This year Collector again have baseball, basketball cards, and
NASCAR?
On the Baseball card side, he’s in sets from:
· Collectors Choice SE
· SP Top Prospects
Surprisingly the first certified “Authentic” autograph
card comes on a baseball card. Upper Deck brand SP, produces a
Top Prospects Autographs # 14 card. This card is rarely seen.
The story behind the cards as I was told is that Michael came
to the signing location, signed a few cards and got up and walked
out before all the cards were all signed. This left only a handful
of signed cards and the few that were signed went into the SP
Top Prospects packs and that was it.
Not sure how NASCAR cards got in, but he’s in sets from:
· SP 1995 Comebacks (a Die Cut card with Ernie Irvan)
· Upper Deck – Pit Crew (card versions are regular,
silver signature, and gold signature)
In a move all Basketball fans were hoping for, Michael faxes
a statement saying “I’m Back”. He comes back
to Basketball the game he loves. This time he’s not in his
usual # 23, he’s in his baseball #. Number 45. However there
are only a few cards that show him in # 45, as by the end of the
season he’s back in # 23.
On the basketball side, he’s in:
· Collectors Choice
· E-XL, a brand from SkyBox.
· Finest
· Flair
· Fleer
· Hoops
· Metal, a brand from Fleer.
· SkyBox Premium
· SP
· Stadium Club
· Topps
· Ultra
· Upper Deck
Card companies improve concepts and creativity of the “Die
Cut” cards. They also limit the production. Metal die cuts
around a basketball, Upper Deck die cuts on the SP brand Holoview
and Championship Champions of the Court cards. The most creative
hands down winner is the Stadium Club Beam Team which not only
die cuts around the words “Beam Team”, they also somehow
put pin holes into the card that when held up to the light outline
Michael face. WOW!
New ideas are
1) Hoops inserted a piece of colored plastic in between the front
and back of the card so you can see through it if you hold it
to the light. The card is the “SkyView” card.
2) Metal prints a card on clear plastic, rather than cardboard
that you can see though. The card is the “Slick Silver card.