1977 Beckett Price Survey Results

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Here’s a scan of Dr. Jim Beckett’s first report on baseball card prices from the April 1977 issue of The Trader Speaks.

The survey he referenced was distributed across multiple hobby channels, but in keeping with The Trader Speaks theme, here’s the one from their January 1977 issue.

And here’s Part 2 of the Price Survey Results from the May 1977 issue of The Trader Speaks.

As I said, Beckett distributed the survey and results across multiple hobby channels; David Kathman provided a nice overall summary on the net54 boards, including when Dr. Beckett printed details in Sports Collectors Digest.

In the fall of 1976, Jim Beckett, then a professor of statistics at Bowling Green State University as well as a collector and dealer of baseball cards, got the idea of doing a survey of other collectors and dealers in order to determine the market value of various cards and card sets. He wrote up a survey, and the September 30, 1976 issue of Sports Collectors Digest announced his project, and his intention to distribute the survey at various card conventions and by mail. The October 31, 1976 SCD had a status report by Beckett, clarifying what he hoped to achieve with the survey, and the January 15, 1977 SCD printed the survey itself. The results of this first survey appeared in SCD in two parts: in the March 31, 1977 issue for Topps and Bowman cards, and in the April 30, 1977 issue for all other card sets.

Hobby History!

1952 Topps Color Process Proof Cards

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The other day, I published a piece about the 1952 Topps baseball progressive proof uncut sheets. I shared that, after buying all seven of them from Sotheby’s in 1992, it looked like the owner trimmed the full-color process proof sheet before reselling the full series of seven sheets at REA in 2006 (they very well could have changed hands a few more times over the years, I have no idea). The next owner saved the final color-process proof sheet but cut up the other six progressive proof sheets and slabbed each card with SGC before reselling them all with REA again in 2009.

The final color-process proof sheet sold for $18,800 in that 2009 REA auction. In the description, REA wrote “The final sheet was originally accompanied by six color process proof sheets, which have since been perfectly cut and organized by player, and are represented by the twenty lots that follow this one.”

Each of the twenty 1952 Topps proof card groups included the following color processes: 1) Red, yellow, and blue printing. A card which is very close in appearance to a final process card, but with the black printing missing. 2) Yellow and red printing.  3) Yellow printing. 4) Red printing. 5) Blue printing. 6) Black printing.

The two priciest groups of six color-process proof cards sold belonged to Andy Pafko ($3,819) and Warren Spahn ($2,644).

The other 18 lots of six cards sold for between $470 and $1,763.

If you search other auction house archives, you’ll find that many have been resold over the years. For example, MHCC sold the Runnels cards for $840 in March 2019, Brockelman sold the DiMaggio cards for $2,085 in June 2018, and REA re-sold the Pafko cards for $3,120 in their 2023 spring auction.

Dynamite Magazine Number 2 With A 1974 Topps 6-Card Panel And A Story Of 1973 Topps Airbrushing

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I’ve been sharing my collection of Dynamite and Hot Dog Magazines on X, highlighting those with 6-card baseball and football panels. Issue two included 1974 Topps baseball cards, but there’s more; it also included a great article called The All-American Card Game. 

Before I share more about this specific release, here’s a bit of a Dynamite Magazine 101 that I had shared in an old article I had written about Dynamite Magzine Issue 47 that included a panel of 1978 Topps baseball cards: 

Scholastic Inc.’s Dynamite Magazine launched in March 1974 and continued to be released through March 1992 (165 total issues). It was Scholastic’s most successful publication and inspired four other magazines you might be familiar with if you were a kid aged ~8-14 at the time; Bananas, Wow, Hot Dog!, and Peanut Butter. It was a bit of a pop culture update and included articles, comics, puzzles, and other interactive content like puzzles, games, masks, etc. They’d often contain inserts like stickers, glow-in-the-dark items, 3-D posters with glasses, and of course, baseball cards.

Ok, back to Dynamite Magazine Issue Two. First, here’s the cover.

Next, here’s the table of contents, with the top two 1974 Topps cards from the six-card panel.

Notice what’s on page 30; it’s the article I referenced, The All-American Card Game: Press runs big hits and some errors in the Baseball Card Series. Page 30 was the visual (first scan in this blog post), and the following page, 31, had the text.

It’s interesting particularly because in it, Sy Berger highlighted to the author that when Topps would send out photographers to take pictures of players for cards, they would snap a few in full uniform and a few others that could be used in case the player got traded, “just-in-case,” like Ken McMullen’s 1973 Topps card that was taken when he played for the Angels. However, Gary Gentry’s cap had to be airbrushed by Topps artists. 

