THE KING is Still KING on Cardboard

 

Almost 40 years after he starred for the NEW YORK COSMOS, the legendary Brazilian soccer star PELE' is still commanding premium money on trading cards.

 

Having appeared a few years ago in the SPORTS KINGS series, he is now featured in several TOPPS sets. In my opinion, the most outstanding of these is the Topps Archives autograph card.

 

 

Ironically, this could have been Pele's American card debut had Topps been producing soccer cards in 1975 (assuming they would use the baseball design of the same year). Sadly, they were not.

 

I found only two sales recorded of this card:

$482.77 and an offer accepted from a $649.99 listing.

 

2013 Allen & Ginter included a hodge-podge of Pele cards in their set. A base card, a mini base card, a black border, a Bazooka back, a green back and a blank back.

 

Then there were the A&G memorabilia cards.

 

I purchased a pair of the minis for a small price compared to the specialty cards.

The purpose of the black backs ? Fuck if I know.

 

Then there are the autograph variations - blue autograph (can be found with 2 different border frames).

 

Blue ink have been recorded with $306.58, $315.08, $290, $304, $305, $292.89, $299.95, $311, $276.12, $311.01, $302.22, $318.03, $321, #338, $312.58. Its not certain if some of these were resold as they were not numbered.

 

The red ink rip cards have fared well being only #'d 1 of 10.

 

 

Red ink records were $760, $516.57, $632.57 and $476.00

 

Allen & Ginter autographed box toppers have shown around $400

 

 

 

Topps Tier One autograph cards numbered to # 50 have also sold as follows - $224.72, $274.99, $229.39, $247.50, $237.50 and $219.07

 

 

These Pele cards are part of the modern glut of variations, especially the Topps Allen & Ginter.

If I had the money that these high end cards are bringing, personally I would opt to get some of the vintage Pele cards from the 1960's. But I understand the chase of modern cards.

 

However, whichever the collector chooses, it only proves that PELE is still King ! 

SCORING IN THE FINAL: World Cup Heroes # 2

In this second installment of heroes who have scored in the World Cup Final, comes cards from the underrated German BERGMANN FUSSBALL series.

 

The heart of these early Bundesliga sets is the nucleus of German and Bayern Munich stars. The current German professional league only began in 1963. One of the first card sets was the 1965-66 Bergmann Fussball series.

 

The cards are on heavier stock and sized very close to modern standard baseball cards.

 

The making of a dynasty - the 1965 Bergmann Bayern Munich Team card.

 

The set contains mostly player portrait pictures with a few posed action shot. Also included are some excellent team photos (see above). The set marks the cardboard debut of Germany's finest generation in Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier (Bayern) and Berti Vogts (Borussia Munchengladbach).

 

Another Bayern youngster that would go on to stardom was "Der Bomber" GERD MULLER.

Gerd Muller makes his card debut in the 1965 Bergmann.

 

Muller would set the world on fire by becoming the top scorer at the Mexico 1970 World Cup - with 10 goals.

 

 

He would amass 68 goals in just 62 appearences for Germany.

 

 

He broke all records in European and club scoring with 487 tallies in 555 top division matches.

 

He scored the winning goal for Germany in the 1974 World Cup Final.

 

 

1974 World Cup Star.

 

Here are some high lights of Der Bomber - complete with "um-pah-pah" music.

 

The 1970 European Footballer of the Year held nearly every scoring record in the World Cup and European Club play until the Brazilian Ronaldo and the Argentine Lionel Messi's recent successes.

 

I was able to pick up 4 of these Bergmann cards, all featuring Bayern Munich, for a very small price.

 

Notes: Last week's entry - PELE' - and this week's candidate - GERD MULLER, both finished their careers in America. Pele with the New York Cosmos, and Muller with the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. Both clubs currently compete in the USA's 2nd professional division - North American Soccer League.

Better. Stronger. Faster. Six Million Dollar Man

Growing up after the space age, rockets and astronauts ... it was a thrill to tune into an All-American TV show called THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN starring LEE MAJORS as STEVE AUSTIN.

With the Olympic motto being quoted recently - higher, faster stronger - it rings a bell when watching the hit TV series intro.

Here is a look at the way the show began each week :

You know you had something popular when the toys companies make an action figure of your star -

Mattel manufactured a pretty good likeness of Astronaut / spy STEVE AUSTIN long before the scanning techniques which toy makers have today.

This weekend I found this at a garage sale and had to have it. Standing taller than the 12 inch G.I. JOE, at 13 inches, the BIONIC MAN is a powerful force.

This figure is version 1.0 from 1975 with variants produced later in 1977 along with agents, villains, Big Foot and even a Bionic Woman.

The doll makes a cameo appearance in the 2005 movie "40 Year Old Virgin".

