{"id":1691,"date":"2017-05-22T12:13:58","date_gmt":"2017-05-22T16:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dubmentality.com\/?p=1691"},"modified":"2019-06-23T16:39:46","modified_gmt":"2019-06-23T20:39:46","slug":"beckett-more-than-a-price-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/?p=1691","title":{"rendered":"Beckett – More Than A Price Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

No matter how old I get or how many miles I put between 12 years old and now, there are certain images that I still have from those days.  I remember the McGwire ’90 Fleer I got at Halloween that year.  I remember the back of ’89 Score because that’s the way I went through packs to maintain suspense.  I remember the ’89 Mel Hall Donruss card that I used in the make believe baseball games on my blue shag carpet.  I don’t know why we remember certain things that seem so insignificant but I understand why memory loss is such a traumatic event as you get older.  I don’t want to lose these images or memories.  So to combat the issue, I keep doing what I do and I never turn my nose up at a cheap box of cards from the most overproduced era in history.\"\"<\/a>I’m here today to talk about some of those images that I still have from that time in my life.  When I go through Camilla on my way to my parents house, I instinctively glance over at the new Wal-Mart that was built right beside the old Wal-Mart that is now a Marvin’s Building Supply.  I’ll never forget that old Wal-Mart and wish it was like it was when I was a kid.  I remember the first time I saw the card display in that store.  It was a cube display with cards on every side.  There were ’89 Topps, ’89 Donruss, ’89 Score, ’90 Pro Set, ’90 Hoops and ’90 Skybox.  Talk about a card cornacopia!  Along with the cards were other items like Ultra Pro 9 pocket sleeves, a couple of binder choices and the magazine source for all of my baseball card knowledge in those days, Beckett Baseball Card Monthly.\"\"<\/a>If you mention the name “Beckett” to anyone in the general range of 40 years old, chances are that they will know exactly what you are talking about.  It was better than Sports Illustrated for me!  I’m not going to give a full blown history of Dr. James Beckett but we’ll start with the founding of Beckett Publications in 1984.  Sports cards really took off in the early to mid 80’s and Dr. Beckett, a statistics professor, decided to launch a magazine that would cover pricing and other aspects of the industry.  The magazine was as popular as any when I was 12-13 years old and was the end all for all trade discussions and fairness gauges.  There was no eBay, no Twitter, no FaceBook or even the internet itself in those days.  Availability and pricing was limited to your friends and Beckett.  So when I went to Wal-Mart, sometimes the cards weren’t even as important as buying the new magazine.  You couldn’t even start a discussion with the potential trade recipient if you hadn’t memorized the updated values.\"\"<\/a>The first thing I did when I got my new magazine was scour the current sets for the much sought after \u2b06\ufe0f (up arrow).  If cards were on the rise, they were coming out of the binder and going into safe keeping.  If, heaven forbid, I found the down arrow, they usually went back into the binder as I shed a lone tear for the player.  I recall one period where EVERY SINGLE 1990 Leaf card had the up arrow beside it.  One of my best friends had the entire set in a binder and I was so jealous!  After looking at the price changes, I went over to the Hot List to see what was going on.  It ranged from Elite Cards to hot Rookies but almost always had a Ken Griffey Jr. there.  My next stop was the section that had the upcoming card shows.  I’d find Georgia and see if I was lucky enough to have one coming to South Georgia.  More often than not, Atlanta was the hot spot.  After reading the articles, the last thing I would do is take it to my dad and show him the vintage prices and make sure he hadn’t stumbled on any of his old cards.  That answer never changed.  They were likely destroyed by his playing with them or thrown out by Granny years later.  I always had to check though.\"\"<\/a>Now Beckett is so much more than “just a price guide.”  They have grading services, which is my go to for the few cards I’ll get graded.  They also have a website with an online marketplace where you can search for needs and fill in the gaps if you don’t want to go the eBay option.  They are on social media too and are active in that arena.  The most useful aspect of Beckett at this time for me is the Beckett Radio Podcast (@BeckettRadio<\/a>) hosted by #TheFatpacks (@EricNorton316<\/a> and @PaulWirth23<\/a>).  They have turned me on to so many new products (even some outside of sports) and are a wonderful resource for upcoming events, products and hobby happenings.  They are also very active on Twitter with fantasy leagues and giveaways so you have to follow them if you like sports cards!  You also need to subscribe to the podcast, Beckett Radio<\/a>.  You won’t be disappointed.<\/p>\n

