Most years, my “top five pickups” list is equal parts scrapbook and self-incrimination, a tidy little ranking through which I pretend I’m a calm, rational adult who simply acquires cards like a normal person. However, 2025 did not cooperate with that narrative. Women’s hockey cards finally got their true hobby moment when Upper Deck dropped…
It was another milestone year for the still-growing sports card world, as collectors in 2025 sharpened their interests in all-time greats such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, and Shohei Ohtani. However, it was also a year of unfulfilled potential as injuries to Caitlin Clark and Jayden Daniels derailed the momentum and excitement they built…
RUNNEMADE, N.J. — The consignment of Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball from the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger’s 50/50 season in October 2024 felt simple for Goldin Auctions. Until it wasn’t. Selling what eventually became the most expensive baseball in history turned into legal gymnastics for Ken Goldin and his auction house. What started out…
Welcome to The Athletic Collectibles Staff’s 2025 Sports Card Power Rankings! Here we spotlight a mix of the most notable, eye-catching, and downright fun sports cards released so far in 2025. Our selections and rankings are not based on anything scientific — not market value, rarity, or sales volume — it’s about highlighting cards we…
Welcome to The Athletic Collectibles Staff’s Sports Card of the Week! Here we’ll highlight a notable, interesting, or just plain fun sports card. This week, with Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh edging closer to a 60-plus home run season, we look back at a vintage baseball card of a player who achieved the milestone. The…
The most famous pair of pants in the country may no longer pass inspection, but the man who wore them as he arrested the No. 1 golfer in the world cannot bear to throw them out either. The pants are not stored somewhere in a Louisville Police precinct evidence room. They were not dropped off…
A Shining Year in Bowman History Apr 14, 2025 Michael Terry 1st Bowman, 2001 Bowman, 2001 Bowman Chrome Rookie, Baseball, MLB Bowman Baseball’s place in The Hobby is unquestioned. In many cases, a player’s 1st Bowman card is the most sought-after and valuable of all — considered the player’s first official baseball card, released before…
In Season 3, Episode 2 of the Simpsons (“Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington”), there’s an interaction between Homer Simpson and a flight attendant. Attendant: “Yes sir, can I get you something?”Homer: “Playing cards, note pad, aspirin, sewing kit, pilot’s wing pin, propeller-shaped swizzle stick, sleeping mask, and anything else I’ve got coming to me.”Attendant: “…I’ll…
To many observers, Japanese star Roki Sasaki signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers was the most predictable result of the Major League Baseball offseason. Yet something still was surprising about seeing Sasaki don Dodger blue last month at his introductory press conference: the uniform itself. Specifically, the lettering on the back. Big. Bold. Just the…