Trader Speaks

Whitey Ford, A 1982 Card Show, And His 1951 Bowman Baseball Card

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Have you been to any great card shows lately? I’ll bet the Sports Memorabilia Show #4 in Whippany, New Jersey, was a good one!

This ad comes from the July 1982 issue of Trader Speaks and highlights Whitey Ford’s attendance during Sunday’s show, where he had agreed to sign 1000 autographs on a first-come, first-served basis.

Given that the ad features Ford’s 1951 Bowman baseball card, I thought it would be fun to take a look at a few sales of them:

REA has sold a handful, including the following PSA VG 3 Auto 10 copy with an HOF ’74 inscription for $780 in 2018, a PSA authentic copy for $510 in 2021, and a fairly beat-up card with an authentic signature for $450 in 2022.

Interestingly, REA re-sold the PSA VG 3 Auto 10 copy in 2023 for $3600, quite an increase! That’s probably because Ford died in 2020.

Now, some cards change hands quite often, so guess what? Probstein sold the same PSA VG 3 Auto 10 Ford on eBay on May 29, 2024, for $2200.

What’s more, the beat-up version above with cert 17605781 is also on eBay, with an asking price of $1699. There’s another PSA authentic copy on eBay as well, with an asking price of $1299.99 (cert 43601626). Given these prices, someone possibly got quite a steal when they picked up this blue-label version in April 2024 for $500.

The Official Pete Rose 1983 Price Guide To Baseball Cards

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I was flipping through the June 1982 issue of Trader Speaks when I came across this ad for The Official Pete Rose 1983 Price Guide to Baseball Cards. It looked familiar, and that’s because I have a copy of the book in the Hobby Library!

The ad is great, and I love how they highlighted Burger King, O-Pee-Chee, SSPC, and TCMA, along with Topps, Donruss, Fleer, and Bowman.

The book is “pocket-sized” at ~4 1/4” x 5 3/4” but is jam-packed with information. Thomas E Hudgeons III edited it via The House of Collectibles Inc. To follow are a couple of scans from the book (which you can pick up for $7-8 on eBay).

I love how the card producers helped prepare the book!

Here’s the table of contents; it’s always nice when guides have something unique beyond prices and checklists, and this one has quite a bit, including some information from Pete Rose (of course).

The first sets in the guide were 1951 Topps Blue and Red Backs, followed by the 1952s.

This is the ‘Full Color Collectors Card of Rose’ highlighted on the cover.

And lastly, here’s the back cover.

The December 1981 New York 1 Show Featuring Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider

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I ran across this advertisement for “The Largest Show Ever Held in New York” in the December 1981 issue of Trader Speaks.

Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider were probably decent draws to a show offering free admission! And they appeared on both days of the show.

I’m curious about which items made up the display of the hobby’s ten most valuable cards. If you know, drop a comment. By the way, many collectors used to order from Gelman’s catalogs. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of them in the Hobby Library to share yet.