Vintage World Cup Cards Are Hot !

 

A recent ebay sale netted $118.76 for a 1962 Lampo - Pele card. With only 2 bidders, someone got a steal. To be fair, the item was coming from Italy, which is notorious for their diabolical postal system. Its a warning for every collector buying from the boot-shaped European nation.

 

1962 Lampo- Pele'

 

However, if you have a good Italian connection that you trust, you can find some of the rarer soccer cards produced there. There were at least 5 soccer sets made in Italy to mark the 1962  FIFA World Cup in Chile. The Lampo are one of the harder to find. Their colorful design and color make them more sought after.

 

I was able to add 3 specimens from the 1962 Lampo Cile (1962 Sticker Chile) World Cup set. The Lampo are actually cardboard samples, but meant to be stuck into an album. I am certain that a bidding war would have put the previously mentioned PELE card over the $150-200 mark.

Meanwhile, I landed two players from the winning Brazilian Team:

Mario Zagalo

 

Mario Zagalo was a useful midfielder who was instrumental in the 2nd World Championship for Brazil in Chile. He went on to the distinction of becoming the first person to win the FIFA World Cup both as a player and a manager. He performed the later as the coach of the 1970 side in Mexico.

Djalma Santos

 

Arguably the best defender ever to come from Brazil, Djalma Santos was capped 98 times for Brazil, winning 2 of the 4 Final Tournaments in which he played (1954-1958-1962-1966).

He played almost 500 games for Palmeiras and another 400 plus for Portuguesa for an incredible 964 league matches.

Alfredo Di Stefano

 

Most of the cards of Alfredo Di Stefano are limited to his Spanish League career with Real Madrid. However, as the Argentine became a naturalized citizen, he became eligible for Spain for the 1962 World Championship. The 3rd card I obtained depicts him in the red shirt of Spain.

 

With only 5 months before the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, I hope to feature some of the essential sets from 1950 to the present.

Blog-Bat-Around-Lost-Cards / SCORE

This coming from a TOPPS friendly blog http://lifetimetopps.wordpress.com/2014/01/07/blog-bat-around-lost-cards/    - cards of player we wished were included with sets, but were not.

As an avid card collector in my youth, there was little regret except for the absence of soccer player cards from the Topps Chewing Gum Company.

Sure, there were regional soccer issues from Burger King, 7/Eleven, Herfy's and Essay Meats.  What would have been great was one uniform set that included all the teams in the old NASL.  It woud have done wonders for interest and preserving the history of the game in North America.

TOP 5 Cards that should have been produced ...

1. So 40 years later a small, unlicensed company in England has accomplished this dream. SCORE has produced a series called INTERNATIONAL STARS that depict some of the World's Greatest in their NASL jerseys.

 

The Legendary Pele' suited up for an NASL All-Star Team to playing in the Bicentennial Cup against the National Teams of England, Italy and Brazil. The Team wore USA jerseys, although it was not an official US National Team.

 

The Dutch Master in Washington Diplomat colors.

 

Georgie Best with the San Jose Earthquakes

 

 

Johann Cruyff joined the Cosmos for one exhibition match and was immortalized in their jersey.

 

How I would have loved to have collected these back then. Topps now produces the MLS cards. Hopefully, they can make up for lost time by including some of the past greats that played in America.

 

2. Because of his exclusive contract with Anglo Confectionery, George Best was not included in any of the A&BC card sets from 1969 to 1974. He re-appeared in the 1977 Topps set.

 

3. Upper Deck skipped making MLS cards in 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2003. These were crucial years that would have included Landon Donovan, Taylor Twellman and Dwayne DeRosario rookie cards among other.

 

4. 1992 Topps Stadium Club should have included JOHN HARKES. who had scored what was voted the "goal of the year" and upset Manchester United in the 1991  League Cup.  Harksie should have made it into the 1994 Merlin card set as he took Sheffield Wednesday to both the League Cup and the FA Cup in the same season.

 

5. Upper Deck dropped the ball (again) as it abandoned producing World Cup Cards after the (1993 preview set) and USA 1994 set. One can only imagine what might have been producing sets for 1998 or 2002 - cards of Thierry Henry, Zidane, Ronaldo, Robbie Keane, Ronaldinho and Beckham.

 

Karma is a heavy burden. Now look at what Upper Deck has left. Not much.

 

 

What's In A Name ? PSA Doesn't Know (or care)

There is an elephant in the room and no one seems to care its shitting on the rug. Professional Sports Authenticators a.k.a. - PSA - is a business that slabs collectibles. Its President, Joe Orlando, claims they are instrumental in  furthering the hobby.

 

I beg to differ, and back my words with further proof of malpractice -

 

EXHIBIT "A" is the graded rookie card of the great soccer star "PELE".

 

A few years ago you could have passed off any card of the superstar made before 1980 as his debut or "rookie" card. But todays' soccer collector is much more informed and far more knowledgeable.

