Q&A – What Is This Mystery LeBron James Item?

I get e-mails all the time. Most of them are from people wanting to know the value of an item they just bought. But every now and then I come across one worth talking about.

An e-mail came in the other day with the two pictures below which look to be of a sealed pack in between an old screw-down holder.

On the front is the old LeBron James logo first seen in 2003 on the Nike Air Zoom Generation line of shoes.

The back has the Nike logo and “nikebasketball.com.hk” on it.

After doing some research I discovered that this is a promotional pack that Nike issued in Hong Kong in 2007.

Nike made cards to promote their LeBron James Air Zoom Generation brand of sneakers. Inside the pack is at least one card. I’ve never seen a pack opened, so I cannot confirm which or how many cards are inside.

I asked the individual who sent me the pictures of the sealed pack if they have any plans on opening it. I haven’t heard anything back yet.

There is a strong possibility that these cards are what can come from that pack. Both the cards and pack share the same markings. But I cannot be 100% sure. If anyone else can provide some input please do.

You don’t see these cards very often. Little is known about them. Its probably even more uncommon to come across a sealed pack.

Q&A – Did Star Make Chrome Cards?

No. But thanks to Topps collectors found out what Star Chrome cards would have looked like.

Between 1983 and 1985 Star was the only company to issue licensed NBA basketball cards. The cards were issued in team poly bags instead of traditional wax packs. At first they weren’t very popular. But then Michael Jordan decided to become the greatest basketball player of all-time, and then collectors began to pay more attention to the Star brand. The debate on whether Michael Jordan’s 1984-85 Star #101 or his 1986-87 Fleer #57 is his true rookie card is one that will continue to be discussed forever.

Star produced some unlicensed basketball cards after their NBA license ended following the 1986 season. The company eventually went out of business in the early 90’s.

In 1996 Topps created a 50-card Finest Reprints insert set. (25) cards were inserted into 1996-97 Topps Stadium Club Series 1, while the other (25) can be found in 1996-97 Topps Series 2.

The theme of the set is classic basketball cards printed on Chrome stock. (42) of the (50) subjects are from past Topps basketball sets. (8) cards are from Star.

Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, John Stockton, Isiah Thomas, and James Worthy are the (8) Star cards found in the Finest Reprints set.

Each card in the set has a Refractor parallel.

Base Insert

Refractor

Q&A – When Were The First Relic Cards Issued?

Collectors were introduced to the relic card between 1996 and 1997. Believe it or not but at one point in time pulling a one-color, non-serial numbered relic card was a huge deal. A card which fits that description today gets tossed aside like yesterday’s trash. In this hobby when something starts off as rare and becomes popular with collectors manufacturers will eventually overdue it to the point where it looses it’s appeal.

Card companies such as Upper Deck, Press Pass, Pinnacle, and Collector’s Edge all issued relic cards beginning in 1996.

Pictured below are some of the hobby’s first relic cards.

Sterling Marlin 1996 Press Pass Burning Rubber

Terry Labonte 1996 Press Pass Burning Rubber Die Cast

Dale Earnhardt 1996 Press Pass VIP GOLD Firesuit

Allen Iverson 1996 Press Pass Game-Used Jersey

Mario Lemieux 1996-97 Upper Deck Game Jersey

Steve Young 1996 Upper Deck Game Jersey

Ken Griffey Jr. 1997 Upper Deck Game Jersey (copyright date on card is 1996)

Bill Elliott 1996 Pinnacle Driver’s Suit

Kerry Collins 1996 Collector’s Edge Advantage Game Ball

Q&A – What Are The First Pack-Inserted Cut Signatures?

Not alive to sign? No problem.

Upper Deck introduced collectors to the first cut signature cards in 1999 Upper Deck Century Legends Baseball.

After obtaining authentic autographs (hopefully authentic) of deceased players, Upper Deck proceeded to “cut” the signatures off of those items. The signatures would then be inserted into cards much like a piece of jersey or bat.

