted in a rare eight-card issue. Some sources say the cards were produced as table favors at a Topps banquet, while at least one contemporary hobby periodical said they were sold on a test-issue basis in Brooklyn. It was said only 300 of the sets were made. Unlike the original cards in 2-5/8” x 3-3/4” format, the test issue cards are modern standard 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”. Three of the players in the issue were misidentified. Card backs feature a career summary written as through in 1953; the backs are formatted differently than original 1953 Topps cards and are printed in black-and-white.
Sounds like something more unique than a re-print to me!
Here’s a complete PSA-graded set that REA sold for $1,140 in the spring of 2018, the description for which hypothesized that the cards came out of Sy Berger’s personal collection of Topps banquet keepsakes, “lending credence to the Topps banquet theory.”
REA also sold the following uncut panel of the cards for $1,080 in the fall of 2018.
I’ll have to do more research on this set; it’s fantastic but still a bit mysterious! Let me know if you have more details.
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!
The Official 13th Annual National Sports Collectors Convention Auction, held July 8-10, 1992, included a ton of incredible items, including the original Flexi-Chrome for Gordie Howe’s 1957/58 Topps hockey card! Superior Galleries only provided color scans for about 1/5 of its items on color plates at the beginning of the catalog; luckily, they included this one!
They described the item as follows:
This is the original artwork for the Gordie Howe card of that year A very rare and desirable item. Framed and matted with the Flexi-Chrome, and beneath it the actual card which has been autographed by Gordie Howe. This originally came out of the Gurnsey-Topps auction in 1989. A very rare hockey piece.
Overall Excellent condition. $6000-8000
Here’s a scan from Guernsey’s Topps Auction catalog showing the Gordie Howe Hockey Flexichrome. It sold for $1,600 plus the 10% buyer’s premium.
The PSA/DNA Certified Pop Report contains nine 1957 Topps Gordie Howe cards; this PSA 5/Auto 9 sold for $1,112 on eBay in February 2023.
Kit Kiefer was a former editor of Baseball Cards Magazine and the VP of Professional Hobby Consultants, so he knows a thing or two about sports cards. Here’s his list of the 10 most significant action photos of all time, in order of importance. Not bad, huh?
The list was part of a much longer article in the February 1997 issue of Sports Card Magazine, in which he mentioned that “action photos on sports cards were non existent for the first 100 years, but today they are as common as a new pack of cards.”
In terms of popularity, you have to consider adding the 1991 Topps Carlton Fisk card featuring Cecil Fielder barreling toward him; here’s the Desert Shield version (4 Sharp Corners was offering it on eBay for $759 in November 2024).
After the success of their baseball set in 1989, Upper Deck jumped into the hockey card market with a 1990-91 release that they promoted with cards of Wayne Gretzky and Patrick Roy (cards 241A and 241B). However, just as they did with baseball, Upper Deck also promoted their hockey set in the early 90s with serial-numbered commemorative sheets. Hockey didn’t have an established Old-Timer Series for Upper Deck to sponsor and highlight their cards through, so they predominantly distributed these sheets at NHL games. In this article, I’ll highlight four Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet sets.
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheets
TCDB lists 11 total blank-backed 8 1/2″ x 11″ commemorative sheets in its checklist for this “set” of sheets. Upper Deck distributed them at various NHL games to promote their first hockey set. They’re all serial-numbered.
Upper Deck released the first sheet at the game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings on November 17, 1990.
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Maple Leafs Vs. Red Wings
Here are a few other examples.
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Rangers vs. Whalers
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Blues vs. Sabres
Upper Deck released two sheets as part of the 42nd NHL All-Star Game at Chicago Stadium on January 19, 1991, as well.
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Provence of Wales Conference All-Stars
There was also a sheet dated June 21, 1991, to honor “six players selected by the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association as the most proficient at their respective positions in their first year of competitions in the National Hockey League.” Given the date, I’m unsure how Upper Deck distributed this sheet. Notice the gold emblem in the lower right corner doesn’t have a 1990/1991 date like the others; it’s a 1991 Limited Edition Collector Series Sheet.
