Conference school::sports_memorabilia

    where can I pick up a copy of SCD in the southern NH/northern Mass
    area? thanks -dennis

    CM's Dugout
    Carriage Depot
    Route 101A
    Amherst, NH  03031
    
    603-882-3525

    How do you Gents like the new ACU_CARD grading system being put in
    place?  It appears to be taking all the guessing out of the card game.
    Hard to flip those suckers with that plastic casing around the card.
    At the Ford/Mr. Pete Rose show, I picked up from one of the gents
    performing his acu-card magic, a pamphelet on their grading system.
    "Very Interesting"!  They break it up into Early type cards, 1886 to
    1916, (was baseball around then?), Earlier cards, 1914 to 1956, Pre-
    Modern cards, 1957 to 1977 and Modern, 1978 to Present.  Right away,
    this tells me that 1956 and early is the way to go, as they give the
    cards a break the older they are.  The difference is about two grades
    from 1914/1956 vs. 1957/1977.  I think what their trying to say is that
    the older group is harder to find in Mint and Gem Mint, (they give % of
    the number of cards available) in that condition, and the grading
    softens the older the card.  I guess it should be that way, we have to
    give the old cards a break, they have been sitting around in attics and 
    cellars longer than the newer cards.  Think they'll make a go of it??

    It's an interesting idea, But all in all I'd rather determine grades
    myself and haggle over price. Most of the cards I buy are for my
    collection, and if the condition satisfies me, that's all I care about.
    I think John's right, it'll just cost us more to buy cards. I don't see
    any benefits of the service, unless you're an investor.
    
    John D.
    

    I keep hearing stories how the stamp and coin hobbies were "ruined"
    by various things. Anyone care to elaborate. I'm curious because it
    seems to be a popular belief that BB card hobby will take the same
    course.
    
    John

    News flash!!!!
    
    Mr. Mint has just changed his name to Mr. M-10 to accomodate the new
    grading system. 
    
    8^), 8^), :-)
    
    joe 

      .7 said it all. I couldn't agree more.
    
       It is a gimmick that can only drive prices up. We don't need it 
    and we should let them know that at every opportunity. It is an
    insult to a person's own ability to judge for himself. It will
    ruin the hobby and in a very short time I am afraid.
      What a gimmick, their outlay is a service that is not needed. The 
    only time I could see the need for this would be to see if a card 
    might be a fake. They probably wouldn't know, but would tell them
    that their fakes were m-10.

    Give me a break.Why would anybody buy thes things.Cards should be
    cardboard.Sorry to say I like to fiddle around with my cards sometimes.
    
    
    JMO
    
    TED

    I think the computer would read that fake card as MF-10, (Mint/Fake-10
    ).  The only reason I mentioned this grading system is because there was a
    gent at the Stanton Show on Sunday, performing this service, and
    let me tell you, he looked like a pretty lonely guy!  But, I do see
    this as a good idea in certain situations, and I did notice, that a few
    dealers, with older cards had this service done to their cards.  I have
    a NrMint 53T MM card, which is very old, and very brittle along the
    bottom left cornor, where the color is red.  Now, to be doodingly
    around with this card, pulling it in and out of the holder would pretty
    much destroy this card, and probably over time turn this card into a 
    Ex card.  But to seal this baby up in one of their water proof cases,
    and have it permanently graded, for a reasonable price, even though I 
    would never sell it in a million years, may not be a bad idea.  But its
    nice to have the ability to hold the actual card in your hand before
    you buy it and really examine it to your liking, not some computers
    liking.  Who knows, what if the guy who graded it put the information
    in wrong.  I guess this will be the next fradulent area of the hobby??
    What if he inputs the wrong year, or it has one of those crazy
    variations, or errors, does this go on the statisical data??

    Roy,
    Your not advertising in the right note.  Everyday, 5:30pm, Beaver is on
    the Tube, some cable station carries them.  I watch them while I'm
    having dinner.  Put an advertisement on that station.  Your'll sell
    a million sets!!  Beaver is Back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Beaver Cleaver, brother Wally, June, and Ward, Miss Cathcart, Eddie,
    Lumpy, Whitey, Chester, Gilbert.  The whole gang is BACK!  And there
    HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Early Retirement if you sell enough of them.
    Maybe I'm in the wrong note.  Daydreaming??

