And So Begins Santa's Year-Long Vacation
By Andrew Tolentino | Assistant Editor
With his biggest project now out of the way, old St. Nick is taking a well-deserved vacation…probably somewhere sunny if I had to guess.
For years, hobby manufacturers have caught Claus on and off the job, playing football, dunking basketballs and enjoying other recreational activities. As you may have already seen in the current issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly, these candid moments have made for an interesting array of Kringle cardboard.
Even though he’s gone into hiding for now, perhaps disguising himself as a portly Brian Wilson, we thought it would be nice to share a few of his trading card appearances. For the full scoop on Claus cards, look for the Oddities section in the latest copy of Beckett Sports Card Monthly.
1991 Pro Line Portraits Autographs #NNO Santa Claus /200 ($60)
Carrying the DNA of Howie Long, Ernest Hemingway and a bag of NFL goodies, this Santa signed the Kringle card with the highest price, according to Beckett analysis.
2007 Topps Santa Claus #1
With a nod to Mickey Mantle’s famed 1952 RC, Topps gave collectors a specially trimmed tribute the nostalgic 2007 Holiday set.
1989 Pro Set Promos #1989 Santa Claus ($40)
Issued as an insert, this ’89 Santa Claus card paved the way for future generations of white beards in wrappers.
This is pretty cool because I was just looking into starting a Santa Claus card collection!
Feel free to start on the Beckett Marketplace: http://tinyurl.com/BMPSantaClaus
[…] For years, hobby manufacturers have caught Claus on and off the job, playing football, dunking basketballs and enjoying other recreational activities. As you may have already seen in the current issue of Beckett Sport Card Monthly, these candid moments have made for an interesting array of Kringle cardboard. The Beckett Blog […]
You dont’ seem to show it (unless I”m mis-remembering), but one of the cards in the Topps holiday set was autographed and another was a relic of santa’s suit.
It’s not in this post, but we did feature the Topps Santa relic in the BSCM article.
Oddly enough, since Santa Claus is associated with the north pole and snow, there’s only been one Santa Claus card in a hockey set:
1991/92 Parkhurst NNO Santa Claus.
You’d think he would be a shoo-in for every hockey set…