So as you can see, the magazine that brought me such a big part of the hobby in my youth is still a vital part of the hobby today.  By now, you may be asking, “what does that have to do with images from your youth.”  Well, I’m about to get to that.  Last week on the podcast, the guys opened up the mailbag and I had a question that was discussed on air.  The question was, “What’s your personal favorite Beckett Magazine Cover of all time?”  It even made me think back to the tons of covers I’ve seen over the years and I started doing some ranking.  I thought I would share my thoughts here but was not able to really nail down a complete list.  I wasn’t able to pick just one, or five or even ten so I decided to list my twelve favorites.  They are in reasonable order from 12-1 but the ranking has changed several times and I may not be married to this as my final ranking for good.  I don’t think #1 will change but each time I look at these I feel guilty for having any of them ranked lower than #2.  So take the ranking with a grain of salt except for #1.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>#12 – November\/December 1990 – David Robinson #5 – <\/b>I did not have a ton of friends who collected basketball cards but we all watched and played.  I was pretty heavy in collecting the cards though too.  My cousin Coop was big in it too.  We had our teams and players and would trade quite often.  For those that didn’t collect basketball, let me tell you that the ’89 Hoops David Robinson was sort of like the ’89 Ken Griffey Jr. Rookies.  I had to have these cards and still love them today.  There were actually two versions in the set.  One card featured him holding his Spurs jersey and the other was him shooting a free throw.  David Robinson was one of my favorite players back then and he came in and handled business quietly.  I simply loved this cover with The Admiral standing in front of The Alamo.  I also liked 90 Fleer basketball cards as well and the card featured was a favorite.\"\"<\/a>#11 – March 1992 – Cal Ripken Jr. #84 – <\/b>Who doesn’t love Cal?  You show me someone who doesn’t love Cal and I’ll show you someone who doesn’t love baseball.  He was still a couple of years away from breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak but was right in the thick of a Hall of Fame career in 1992.  This was also the year he appeared in the Donruss Elite insert set and this remains one of my all time favorite chase sets.  It was the first after all.  This was a great shot of Cal and I’ll always remember this cover.\"\"<\/a>#10 – March 1991 – Ken Griffey Jr. #72 – <\/b>Our first Jr. makes an appearance at #10 but there will be a more iconic cover in the top 3.  This one I loved because of the image.  It was Jr. in his classic follow through that was the envy of every young baseball player that hit left handed.  I had never seen a smoother swing and don’t know that it’s been beat since.  Jr. was a graceful player that was always admired for the fun loving nature he showed in his cards.  The Jr. on this cover and the one later are what I remember and loved so much about him back then.  The game got heavy a little later in his career and people tried to slander his good name but I’ll always hold him near and dear to my heart as a collector who started in 1989 when he broke through.\"\"<\/a>#9 – December 1990 – Nolan Ryan #69 – <\/b>This may be the lowest Nolan Ryan has ever been on any list ever concocted and that’s why I still struggle with my rankings. But the covers ahead of this one can’t be justified at any lower ranking.  This was truly tough.  “The Ryan Express” was a hero of mine in my young pitching days and I even had his “arm workout” book from my sophomore season in high school.  I remember curling jugs of water and throwing to a taped square on the wall outside my house as the guide was instructing me.  I don’t know if I ever got better because of it but I felt like I did and that was all that mattered.  Nolan was as intimidating a pitcher as there ever was and I only imagined the fear I would have looking at this pose from the batters box.  A great cover that probably is ranked too low.\"\"<\/a>#8 – October 1990 – Jose Canseco #67 – <\/b>This one was a classic and I could see it from several rows over as I approached the card cube at my Wal-Mart that day.  This was the same year I had performed my Canseco “autobiography” I spoke of in a previous post.  Canseco was THE MAN in ’89-’90 and he had the first page in my card binder.  I couldn’t get enough Canseco in my life and the cover here depicted the aforementioned 1990 Leaf that was totally on fire!  He’s sporting the A’s yellow jersey and has a look of confusion and bloodshot eyes but this is definitely top 10 material for my list!\"\"<\/a>#7 – December 1989 – Bo Jackson #1 – <\/b>This was the first Beckett Football installment and had the hottest player in sports on the cover.  He was at the top of his game and was only a couple of months away from taking the video game hero title away from Mario.  I remember this being one of the first magazines I got but I didn’t save them back them like I should have.  In fact, I would roll them up or fold them to get them to fit in my bookbag every day so it probably wouldn’t be in great shape even if I had.  I got started with baseball cards but football has always run a VERY close 2nd and has been #1 at some points.  My first big football set was ’90 Pro Set but I do remember picking up some ’89 Pro Set as well.  I still have the Bo Super Rookie and it’s one of my favorites.  You may wonder why Bo comes in at #7.  Don’t worry, there’s another one coming.\"\"<\/a>#6 – May\/June 1990 – Barry Sanders #4 – <\/b>Bo was an absolute beast in baseball and football.  But no running back ran with the shiftiness and wizardry of Barry Sanders.  He was as close to Bo on Super Tecmo as you could get and was underrated because of the Raider RB.  I loved collecting Barry and I had a crazy ton of the ’90 Score pictured on the front.  My two favorite cards from the base set were two players that you’ve probably never heard of, or you’ve forgotten.  One was Percy Snow, a linebacker from Michigan State that was drafted by the Chiefs.  The other was Fred Washington that played at TCU and was drafted by the Bears.  I loved those cards and never got to see Washington’s career take off because of a fatal car accident his rookie year.  We were also robbed at the end of Barry’s career as he hung up the cleats very early and still had a lot left in the tank.  I loved that “Beckett Football Card Magazine” was in blue and silver like the uni’s and it really set off the image.