Greg Oden Rookie Card Hype - A Reflection

Remember Greg Oden's much anticipated rookie year? And then after his injury, the anticipation for his first year on the NBA court? I do.

Oden was top overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. After missing his rookie year due to injury, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to capture some of his rookie cards. I even had an article on the Cardboard Connection about it. D'Oh!

The sponsor of Oden's basketball-reference page asks if he is the next Sam Bowie? Seems like a good question today.

Oden's stats in the 2008/2009 season:

39 starts, 8.9 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game, and .5 assists per game.

Kevin Durant was the #2 pick in 2007 NBA draft. His 2008/2009 season stats:

74 starts, 25.3 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and 2.8 assists per game. Durant also averages more than 1 steal per game.

But that was Durant's second full season and Oden's first. How does Durant's rookie year compare to Oden's (stats above) first year?

Durant stats in the 2007/2008 season:

80 starts, 20.3 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and 2.4 assists per game. He also averaged 1 steal per game.

My other brilliant card collection ideas:

• Ryan Leaf rookie cards
• Brien Taylor rookie cards
• Lastings Millege rookie cards

Collector's Stimulus from FansEdge

Instead of complaining about the economy and increasing show prices to cover for lack of attendance, Schwartz Sports and Mounted Memories are making a fresh, bold move.

The FansEdge show on July 17 will have a rollback autograph pricing special. Autograph prices have been slashed up to 50%! The best deal - Gordie Howe autograph. It was $129, but on Friday, July 17 it will be $69 with a free "Mr. Hockey" inscription.

Birth of Superman for Auction - Action Comics #1

You can start placing bids for Action Comics #1 starting today! This is to comic books what the Honus Wagner card is for trading cards.

Action Comics #1 first introduced to Superman and is estimated to be worth over 100K. The seller bought it in 1950 for 35 cents.

How much will Todd McFarlane bid on this?!

Check out http://www.comicconnect.com/ for more on the comic's relevance in the hobby.

Update: As of Monday, March 2: the bid is up to $276,000! The auction ends on Friday.

101 ARod Rookie Cards at Beckett 10 Months Later

Remember Beckett bragging about this guy coming into their offices with his 101 ARod Rookies? I hope this guy was able to sell them!

I said at the time that I think Graded Card Investing makes zero sense. Pepper (at Beckett during the time) tried to convince me otherwise, but as you'll read here, he wasn't able to provide any examples of where someone made retirement on "graded card investing."

When you dip your toe in the graded card investing, you have a limited audience. Only so many people are going to want to buy those cards no matter what the latest Beckett magazine says. Now factor in a recession and a steroid drama . . . I think you're taking a hit on that investment now. At least if you invest in stocks/bonds/mutual funds you can always find a buyer and your investment doesn't hinge on the stupid actions of a baseball player.

Has the Value of the Phelps Card Dropped?

To the 18+ crowd the Michael Phelps' hippie lettuce hit doesn't seem to be a big deal. Mario @ Wax Heaven had a good discussion about it yesterday. The parental crowd and 10-17 age demographic probably has another perspective.

How long until Phelps is on Barbara Walters, The View, and The O'Reilly Factor explaining this poor decision on the heels of his previous DUI poor decision?

I'm not playing a "better than thou card." Personally I don't care what he does in his spare time behind closed doors. All I'm saying is that when you're paid millions of dollars to be a good person, hard worker, and "boy next door" to little kids, then it's stupid to experiement with mary jane around other people. Maybe this the SI Sportsman of the Year Curse?

So will the value of his card drop?

Is now the time to buy this card before the next summer olympics?

Remembering Your First . . . eBay Card Purchase

Doesn't everyone remember their first? The first card they purchased on eBay!

I was going through some of my cards Thursday night for several reasons. Most importantly because Mario @ Wax Heaven said I needed to have more card posts if I wanted a snowball's chance in Hell of cracking the "Heavenly Seven!"

OK, I'm exaggerating a bit, but the "Heavenly Seven" is my not-so-secret blogger achievement goal!