 

You need not be the sharpest tool in the shed to know that the above card is shared with another World Cup star - "GARRINCHA".

 

What PSA lacks in knowledge they make up in false profits ! Someone paid good money to have this item graded and identified.

 

Well, PSA got it only HALF right !

While it would not technically be incorrect to label the slab with a player's full given name, it would be almost a sin to do so for a Brazilian player. As most soccer fans know, Brazilians go by their nickname and not their actual baptismal title.

 

EXHIBIT B

 

A comparison to of the 1958 card with the above example is clearly proof that Garrincha is featured on the Exhibit "A" card.

 

Not knowing that the card was shared by a a superstar such as Garrincha, is like baseball card collectors not knowing that a guy named Nolan Ryan also appears on Jerry Koosman's rookie card.

The misleading label is also paramount to identifying Babe Ruth as only George Herman. I pity the fool who pays such money only to be duped by PSA.

 

As our cartoon heroes GI JOE's used to say - Its good to know, "and knowing is half the battle".

 

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.

SCORING IN THE FINAL: World Cup Heroes

As my pursuit of the Football League 100 greatest players nears to completion, I am acquiring other "subsets" that reflect the glory of the game. Nothing is more famed then those player cards that depict the heroes that come through on the biggest stages - The Championship Final.

 

One of the Greatest who appeared in 4 World Cups including scoring in two of them was PELE'. The Brazilian was one of the early Latin American stars to appear on trading cards OUTSIDE his country.

 

Pele was featured on the series of cards produced by  Swedish Magazine REKORD. The cards were initially part of the front cover and designed to be cut out. The backs have a short biography and a dotted line space for an autograph re-enforcing the concept of being collector cards.

 

Pele is pictured on the cover of this 1960 issue while other players on the trading card.

 

Pele shares one of his earliest cards with another Brazilian legend Garrincha. Both superstars are identified with their full give names - not their adopted footballing name. However, Pele's name is correctly - (Edison Arantes do Nascimento).

Garrincha shares Pele's debut international card.

 

The original cover that included the Pele card had a boxer on the cover.

 

I recently acquired the Rekord Pele card to begin a collection of players that scored in a World Cup Final.

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.  

2012 FUTERA UNIQUE CARD REVIEW

Most avid collectors around the world probably already know and have samples of the 2012 FUTERA UNIQUE card collection. However, like often is in North America, we get soccer just a bit later. But thanks to our contacts at Futera we received some examples which we can review here.

The high end products are not sold in packs,but rather a box. Each box has at least 1 HEROES card - a subset of 40 players and Limited to 365 copies each. We got 2 African players:

Chelsea's Michael Essien of Ghana

and Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o who now plays in Russia.

The base set is 200 cards which are subdivided as follows:

# 1 - 10 The Goalkeepers

# 11 - 57 The Defenders

# 58 - 116 The Midfielders

# 117 - 160 The Strikers

# 161 - 190 The Greats

# 191 - 200 The Next

The last two groups include retired players (Greats) and up and coming young stars (Next). The base set also comes in a 'Ruby' parallel which are limited to 295 of each players.

Futera continues its memorabilia cards with ARCHIVE set of 24, 16 single swatches and 8 double swatches of jersey cards. Our example was the Sweden and AC Milan strikers ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC featuring his a shirt swatch from his Inter Milan days.

These cards are limited to only 225 of each card.

On the successes of their online game which allows collectors to play using the codes on the reverse of the cards, Futera has included a new subset. The MANAGERS is a set of 10 cards limited to just 240 and coated in 24 ct. gold plate.

We were happy to pull the legendary Liverpool man KENNY DALGLISH.

We were not able to get any autograph cards which were distributed in 4 styles - Brown, Mint, Blue and Silver. Each player was able to sign up to 60 cards in each color. However, some only returned as little as 49 from some choices. (For complete list see here)

The next to last most coveted cards are the 1 of 1 autograph cards. For collectors, this is truly the greatest card to own of your favorite player. These regularly command hundreds of dollars on the secondary market. One of the criticisms, however, is the sloppy and illegible signatures on many of the examples. 

Another item we did not get to see in person is one of the ten cards known as The MYTHICALS.

These cards, we are told, have 5 encrusted diamonds and are gold plated. Each card is only one of 10 in the world. The list of players:

• 1. Franz Beckenbauer
• 2. George Best
• 3. Eusebio
• 4. Claudio Gentile
• 5. Diego Maradona
• 6. Roger Milla
• 7. Pele
• 8. Socrates
• 9. Lev Yashin
• 10. Dino Zoff

What we like about Futera Unique set: 

The photos are pretty nice with these cards. Since the players are pictured with their National sides, there is no worry of a transfer from your team. The base set cards are also great to get autographed. 

What we do not like about the Futera Unique set:

The cards are not easily available in the North American market. They are sold on the secondary market on the internet. The worrying aspect is many of the sellers are in Asia - a place know for its counterfeit products.

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

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.