\"\"<\/a>#5 – April 1991 – Dominique Wilkins #9 – <\/b>First, just look at the beautiful inset ’90 Hoops card.  Nique throwing down a windmill jam with the awesome silver border.  I don’t know that I have owned more cards in a set than ’90 Hoops, except maybe ’90 Pro Set.  I loved these Hoops cards and still do.  I have the equivalent of a full box of unopened Hoops packs at my house that I throw in giveaways from time to time.  The rookie class was awesome with Kemp, Hardaway, Payton and Glen Rice.  This was the heyday of great basketball and weekly Sunday matchups on NBC.  And of course, my main man was Dominique Wilkins.  Not only a star in the NBA and one of the most exciting players ever but he was playing at Stegeman Colliseum in Athens, GA even before that.  This is a top 5 no doubter!\"\"<\/a>#4 – April 1992 – Frank Thomas #85 – <\/b>This is one of the covers that I automatically picture in my head when someone says “Beckett”.  There was a card too from 1992 from this same setting in the Topps set but The Big Hurt has a big smile and looks friendly.  He looks like he is ready to pound a fastball in this photo!  Frank was a loveable player and grew up just about an hour and a half from where I’m from so was as close to a hometown superstar as we had at the time.  He played for Auburn, which was a slight knock but he remains a big figure in Georgia today.  I never owned the ’90 Topps error card as it is pretty rare but I loaded up on the corrected version along with ’89 Score update Rookies.  And this is a great time to mention again that I just recently added a great Frank Thomas autographed jersey thanks to the kindness of Robert Ballis (@RBallis<\/a>)!!!\"\"<\/a>#3 – September 1991 – Michael Jordan #14 – <\/b>There are very few images in sports as iconic as MJ kissing the trophy.  And Beckett captured it perfectly with issue #14 of the Basketball edition.  Jordan may be the only player to grace both the Basketball and Baseball covers.  I’d have to do a little research but I can’t think of another.  Bo got Baseball and Football and Deion may have at one point as well.  MJ shocked the world when he announced he was retiring from basketball to play baseball and the hobby world went nuts too.  He also has a Basketball cover in the #45 Bulls jersey when he returned to the league that was very memorable but not quite Top 12 material.  This one was easy and belongs in the Top 3 for me.  I appreciate MJ more and more as the years pass and the NBA becomes more watered down and free agency driven.  In my day, The Dream Team represented America, not just one city.\"\"<\/a>#2 – July 1990 – Ken Griffey Jr. #64 – <\/b>Here is the iconic Jr. for me.  I don’t remember the specific hot list from this guide but I can assure you that half of them were Jr. cards. There was truly no hotter name in 1990 than Ken Griffey Jr.  He even made Canseco take a back seat.  And this smile was what you saw from Jr. on a routine basis except when they made him into a villain in 1994’s “Little Big League.”  1989 Upper Deck is obviously his marquee card and you may know by now that I still haven’t pulled one from a pack.<\/a>  But I had a cache of ’89 Donruss rookies that I would horde like they were ’52 Mantle’s.  This was such a great time to be a baseball fan and collector.  This magazine brings back such fond memories and I can’t help but smile when I see it.\"\"<\/a>#1 – June 1990 – Bo Jackson #63 – <\/b>You had to know this was coming, right?  It is quite a coincidence that the top magazine on this list is issue #63 and it’s followed by #64 that is second on this list.  This was collecting to me.  If my life as a collector was an old VHS movie, this would be the box cover.  Bo in the pads with the bat over his shoulders may be the most iconic image on a sports card ever but is certainly the top photo in my lifetime.  It’s even better because it’s black and white.  Score football put out a similar card with Bo in the batting stance but it didn’t have the pop that this one did.  Maybe it’s because of the purple border.  Or maybe it’s because ’89 Score also had Aikman, Barry and Deion rookies.  Either way, this image takes first prize and is why this magazine cover lands at #1.
\nWhat are some of your favorite Beckett covers?  There are plenty more out there like Jordan with the Sox, Rickey Henderson and Larry Bird that I didn’t get to.  And there’s an entire catalog of Hockey that I know nothing about.  Technology has come along and hurt a lot of physical publications and made them move to the internet.  But even still, nothing beats holding a Beckett Price Guide in your hands and looking up your card prices!  Comment below or on Twitter and tell us your favorite Beckett Magazine memory.  And if you’re a podcast fan, I urge you to check out Beckett Radio this week!  <\/p>\n

J-Dub<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No matter how old I get or how many miles I put between 12 years old and now, there are certain images that I still have from those days.  I remember the McGwire ’90 Fleer I got at Halloween that year.  I remember the back of ’89 Score because that’s the way I went through … Continue reading “Beckett – More Than A Price Guide”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,9,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hobbies","category-memories","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubmentality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/img_8493-1-1.jpg?fit=748%2C505&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7912A-rh","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1691"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4294,"href":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1691\/revisions\/4294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubmentality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}