    Here's an interesting article I just read in the Boston Herald.
    
    In Bakersfield, Ca., Nat'l League umpire Bob Engel has bee charged
    withstealing 4,180 baseball cards from a retail store. Engel, 56, was
    released on $5,000 bail from Kern County Jail last Saturday and is
    scheduled to be arraigned May 2 on misdemeaner counts of commercial
    burglary and petty theft.
    
    
    
    This is just *too much*. 
    
    
    Just thought you guys would like to know!
    
    John D.

    Just to let you guys know that the total theft came to $143.98, for 7
    boxes of score cards.  This came out to be $20.57 per box.  How is that
    price compared to what we are paying out here in the east??  Just
    thought we could compare prices.

    FWIW,
    	SCD ads claim SCORE bb is hot. Ads that quote prices are
    $20 - $25 per wax box.
    
    John

    	... I thought the error was the card with Beaver stuck in the
    large coffee cup (handle on wrong side of cup) ???
    
    					Tony 8^)

    
    
    	Did any of you happen to hear the comment an ESPN sportscaster
	made during last night's Rangers-Yankees game.  It seems that some
    	collector/speculator bought 100 tickets to the game and didn't use
    	them with hopes of having a valuable collector's item in the
    	event that Nolan Ryan pitched his 300th win.  As we know now,
    	Ryan didn't get the win and this speculator has a bunch of
    	worthless tickets, that he probably paid a couple of thousand
    	bucks for.  Somehow I just can't feel too sorry for him though.
    	He is probably one of these sleazy dealer types that would have
    	hawked them for $100 each if Ryan had won.  I don't have any
    	compassion for this type of so-called "collector".
    
    							Paul
    

    
      I was going to give them to the guys in this notesfile for xmas.

    
    I AM ROOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLING
    
    Typical dealer mind at work
    
    Normal, rational people would not even think or consider doing that
    
    (Let us hope we don't  see these in the FOR SALE note)
    

    Yeah, I did hear that.......
    I thought it would be more of a collectors item if it
    where torn in half and your butt filled up one of the
    seats.  Serves him right for trying to build a market
    for a "collectable".
    
    BTW, I have a non-torn pair of tickets to the White
    House for the date of Aug. 8th, 1974.  For all you non-
    history buffs, thats the day Nixon resigned, and they
    wern't letting anyone in that day.  They have great
    sentimetial (sp?) value, but I'll let them both go for
    $1000.  :*)  
    P.S.  I didn't *create* this market.
    
    GG

    Here's what I've heard about the tickets.
    
    The dealer (yes it was a dealer) who put the National together
    purchased 100+ tickets to the game.  She was on a morning talk show
    that morning bemoaning the fact that the Rangers made her wait until
    the day of the game to pick them up.  (They were afraid she would scalp
    the tickets).  Her intention was to get Ryan to autograph each ticket
    and then sell them for around $100 each.  She discussed all of this on
    the talk show.  She also bragged about a Ryan rookie she sold for $2000
    to a young man "who just had to have the card".
    
    I felt bad for Ryan that he didn't get the win however, I was happy
    that she was stuck with 100+tickets at anywhere from $5-$10 bucks each. 
    I don't recall if she mentioned where the seats were located.
    
    Life's a beech.             joe
    

    re .29 et al
    
    The dealer didn't "create" the market in this case; Nolan Ryan created
    the market by winning 299 games (among other accomplishments). As it
    turned out, the dealer speculated and lost, but what if she had won?
    Nobody's forcing anybody to buy expensive collectables. Do you guys
    think this dealer would then be cornering the market on historic ticket
    stubs and thus preventing some pure-hearted, morally superior collector
    from completing his collection of 300-game winner stubs?  The amount of
    bitterness and resentment in this conference is unbelievable and can't
    quite be explained by the fact there are greedy and/or crooked dealers
    out there.  You want to collect something free, collect insects.

