Meet the BGS Grading Team!

For many years people have wondered what goes on in Beckett Grading Services. Honestly, many people inside Beckett Media had the same question. The graders are in their own security sealed area of the building and we don't see them very much.

These guys are all industry experts but their experiences and backgrounds run the gamut in the hobby. When you start talking with them about grading, collecting and sports you realize there is wide variety of personalities down there. The one thing that is clear is they take grading very serious and they realize you trust them with your cards so they are going to give you their very best.

Behold the Beckett Graders...

Mark Anderson

Killing a few minutes at a mall in Montana in 1988 introduced head grader Mark Anderson to a hobby that would lead him from a kid collecting and selling cards between friends to owning his own card shop to directing the industry leading grading department of Beckett Media.

Mark bought a few packs and a copy of Beckett Baseball that fateful day and one of his first pulls was a Donruss Gregg Jefferies RC valued at around $4, which was big money at the time. Success on the collecting side led Mark to run an ad in the local paper looking to buy/sell cards. Thinking he would expand his collection by 20-30 cards he was surprised when the first call received was from a gentleman looking to sell 17,000 cards. Mark bought the cards and spent the next few months organizing them and putting them in Beckett order.

In 1990 he opened his own card shop, The Card Cartel. A few years later he applied for a job with Beckett. He started in the pricing department working on everything except basketball. When Beckett began putting together the plans for a grading department Mark volunteered to join the department and it has enjoyed unparalleled success under his leadership.

He credits the flexibility Beckett has demonstrated in responding to their customers needs with adding to the company's success. He thinks two areas of collecting that are currently undervalued include pre-war non-sports cards and certified autographs.

His sports collection includes between a third to half a million cards and over 2,000 autographs. When asked what someone would be surprised he collected, Mark chuckled and then described a very expansive collection of memorabilia from Aaron Spelling's 1970's hit TV show The Love Boat.

When he is not collecting everything Mark stays busy making improvements to his home and being active in his church.

Eddie Brandon

Since 1999 Eddie Brandon has been grading football, baseball, basketball and hockey cards for Beckett. In Eddie's opinion his gift of being a good grader comes from his ability to spot flaws and use technology to stay ahead of the curve. He still gets excited when a high quality '52 Topps Mantle comes across his desk. Even after six plus years, he still takes a lot of pride in working for the recognized leader in the grading industry.

Eddie's top tip for card care or shipping:

"Take some time before you send in your card to look at the four categories. Measure your card and make sure the corners are not dinged. Have a reasonable idea of how you think your card will grade before you send it. This will help with your expectations."

When he is not grading Eddie is collecting autographs. He has about 300 that he has personally nabbed. They are mostly 8 x 10's and notecards. He also has 50 baseballs. Most of his autographs are football and baseball and he laments the fact that Dallas does not have more entertainers pass through so he could grab their 'graphs.

Eddie's personal favorite: The 75th anniversary of the NFL cereal box that he has autographs from Jerry Rice, Dick Butkus, and Sammy Baugh on. His goal is to get as many players to sign the box before he digs in.

Andy Broome

Andy Broome brings a unique perspective to the Beckett Grading department. He is the primary vintage grader as well as resident cartoonist. Many of Andy's 'toons have graced the pages of a variety of Beckett publications as well as magazines like The Saturday Evening Post and several smaller publications.

Andy was grading for over six years before he joined the Beckett team in 2004. He says the biggest challenge has been dealing with doctoring and restoration. He recognizes this is an industry problem but the vintage market is especially susceptible due to the amount of money at stake.

Andy has a lot of experience handling cards and he spends a lot of time learning the technology. Ultimately, he recognizes that it comes down to knowing and being familiar with the cards.

Andy's best tip for card care and/or shipping?

"At the collector level people need to realize they do not really own the card they are just taking care of it for future generations. You are really protecting the card so other people can enjoy it in the future. Collectors are like caregivers for cards."

"At the hobbyist level I would like to get rid of screwdowns all together. They make it nice to look at cards but they really hurt cards in the long run. They just press down on the cards too hard. For storage, aside from a BVG slab, it is hard to beat a penny sleeve and a top loader even for a card that might be worth $10,000."

When he is not pouring over vintage cards for Beckett, Andy is pursuing the hobby on his personal time. Even as a kid he was drawn to the vintage cards. He would trade to get good vintage cards and he always had his eye out for Shoeless Joe Jackson cards.

Steve Tyndall

One of the utility men of Beckett Grading, Steve does a little of everything. He will grade BCCG as well as standard BGS orders. Whatever needs to be covered, Steve is one of the go to guys. He also has his hands in order verification and invoicing for Beckett Grading.

Steve has been grading for over five years and his interest in the hobby goes back many years prior to becoming an employee.

He thinks the ability to spot a counterfeit is one of the biggest keys to good grading. This may seem obvious but Steve recognizes the Beckett benefit when it comes to counterfeits, which is the graders have the advantage of seeing really good cards all the time so when they do see a counterfeit it stands out. If Steve runs across a really good fake he can get a couple of graders together and compare to a real card.

