The Post War Cards Newsletter #21

Signed Jerry West Kahn's Cards, Ken Griffey Jr.'s Signed First Minor League Card, 1971 Topps Brady Bunch, And The National Sports Collector's First Issue

Feb 13, 2025

Happy Hobby Thursday!

Going forward, The Unopened Market Report, which comes out on Mondays, will only be sent to paying subscribers; there shouldn’t be preview emails anymore to those of you who aren’t signed up. But I think if you go to the newsletter’s archives on the Substack site, you’ll be able to see the equivalent of the preview email.

Anywho, let’s get to it!

🏀 An Incredible Collection Of Signed Vintage Basketball Oddball Cards

Shortly after updating and republishing a piece about Jerry West’s Kahn’s Wieners basketball cards, I ran across an incredible lot of signed vintage basketball oddballs on a Facebook group, including signed 1961 and 1963 Jerry West Kahn’s Wieners cards!

Here’s the full list of what was being offered:

1969 NBAP Oscar - $2,750 (Pop 1, Only copy)
1961 Kahn's West - $2,200 (Pop 2, 1 higher)
1963 Kahn's West - $1,500 (Pop 1, 2 higher)
1962 Kahn's Oscar - $1,900 (Pop 1, only copy)
1963 Kahn's Oscar - $1,800 (Pop 1, only copy)
1964 Kahn's Oscar Front - $1,500 (Pop 1, 1 higher)
1964 Kahn's Oscar Side - $1,200 (Pop 2, none higher)
1955 All American Sports Club Cousy - $2800
1972 Icee Bear West PSA 8 - $975 (Highest grade)
1972 Icee Bear Oscar - $850

By the way, PSA’s Pop Report shows that there are five signed 1960 Kahn’s Wieners Jerry West “pre-rookie” cards. Given the growing popularity of signed vintage cards and the fact that the last unsigned copy I found (a PSA 2) sold for $3,674 in June 2021, the $12,999 price tag that this one has on eBay doesn’t seem that unreasonable.

⚾️ Ken Griffey Jr’s Signed 1987 Bellingham Mariners Card

Ken Griffey Jr. was drafted first overall in the MLB amateur draft on June 2, 1987. Shortly after that, he joined the Bellingham Mariners for a 54-game Class A minor league season. He dominated, hitting .313 with 14 home runs, 40 runs batted in, and 13 stolen bases. Naturally, the team issued a card set, including one with Jr., and Sirius Sports Auctions sold a signed example back on January 30th for $689.63.

Griffey also made an appearance on the 1987 Bellingham Mariners Team Card, #33 in the set. Neither is particularly rare; PSA has graded over 3500 (plus 117 PSA/DNA copies) of Griffeys card #15 and 248 Team Cards.

✍️ Great Hobby Writing

The Card Chop: Spirit of ‘76
Signature Stories: Colts upend Cowboys in the ‘Blunder Bowl’
SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee: They’re Coming For Your Baseball Cards!
Sports Collectors Digest: Is Bronko Nagurski's 1935 National Chicle the best football card ever?
Night Owl Cards: Done with the NFL for the year
Pre-War Collector: A Look at Charlie Chaplin’s Earliest Cards
Collectibles On SI: Super Bowl Tickets: Collecting History
The Topps Archives: Fumblerooski
1939 Bruins: The NCAA Gets Jackie Wrong
The Shlabotnik Report: 1976 Topps “Color Buddies”

📺 Unopened Item Of The Week - 1971 Topps Brady Bunch Items

I recently saw a 1971 Topps Brady Bunch wrapper sell on eBay for $69, which might seem pricey to people outside of the unopened niche.

But Topps Brady Bunch is a surprisingly pricey non-sport product—for example, in 2017, Mile High Card Co. sold this unopened wax box for $34,000!

There’s always been a lot of confusion surrounding the 1971 Topps Brady Bunch set, but Christopher Benjamin breaks it down well in The Sport Americana Price Guide to the Non-Sports Cards:

After several years of debate, it has finally been established that there is no second series of Topps Brady Bunch. There was, however, a ‘test’ series of 55 cards issued in 1970 (either in cellophane or in Fun Packs). The ‘regular’ series of 88 cards was sold in 1971 according to Topps’ spokesman Norman Liss. The confusion about both sets arises from the Paramount Pictures copyright dates appearing on each type of card. Our enlargement shows an identical card (No. 12) from the test (top) and regular set (bottom). The Paramount copyright date on the test issue is 1970; on the regular card, it is 1969. The 1969 date refers to the original license granted for 88 designs. When Topps ‘tested’ only 55 designs, a new license/copyright was required: 1970. When the 88-card set was finally made, the original 1969 copyright was still valid and was printed on the cards released in 1971.

In terms of unopened, the lower right corner of the wrapper pictured above has a code (0-443-87-01-1) dating to 1971, and the box codes are dated to 1971 (1-443-37-01-1), too, supporting Benjamin’s conclusions. The Topps Archives has a great deep dive into the unopened product, but I have some more history to share in a future Unopened Market Report, so consider upgrading your account so you don’t miss it!

PS: In Monday’s release of The Unopened Market Report, I shared a photo of what might be the only 1968 OPC Hockey 2nd Series wax pack left unopened.

📝 On The Blog

Feb 6, 2025: An Official Letter About How Many 1991 Topps Desert Shield Cards Were Made
Feb 7, 2025: Uncut Treasures: Rediscovering Rare Sheets From a 1982 Baseball Cards Magazine Ad
Feb 8, 2025: 23 1991 Upper Deck Heroes Jerry West Autos in One Case? The High Series Surprise
Feb 9, 2025: From Auctions Past: A Complete 1974 Topps Deckle Edge Proofs Set
Feb 10, 2025: National Sports Collector, Vol 1 No 1 November 15, 1976
Feb 11, 2025: The Rare 1938 R83A Gum, Inc. Lone Ranger Promo Sheet
Feb 12, 2025: The Original Ted Williams Hall of Fame Plaque: A Piece of Baseball History at Auction

📰 In The News

📜 In The Hobby Library - National Sports Collector Vol 1 #1

As far as a few of us Hobby Library niche collectors can tell, the November 15th, 1976 First Issue of the National Sports Collector from E. Williams Publishing Co. was also the last and only issue!

Instead of just sharing a few excerpts, I’ve scanned the entire publication and shared it on the blog. Like with the August 1971 issue of The Trader Speaks, I’m committed to opening up the archives. But since my flatbed scanner isn’t the fastest, let me know if there are any specific Hobby Library items you’d like me to prioritize!

Happy collecting!

The Post War Cards Newsletter