    Rats. I figured you'd get logical on me and point out that x-1 fans
    were deprived of seats for this event.  But to continue as devil's
    advocate, you can make the same accusation against corporations who buy
    up blocks of choice seats and don't distribute them all. They buy those
    tickets as perks and for public relations, all ultimately for profit.
    
    My real point, I guess, is that someone reading through this conference
    for the first time might assume that most of us have had our life
    savings cheated away from us by unscrupulous dealers.  Anyway, speaking
    of speculation, I'm going over to the local dealer right after work to
    load up on Kevin Maas and Mo Vaughn cards!!!

    If Von Hayes married Mo Vaughn.....Von Vaughn?
    
    Or Mo married Tommy Herr.....MOHAIR?
    
    Never mind.

    RE: .36
    
    Same with the Giants. See my reply in the Mother's Cookies note.
    
    John D.
    

Article 508 of clari.sports.features:
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From: [email protected] (BOB BRILL)
Newsgroups: clari.sports.misc,clari.sports.features,clari.sports.top
Subject: A Sports Collector's Guide
Keywords: misc sports
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Date: 1 Apr 92 17:28:16 GMT
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                        Brill-iant Ideas:
	Fleer is taking the sports card battle to another level with two
innovations in its 1991-92 basketball update series. For the first time
Fleer is offering update cards in wax packs instead of sets and it's the
first time active NBA players are featured in a signature series.
	Dikembe Mutombo of Denver and Atlanta's Dominique Wilkins each signed
2,000 cards to be inserted in packs.
	``We've done box sets before and they carry a fairly high price tag,''
said Jeffrey Massien, Fleer's Vice-President of Marketing. Fleer decided
against making box sets of this update, choosing instead to target kids
who can afford 55-cent packs.
	The series consists of 160 cards numbered 241-400. As in other
updates there will be rookies and traded players, but the bonus comes
with the signed cards and the Mutombo/Wilkins subsets. Each will have
his own 12 card series. There will be roughly one such card in every 10
packs.
	``Since we have never done this before, we'll watch the results very
carefully,'' said Massien. ``If it appears to be successful we'll
consider it for our baseball and football lines.''
	Fleer is staking a lot on basketball this season. An expanded
advertising budget has put big money into television, print and
sponsorship of the NBA's radio broadcasts.
	Interestingly, Magic Johnson is prominently displayed several times
on other players' cards. Few in the hobby would be surprised that, given
Johnson's forced retirement because he had contracted the AIDS virus, a
card company might select such shots on purpose. Massien denies it,
explaining that most players perform their best against the best. There
are certain to be more shots of Johnson guarding the featured player.
	``It was not done intentionally,'' Massien said. ``It's a coincidence
as to who is in the background.''
	For Wilkins it marks the latest in a roller coaster year. With
Atlanta on its way to a playoff spot he tore his Achilles tendon, but
has signed a movie deal. He'll co-star with Jean-Claude Van Dam but gets
killed in the end.
	``Signing with Fleer to do the signature line was very nice,'' he
said. ``Good things are starting to happen including more endorsements.''
	Wilkins is out of the cast now and doctors say he's healing at a
rapid rate. Known as ``The Human Highlight Film,'' Wilkins said that
next season he'll be back doing the things he's done before.
	DOME SINGLES: With dealers breaking up the 1991 Topps Stadium Club
Dome Sets, the asking price for Brien Taylor is about $19, and Ken
Griffey's All-Star card is $9. Full sets are selling in the $45-$79
range. Stadium Club 1992 Series 1 packs were selling for $2.50 a pack,
but now that many warehouse stores have them, packs can be found for as
low as $2. Warehouse stores sold boxes for about $50, or $10-$15 below
prices charged by distributors. Packs should go back up soon.
	HOCKEY: While Topps officials say Stadium Club is selling well in
Canada, the overall market is down. The set has dropped $10 in the past
two months to $80 and few stars are going up. The lack of strong rookies
has hurt. While Upper Deck has Tony Amonte, who lists for $3.50, and
Niklas Lidstrom at $4.50, neither is in the Topps set. Stadium club does
have six players listing for at least $5, led by Sergei Fedorov (No.
316) at $7.
	UPPER DECK HIGHS: Upper Deck high series hockey is on the market with
factory sets selling in the $18-$22 range. Boxes are going for $29-$38.
The set contains the traditional final 100 cards.
	PRO SET PLAYER: One of the most difficult small sets to complete is
Pro Set's Player of the Month series. Each month Pro Set named an NHL
player and featured him on a special card, numbered P1 through P6. The
cards are given away at one specific game featuring the player's team.
The February award went to Luc Robitaille of the L.A. Kings. The cards
were given away at the March 21st Kings-Flames game. Other winners
include Kirk McLean of Vancouver (P1, October), and Kevin Stevens of the
Penguins (P2, November). Pro Set also gives $1,200 in the player's name
to a youth hockey program.
	BUTKUS MAKES PITCH: Former Bears linebacker and Hall of Famer Dick
Butkus was at the National Candy Wholesalers Convention in San Diego.
While Franco Harris was signing autographs Butkus was hawking his own
product. An officer with Academic Products in Pacoima, Calif., Butkus
was manning the booth and telling prospective buyers about a protective
card holder and carrying case. The large plastic box is modeled after a
video cassette container but has a patented easel to display the cards
when opened.
 
