1955 Bowman FB # 7 Frank Gifford [#] (NY Giants)

Book = $ *BOOK*
Price = $ 39.95
EX to EX/MINT

Price = $ 39.95

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.

1934,1935,1936 Diamond Matchbooks
During much of the Great Depression, matchbook collecting swept the country ! Sports matchbooks started appearing in the 1930s, most issued by Diamond Match Company of New York. Over the next few years, several series were issued with similar designs; b/w photo of the player on front with short write-up and stats on back. The player's name and team was also printed on the 'saddle'.
Please consider the following info as approximate.
1934's first baseball release featured 200 players, in 4 different background colors (red,blue,green and orange) for a total of 800 different covers. The set features plenty of Hall-of-Fame greats like Dizzy Dean and Mel Ott.
1935's issue was tiny with only 24 total covers (8 red,8 blue,8 green).
A third series was later released with 200 or more different covers (players/colors).
1930's matchbook covers appear to be huge bargains for collectors as their current values are fractions of the value of Goudey and other baseball cards from the same era.

Click for complete 1935-1936 Diamond Matchbook Checklist and Prices
Note: You may be on that page right now.

Vintage Baseball Wire Photos

UPI/AP Wirephotos

Official authentic vintage UPI/AP Wirephotos/Laserphotos are very limited, normally only 1 sent to subscribing newspapers. Photos were black & white printed on electro-static printers, usually sent in 3 stages, Cyan, Magenta & Yellow, then combined into a color photograph. Photos are work products and VG to NEAR MINT. As a bonus, some have editor's blue-line cropping marks.

Scarce, interesting and snapshots of history, wire photos of major subjects and moments make for great collectibles. Wirephotos and laserphotos are no longer transmitted in this manner (stopping around the early 90's). Images are now transmitted from computer to computer with no need for hardcopies.
old UPI wirephotos old AP wirephotos Wirephotos images taken with low res camera so images do not do then justice. The wirephotos are nicer than in the image. Most wirephotos from San Diego Union Tribune archives and make nice additions to your collection.

Click for a complete listing and images of our UPI/AP Sports Wirephotos.

Top Vintage Baseball Card Auction Companies

There are more auction companies/houses than you can shake a stick at. Some offer inexpensive smaller groups and individual items while others offer massive groups with the average auction ticket price into the thousands.

www.Baseball-Cards.com (what, you thought I'd leave myself off my list?)

Huggins and Scott Auction House

Heritage Auctions

Lelands Sports Memorabilia and Card Auctions

Pristine Auctions

Clean Sweep Auctions

SCP Auctions

Sotheby's Auctions

Click for more info on my Weekly Vintage Baseball & Football card auctions

How do I keep cards in top condition ?

A: There is a wide variety of storage supplies available to help you keep your cardsin the best condition possible. They range from hard thick acrylic screw-down holders to "penny" soft sleeves for individual cards to cardboard boxes that can hold from 100 cards upto "monster boxes" that hold more than 5,000 sportscards.

We have a large selection available on our web site with quantities from 1 to 1,000.