The 1999 Upper Deck Century Legends Baseball – Legendary Cuts set consists of only (9) cards. Each card is a one-of-one.

Checklist:

• Babe Ruth
• Cy Young
• Lefty Grove
• Mel Ott
• Roy Campanella
• Satchel Paige
• Ty Cobb
• Walter Johnson
• Jimmie Foxx

A few months after the release of 1999 Upper Deck Century Legends Baseball, Upper Deck released 1999 UD SP Signature Edition Baseball. Another round of cut signatures were included in that set.

Q&A – What Is The First Pack-Inserted Autographed Card? (Follow Up)

Have you ever heard of the 1976 Goof’s Pants Place Tulsa Oilers team set? After posting Q&A – What Is The First Pack-Inserted Autographed Card? this set was brought to my attention thanks to Breakout Cards and Chris Harris as it contains a few autographs.

In 1976 the Tulsa Oilers (Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) released a 26-card team set which could be purchased from the team for $5. Included within that team set were two autographed cards – Satchel Paige and Paul “Daffy” Dean.

Both of these cards predate the Reggie Jackson autographed card issued by Upper Deck by 14 years.

Personally, I still consider the 1990 Upper Deck Baseball High Series Reggie Jackson Auto #’ed/2,500 the first pack-inserted autographed card. The 1976 Goof’s Pants Place Tulsa Oilers team set was a regional issue, and not made available everywhere. A hobby pack, and team set are two different things.

Sports Collectors Daily has a nice write-up about this set.

Q&A – What Is The First Pack-Inserted Autographed Card?

The Upper Deck Company shook-up the industry when they released their first set of cards in 1989. Premium card stock, anti-counterfeiting holograms, and tamper-proof packs showed collectors that Upper Deck meant business. Taking the chance on making a young rookie named Ken Griffey, Jr. card #1 in the set also paid off significantly.

In 1990 Upper Deck turned up the heat again. The 1990 Upper Deck Baseball set consists of (800) cards. It was released in two separate series – Low Series #1-700 and High Series #701-800.

Inserted within the High Series packs of 1990 Upper Deck Baseball is a 10-card Reggie Jackson Heroes set.

To make things even more interesting Upper Deck got Reggie Jackson to sign 2,500 copies of card #9. This card became the first pack-inserted autograph. I’m certain some of these are still hiding in sealed packs just waiting to be pulled.

Upon this product’s release it was unheard of to pull an autographed card out of a pack. Today with a lot of products its almost expected.

Q&A – Does Rob Thomson Have A Rookie Card?

When the Phillies fired their manager Joe Girardi in early June, 2022 their record was 22-29. Coming in to take over as interim manager was Rob Thomson. The Phillies won nine straight games under their new manager. As the season went on the Phillies kept playing better and better. Under Rob Thomson, the team ended the regular season 87-75 (65-46 just under him). On October 3rd the Phillies secured a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. This was the first time the team had made the playoffs since 2011. Beating the Cardinals, Braves, and Padres, the Phillies became National League Champs making it all the way to the World Series. In the end, the Phillies lost the World Series to the Houston Astros 4-2. You never want your team to lose the World Series. But considering how the season started compared to where it ended 2022 was a great year for the Phillies. Citizens Bank Park will have a new pennant on display next year, and the team will receive NL Champion rings. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that the Phillies made the choice to keep Rob Thomson around as manager for the next few years. I think fans have a lot to look forward too.

Does Rob Thomson have a rookie card? Yes. You can find Rob Thomson’s rookie card in the 1987 ProCards set. Card #2351 shows him as a catcher for the Lakeland Tigers. The card has his name as Bob instead of Rob. Rob Thomson was drafted by the Tigers in the 32nd round of the 1985 Draft. He played four seasons professionally in the Tigers minor league system. In 1988 his coaching career began with the Tigers. Starting in 1990 be began a long career with the Yankees that lasted until 2017. The Phillies saw him join the team in 2018.

