Card of the Day: Ralph Garr 1990 Pacific Legends #25

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How To Spot A Counterfeit 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas Rookie Card

As a direct response to the high-quality cards found in 1989 Upper Deck Baseball, 1990 Leaf Baseball featured some upgraded qualities of it’s own.  Thicker card stock and glossy photos sure had card designs on the upswing.  That time period in the hobby is known as the junk-wax era.  Products were being overproduced to the max.  Today, most of those sets carry little to no value.

“The Big Hurt” a.k.a. Frank Thomas, has a rookie card in the 1990 Leaf Baseball set.  It is card #300.  This likely will be the most valuable card in the set until the end of time.  Guys like Larry Walker and Sammy Sosa have rookies in here too, but their cards don’t have as much demand.

Raw copies of this particular Frank Thomas rookie card continue to sell for anywhere between $2 and $20 depending on the condition.  That’s quite good considering the era its from.  At one point in time the price was much higher.

Counterfeit versions have been floating around the hobby for years.  They continue to popup today.  At a quick glance you could easily purchase one that’s fake.  Upon further inspection, the differences between the two are very clear.

Here is an example of a counterfeit:

The front is fuzzy-looking and has a dot-matrix print pattern.  This can especially be seen on the Chicago White Sox logo, and areas that have a silver color.  Much thinner paper quality too.  That bright gold line above the dugout is also a giveaway.

When looking at the back, the text is much darker.  The trademark logos are lighter in tone along with Frank Thomas’s picture.

Here is an example of an authentic card:

Card of the Day: Tommy Herr 1990 Donruss Diamond Kings #21

Big Bucks For “Buster” Boxing

42-to-1.  Those were the odds James “Buster” Douglas was given to beat Mike Tyson on February 11, 1990 in Tokyo.  Only one casino gave the odds as most others thought Tyson was a guaranteed winner.  Douglas pulled together a Han Solo “Never tell me the odds.” attitude, and ended up beating Tyson.  It was an upset the boxing world didn’t see coming.  For a little over eight months, Douglas held the heavyweight championship title before losing it to Evander Holyfield.

Considering he’s a boxer, collectors have plenty of options when it comes to his cards.  About (74) cards make up the James “Buster” Douglas checklist.  They start in 1991, and go all the way to 2016.  Thanks to products such as 2009 Upper Deck Prominent Cuts, 2010 Ringside Boxing Round 1, 2011 Ringside Boxing Round 2, 2013 Leaf Sports Heroes, 2013 Leaf Pop Century, and 2016 Leaf Pop Century, he has many autographs and relics available.

Some of his cards command quite the price.  Especially if Mike Tyson is on there with him.  One of the more expensive items you could add to your James “Buster” Douglas collection isn’t even a card at all.  Its a video game for the SEGA Master System.  Going into the fight as an underdog, and defeating Mike Tyson comes with it’s share of perks.  SEGA quickly signed him to a deal, and pictured him on the front of James “Buster” Douglas Knockout Boxing.

Personally, I’m not familiar with the Master System.  At that time I had a Nintendo Entertainment System, and SEGA’s newer system the Genesis.  Released in 1990, James “Buster” Douglas Knockout Boxing came out an entire year after the Genesis had already been out.  This game came out when demand for Master System games was on the decline.  Very few copies were produced and/or sold.  By then, SEGA fans wanted Genesis games.

Owning a copy of James “Buster” Douglas Knockout Boxing for the Master System will cost you more than a lot of his cards combined.  Complete copies sell for $600+.  A Genesis version does exist, but is barely worth anything.

Sports video games traditionally tank in price over the years.  Its difficult for that genre to hold value.  Whenever I come across one that hasn’t tanked, I enjoy learning about it.

Card of the Day: Mariano Rivera 1990 Diamond Cards Tampa Yankees #17

Card of the Day: 1990 Classic WWF “Macho Man” Randy Savage #60

Card of the Day: 1990 Best San Bernardino Spirit “The Bug” #27