1962 Topps # 85 Gil Hodges [#] (Mets)
Often referred to as the 'Best player NOT in the Hall-of-Fame'.
Grade |
NEAR MINT to NM/MINT |
Book Value |
$ 20 |
Our Price |
$ 24.95
Add to cart
|
Below are short bits & pieces on sportscard & baseball trading card collecting.
Please wander around the website for more info, prices, values & images
on vintage baseball, football, basketball, hockey, sport and non-sports cards.
Authentic Major League SIGNED
Game-Used LINEUP Cards (PSA)

These are the official lineup cards SIGNED BY THE MANAGER & given
to the home plate umpire before the game with the team's line-up
& batting order !!! Making them even neater, often managers made
lineup changes on these cards throughout the game.
These official lineup cards were SIGNED BY THE MANAGER and presented
to the home plate umpire before the game. They detailed the team's lineup and
batting order. Managers often made lineup changes on these cards throughout
the game, making them even more unique.
Collectors say "They are official documents of a particular game, so they are
absolutely historically relevant. The manager, he was the general in the war.
Imagine owning Eisenhower's list of who he wanted to go into battle, and then he
signed it !!! Imagine what that would be worth?"
The first dugout lineup cards were seen around 1960. Along with lineup
cards, most ended up in the trash after games, making them quite rare today.
MLB saw the light and started marketing them directly in the 2000's.
Astronomical prices have been paid for cards from special games.
$165,010 for the Red Sox dugout lineup card from Game 4 of the 2004 World Series.
$138,000 in 2007 for 1st ever All-Star Game batting order cards.
$ 40,000 for batting order cards and the pen used to fill them out from
Cal Ripken's 2,130th & 2,131st games.
Click for complete
Major League SIGNED Game-Used LINEUP cards
Note: You may be on that page right now.
|
Vintage Topps 1956 Baseball Cards Checklist & Prices

1956 Topps were slightly larger (3-3/4" by 2 5/8") horizontal cards
similar to 1955 Topps cards, some even sharing portraits with 1954 and 1955
Topps cards. Team cards & checklists appeared for the first time in 1956.
With Bowman gone, after missing the last 3 years, Mickey Mantle was back !!!
A fun & simple set, 1956 Topps had no high numbers or expensive rookies
but for serious 1956 collectors, there are over 200 variations.
Most variations deal with card stock (gray or white back).
For #101-180 gray appears to outnumber white about 9-to-1.
Many team cards had 2 or 3 variations with team names
Left, Center or Right.
There are 2 great cards: #31 Hank Aaron which actually pictures Willie Mays
sliding home and #135 Mickey Mantle.
Mantle shown leaping high into the stands robbing a home run !
Artist did a great job showing Mantle making the catch !
BUT ... Mantle looked great leaping but the ball flew over his glove.
The 1956 Topps Pins used same portrait photos as the cards.
Click for complete
1956 Topps Pins Checklist and Prices
Click for more info and complete
1956 Topps Baseball card checklist, values and prices.
|
Tobacco Cards
Starting approximately in 1886, sportscards, mostly baseball cards, were often
included with tobacco products, for promotional purposes and also because the
card reinforced the packaging and protected cigarettes from damage. These sports
cards are referred to as tobacco cards in the baseball card hobby. Over the next
few years many different companies produced baseball cards. Tobacco cards soon
started to disappear as the American Tobacco Company tried to develop a monopoly
by buying out other companies.
They were reintroduced in the 1900s, as American Tobacco came under pressure from
antitrust action and Turkish competition. The most famous and most expensive,
baseball card is the rare T206 Honus Wagner. The card exists in very limited
quantities compared to others of its type because Wagner forced the card to be
removed from printing. It is widely (and incorrectly) believed that Wagner did
so because he refused to promote tobacco, but the true explanation lies in a
dispute over compensation.
Soon other companies also began producing baseball and football cards. Sports magazines
such as The Sporting News were early entries to the market. Candy manufacturers
soon joined the fray and reflected a shift toward a younger target audience for cards.
Caramel companies were particularly active and baseball cards were one of the first
prizes to be included in Cracker Jacks. World War I soon suppressed baseball card
production.