1975 was about this time that the great soccer legend PELE' joined the New York Cosmos. He was the first athlete in American sports to break the million dollar barrier. He was shortly followed by Andy Messersmith of the Los Angeles Dodgers. (officially Nolan Ryan was the first million / per year)

I was not long after that sports writers loved to use the "million dollar man" tag with players who signed lucrative contracts.

Just think what Steve Austin, with a good agent, could ask as a sports athlete in today's game ?

The Biggest Team in the COSMOS

From humble beginnings to the legendary team that became the biggest sporting event in New York - the New York Cosmos were part of a vision of a former British journalist, Clive Toye.

They played their first season in 1971 and were league champions by 1972. There were only 8 clubs then.

By the time they won their second championship in 1977, they played in a league of 18 teams and lined up exhibition games against the greatest clubs in the world.

1979 Diego Maradona sticker card from set produced in Argentina.

The Cosmos' Franz Beckenbauer greeted a teenage Diego Maradona (above) past legend / future legend met when the Cosmos toured South America. Before Argentine Lionel Messi, now arguably the best player on the planet, Maradona was the idol of Argentina and millions of Barcelona fans.

LELAND'S auctions recently sold some of the collection of the late Hall of Fame writer Ike Kuhns. In the early days, only a few hundred fans came out to watch the Cosmos. A few curious and a few well-knowing journalist did too. One of them was Ike.

Ike Kuhn's press pass from 1973.

All that changed after Cosmos founder Clive Toye finally signed a player he had pursued for 5 years. By 1975 the Cosmos were not PRESS, but rather MEDIA, and in the world news at every juncture.

It all came down to the signing of one Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better know as PELE'

A rare Swedish issue of Pele' for the 1970 World Cup set.

By the end of the year, the Cosmos had dropped the "New York" from their name. They toured all 5 continents and had a payroll that doubled the New York Yankees. 

COSMOS memorabilia has become exceeding collectable. So I was fortunate to acquire one of these media cards. This card, signed by two pioneer Hall of Famers - Clive Toye and Ike Kuhns, details the humble beginnings before the meteoric rise of the Cosmos.  

My Kind of Greeting Cards ...

One of my pet peeves is waste. Wasted time, wasted money and wasted materials. So when it comes to greeting cards - well, I'm one of those who will save a tree or save you $3.00 or whatever they cost these days.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the sentiment of Birthday, Father's Day and Christmas wishes. But for me personally, send me a collectable card !

So my holiday greetings - from people who know me - came in the form of a 2009 SPORTKINGS limited autograph / jersey card (below) of ...

the New York Cosmos legend - GIORGIO CHINAGLIA. I can now add this to my collection of World Cup player autographs. Giorgio appeared in the 1974 World Cup held in Germany. He was a star for Lazio in Italy before making the move to the NASL and joining Pele in New York.

Also making it into my stocking is this card (below) from the 1902 Ogden's Cigarette series. It features another international player who starred over 100 years before Chinaglia. JOHN ROBERTSON made 16 appearences for Scotland and played over 100 games for the Rangers F.C. dynasty around the turn of the century.

One of his claims to fame is that he was the very first Manager of the then newly formed club CHELSEA F.C..

Two cards, made over 100 years apart, in different parts of the world - still mean one thing - HAPPY HOLIDAYS !

A Card Recipe For Rip-Offs - Fake Jersey Cards

Like everything that is deemed valuable, someone comes along and tries to ruin the joy for others. Well, I will do my best to put a hammer blow into those plans that attempt to destroy this great hobby.

It is not difficult to take advantage of the naive and uneducated soccer collector. This seems to be more prevalent as the hobby of collecting soccer memorabilia is ramping up. (see my article in the latest issue of SCG Collector Magazine) 

 Here is proof that with a few purchases anyone can bake a rip-off recipe:
- buy one unlicensed retro New York Cosmos jersey (ebay) like this

- copy one of a thousand Pele photos avialable on the internet
- puchase  a few dozen cheap plastic card holders
- cut and paste - print
- advertise liberally (ebay recommended)

What you have is the making of the "evilbay jersey card". You will notice that Pele, who played in the 1970's Cosmos team has the same swatch as Ronaldo who never played for the Cosmos, but was active from the 1990s to the present.

The culprit for this sickly meal is ebay seller kvadteck.

I have also noticed a recent abundance of the 1958 REKORD rookie card of Pele. The Swedish magazine Rekord had a paper insert in a 1958 issue. Considering the high asking price, it seems that either someone is clearing out the old magazine offices or someone's scanner is working overtime. BUYER BEWARE !

There are so many better choices for Pele cards out there with reliable sellers who have collected for a long time. Get to know your sellers and the items you want to acquire. I don't think that chasing a rookie card is neccessarily always a good investment for soccer collectors. If you look at the above card, Pele' real name ( Edison "Edson" Arantes do Nascimento) is not even correct. Secondly, it is on low quality thin paper - making it ripe for counterfitting.

Ironically, some of the modern cards of Pele are as expensive as his earliest ones - namely the FUTERA Legends cards and the WCCF cards from Japan. however, these are quality cards with excellent company backing.

