Cal Ripken - 1996 Authentic Images SOLID METAL '2 Time MVP' card

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1959 Topps displays vintage 1959 Topps Baseball sports cards.
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Team signed baseballs were the thing well before single-signed balls exploded on the market.
What is a "Team Signed Baseball" ???
Simple answer: A ball with XXX signatures of a certain team for a certain year. What is difficult is the XXX. Baseball tons of roster moves make it nearly impossible to "Get Them All".

Generally, team signed baseballs from early 1900's had 10 to 15 signatures, the 1940's that jumped to 18 to 25. Joyce Sports Research Collection (Notre Dame) says "signatures must include only members of a specific team from a specific year, and there must be some approximation of completeness."

Not concrete but to me a "team ball" MUST have ALL the team's STARS (unless a rookie or in season trade) and in today's market at least 20, preferably more, and the manager.

Determining Age of Team Signed Balls
"Official" league balls have stamped signatures of current league presidents on the "sweet spot". Starting 1934/1935 balls were produced by Spalding (NL) and Reach (AL). Rawlings took over in 1977/78. Have a possible team roster at hand, ESPN & baseball-reference.com have great sites), decipher a few signatures then solve the puzzle.

Team Signed Baseballs Values
Pricing team signed baseballs is difficult due to subjectivity and factors involved suce as: Signatures placement, quality, strength, number of autographs, stars, age, team significance, and eye appeal considering fading, whiteness, scuffs, shellacking, staining, overall wear...

Team autographed baseballs on official league balls get higher values. They are "official", made better, preserve better and even help in dating especially with balls signed at "Reunion" baseball card shows which brought together great teams of the past.

Facsimile Autographed Balls
1960's/1970's machine-printed "autographed" team baseballs were sold at stadium gift shops for around $1.95. Easy to identify as all signatures were uniform in ink, color, size and look. "Facsimile" signatures are also often found on baseball cards.

Another interesting 1960's Topps Test issue !
Topps inserted these Peel-Offs (stickers) also called Stick-Ons in several series of 1963 Topps baseball cards. The Peel-Offs inserts were not mentioned or advertised on wax pack wrappers.
The 1963 Topps Peel-Offs set contained 46 1-1/4" x 2-3/4" stickers and was packed with HALL-OF-FAMERS. The Peel-Offs come in 2 variations, with instructions on the back or the scarcer blank-back.
TOP STARS: Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Stan Musial, Al Kaline, Carl Yastrzemski, Ernie Banks & MORE !!!

Click for complete 1963 Topps Baseball Peel-Offs Stickers checklist and prices
Note: You may be on that page right now.

Only inserts in 1961 & 1962, stamps had their own issue in 1969 ! A nickel for a 12-stamp strip plus mini album !!!

The 1969 Topps Stamps set contained (240) 1x1-7/16 inch stamps. Stamps were released in both horizontal & vertical panels with the player's name in a banner. 1974 Stamps, the name was inside an oval.
Topps issued a mini albums to hold complete 10-stamp team sets and the back cover had facsimile autographs of each players.

The 1969 Topps Stamps set is packed with stars: Pete Rose, and Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente & more !!!

Baseball card collecting terms (part G)

Grade/Condition Centering, corner wear, photo clarity, edges, creases, print flaws ... all combine to determine a card's condition or grade. Along with rarity/scarcity it is the major factor in a card's value.

Graded Card As values increased the condition of cards and the determination of fakes and alterations became increasingly more important. Various companies became "graders" of your cards. For a fee they would grade your card (usually on a 1 to 10 scale) and then placed in a sealed plastic holder with labelling of the vital information.

From past experiences, most people are NOT HAPPY with the grades they receive. To keep values up, graders can be extremely picky. Things you don't see, they do so don't be surprized when the NEAR MINT card you send in ends up with an EX or EX/MINT grade.

There are TOO many grading companies - if you do, do choose carefully. PSA / SGC / GAI / BGS are some of the many companies. It is good to know that getting a card graded by a company that people do not recognize or respect will usually just cost you time and money and not help you in any way.

Cal Ripken - 1996 Authentic Images SOLID METAL '2 Time MVP' card

Team Autographed / Signed Baseballs

1963 Topps Peel-Offs (stickers)
Checklist & Values

1969 Topps Stamps
Checklist & Values

Cal Ripken - 1996 Authentic Images SOLID METAL '2 Time MVP' card

Team Autographed / Signed Baseballs

1963 Topps Peel-Offs (stickers) Checklist & Values

1969 Topps Stamps Checklist & Values

1963 Topps Peel-Offs (stickers)
Checklist & Values

1969 Topps Stamps
Checklist & Values