	Q & A: Has anyone come up with a way to protect the much thicker
Action Packed Cards?
	K. Parks, Thousand Oaks, California
 
	Collectors Products Corp., which makes ``Snap-It'' cases, worked with
Action Packed to develop a hard plastic protector with a deeper card
well to safely secure the card. It also carries the Action Packed name
on the front and should be on the market soon.
 
	Send your questions to Bob Brill, Brill-iant Ideas, P.O. Box 807, San
Fernando, Calif., 91340.
	Go to a show today, and have fun with your hobby.


    

Article 6820 of clari.sports.misc:
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From: [email protected] (BOB BRILL)
Newsgroups: clari.sports.misc,clari.sports.top
Subject: A Sports Collector's Guide
Keywords: misc sports
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Date: 9 Apr 92 17:27:45 GMT
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                        Brill-iant Ideas:
	When Chicago's Mike Gustafson takes to the air you can bet he goes
with camera in hand and is heading for a major league park.
	Gustafson photographs ballparks from helicopters and turns those
pictures into collectible calenders and lithographs. The project has
been two years in the making and by the 1992 All-Star Game in San Diego,
he will have taken aeriel photos of more than 20 parks.
	``My favorite is Wrigley with Fenway a close second,'' Gustafson
said. ``The most difficult was Skydome because the president and the
prime minister were there for the All-Star Game. Air space was
restricted.''
	One of his best is the new park in Chicago. Comiskey fills the frame
as the attractive blue roof encompasses the stadium.
	The lithographs sell for $25 while 1993 calenders will be in the $6
range. Gustafson is working with the Johns Byrne Co. and is pitching
corporations to sponsor the series.
	Gustafson's first major collection was ``Chicago Scenes,'' which
included the old Comiskey and the first night game at Wrigley.
	``Everyone is collecting baseball cards, but as a kid I always wanted
to put myself in a major league ballpark,'' Gustafson said. ``Where the
players call home is just as important as statistics.''
	Gustafson won't limit his lithographs. He enjoys getting them to
anyone who is interested. The pictures combine a unique blend of the
stadium and the city.
	This season he'll wrap up the series with the new stadium in
Baltimore followed by both Texas parks and Jack Murphy Stadium in San
Diego. The calenders will be printed by late summer and available in
September for the World Series.
	FINAL 4: Fans at the Final Four received limited edition
commemorative sheets from Upper Deck. The sheets pay tribute to coaches
whose teams have dominated college hoops. Adolph Rupp, John Wooden, Dean
Smith and Bob Knight were highlighted.
	BIG BIZ: To realize the importance of the sports card market you need
only look to the NHL strike. One of the major stumbling blocks has been
the financial split on trading cards.
	PINNACLE: Score's Pinnacle Hockey is on the market. The premier
edition of 420 cards, including 55 rookies has been anxiously awaited by
dealers and collectors alike. The suggested retail price is $1.29 but
expect to pay $1.50 per pack. There will also be a French language
edition.
	TRIVIA: Actress Susan Saint James is the first woman featured on a
hockey trading card. Saint James is pictured as a celebrity captain of
the Hartford Whalers in Pro Set Platinum 2.
	ACTION: Action Packed has changed its 1992 cards. The player photos
are larger and the players' names are in gold rather than black.
Prototypes list for $50.
