The Sports Card Dad, Author at Sports Card Dad

The Complete Guide to Mickey Mantle Cards — The Hobby King If Michael Jordan is the GOAT of basketball cards, then Mickey Mantle is the cardboard Babe Ruth of baseball cards. He’s the guy your dad, your grandpa, and probably your grandpa’s drinking buddy all said was “the one you wanted to pull.” Mantle isn’t…

Alright, hobby fam — today we’re diving deep into a question I get all the time: “Should I put my collecting budget into vintage sports cards… or go after vintage non-sports stuff?” It’s a fair question, because both lanes have some absolute grails, both can be crazy fun to chase, and both have their pros,…

The Ultimate 1980s Michael Jordan Card Guide — From True Rookies to Weird Oddballs Alright hobby fam, let’s talk about His Airness — Michael Jeffrey Jordan — the GOAT, the guy who made basketball cool worldwide, and the man who has somehow convinced generations of collectors to mortgage a kidney for cardboard with his face…

Smaller sports card shops could be walking into a very different playing field if high-profile athletes open their own card stores with the backing—directly or indirectly—of Fanatics/Topps. Here’s the breakdown of the challenges and how they might fight back: Challenges for Small Card Shops 1️⃣ Star Power & Marketing Reach Athlete-owned shops will instantly get…

Here’s a glimpse of the 2025 NSCC floor layout captured from the interactive Ludex map, showing the block-style booth grid and flow of the halls. It’s super useful for visual planning and gets you familiar with how the show is arranged under one roof. Color-Coded Floor Strategy for NSCC 2025 Based on the booth layout…

Event Highlights The 45th NSCC took place July 30 to August 3, 2025, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.The Cardboard Connectionnsccshow.com It featured a massive setup, with over 500,000 square feet of trading floor, more than 600 dealer booths, autograph sessions, live breaks, auctions, and exclusive brand redemption programs.The Cardboard Connection…

Here’s how sports card prices could continue to rise based on U.S. inflation and monetary policy: 📈 1. Inflation Increases Asset Prices — Including Cards Inflation reduces the purchasing power of the dollar. As dollars become less valuable, hard assets (like real estate, gold, and even rare sports cards) can become more expensive. If a…

The 2024 Panini Rookie Royalty WNBA set (branded as “Rookie Royalty” but officially noted on cardbacks as 2024–25 Panini Instant WNBA Basketball) launched via a Dutch Auction on June 30, 2025, at 11 AM CT, starting at $30,000 per hobby box (floor dropped to around $3,000) Talksport+15Checklist Insider+15Cllct+15. 🔗 Rookie Royalty Autographs—Current Listings **Noir Gold Sneaker…

Fanatics Fest is back in 2025 and I’m excited to hit NYC with my wife this year, after missing last year. As a sports card content creator, my big question is will Fanatics (who owns Topps), have success converting over the casual sports fans over to sports card and/or collectibles collectors. Since Fanatics has entered…

Sports Card Radio—also known for their video channel as The Sports Card Show—has been a beloved and influential presence in the hobby since 2008, founded by Colin and Ryan Tedards after they closed their card shop during the recession . 🕰️ Origins & Format Founded: 2008 Roots: Born out of inspiration from popular poker podcasts,…