The 2016 Topps Archives Bull Durham Autographs Checklist Is as Great as You’d Hoped For
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
Bull Durham is on pretty much everyone’s list of the Top 10 Baseball Movies of All-Time. Even that’s generous. Most will put it in the top 5. And while the movie has spawned a couple of oddball promo sets, it’s crossing over into the hobby mainstream. 2016 Topps Archives Baseball has not only an insert set based on the film, but autographs as well.
And, yes, that includes Kevin Costner. And Susan Sarandon. And Tim Robbins.
2016 Topps Archives Bull Durham Autographs
For a lot of baseball card collectors who like to venture into the pop culture realm, the wait for Kevin Costner autographs has been a long one. Now he’s got a steady stream of them. First, there were signed cards in 2015 Leaf Trinity Baseball.
Costner is just one of the lead actors to appear on the 2016 Topps Archives Bull Durham Autographs checklist. Susan Sarandon (Annie Savoy), Tim Robbins (Nuke LaLoosh and Robert Wuhl (Larry Hockett) are among the other notables in the nine-card set.
All of the 2016 Topps Archives Bull Durham Autographs are serial numbered except for the two biggest, Costner and Sarandon. Of those that are numbered, Wuhl is the rarest with 145 copies. From there, they reach as high as 695 copies for Jenny Robertson (Millie). Parallels for the signed cards come in Red (/50), Black (1/1) and Printing Plates.
Early sales of the cards are all over the place. Asking prices on eBay for the Costner and Sarandon autographs are particularly high with initial sellers asking well over $500 each. It looks as though others will settle in the $50 to $175 range for now. Once the initial excitement settles, some of the common autographs could settle lower.
A couple of months after 2016 Topps Archives, Costner appears to be slated for 2015 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball. Rather than Bull Durham, the focus shifts to another classic baseball movie, Field of Dreams.
The 2016 Topps Archives Bull Durham cards are similar to the Major League ones used in 2014 Topps Archives and the Rocky cards in 2015 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball. By using the character names, they are licensed by the movie studio.
2016 Topps Archives Bull Durham Autographs Checklist and Gallery
Print runs are noted for each card. Costner and Sarandon are not numbered.
BDA-AS Susan Sarandon as Annie Savoy
BDA-B David Neidorf as Bobby – /595
BDA-CD Kevin Costner as Crash Davis
BDA-J William O’Leary as Jimmy – /595
BDA-LH Robert Wuhl as Larry Hockett – /145
BDA-M Jenny Robertson as Millie – /695
BDA-NL Tim Robbins as Nuke LaLoosh – /295
BDA-RS Ron Shelton – Director/Writer – /345
BDA-T Tom Silardi as Tony – /595
Inserts
As exciting as the thought of a Kevin Costner Bull Durham autograph might be, they’re tough. More realistic are the basic 2016 Topps Archives Bull Durham inserts. Strangely, though, only seven of the nine autographs have unsigned versions. And those that were left off? Crash and Annie, the two biggest stars. Topps has not said why this is.
2016 Topps Archives Bull Durham Checklist
BD-B Bobby
BD-J Jimmy
BD-LH Larry Hockett
BD-M Millie
BD-NL Nuke LaLoosh
BD-RS Ron Shelton
BD-T Tony
Other Bull Durham Trading Cards
Back when Bull Durham first came out, Gatorade released a set of four over-sized cards featuring Crash Davis, Annie, Nuke and Millie. Sealed sets also came with a packet of juice crystals that you probably shouldn’t drink now.
A six-card set was released by Orion Studios to commemorate the film’s video release. These are tough to find.
Star included Kevin Costner cards into a handful of 1988 and 1989 Durham Bulls team sets.
Finally, 2013 Topps Pro Debut Baseball has four cut signature cards from Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Robert Wuhl. These are each one-of-ones.
Comments? Questions? Contact Ryan Cracknell on Twitter @tradercracks.
Leaf will get their versions out first but this version will most likely be the most popular.
Any word on a checklist for the auto set?
Not yet. The product itself hasn’t even been unveiled other than the picture of the Costner.
Bummer they aren’t including the regular card for 2 of the 3 main characters. Most of us can’t afford $1,000 for those autographs, and it makes the set feel extremely incomplete.
They did that for Major League with Rachel Phelps, but she wasn’t a really challenging auto. I bought her auto for that set and have it in the same binder as the non-autos.
I was definitely going to buy Archives – because of that set, but now I’m waffling a bit on that news.
This looks to be a cool set, from card design to choice of signers. Nice work, Topps.
Do we have a release date?
Yesterday. They’re out now.
Where do you get them are they supposed to show up randomly in the Topps 2016 complete set ?
The Bull Durham autographs are in packs of 2016 Topps Archives.
Curious as to why the Costner and Sarandon are lacking serials? Anyone? The Savoy is showing up less than the Costner by 3 fold. Any guesses or ideas on the print run of these two?