Few players in the history of the NFL have had the impact on the game that Walter Payton did.

A Hall of Fame running back for the Chicago Bears, Payton was known for his power, speed, and agility.

He holds many records and is considered one of the best players to ever play the game.

Payton’s 1976 Topps Rookie card is one of the most highly sought-after football cards.

It is also (in high grades) one of the most valuable football cards in the hobby. 

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the career of ‘Sweetness’ and step deeper into the valuation, population, and investment potential for his 1976 Topps rookie card.   

The son of a potato farmer, Carl Yastrzemski came to the big leagues under a ton of pressure.

The Red Sox had hand-selected Yaz as the replacement for one Ted Williams.

The shorter and lankier Yaz struggled out of the gate, even getting batting tips from the ‘Splendid Splinter’.

Yaz eventually turned it around, cementing his legacy in baseball and Red Sox history.

The 1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski rookie card is one of the best-designed and most valuable rookie cards in the hobby.

In this piece, we take a look at the career of Yaz, his 1960 Topps Rookie card, and whether it might be a good investment for vintage card collectors.

Tom Seaver mastered the craft of pitching, dominating opposing hitters for twenty seasons.

Seaver is one of only two pitchers to win 300 games, with 3000 strikeouts and an ERA under 3.00 (the other is Walter Johnson). 

Bill James ranked Tom Seaver as the sixth-best pitcher of all time.

James also noted that with a better team, Seaver could have been one of the best. 

The 1967 Topps Tom Seaver Rookie Card is one of the most prized rookie cards in the hobby and of the premier rookie cards from the 1960s. 

In this piece, I take a closer look at Seaver’s rookie card. Exploring the existing PSA population reports, values, and investment potential.

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I’ve always viewed sports cards as an alternative asset. Vintage sports cards are equivalents to your other stocks, bonds, or mutual funds.

Some view baseball cards as pieces of cardboard. But once you dig into the supply/demand dynamics, it is clear why sports cards should be considered investments. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been in this first as a collector. I agree that the popularity of breakers and flippers gives rise to a bubble-like, greed-infested hobby. 

But I also think it’s fine to be both a collector (in it for the love of the hobby) and an investor at the same time.

Yet, with many vintage sports cards out of budget for most collectors, a new stock market-like dynamic has evolved.

Fractional sports card ownership allows a collector to buy a small piece of a high-priced card at whatever amount they desire.

In this piece, we will dive into the details of this burgeoning new market. 

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The 1933 Goudey set gets all the fanfare for being the first card set to issue packs of cards with gum.

But the underappreciated 1934-36 Diamond Stars Baseball card set deserves more attention. 

The 108 card set covered a three year period from 1934 to 1936, offering up real competition for Goudey. 

The lack of serious collector interest likely stems from the omission of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, contracted by Goudey at the time.

In this piece we take a closer look at the 1934-36 Diamond Stars set, showcasing the most valuable cards in the issue. 

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The 1933 Goudey Baseball card set is one of the hobby’s most coveted treasures.

The card design is one of the most beautiful of all pre war card sets.

Colorful renderings of some of the hobby’s most popular players, the set is anchored by not one, but four Babe Ruth cards!

Plus, oh yeah, there’s the added bonus of two Lou Gehrig cards in the set, two of the hobby’s most valuable cards. 

The 1933 Goudey cards are not rare (aside from the Nap Lajoie), but are tough to find in great condition.

Sports card collectors have continued to bid up the big names in the set. 

For investment purposes, Goudey baseball cards should remain an excellent long-term investment. 

Here we explore the most valuable cards in the 1933 Goudey Baseball card set. 

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PSA recently announced that its Standard grading service would reopen to collectors, at a new price point of $100 per card.

Recall that PSA shut down everything aside from its premium grading services in early 2021. They have not been able to keep up with the steep increase in grading demand.

The latest changes come amidst many changes at PSA.

Starting with the acquisition of its parent Collectors Universe, followed by the departure of CEO Joe Orlando and replacement by Nat Turner.

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I’ve had a few weeks to digest the acquisition of Topps by Fanatics and wanted to provide a few comments. 

First, let’s just say that the deal comes as absolutely no surprise. 

I wrote about the possibility back when Fanatics had acquired the MLB licensing rights.

Fanatics pulled the rug right from under Topps and stole the one thing that keeps the heartbeat alive for the company – it’s licenses. 

So, I would imagine, that Fanatics could pick up Topps for pennies on the dollar, and get access to all its brands, designs and trademarks. Plus, Fanatics needs that MLB license that Topps holds through the end of 2025 in order to make cards with team names and logos from 2023 to 2025. 

Thus, yes, a Fanatics takeover of Topps would make a lot of sense. 

However, I also noted that pride might keep Topps from selling out to Fanatics, and it seemed as if Fanatics might want to blaze their own branding trail.

Yet, the deal, honestly just made way too much sense for Fanatics.

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I started collecting in the mid-80s, when Fleer, Topps, and Donruss ruled the streets during the junk era. 

As a Red Sox fan, I tended to emulate my hometown idols, guys like Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, and Mike Greenwell. 

But, every so often, there were players that you could not ignore. As a kid, one of those guys was Ken Griffey Jr. 

Griffey somehow emerged unscathed from the steroid era, ending his career as one of the best to play the game.

Griffey’s rookie cards came out near the peak of the junk era, so most collectors view his cards as poor investments.

I wanted to look at the best Ken Griffey Jr pre-rookie and rookie cards to see if there might be some good investments for collectors. 

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