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – 1990-91 NHL/UD All-Rookie Team
1991-92 Upper Deck Hockey Promotional Sheets
TCDB lists the 1991-92 Upper Deck sheets as Promotional rather than Commemorative Sheets for some reason, so I’ll stick with that for the section heading, but the concept was the same as the previous series of sheets. However, there appear to be 19 different ones that were used to promote the 1991-92 set.
Here are a pair of examples: one used as a promotion at the Flames vs. Rangers game on November 4, 1991, and another that was used at the Rangers vs. Capital game on February 7, 1992.
1991-92 Upper Deck Hockey Promotional Sheet – Flames Vs. Rangers
1991-92 Upper Deck Hockey Promotional Sheet – Rangers Vs. Capitals
And while I mentioned that Upper Deck didn’t sponsor a Heroes of Hockey Series as they did in Baseball, this year, there was an Alumni Heroes of Hockey game that was played on January 17, 1992, between the 1974/75 Stanley Cup Champion Flyers and a team of legendary NGL stars the day before the 43rd NHL All-Star Game.
1991-92 Upper Deck Hockey Promotional Sheet – Philadelphia Heroes of Hockey vs. NHL Heroes of Hockey
The next night, on January 18, Upper Deck distributed sheets honoring the Wales and Campbell Conference All-Star Teams.
1991-92 Upper Deck Hockey Promotional Sheet – All-Star Teams
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheets
There are 17 items listed in TCDB’s checklist of Upper Deck Commemorative sheets used to promote the 1992-93 hockey set. The majority were given away at NHL games; again, there was a pair for Campbell and Wales All-Stars, but there was also one for the 1991-92 Upper Deck All-Rookie Team, a Hockey Heroes pair for Gordie Howe, and one for the New York Rangers as the Defending NHL Regular Season Champions. Here are a few examples.
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Blackhawks Vs. Red Wings
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – 1991-92 NHL/UD All-Rookie Team
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Gordie Howe Birthday Tour
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – All-Star Teams
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Wayne Gretzky Hockey Heroes Commemorative Sheet
The Gretzky Heroes sheet wasn’t available at a game; it was a mail-in wrapper redemption that numbered to 29166.
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Wayne Gretzky Hockey Heroes Commemorative Sheet
The terms required users to send a sheet offer card, 15 foil pack wrappers from’ 92-93 Low Series Hockey, and $2.95 via check or money order to:
Wayne Gretzky Hockey Heroes Commemorative Sheet Offer – Front and Back
There was a series of Hockey Heroes: Wayne Gretzky cards inserted in Low Series packs at a rate of 1:18.
Conclusion
Just like the baseball sheets, the Upper Deck hockey commemorative sheets can each be picked up for just a few dollars; however, a few examples exist (like the Gordie Howe pictured above) that are signed, which will cost quite a bit more. I suspect there aren’t a lot of collectors who have tracked down all 48 Upper Deck hockey sheets; it would make for an incredible collection to view in a binder. Now, don’t forget to come back to the site so you don’t miss the next two parts of this series on Upper Deck Sheets. The basketball and football sheets come out next!
Whenever there’s a market, there are cheaters. This piece was written by Rocky Landsverk and published in the April 1997 issue of Sports Card Magazine. It provides a fantastic 101 on spotting 1951/52 Parkhurst fakes that hit the market in the mid to late ’80s.
To reiterate, look for the creases in the illustration, dot patterns using a magnifying glass, and the smoothness of the cardboard backs.
Ryan Nolan’s book Spotting Fakes has a section on the 1951 Parkhurst Gordie Howe card; on the fakes, he says:
the colon after born is missing
equal thickness and color borders left and right
red lettering at the bottom is thicker
many reprints have this bottom red lettering as black text
many reprints also have a really dark background
don’t expect a perfect card, very few copies exist in a high grade
Unfortunately, Bob Lemke and Sally Grace’s Sportscard Counterfeit Detector doesn’t specifically include any vintage hockey cards printed before Gretzky’s 1979/80 OPC RC. However, it has so much other solid advice; it’s definitely worth buying.