	ALL MADDEN: The Action Packed ``All-Madden Team'' set includes 52
cards, but no Jim Kelly. Hi-Pro Marketing, Inc., which produces Action
Packed, could not print a Kelly card because the Buffalo quarterback has
denied permission to the NFL Players Association to use his name.
	CLIPPER TAX: An IRS tax examiner pulled a signed Joe Dimaggio card
from a Score Series 1 pack. Californian Tom Norman selected one of the
2,500 signed cards. 
	ERRORS: One of the early errors of 1992 has popped up. Rob Maurer's
Fleer (No. 675) has the incorrect spelling of the player's name. It's
spelled Mauer. Fleer has issued a corrected version.
	RYAN-SEAVER: Pacific, which already has two series of Nolan Ryan
Cards, now has a special edition Tom Seaver set. Seaver, a Ryan teammate
in the 1960s, is featured in a 110-card set. There is a six-card subset
of Seaver's milestones and 1,000 signed cards. Set for release in late
April there will also be a limited gold foil set of eight cards.
	ADD RYAN: Coca-Cola and Donruss have teamed up for a new 26-card
Nolan Ryan Set. The Ryan cards with gold borders and a Coca-Cola logo,
come in a four-card cello in 12-packs of Coke products. The remaining
three cards are of other Donruss Series 1 players. Collectors can also
get the 26-card set through the mail for $8.95 plus proof of purchase.
	LAST ADD RYAN: The latest Pacific Ryan Set features motivational glow
in the dark slogans on the card backs. Among the slogans, ``Winners
Don't Use Drugs,'' and ``Stay In School.''
	FOREIGN UPDATE: Unlike other companies, Fleer has no plans to expand
to Europe at this time. However, when asked about other foreign markets
Vice President Jeffrey Massien said: ``Any company has to be looking at
the global market, but nothing that I'd be willing to talk about at
present.''
	Q & A: In hoping to get every card in a particular set I also want to
get the error cards, but have trouble finding exactly what the errors
are. Is there a book which details errors?
	J. Sanchez, Los Angeles, California
	The 1993 edition of the Beckett Guide To Baseball Cards is now on
store shelves. It lists for $5.99 and lists each and every card over the
years and details the errors.
	Send your questions to Bob Brill, Brill-iant Ideas, P.O. Box 807, San
Fernando, CA 91340.
	Go to a show today, and have fun with your hobby.
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Article: 7468
Path: sousa.ltn.dec.com!nntpd.lkg.dec.com!nntpd2.cxo.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!sdd.hp.com!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!news.cso.uiuc.edu!uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!msvg2539
From: [email protected] (Mark V.)
Newsgroups: rec.collecting
Subject: CARDS: Topps gets basketball contract
Summary: Topps gets Basketball contract
Keywords: Topps Basketball Contract
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 24 Jun 92 16:45:04 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (Net Noise owner)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Lines: 14
 
 
 
>From the new Baseball Weekly (p.41):
(reprinted without permission)
 
 
  GRAND SLAM: Topps has received a license to produce basketball cards,
              joining Upper Deck as the only card manufacturers with
              licenses to print cards of all four major sports.
 
              NBA Properties and Topps inked a three-year deal. Topps
              will release a regular set and a Stadium Club set this
              fall.
                                                                       
    
                                        Denny