I’d normally have done a drawing this week but decided to skip it for the next couple of weeks as I work on some future endeavors for the newsletter. In fact, you may have noticed a slight shift toward a more data-focused approach, which is intentional. I’ve always enjoyed math and it’s something I tend to intuitively understand, so I think using data hand-in-hand with my writing is a good fit. I also think integrating data into the newsletter will be more useful for you as collectors, investors and/or dealers. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

In this issue you'll find:

• Nolan Ryan and rookies galore: the 1970s PSA graded lists

• The Paul Molitor/Alan Trammell rookie card and players profile

• Highlights from current auctions

• News in the hobby

• Recent Vintage Card Voyage videos

Let’s get into it.

As already noted in the issue preview, this list is populated by Nolan Ryan and rookie cards. What’s interesting are each year’s totals, at least when placed in perspective.

As has been the case for a while, Ken Griffey Jr.’s 1989 Upper Deck rookie card is the most graded sports card in the hobby. According to Gem Rate’s Universal Search feature, it’s currently at 183,351 total cards graded across four different grading companies, with 122,663 coming from PSA. Maybe a Shohei Ohtani or Victor Wembanyama rookie card will eventually wrestle the crown from Junior, but for now, he seems to have a pretty sizable lead over everyone. In fact, the second highest is his 1989 Topps Traded card at 112,067.

The most graded card of the decade, George Brett’s 18,291 rookie cards, lands them a smidge under 15% of Junior’s PSA total (and I should note, I used PSA’s website for my 1970s calculations, so there may be some slight discrepancies between it and Gem Rate’s numbers).

Honestly, none of these yearly leaders surprised me. Rookie cards of Hall of Famers (or, in Thurman Munson’s case, highly regarded players who many think have Hall of Fame credentials) tend to get graded a lot. Meanwhile, 1971’s rookie Hall of Famers are Bert Blyleven (who had the sixth most-graded card that year) and Ted Simmons (who finished outside the top 10), both of whom aren’t necessarily considered “top-tier” Hall of Famers in the hobby - and 1976’s lone rookie Hall of Famer is Dennis Eckersley (who finished second that year), who, yes, was one of the best relief pitchers in MLB history, but relievers also tend to be overlooked within the hobby.

As far as Nolan Ryan is concerned, he is one of the hobby’s A-listers and likely someone who collectors try to get player runs of, so his appearance at the top of those two years is no surprise. In fact, he’s one of two players who appeared on the top 10 list every single year of the 1970s. Any guesses who the other one is?

And here’s the top 10 list by total graded:

Similarly, the list was populated primarily by rookie cards, with the Yount and the Molitor/Trammell cards making an appearance, while Clemente’s last card and Mays’ last card on the Giants make the cut as well. Meanwhile, Nolan Ryan gets bumped out of the top 10 (his 1976 Topps card comes in at #11). I’d be curious to hear why you think that Ryan card was the most graded of any of his cards during the decade, because I personally don’t feel like there’s an obvious reason.

Speaking of Ryan, his cards are not only on each year’s top 10 list throughout the 1970s - they’re in the top five every year. Truly impressive. Throughout the ‘70s, his regular player cards were graded more than 71,000 times - 51,000 fewer than the 1989 Upper Deck Griffey Jr. by itself. Admittedly, that isn’t an apples to apples comparison because 1) none of the Ryans are his rookie card and are therefore in slightly lower demand and 2) the Griffey Jr. card may have had a print run of at least one million, if not more.

One interesting result came from examining each year of the decade, adding up the top 10 lists to see which year had the most graded cards. Whether it’s the number of Hall of Fame rookies (four) or the set’s fondness among collectors, 1975 Topps took the crown with 73,198 graded top 10 cards. Second and third belong to the 1973 (56,722) and 1972 (53,661) sets, while 1977 came in last with 37,522 graded cards. 1975 Topps is my favorite set of the decade (and probably my favorite ever), but I didn’t expect it to be more than 20 percent higher than the second-highest - or nearly double the 1977 set.

Overall, this was an interesting exercise. The cards that showed up in the top 10 lists each year were ones I tended to expect: top rookies and the most popular Hall of Famers/stars in the hobby, and those stars made regular appearances in the lists. Slight surprises came with rookie cards of players like Ted Simmons, Fred Lynn, Keith Hernandez and Ron Guidry not making the cut - while someone like Lance Parrish’s rookie card did, but admittedly with Dale Murphy’s help.

Some Current Auction Highlights

Listed in order by closing date (with bid prices as of Sunday evening PT):

Memory Lane Summer Rarities Auction (closing September 13)

1909-11 Ty Cobb Portrait Red Ty Cobb Ad Back PSA 1.5 - $223,947

1948 Leaf #48 Joe Louis PSA 6 - $1,299

1970 Topps Wax Pack 1st Series GAI 9 - $400

2025 Summer Goldin 100 (closing September 13) - BIG SPENDER ALERT

1952 Topps Baseball High Grade PSA-Graded Complete Set - $475,000

1951 Bowman #305 Willie Mays Rookie Card SGC 8 - $56,000

1923 V145-1 Paterson #15 Howie Morenz Rookie Card “The Babe Ruth of Hockey” - $13,500

Fanatics Collect (closing September 14)

1952 Topps Willie Mays #261 PSA 5 - $11,000

1968 Topps Nolan Ryan Rookie #177 PSA 6 - $105

1911 T205 Gold Border George Stone SGC 1 - $7

News Briefs

TCG Cards Seem to Be Taking Over Grading

But Don’t Rule Out Sports Cards When It Comes to Total Sales

When It Comes to Vintage Cards, Stability Is Good

Some Recent Vintage Baseball Card Deals

Have a Card Collection? Consider an Estate Plan

Vintage Card Voyage: Recent Videos

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