Eat, drink and collect !

A Great One Retires and The King Turns 70 !

One of the true legends of Major League Soccer has hung up his boots ...

DC UNITED star JAIME MORENO retired at the end of the regular season. He not only ends as the all-time goal scorer with 132 tallies, but is still the only player in MLS to record 100 goals and 100 assists. He scored a goal in his final game to remain the all-time leader.

Here are just some of his career magical highlights ...

Moreno is not the only star leaving the soccer fields - U.S. International and American star BRIAN MCBRIDE played his last match for the CHICAGO FIRE.

McBride, like Moreno, spent time in the English Premier League with Preston, Everton and Fulham. He finished his last MLS game with a goal of impecable style.

Both these players will be missed for their leadership and class.

The greatest of the greats - PELE celebrated his 70th birthday this week. Known all over the world, the current President of the NEW YORK COSMOS is the most recognized athlete on the planet. His cards are still in demand and you can be sure that any of his stuff is money in the bank.

2009 Futera - LEGENDS - Pele

How Many PELE' Cards ? ... PSA Doesn't Have a Clue !

The hobby of card collecting is cumilative. That is - as more people are involved, more knowledge is passed from the center to the outer circle. A subjective look at recent sales of soccer cards and world wide soccer issues, reveal the massive increase in interest.

While grading of soccer cards is still in its infancy, it has just exposed the tip of the iceberg. The biggest hurdle is the lack of knowledge from the grading companies.

For example, the PSA Registry (Professional Grading Service) has a Master listing of popular player cards - from Mickey Mantle Master Lists to Peyton Manning Master Lists to Wayne Gretzky Master Lists.

In my curiosity I peaked to see what they had listed under soccer. Well, well - someone actually had a PELE' Master List ! But wait ... there were only 20 to 25 cards listed ?

We ARE talking about PELE' - the undisputed KING of Soccer ... Football, Futebol, Veotbal, Calcio, Futbol ... everywhere in the world. So how can there only be a couple of dozen cards from a player that appeared on every continent, played in 4 World Cups and had a career over 2 decades ???

My own personal Master List of PELE' cards is over 200 cards - not including sets specifically dedicated to the world's most famous athlete. PSA's list also included a rash of mislabled cards.

The other well know card grading company - SGC (Sportcard Guarantee) - has dabbled into soccer card identification, but still have allowed a few errors to hit the market with their labels.

I have begun to compile a Master List for 3 of the most popular soccer players. I hope to have these available on CD ROM before summer.

Meanwhile, I hope PSA gets to know their goalpost from their helmet.

FUTERA ... Out of This World cards

Last posting I featured a great new set from ITG of Canada. This time it is even better ...
Futera cards of the UK (near England for the geographically challenged) have just released their 9th annual series of World Football cards. The company began in the late 1990's with club sets that included Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Celtic.

The release began some of the most coveted sports collectables in recent years with their 1/1 autograph cards. (that means only one card like this exists in the entire world) Now if you follow baseball, hockey or basketball there might be a few million of you. However, since soccer - football is world wide - the hunt for these treasures is massive for the billions who love this game.

For Americans it's special as the cards depict players usually with national team jerseys - only an exclusive few make these limited sets. Two to three Yanks have been included with sets in the past few years. Recent sets have included Landon Donovan, Kasey Keller and current # 1 goalkeeper - Tim Howard (above).

Some of the more interesting memorabilia cards have been produced by Futera. For the collectors who are weary of jersey cards that come from photo shoots or practice gear - rest assured, these cards tell you exactly from which team / season the jersey originates. The back of the above card of superstar "Ronaldinho" lets you know the swatch comes from his rookie season with Paris St. Germain.

The newest twist on card collecting comes from what is on the back of these cards. Futera has developed online gaming for card collectors. Entering the digital numbers on the reverse of the cards, collectors add to their fantasy teams over the internet. Periodic winners get exclusive cards made by Futera and other prizes.

There are chase cards that feature current HEROES ... (like England / Chelsea Captain - John Terry and Holland / Arsenal gunner Robin Van Persie above).

The old boys are not to be outdone as the most sought after chase cards are the LEGENDS which show all-time greats like two former New York Cosmos - Pele' and Franz Beckenbauer.

So all around the world - at shops or online, from the Brazil's Greatest (Pele') to the Newest ( teenager - "Pato" at top), this set has it all. Made for the collectors and the gamers and the fans of the sport - 2009 FUTERA is out of this world.

Warning - this is a high end product - not for the faint hearted of finance. The HEROES card have a brisk selling price of $15 - 20 on the secondary market, while the LEGENDS can demand from $50 to $300.

The 1/1 cards that make it to the second hand auctions range from $100 to $500 for "average" players. Superstar 1/1 autographs (if anyone would give them up) would fetch well into the thousands of dollars price range - AC Milan's Gattuso bringing $450 last week on ebay.