05.03
By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor
Earlier this week, it was announced that a treasure trove of early Kobe Bryant memorabilia was headed to the auction block, consigned to Goldin Auctions by Bryant’s mother, Pamela.
On Thursday, Kobe Bryant filed a cease-and-desist order saying the items are his and that he doesn’t want them sold, according to a story by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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05.02
By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor
Simply put, there is now more demand for his autographs.
On Monday, NBA veteran Jason Collins became the first active player in a major American sport to announce that he’s gay, and since that time his limited number of certified autographs has skyrocketed — at least relatively speaking — as they have gone from unsold online auction fodder to as much as $100 on eBay.
In particular demand are his 2001-02 SPx autos, which have gone from unsold auctions at $1 to consistent sellers at $20 or so — and more for the rarer Spectrum verison.
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05.02
By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor
It started as a novel idea for a novelty, but now it is no more.
Seattle-based Egraphs has pulled the plug on its electronic service allowing fans to get a personalized autograph and message from sports stars electronically.
“We ran into some unforeseen obstacles that ultimately prevented us from continuing to operate,” wrote company CEO David Auld in a letter posted on the Egraphs website. “It has been a very difficult time for us here at the company, as every one of us was dedicated to building out the future of fan-celebrity interactions. We were fortunate enough to witness some amazing experiences between you all, and it was what enabled us to work up to this point.”
The company was founded in 2011 and was licensed by MLB and NBA with other sports’ stars also in the mix to sign and leave a message for fans for a fee. Those who purchased an Egraph will receive a message from the company via email telling them how they can permanently save their files.
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04.29
By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor | Commentary & Opinion
Will a historic first prompt added interest in his basketball cards?
NBA veteran Jason Collins is the first active player in a major American sport to announce that he’s gay, according to a cover story for the May 6 issue of Sports Illustrated, and that’s the big question.
What might this mean for his basketball cards? Well, that remains to be seen, but it should be obvious to many that it’s a significant piece of social history in sports — though it ultimately has little bearing on the court, where the 13-year veteran has averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds a game in his career.
Collins is a free agent now, last playing for the Washington Wizards, and he will be a player who will be watched — that’s one thing that’s definitely certain.
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04.26
By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor
Yet another new NBA line is here from Panini America — and this one’s all about the ink.
It’s 2012-13 Signatures basketball and it will arrive in July packing three autographed cards in every four-pack box.
The brand, as the company says, will carry “an emphasis on clean designs, rare chase elements, photo variations and the Panini America NBA debut of autographed film slide cards.”
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04.22
By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor
Doc Jacobs got his tryout — and now he’s getting a baseball card.
A Purple Heart-honored Navy vet who lost his left leg, toes on his right foot and parts of two fingers in Iraq had a tryout with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Feb. 28 — and now he’ll get his own baseball card from Upper Deck in its retro-styled 2013 Goodwin Champions multi-sport set that arrives on July 9.
Jacobs will be signing 100 copies of the card found in an insert set called Heroic Inspirations.
“When we heard about Doc’s story, we immediately said to ourselves, ‘Now that’s a baseball player we need to make a trading card for,’” said Chris Carlin, sports marketing manager for Upper Deck. “We worked in concert with our great partners at Operation Gratitude and the charity Doc co-founded, VETSports, to make it happen. We couldn’t be more excited to give patriotic Americans the opportunity to collect inspiration.”
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04.19
Join Beckett Basketball‘s Brian Fleischer and Chris Olds as they rip into a box of 2012-13 Panini Marquee in this latest edition of Box Busters.
What will they find inside and how can you win a box? Watch and find out …
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We’ll take submissions for the contest until April 26 before we pick a winner. Include your email in the appropriate field or we can’t contact you if you win.
04.16
Posted on April 16, 2013 – 11:51 am | Author: chrisolds
Basketball | 2012-13 Leaf Metal, 2012-13 Leaf Metal Checklist, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Damian Lillard, John Stockton, Larry Bird, Leaf Trading Cards, Magic Johnson, Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing | Comments (4)
By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor
Aiming to fill an apparent void in the “under-served basketball market,” Leaf Trading Cards unveiled 2012-13 Leaf Metal on Tuesday, and it’s a product it says has features which “all companies are sure to imitate once unveiled.”
The product will include one autograph and one insert card per pack and five packs per box when it arrives in May, featuring on-card autographs of stars from the past as well as a few from the present.
Among the signers will be Patrick Ewing (click here for OPG & checklist), the former Knicks star and Hall of Famer who simply doesn’t like signing. He has signed jumbo patch cards for this one. Ewing has just 18 certified autographs made in the past with the most-recent cards coming in 2003-04 Upper Deck products.
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