Seriously now, this 1992 Babe Ruth Collection Card was the first one I purchased eBay ten years ago. I know, many will laugh, but I'll admit it. I liked it. And still do really. I didn't care who made it, how (in)valuable it was, or how it had no significance to the card hobby. I think I paid a dollar for it and that was probably overpaying. But I still like it because:

• Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and Tris Speaker on one card was (and still is) pretty cool to me.
• The photo is taken after their playing days (obviously).
• The card highlights their Total Bases with a list of the top 20 (at the time) list on the back.
• Cobb, Ruth, and Speaker had 16,760 combined bases!

What was your first eBay card purchase?

T206 Card Auction - Rare Joe Doyle

Here's a T206 Auction that's making news and it doesn't involve Honus Wagner. "Doyle, along with Wagner, Eddie Plank and the Sherry Magee misspelling are the most sought after cards in the T206 series."

Here are a couple of links to the auction information and the T206 Museum.

- thanks to Baseball Think Factory for posting the story -

Greg Oden Rookie Debut - One Year Late

- This was posted on the Cardboard Connection Blog -

It took a year, but Greg Oden will make his rookie debut this week when the Portland Trailblazer's season tips off. Oden was the first pick in the 2007 draft, but suffered a knee injury the following summer.

Without Oden, the Trailblazers managed to reach 41 - 41, but missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year.

The last time a rookie waited this long with this much potential was David Robinson. "The Admiral" brought a San Antonio team back to respectability and eventually helped turned them into NBA champions. David Robinson took the Spurs from 21-61 the year before he arrived to 56-26 the following season (an NBA record turnaround at the time).

Is Greg Oden the next David Robinson? That's probably not a fair comparison, but Trailblazer fans are hoping. Oden's rookie card prices are still pretty fair. Take a look at his cards before the season is in full swing. If Portland can finish at .500 without Oden, where will they finish with him?

$869 for the Shea Seats that Watched the Mets Collapse (Again)

The NY Mets are selling the last of their Shea Stadium seats. For $869 you can buy two seats (in red and green, orange and blue are sold out).

Perhaps Omar and his fat new 4 year contract can also throw in a tryout for the bullpen if you buy the seats. Just think of the history those seats have seen . . . in the last two years! They've been the best seats for watching some of the best choke jobs in the history of the game. Unbelievable - and I'm a Mets fan!

Why $869? The price is a combination of the World Series years for the Mets (1986 and 1969). After this season's September failure, maybe they price them for the last two years the Mets fell apart $07.08 (2007 and 2008).

The Mets web site adds: The Mets will donate their portion of the net proceeds to the Mets Foundation. The Mets Foundation funds and promotes a variety of charitable causes, including educational, social and athletic programs for young people in the community.

If the Mets can get that money for a stadium with 2 championships, what will the Yankee Stadium seats go for?

Curse of the Cubs - Giants' Fred Merkle

Every baseball card we accumulate weaves a different story into the fabric of our collections. One of my favorites isn’t about a favorite player, or team, it’s about a swatch of baseball history. Fred Merkle’s 1911 T205 (gold border) tells a story unlike any other card.

Fred Merkle was yesterday's Bill Buckner long before John McNamara and Bob Stanley put on a pair of spikes. If not for Fred Merkle’s “boner play” (as it was referred to at the time) Chicago Cubs fans would be drinking to a 101 year World Series drought.

The Cubs and NY Giants were in a classic National League pennant race as the humid summer season started to cool to the fall classic. The Cubs (of Tinkers-Evers-Chance fame) had been to the last two World Series. The Giants were led by the brilliant and loud John McGraw and the calm and collected Christy Mathewson.

In a late September game at the Polo Grounds, the Giants and the visiting Cubs were tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the 9th inning. With two outs and a runner on first, rookie first basemen Fred Merkle slugged a base hit to advance the runner to 3rd base. The next batter, Al Bridwell, followed with another single that brought the winning run home and giving the NY Giants an important win late in the season.

The Polo Grounds drama that unfolded featured players racing to centerfield clubhouses, NY fans storming the baseball stage and Johnny Evers, the Cubs second basemen, standing alone at second base waiting for Fred Merkle to advance from first. However, Merkle never ran to second because the run had scored. Unfortunately for him, the baseball rules state that runners must advance to the next base when forced or any run that scores on the play does not count. It's a rule that would be forever celebrated in Chicago and forever haunt a 19 year old rookie from Toledo, Ohio.

It’s unclear how Evers collected a baseball in the sea of chaos that swirled around him. Some historians say Johnny Evers wrestled the ball from a fan, others say he grabbed a different baseball from the dugout, either way, he convinced umpire Hank O'Day that he was in possession of the baseball. O’Day, who would later manage the Cubs, ripped the hearts out of NY fans by calling Merkle out at second base and taking the game winning run off the scoreboard. While Fred Merkle and the Giants were celebrating in the Polo Grounds locker room, O’Day changed history, altered a career and ruled the game a tie.

The Cubs and Giants ended the regular season tied for first place. The Cubs won a one-game playoff and went on to defeat the Detroit Tigers in the 1908 World Series. They haven’t won since.

Is Fred Merkle the real curse of the Cubs and not the famous “Billy Goat Curse?

Was Merkle unfairly branded a scapegoat? Keith Olberman has been on a fight to restore his tarnished reputation.

My favorite reference to this event is in Frank Deford’s “The Old Ball Game.” This is a must read for anyone who enjoys baseball history. Deford feeds you the emotions and pulls you into the minds of the players as this event unfolds.

Collecting Fred Merkle cards is less about statistics and more about history. Merkle went on to have a solid baseball career playing with the Giants, Brooklyn Robins, Chicago Cubs and NY Yankees. Unfortunately he’s most known for this play and unfairly blamed by NY fans for not reaching the 1908 World Series.

You can collect these Fred Merkle cards for about the same price of some of the fancy, high-end, glossy card packs that are now on card store shelves.

• 1911 T205 (gold border)
• 1909 T206 Sweet Caporal
• 1911 T206
• 1911 T3 Turkey Red (throwing)

Brett Favre Memorabilia Up in Smoke

You're either a Brett Favre fan or a Packer fan - I guess you can't be both anymore.

This family is so disgruntled with Brett Favre they decided to burn his memorabilia! I don't remember reading about families in Baltimore doing this when Trent Dilfer left, he won a Super Bowl for his team too. Did families in S.F. burn Joe Montana collections when he went to Kansas City?

How much money went up in smoke?

Honus Wagner Card Sells for $1.62 Million

Honus Wagner cards are still making news. Saturday a 1909 T206 Wagner, "the holy grail of baseball cards" according to the buyer, was bought in Chicago for $1.62 million. More. . .

Hey, this is cheap compared to the $2.8 Million paid in 2007 for a NM Wagner card.

During Friday night's auction, buyers bought Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th home run baseball for $42K.

The Official Honus Wagner Site has some good stats, links, and quotes.

St. Paul Saints Bobblefoot

As I blogged on Friday - eBay is selling plenty of the Bobblefoot SGAs. Here's one that's over $100 so far. Most seem to be around this price range.

If you get one, be sure to get one that has a ticketstub included - that increases its value from a collectability standpoint.

Tom Brady Autograph Prices = New Standard?

Tom Brady has a private signing this April with TriStar . . . if you can afford it. Check out the prices - mail in items start at $499!


Here are the prices if you mail in your own item (and can afford it):

• Flat Item Up To 11x14 - $499
• Flat Item Larger Than 11x14 - $549
• Mini Helmet - $549
• Football - $549
• Full Size Helmet, Jersey or Jersey Number - $599
• Artwork or Game Used Item - $749
• Multi Signed Item with 5 or more Autographs Already on Item - $749

And yes, inscriptions are extra $149!

Farrvvvrreeeeee Memorabilia

How does the Brett Favre retirement party affect his memorabilia sales?

I think like any other sports legend, we'll see a spike in card and autograph prices. But will it be as high as other sports legends? Did the 4-year rumor of his retirement already attract people looking for his rookie card or autograph helmet?

Be careful if you're looking on eBay for Favre memorabilia. Unfortunately, these types of legend retirement parties also bring out the people making bogus autograph memorabilia.

Brady Quinn Value Going Down?

Two years ago it was sky-high. He was the senior QB at Notre Dame and a Heisman hopeful. Last year he was a first round pick of the Cleveland Browns and named "the future." This weekend, the Browns' pro-bowl starting quarterback, Derek Anderson, signed a huge contract extension.

What will this do to Brady Quinn's card and memorabilia value? Surprisingly, Quinn's cards last month were still high on the Beckett Football "Hot List."