Like most ProCards, Rob Thomson’s card is fairly easy to find. Due to his recent popularity prices have seen an increase, but are still quite affordable.

As of this writing Rob Thomson only has about (20) different cards. We don’t see as many manager cards made as we use to. Other key cards of his include 2008 Topps Gift Sets New York Yankees #15, 2009 Topps Heritage Rob Thomson / Tony Pena / Kevin Long / Dave Eiland #465, and 2009 Topps Yankee Stadium Opening Day #27.

Q&A – Where Does This Barry Bonds Card Come From?

Question: Where does this Barry Bonds card come from? The design looks like 1997 Topps Baseball, but the photo and card number are different. Please help!

Answer: Cool find. Throughout the 90’s Topps would issue Pre-Production cards promoting that year’s newest card designs. Your Barry Bonds card is one of those cards. Topps issued them to promote the 1997 Topps Baseball design. Various outlets that Topps dealt with received them.

Nine cards (#PP1-#PP9) make up the 1997 Topps Baseball Pre-Production set.

• Frank Thomas #PP1
• Brady Anderson #PP2
• Barry Bonds #PP3
• Eric Young #PP4
• Ricky Bottalico #PP5
• Royce Clayton #PP6
• Tom Goodwin #PP7
• Craig Biggio #PP8
• Ellis Burks #PP9

Each card in the Pre-Production set utilizes the same photo that went on to be used in the main base set EXCEPT for Barry Bonds. The Barry Bonds Pre-Production card and base set card have two different images making it a bit more desirable.

Q&A – What Happened To The 2019-20 Topps Chrome Basketball Product?

Question: What ever happened to the 2019-20 Topps Chrome basketball product?

Answer: In May of 2019, Kentucky Wildcats guard Tyler Herro shared a picture on social media showing off some basketball cards he recently signed. What got collectors so flustered was the fact that they were Topps Chrome cards.

Prior to this picture surfacing, the last basketball product Topps released came in 2009-10. It got many people wondering if Topps was going to release some type of unlicensed basketball set. Topps usually doesn’t release unlicensed products, but with all of the hype around Zion Williamson you can’t help but wonder if perhaps they were thinking about giving it a shot.

Even though Topps doesn’t have an NBA and/or CLC license, its very possible they could’ve signed someone like Zion Williamson to an exclusive autograph deal. Upper Deck has a similar setup with Michael Jordan and Ben Simmons. This would have really messed with Panini who is the only manufacturer right now with an NBA and CLC license.

Many months went by without hearing anything. During the 2020 Topps Industry Conference this product’s fate was officially confirmed. According to Topps GM David Leiner, the product doesn’t exist anymore.

It certainly gets the imagination going. What do you think a Zion Williamson Topps Chrome card would sell for? Especially when you see what Panini’s diet products go for. Can you imagine how the hobby would react to an online-exclusive Topps Chrome Sapphire Edition basketball product?

I truly believe an unlicensed Zion Williamson card made by Topps could give a licensed card from Panini a run for it’s money.

Q&A: What Is The First Baseball Card?

Question: What is the first baseball card?

Answer: The answer to this question can vary depending on how a person defines “the first baseball card”.  In my opinion, this 19th century game card is what I view as the first card depicting what looks to be some form of baseball.

Based on bat and ball drawings from the 18th and 19th century, baseball historians have dated this card to around the 1830s.  During that time, children’s educational card games were popular in both England and the United States.  The picture shows three boys – one at bat, another pitching, and in the background a boy looks as if he’s standing on what would be first base.  Several other cards came in this set, but none of them deal with sports.

I wish this card was talked about more often, but it just isn’t.  If it dealt with a specific player or team I believe it would be.  Rarely do they ever show-up for sale.  When they do, its usually with an auction house.  Not many examples are floating around.