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Mozzie22
Active member
- Aug 7, 2008
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Die hard player collectors often use the term “White Whale” or “Holy Grail” to describe a dream card they have hunted for a long period of time. These whales elude us for any number of reasons but rarity or price seems to be the most common obstacles in our way. The thing about white whales is that although we may or may not have landed one of these, at least we are aware they are real and they are out there, no matter how elusive.
The following story deals not with a whale or a grail, but rather with a Bigfoot. A “Bigfoot” card is a frustrating card much like the above mentioned white whale, but with one major difference… proof of existence.
Any player collector (especially those with players from the 80’s and 90’s) will have at one time questioned a card’s existence despite the fact the card resides on a checklist (most likely Beckett or SCD). The number one reason for doubting the existence is simple, nobody has ever seen an example. There are several cards/sets that fit this description and I’m sure there has been a thread started dealing with this very subject.
For the subject of this story I’ll be discussing a little known card set from 1986 that most collectors will never have heard of unless they are Vince Coleman or Ozzie Smith fans. If you haven’t stopped reading yet please continue because I think you’ll be able to relate.
In 1985 a small company in Illinois called Kondritz Sports Productions produced a 20 card set featuring Vince Coleman. The following year they produced an Ozzie Smith set. These 20 cards are all red bordered and say Ozzie Smith on the top with the nickname "Oz" in a white circle in the top right corner. The backs have various descriptions about his career. This set has long been popular with Ozzie collectors. Prior to Ebay this set was not readily available outside of the St. Louis area but thanks to the advent of online auctions these cards are now obtainable.
Here is the issue. At some point Beckett listed this set in its checklist. The issue is that in addition to the 20 cards in the set they list a sample card with #XX . These sample cards are believed to be produced and sent to hobby dealers in the hopes they would buy the sets upon release (pretty much how sample cards work, huh). SCD has never listed this sample card in its checklists nor has any other publication.But, because Beckett has had this sample card listed for years Ozzie collectors everywhere have been beating their heads trying to locate one. To the best of my knowledge only one of these sample cards has ever been listed on Ebay and that was years ago. That card was sold by a well-respected Ozzie collector when he sold his collection. The problem with that card is that it wasn’t numbered #XX . It was simply a card from the set with the word SAMPLE stamped on the back.
Fast forward 10 years. Last week a different card from this set shows up on Ebay stamped SAMPLE. It was cheap so I decided to take a chance on it.
Here was my problem, with no known XX cards what is from keeping someone from simply stamping SAMPLE on the back of a card? The only thing keeping forgeries from hitting the market is the fact that it’s kind of an obscure set and forgers aren’t aware of its potential.
So, what’s a collector to do? I decided this card had bothered me long enough. I decided to do a little research on the company that produced it. After some research I found that the company had gone out of business years ago but I was able to find the name of the man that started the company. I wrote this gentleman and he contacted me back. After thanking me for my interest in his cards he wrote,
“I did not send out sample cards to dealers nor did I ever produce sample cards.”
Finally! After years of looking for a card that would ultimately allow me to check off the last card needed for the decade of the 1980’s, it was unequivocally proven to be non-existent (take that Beckett)! Removing a card from a checklist normally isn’t as rewarding as checking one off but that isn’t true in this case.
1980-1989 now 100% at 378/378 (could always change in the future but that's the fun of it)
p.s. A few days after hearing from the owner of the card company I received a package from him containing a complete Ozzie and Coleman set along with two autographed cards personalized to me. Very cool guy.
In honor of completing the decade that got me started in collecting; a few pics of some (but not all) of the toughest Ozzie Smith cards from the 1980's:
Thanks for reading.
The following story deals not with a whale or a grail, but rather with a Bigfoot. A “Bigfoot” card is a frustrating card much like the above mentioned white whale, but with one major difference… proof of existence.
Any player collector (especially those with players from the 80’s and 90’s) will have at one time questioned a card’s existence despite the fact the card resides on a checklist (most likely Beckett or SCD). The number one reason for doubting the existence is simple, nobody has ever seen an example. There are several cards/sets that fit this description and I’m sure there has been a thread started dealing with this very subject.
For the subject of this story I’ll be discussing a little known card set from 1986 that most collectors will never have heard of unless they are Vince Coleman or Ozzie Smith fans. If you haven’t stopped reading yet please continue because I think you’ll be able to relate.
In 1985 a small company in Illinois called Kondritz Sports Productions produced a 20 card set featuring Vince Coleman. The following year they produced an Ozzie Smith set. These 20 cards are all red bordered and say Ozzie Smith on the top with the nickname "Oz" in a white circle in the top right corner. The backs have various descriptions about his career. This set has long been popular with Ozzie collectors. Prior to Ebay this set was not readily available outside of the St. Louis area but thanks to the advent of online auctions these cards are now obtainable.
Here is the issue. At some point Beckett listed this set in its checklist. The issue is that in addition to the 20 cards in the set they list a sample card with #XX . These sample cards are believed to be produced and sent to hobby dealers in the hopes they would buy the sets upon release (pretty much how sample cards work, huh). SCD has never listed this sample card in its checklists nor has any other publication.But, because Beckett has had this sample card listed for years Ozzie collectors everywhere have been beating their heads trying to locate one. To the best of my knowledge only one of these sample cards has ever been listed on Ebay and that was years ago. That card was sold by a well-respected Ozzie collector when he sold his collection. The problem with that card is that it wasn’t numbered #XX . It was simply a card from the set with the word SAMPLE stamped on the back.
Fast forward 10 years. Last week a different card from this set shows up on Ebay stamped SAMPLE. It was cheap so I decided to take a chance on it.
Here was my problem, with no known XX cards what is from keeping someone from simply stamping SAMPLE on the back of a card? The only thing keeping forgeries from hitting the market is the fact that it’s kind of an obscure set and forgers aren’t aware of its potential.
So, what’s a collector to do? I decided this card had bothered me long enough. I decided to do a little research on the company that produced it. After some research I found that the company had gone out of business years ago but I was able to find the name of the man that started the company. I wrote this gentleman and he contacted me back. After thanking me for my interest in his cards he wrote,
“I did not send out sample cards to dealers nor did I ever produce sample cards.”
Finally! After years of looking for a card that would ultimately allow me to check off the last card needed for the decade of the 1980’s, it was unequivocally proven to be non-existent (take that Beckett)! Removing a card from a checklist normally isn’t as rewarding as checking one off but that isn’t true in this case.
1980-1989 now 100% at 378/378 (could always change in the future but that's the fun of it)
p.s. A few days after hearing from the owner of the card company I received a package from him containing a complete Ozzie and Coleman set along with two autographed cards personalized to me. Very cool guy.
In honor of completing the decade that got me started in collecting; a few pics of some (but not all) of the toughest Ozzie Smith cards from the 1980's:
Thanks for reading.
