Bob Pettit passed away last Wednesday at the age of 93 (you can read about his legacy and the limited amount of his memorabilia below). He was a legend in the NBA (his 16.2 career rebounds per game is still third all-time) who is one of just four players to be named on the league’s 25th, 35th, 50th and 75th anniversary teams (the other three were Bob Cousy, George Mikan and Bill Russell).

Pettit last played in the NBA in 1965, more than 60 years ago. His death got me thinking about other legends of the vintage era, how few of them are still with us, and how fewer and fewer card collectors know anything about so many of them.

As an example, my friend hosted a recent card event and I set up at one of the tables. I had a box of sports cards with ones primarily from the 1970s and ‘80s, and most were Hall of Fame players. Two guys who looked to be in their 20s were looking through the cards and, overhearing part of the conversation, I caught one of the guys say, “I don’t think I know any of these guys.” When he got to a Joe Montana card, finally, a spark of recognition (of course, this took place in the San Francisco Bay Area).

I was stunned.

But maybe I shouldn’t be.

When I was a kid, I actively sought out books about sports history, so much so that I still know the Dewey Decimal System number range for sports at the library (the good ol’ 790s).

I would pore over the books I borrowed (and occasionally bought), getting to learn all about past players and teams. Especially the legends of the game. I may not have seen any of them play, but I felt like I still knew them.

Admittedly, I was probably pretty unique in that behavior, but I have to wonder if that happens now at all. Today, kids have smartphones, the internet, streaming platforms and thousands upon thousands of video games at their fingertips. When I was a kid, my house had rotary phones, a computer for … typing, mostly, a TV with 10-15 stations, a VCR, and an Atari 2600.

Times were, uh, different.

Smartphones and streaming platforms have been around for nearly 20 years, meaning they’ve likely affected the childhood behaviors of most people younger than 30, i.e., a decent chunk of the collectors in the hobby.

If I had all that technology as a kid, I’d be hard pressed to say that I’d know as much about sports history, especially since my parents weren’t into sports and thus didn’t have that knowledge to share with me.

But I had more downtime than most kids do today, and I used it to explore the history of the sports I loved. Doing so made me appreciate not only the amazing accomplishments and stories from those sports, but it put into context everything that happened with the players and teams I watched. And, of course, initiated my love of vintage sports cards.

I share all of this because I sincerely hope we aren’t losing the history of the sports we love. Even if younger people may only know about Babe Ruth because of what Shohei Ohtani is doing, or know about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar because of LeBron James passing his career scoring record, at least they know something about those legends.

Ideally, that can start an exploration into those players’ careers and accomplishments, and that can lead to discovering other greats of the game.

That said, I also think we all have that responsibility.

We each have our own reasons for loving sports and vintage sports cards. Share those reasons with others. Put into context what players and teams are doing today, framing it around the accomplishments of past legends. And introduce people to the vintage cards that capture those players and teams when they actually played. There are plenty of modern collectors (or future collectors) out there who just need the smallest push to become vintage collectors, too.

What do you think about the state of sports history when it comes to younger generations of collectors?

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In this issue you'll find:

Auction highlights
News in the hobby
Set profile of the 1979 Stop 'N' Go football cards
Joe DeLamielleure’s rookie card and player profile
ICYMI
My referral program
Recent Vintage Card Voyage video

Let’s get into it.

Auction Highlights

In order of closing date:

The Collector Connection Post War Sports Cards & Memorabilia (ending on October 4)

Other active auctions:

2026 Fall Vintage Elite Auction (ends on October 10)

Collector Investor Auctions (ends on October 11)

Clean Sweep Champions Auction (ends on October 14)

Hunt Auctions October Internet Auction (ends on October 21)

News Briefs

🎨 Sports Cards Are Meant to Be Seen: How to Display Valuable Cards Safely

🏀 Bob Pettit Leaves Behind a Remarkable Basketball Legacy - and Precious Few Pieces of It

⚾ Crisp Design, Colorful Action Photos and Star Players Make 1956 Topps Baseball a Popular Vintage Set for Collectors

🏈 Roger Staubach’s Top 5 Iconic and Valuable Vintage Football Cards

💰 Vintage Registry Sets, Jordan Cards Pace Heritage Summer Card Auction

💰 Vintage Greats, Star Jordan Slam Dunk Top REA Auction

⚾ Remembering the Rock: The Cards and Career of Rocky Colavito

Set Profile: 1979 Stop 'N' Go Football 3-D Cards

Growing up in Hawaii, the only convenience stores I was really aware of were 7-Eleven and ABC Stores (if you’ve spent any time in Waikiki on the island of Oahu, you’ve probably seen a few ABC Stores within a few blocks of one another).

That could be why I hadn’t seen these cards from another convenience store until recently. This smaller set came from the Stop 'N' Go Markets, distributed primarily in the Southwest, to those who bought a “Sno Float” or a fountain drink. Most of the stores were located in Texas, and the set definitely favors Lone Star State-based teams, with 10 of the 18 players being either on the Houston Oilers (six players) or the Dallas Cowboys (four players).

The cards were produced by XOGRAPH (located, as it happens, in Irving, Texas), the printing company that also produced the Kellogg’s cards of the 1970s and early 1980s that these cards clearly resemble.

Of the 18 players, seven are now in the Hall of Fame: Walter Payton, Robert Brazile, Jack Ham, Roger Staubach, Franco Harris, Elvin Bethea, and Joe Greene.

The card backs provide a decent profile of the players, including select statistics, lengthy biographical information (College Background, Personal Info, and Pro Honors sections), and Did You Know trivia.

The most expensive card is the Walter Payton, with a PSA 10 selling for $531 last October, while the Rober Staubach in a PSA 10 last sold for nearly $200 and the Franco Harris with the same grade went for over $130. Meanwhile, the raw card of a Payton in decent condition has recently sold in the $35-45 range. Of course, if you get lucky, you can pick up the entire set for $34.00 (before fees) in an eBay auction.

Stop 'N' Go produced another football set in 1980, with 48 total cards in the set, but it presumably wasn’t that well-received, as it was the final set from the store.

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