Nonsense Newsletter No. 135: Chasing the past, the WNBA and more!
In this week’s edition of the Nonsense Newsletter, John Dudley discusses the other athletes in the WNBA. Meanwhile, I get back to the basics in the hobby, and rediscover what it is to chase a card. All that, and, of course, a Quick Hits section with will leave you speechless with joy! So, as the summer officially approaches, sit back and enjoy this week’s edition of the Nonsense Newsletter!
By John Dudley
In a shortsighted move, the powers that be left Caitlin Clark off the USWNT Olympic roster. This instantly made millions of collectors realize that there are players in the WNBA other than Clark. Novel idea. With the USWNT looking elsewhere, it’s as good a time for collectors to do the same. So this week, I’m looking at the hobby prospects of the non-Clark WNBA players.
By John McTaggart
I’ll start this off by saying that I actually remember, vividly, chasing this card back when I was a kid.
Now, the term “chasing,” has a different meaning today than it did then.
Back then, we didn’t “chase” a card for the resale — we actually “chased” a card because we loved the player, or the team or something along those lines.
For me, getting my 12-year old hands on a 1984 Topps Don Mattingly was the equivalent of Christmas morning.
And, I wheeled-and-dealed myself to more than a few of them back in the day.
It made sense, too.
I was a first baseman, loved the Yankees, and to me, Mattingly was the pinnacle of play at the position.
Well, now it’s four decades later, and… guess what?
Quick Hits
Hobby News- Topps Series 2 is out and while some collectors were disappointed with the lack of a few key rookies on the checklist, Topps added some surprises to make the product more attractive. This is becoming a bit of a tradition with Series 2. This year saw the announcement of Wembanyama and Stroud cards and autos (among others), but the real shocker are the Jackson Holiday cards that pay homage to the infamous 1989 “fun face” Fleer Billy Ripken. Topps has all the versions albeit more family friendly. Fun indeed.
Vintage- File this under the category, “why can’t anything like this ever happen to me?” An entire collection of N172 Old Judge cards from 1887-90 are now for sale at Dean’s Cards. The seller of these vintage beauties told Sports Collectors Daily that they were passed down to him from his great grandfather. All I ever got from my great grandfather was a propensity to go bald (which I did). Check out the full story here.
Hobby News- After over a solid year of dwindling sports card grading volume, CGC managed a second month of increased numbers. It’s a good sign for the company especially as the market conditions aren’t favorable for them with decreased premiums for graded cards. I’ve gone so far as to question if CGC would last another year in the sports card space, but with a couple of more months like this and their future will look bright for the first time since they first increased their prices which coincided with their sports card volume going from a robust 85,000 to barely 10,000. CGC has had a strong TCG presence and it looks like they might finally be able to have a healthy sports division as well.
The Sports Card Nonsense newsletters reflect the opinions of only the authors and contributors. They are for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation for purchases or of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any assets.