Steve still enjoys a '52 Mantle and he always likes seeing the Jordan rookies that come in. He likes passing on tips to his friends and relatives about what to watch out for as far as counterfeits and taking care of cards.

Steve thinks the security factor of knowing that a Beckett graded card can be trusted is one of the biggest plusses to using the grading service. With the Beckett grade you know that a third party expert has looked at the card and it is slabbed for safety.

Steve's personal time was recently interrupted by the addition of a new baby. This really means he is finding a new home for a lot of his collectibles, which consist of mainly Simpsons action figures. He has 109 all together right now as well as every Simpsons TV show on videotape. He also collects Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues. His wife isn't happy about that but it is something he has always collected.

Scott Kirklen

Scott is one of the day-oners in Beckett Grading and the third person hired to work in grading. A serious collector going back to the '70s he covers both modern and vintage cards.

Scott's passion for detail extends beyond the walls of Beckett and he has been known to look at products when he is at card shows and not really enjoy the card but examine it instead. He faults the fact that once you train yourself to examine cards it is hard to turn that skill off.

He collected football starting in 1975 and he collected heavily for about 10 years. He built a lot of sets and was interested in the vintage stuff even then.

Scott likes to see all the different products and he enjoys the variety. At Beckett he likes the fact that he gets to look at everything. He never collected for the money, opting to collect more for fun so getting to see all the cards every day is a nice benefit.

Scott's top collecting tip:

"Collect what you like. It is more fun to collect a team or player you are passionate about than looking to make a profit all the time. That is the best way to get started in collecting."

Scott sites the Internet as one of the best reasons why grading is so important.

"Because of the Internet now, grading is even more important. You need to make sure you are not getting ripped off. The protection a graded card provides is a necessity."

Scott enjoys music and going to concerts. He also likes to spend a lot of time with his family. He is a fan of the Cowboys and all the other local teams since he grew up in Dallas.

J.J. Arredondo

J.J. has moved his way up through the ranks of the Beckett Grading department over the last six years. He started in slabbing, moved to a grader position, then shifted into the verification and order management side of the business. He still enjoys keeping his grading eyes sharp.

He likes the change of pace the grading department offers and enjoys being around a diverse group of guys who all enjoy sports and giving each other a hard time. The open and dynamic atmosphere of the grading room also brings a far share of challenges J.J. enjoys.

J.J. might be recognizable to many of Beckett customers from his show experience, which J.J. says is one of the big plusses of working in the grading department. He enjoys the travel even though he admits he doesn't see much of each city he visits since he is grading almost the entire time. His favorite sports to grade include basketball and baseball and he enjoys checking out the new designs and products that have been coming out over the last few years.

He got into the hobby a number of years ago and enjoys collecting autographed baseballs citing the Cal Ripken Jr. ball as one of his favorites along with the Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez ball he got the future Hall of Fame catcher to sign for him in Chicago. J.J. says the best thing about the Pudge ball was he was able to talk with Pudge for a few minutes after the autograph about the Dallas area.

When he is not grading or tracking orders J.J. can be found patrolling the infield at shortstop or second base on his tournament softball team. He recently joined a bowling league and earned his black belt in karate when he was 13.

David Poole

David started grading at Beckett in March of 1999. His keen eye for detail extends beyond the grading room as David is recognized as an accomplished comedic impersonator. He says his ability to notice the slightest detail is a plus in the grading room as well as when he is trying to refine an impersonation.

David grades all sports and says that the biggest key to being a successful grader is focusing on the little details. He has found himself noticing print dots on magazines in his spare time.

He enjoys running across the interesting cards and sharing them with the other graders. His biggest on the job challenge is dealing with counterfeits. He says that even if you see an obvious fake you need to double check it and then refocus on the next set of cards.

David's top tip for card care or shipping:

When he is not grading David's focus stays on playing with and enjoying his kids. His favorite player is Frank Thomas.

Brian Nelson

Brian joined Beckett in April of 1999 and he grades everything across the board. His passion for the hobby also includes a passion for the Dallas Cowboys and the other Dallas pro teams. He enjoys the camaraderie of the grading room as well as the challenges of the job.

His favorite piece of graded memorabilia was a Troy Aikman card that included a jersey swatch as well as shoe swatch. The major aspect that jumped out at Brian was the shoe swatch encompassed the "8" that Aikman had written on the back of his shoe. It was one of the more unique cards Brian has seen cross his desk.

Brian enjoys the sense of accomplishment a grader gets from completing orders and getting them back to the customers as quickly as possible. He works quietly and thoroughly at his desk focusing on the task at hand while many of his fellow graders converse freely around him. His quiet attitude earned him the nickname "Snake" since he will work quietly and then "strike" with a quick comment or interjection.

Brian's prized sports collectible item is a full sized Cowboys helmet he has that is signed by Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach.