Post War Cards – Page 4 – Vintage Sports Cards – Baseball – Basketball – Football

6 Original Photos That Transformed into Iconic Basketball Cards

April 7, 2025 by John

Today, here’s a short basketball-dedicated list of 6 original pictures that Topps, Kahn’s Wieners, Fleer, and Bowman used to create some awesome cards.

1968 Topps Test #5 John Havlicek

In February 2020, Heritage Auctions sold this unique 8×10’’ photograph of John Havlicek, which Topps used for their scarce 1968 Topps Test Issue, for just $312.

1960 Kahn’s Wieners Jerry West

I don’t know if this photograph is a Type 1 example, but it is autographed and authenticated by JSA. In early 2023, the photo was listed for sale on eBay for $8,750.

1961 Fleer #19 Tommy Heinsohn

The following 8×10’’ Type 1 image of Tommy Heinsohn was listed for sale on eBay for $1,800 in January 2023 but is now listed for $749.99. Heinsohn was an all-time great and was elected to the Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.

1961 Fleer #22 K.C. Jones

Robert Edward Auctions sold this Type 1 image of Boston Celtics Hall of Fame great K.C. Jones for $1100 in their 2020 fall auction.

1976 Topps #60 Pete Maravich

Lelands’ 2022 Summer Classic Auction had three great Type 1 basketball photos used for the 1976 Topps basketball set, but the Maravich stood out. It sold for $1375.

1948 Bowman #69 George Mikan

This Mikan Type 1 image was signed and sold for $30k at Robert Edwards Auction’s 2018 Spring Auction.

I hope you enjoyed seeing these amazing original photographs. Please reach out if you have any other type photographs used to create basketball cards, particularly any from the ’80s Fleer basketball sets.

Happy collecting!

A Spectacular 1960s Jerry West Wilson Die-Cut Advertising Sign

April 6, 2025 by John

Flipping through old auction catalogs is a dangerous game—so much rare memorabilia, and my wish list just keeps growing! Here’s a cool one from Mastro in 2007: a 1960s Jerry West die-cut advertising sign.

Here’s how they described it:

Presented is a “Wilson 50 Years” store advertising sign displaying the image of hoops legend Jerry West. To commemorate their fiftieth year as one of the top sports retailers in the industry-and to help commence another fifty-Wilson released this splendid marketing device. The 21-1/2″-tall item displays the impeccably crisp image of the basketball Hall of Famer in his 1960s Los Angeles Lakers garb. The All-Star guard is captured holding a basketball with the manufacturer’s label conveniently exhibited. A caption along the bottom reads, “a progressive past…a golden future.” The relic demonstrates superb preservation, exhibiting unobtrusive furrows confined mostly to West’s neck. The advertisement’s colors are every bit as vibrant as the day it was released. Matted and framed to total dimensions of 20-5/8″ x 29-5/8″

Unfortunately, I haven’t come across another example; let me know if you have a lead on one online or have more details about it and happy collecting!

A Rare Sight: Mint 1965 Topps Tall Boy 5-Cent Display Boxes

April 5, 2025 by John

You’re not going to see many mint 1965 Topps Tall Boy 5-cent Display Boxes on the market; I scanned this one from Mastro’s December 2007 catalog.

This empty box once held 24 5-cent packs, and one or more of them may have contained Joe Namath’s rookie card. Its minimum bid was $300 at the time, but I’m unsure what it closed at.

As I said, the box is rarely found, especially in mint condition. However, you may remember that in September 2017, MileHighCard Co. sold a full unopened BBCE-authenticated box for $145,746 and a box with 21/24 packs for $106,149.

Exploring auction history over the past few years, it looks like mid-grade display boxes have been selling for between $250 and $500.

Happy collecting, and don’t forget to check out The Unopened Archive!

Dick Perez’s Original Artwork For The 1989 Donruss Mike Greenwell Diamond Kings Card

April 4, 2025 by John

Here’s the original artwork Dick Perez painted for the 1989 Donruss Mike Greenwell #1 Diamond Kings card.

Ron Oser Enterprises offered it in a lot with a few other signed Perez originals in April 2001. I think the piece is 11” x 17”. I previously shared the Mike Schmidt, Bobby Bonilla, and Frank Viola cards from this lot on the blog.