Here’s the next page with the bottom four of six 1974 Topps cards included with the magazine.

Let The Judge Make The Call!

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How many of you used a tool like ‘The Judge’ in the early 90s as a Mintfinder?

The cutout pictured above is from the following larger ad that was placed in Allan Kaye’s Sports Cards News & Price Guides December 1991 – January 1992 release. You’ve gotta appreciate the directions at the bottom, “Here’s How The Judge Works:”

Just $4.95 plus $1.50 for postage and handling.

Reggie Jackson Signed Topps Baseball Card Contracts

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Here’s a neat piece of hobby history: Reggie Jackson’s signed Topps Baseball Card Contract from August 1971.

The piece was available in Ron Oser Enterprises’ December 2000 catalog and was described as follows: “Very desirable contract for his appearance on bubble gum cards signed in blue ink ‘Reggie Jackson.’ Also signed by Sy Berger, the famous President of Topps Chewing Gum. This August 14, 1971 contract extends for two years the existing contract that Topps had with Reggie. He raked in a whole $75 for this transaction. Signed baseball card contracts are quite sought after, as the signatures are unequivocally genuine. LOA from Mike Gutierrez/MastroNet.”

The contract itself is an “Agreement between: Reginald M. Jackson player, and TOPPS CHEWING GUM, INC.”

It reads, “We, the undersigned, hereby agree to extend the term of our present contract, plus extensions, if any, for an additional period of two years or two full Baseball Seasons, as the case may be, on the same terms and conditions contained in said contract. This extension agreement shall be governed by the Laws of the State of New York. A bonus payment of $75.00 will be due the player the first time after signing this extension that he is or becomes an active member of a Major Leagae Baseball Team between May 15 and August 15.”

I found another contract on Cooperstown Expert. They wrote, “Shown here is Jackson’s contract with Topps Chewing Gum to appear on baseball cards for 1974, ’75, and ’76. Signed by Jackson at the bottom, this deal calls for the slugger to receive a $75 bonus payment.”

And REA included the following signed contract extension between Jackson and Topps, along with a few signed checks in the fall of 2019.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if a single collector ever managed to snag a complete run of Reggie Jackson Topps contracts?

LA’s The Place And Darryl Strawberry’s Topps Traded Rookie Card

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Terry Melia’s Editor’s Game Plan intro to Trading Cards Magazine’s June 1992 issue reminded me how elite Darryl Strawberry was and how much hype Dodgers’ “Outfield of Dreams” had at the time.

Since Melia wrote that Strawberry’s card was fetching $100 in the summer of 92 (I presume mint copies), I was curious how the market is pricing them today. From a graded perspective, only the 10s are >$100 cards. PSA 10s with 10s autos are pushing $500, PSA 10s go for between $350 and $415, 9s are $60-70ish, and 8s sell for between $30 and $40.

1952 Topps Progressive Proofs Uncut Sheets

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Sotheby’s offered an incredible series of 7 1952 Topps Progressive Proof Uncut Sheets in their 1992 Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia Auction…But I have a bad feeling the buyer trimmed this one.

First, here’s the lot’s description from the ’92 catalog. They mentioned the series of sheet colors and conditions and that it was the only known series of progressive sheets of this series.

Things get interesting in 2006 when REA auctioned off a lot, which sold for $16,240, of “1952 Topps Series 1A Uncut Color Process Proof Sheets (7), The First 1952 Topps Ever Printed!” They included photos of each sheet; here are a few of them:

But do you notice anything about the full-color one? The more extensive borders from the one pictured in the Sotheby’s auction are missing!

REA re-sold the final color process sheet in May 2009 for $18,800, however they noted that, “The final sheet was originally accompanied by six color process proof sheets, which have since been perfectly cut and organized by player, and are represented by the twenty lots that follow this one.”

In both auctions, REA wrote, “The offered sheets are the only 1952 Topps color process sheets known to exist.”

I reached out to The Topps Archives (my favorite hobby blog) since he wrote a great piece inspired by the second REA auction, sharing my concerns. He wrote that the line between Pesky and Groth is on all the examples, so they could be the same. He also hoped there was no cut-down but acknowledged it seemed like there was.

Considering that it was unlikely Topps would need multiple printings of these proofs, the visual similarities, and auction descriptions, it seems likely someone trimmed (and cut up individual cards from) a true hobby one-of-one.

Please let me know if you have any more intel on this one.

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