Does Derek Anderson's contract value diminish the card value for Quinn's cards? He still the back-up, and could be the starting QB on any given snap,

Archie Manning's Autograph Demand

Question: What do good commercials, community involvement and two Super Bowl winning QB sons do to the Archie's autograph value?
Answer: Quite a bit!

I thought about this while at the Super Bowl Experience in Phoenix a week or so ago. I heard Archie was signing at the Burger King booth so I grabbed a spot in line. After seeing the line get huge in a matter of minutes I began to ask myself why it was such a huge line.

Archie was a good player, kind of exciting, and stayed out of trouble. But should he be commanding this kind of reception in an autograph line?

I'll admit, if Peyton or Eli never played in the NFL. . . I probably wouldn't know much about Archie Manning and probably wouldn't have jumped in line to get his autograph.

Is there another father in sports that has this same situation?
Ken Griffey Sr? The late Bobby Bonds?

Autographs on Trading Cards Can Customize Your Collection

I'm starting to change my position on not being in favor of getting autographs on trading cards. I like the trading card art and design and always felt that take a sharpie marker to it degrades it a bit. However . . . I think an autograph collection on trading cards can really customize your collection and that is what makes your collection more valuable to you.

I have also seen some really cool collections at some recent shows. A couple of people have had team sets with autographs for each player and a Heisman Trophy card collection with autographs. A lot of people in the hobby also try to get autographs through the mail and typically have better luck when they send a card in with an SASE.

The Beckett and JSA grading merger can now authenticate these card signatures which may or may not affect the value of the card.

I don't think it's wise to pay $$$ for an autograph on a trading card, but it could be a great way to do a customized team set.

George H.W. Bush Autographs

A few weeks ago I received an email from someone trying to sell George H.W. Bush autographs. It sounds interesting, but the seller seemed to do everything he could NOT to sell his products.

Unless you are getting an in-person autograph (which is the best way to do it) you have to ask a seller these 3 key questions before buying a product from a private signing.
1. What is the Certificate of Authenticity? Any one can make a certificate, but what makes his COA special?
2. Do you receive a photo of the person signing the item. In today's digital camera age, that's not asking too much.
3. Get the specifics. Find out the exact date of the autograph session, when will you get your item, and what examples can the seller provide.

I was very interested in the products when I began asking the seller these questions. His items for sale included an autographed Yale baseball jersey, a baseball bat, and a 11x14 photo of Bush meeting Babe Ruth. It was very cool stuff.

Unfortunately, this seller didn't have any specific information. His website and order form only took personal checks (who doesn't have PayPal these days). His brochure was a 4 page Word Document in Times New Roman font, all capped, and in italics. He also would not provide a photo of Bush signing the items or previous photos of signed items. This seller’s website was also weak. He had pictures of Bush and talked about himself, but it still didn't have any proof.

I’m not expecting people to be design experts, but if you’re going to ask me for $$$$, then you can at least spend more than 5 minutes on your marketing plan. You need to sell us on you and your product - a $2 web site and brochure isn't going to do it.

This guy may be legitimate, may have sold plenty of items, and may have had a successful signing. But his "marketing" didn't prove anything to me.

As collectors we need to be more informed, ask these tough questions and demand more from the private signing autograph companies. We need to do a better job at protecting our investments and the hobby.

Collecting Morality

The previous poll question focused on the morality of memorabilia and autograph collecting. Can you separate the off-the-field issues with players/celebrities enough to justifying paying for their autograph?

No one is more polarizing in the hobby than OJ. He’s done some rare appearances since found guilty in a civil suit involving the ’94 murders. Each time the debate heats up about why collectors should pay to get his autograph? In this poll, the majority said they would pay for OJ’s autograph.

The Fidel Castro autograph card is another example. How many people can play minor league baseball and run a small island country?

Where do you draw the line? If you’re against getting an OJ autograph because of his trial, then are you also against having a Ty Cobb autograph because of his race relations (or lack there of). What about Pete Rose’s autograph because of gambling on baseball and tax issues? Do you refuse Kobe Bryant’s autograph because he cheated on his family? Would you pay for Lawrence Taylor’s autograph despite is multiple drug use violations?