Here’s the final card, followed by a side-by-side comparison.

Happy collecting, and don’t forget to check out The Original Artwork Archive for more!

The Time Managers Were Traded and Topps Airbrushed Their Baseball Cards

April 3, 2025 by John

Frank Lane was infamous for making many trades, including players like Norm Cash, Rocky Colavito, Roger Maris, Red Schoendienst, and Early Wynn. Among the over 400 trades he made in his career included one for managers. In 1960, when he was the GM of the Cleveland Indians, he sent Joe Gordon to Detroit and brought Jimmy Dykes over to the Indians in the middle of the season.

Many baseball fans may remember Joe Gordon more for playing with the Yankees and Indians. He was the MVP in 1942, a 9x All-Star, 5x World Series champion, and entered the Hall of Fame in 2009. He began his managing career with the Indians in 1958 but had a rocky relationship with Frank Lane. So Gordon, in 1959, said he wouldn’t return to the team the following year, so Lane fired him. However, he rehired him shortly after that. Gordon was 49-46 with Cleveland in 1960 when Lane sent him to Detroit.

Gordon would go 26-31 with Detroit in 1960 but wouldn’t re-sign as their manager. Instead, he became Kansas City Athletic’s coach for the 61 season, where he went 26-33 before being fired and replaced by Hank Bauer. So we never got a Topps Baseball card with Gordon in a Tigers uniform. Gordon would be a head coach again in 1969 for the Kansas City Royals, going 69-93 before resigning.

For his 1960 card, Topps used the same photo from the 1959 Indians Picture Pack. They then used the same image, with a little airbrushing, for his 1961 Topps card as the Athletics Coach.

1959 Cleveland Indian Picture Pack – Joe Gordon

Jimmy Dykes was also a player before becoming a manager. He played for 22 years between 1918 and 1939 before becoming a manager between 1934 and 1961. He was the player/manager for the Chicago White Sox from 1934 to 1939. As a player, he was a 2x All-Star and 2x World Series champion.

Dykes had a record of 44-52 with the Detroit Tigers in 1960 before being sent to the Indians, where he would go 26-32. He stayed on as the Indian’s coach in 1961, going 77-83 before retiring.

Topps used the same photo they used for Dykes’ 1960 Topps card for his 1961 card. I haven’t been able to find a team photo or type 1 for the 1960 Dykes card; if you have one, please leave a comment down below.

It wasn’t uncommon for Topps to reuse and airbrush images throughout the vintage post-war era. But, as far as I know, this is the only case of a trade involving a pair of managers forcing Topps to do a little of their magic airbrushing.

Happy Collecting!

A Unique 1968 Topps Non-Sports Multi-Issue Uncut Sheet Featuring Hot Rods, Target Moon, And Who Am I Cards

April 2, 2025 by John

Here’s a cool uncut sheet I ran across in the June 2008 Classic Collector catalog: a 1968 Topps Non-Sports Multi-Issue Full Uncut Sheet of 132 cards.

Before the pattern repeats, there appear to be two rows of 1968 Topps Hot Rods cards, two rows of 1968 Topps Target Moon cards, and two rows of 1968 Topps Who Am I? (No disguise) cards. Also, my hobby library resources are inconsistent, but these may have been 1967 releases.

Let me know if you’ve seen another copy of this sheet, or have bitter insight on the date of its distribution, and don’t forget to check out more uncut sheets in the archive.

Happy collecting!

Unearthing a 1978 Eddie Murray RC Panel: A Nostalgic Find From Oregon Trail Auctions

April 1, 2025 by John

In the fifth part of my deep dive into 1978 Topps baseball cards, I explored the allure of Topps Dynamite Magazine Panels. So, I was pleased to find this 1978 Eddie Murray RC insert while perusing the September 1996 Oregon Trail Sports Auctions catalog!

In the 1978 Dynamite Magazine Panel deep dive, I even highlighted a Chronicles of Fuji post from June 2013 when the author sniped a copy with Murray on it off eBay for under $30; maybe it’s the same one!

Happy collecting!