Uncut sheets of baseball cards
countdouglas
Posts: 2,435 ✭✭✭✭✭
A few months ago, I reorganized my card room, which left me with some blank real estate on the wall. My friend that I grew up with collecting cards with happened to be visiting, and asked me what I was going to put there? I was kind of like, I don't know, maybe a framed jersey or a vintage Nike poster. And then he suggested something that, even though I knew they existed, the very idea of them hadn't crossed my mind in 30+ years. He said, "You ought to put up an uncut sheet of cards."
!!!!!!!!!!
Heck yeah, I should!
I only have room for really just one though... maybe 2 if I move this there and squeeze that in... so what sheet should I deem worthy of adorning my wall?
This very friend had on his wall back in the day, with thumbtacks on the corners, an 85 Topps sheet with Roger Clemens, the entire All-Star subset, the entire record breaker subset, and THE CARD to have at the time from the 1985 set, Eric Freaking Davis! Many people have long forgotten what a superstar in the making Eric Davis was. Gooden was doing his thing in 84 and 85, and Rocket had his 14-0 start, 20 K game, Cy Young and World Series appearance in 86, but from the tail end of 86 through the first couple months of 87, Eric Davis was the card everyone was after, at least for position players. In case his exploits are not known to you, or have faded, here's an excellent article from Joe Posnanski on mlb.com from about a month or so ago.
https://www.mlb.com/news/eric-davis-put-up-video-game-stats-for-reds/c-279109048
Anyway, I spent many summer afternoons and evenings over my friend's house, watching the Cubs or Braves, sorting cards, making deals, all the while coveting that 85 Topps sheet. So, I immediately told him that was my plan. What better way to follow through on his suggestion than to get the sheet that would instantly take me back to those days long ago? The 85 Topps sheet with Clemens and Davis... He looked at me kind of funny, and finally said, "No, I didn't have the sheet with Clemens and Davis on the wall, I had the sheet with Gooden, Saberhagen, McGwire and the rest of the Olympic Team up there." It was his wall, his room... but my memory. We discussed it for some time, and I even dug out my miscut Eric Davis card to remind him how much I loved the guy! I mean, understand, even back then, I was super picky when it came to my cards. If they had wax or gum stains on them, or if they were dinged, or out of focus, into the trash they went. If this card would have been of anyone else but Eric Davis, it would no longer exist. BUT EXIST, IT DOES!...
I told him it absolutely had to be the sheet with Eric Davis! I wanted that sheet of his sooooo badly!
He finally came around to the idea that maybe it was possible at one time that he had the Davis sheet on his wall, but then maybe he swapped it out, traded it off, maybe even cut it up? But eventually, he was certain that McGwire, Gooden, and Saberhagen were the ones on his wall.
Ok then, I guess, maybe I have enough room for 2 sheets. I suppose I can acquire both the sheet with Clemens and Davis, and also the sheet with McGwire, Gooden, and Saberhagen...
That was about 2 months ago, and since I'm not known to do much of anything in moderation, while, yes, I did acquire the 85 Clemens/Davis sheet
I have not yet acquired the 85 McGwire sheet.
Instead, in the meantime, I've acquired 17!!! other uncut sheets!
Now, my original idea was to just get one, maybe 2 sheets, and not really care too much about keeping them mint and pristine. I wasn't sure how I was going to display them. They're an odd size of 29x43, so any frame would have to be custom built and cost a ridiculous amount, so was never really leaning that way. I wasn't too keen about putting holes in my wall, or in the sheets, with thumbtacks. Being stored rolled up for so long, they have a curvature to them even once unrolled, so I didn't think sticky tack or mounting putty would hold them long term, as the constant tension of the cardboard wanting to roll itself back up would eventually pull away from the putty. I was unaware until recently, but they make giant toploaders the size of these uncut sheets. I had my LCS order me just one to try out.
I have to admit, before I received the toploader, my expectation was for something different. I thought they would be much more rigid and stable, not really thinking that the amount of plastic material needed to do that would probably make each one weigh 40 pounds and shatter if hit just right. The reality is that they are so thin and light and flexible. Even with the card sheet inside, the toploader is so pliable, you can almost bend it doubled over without even meaning to. But, the plastic does a well enough job of straightening out the curvature, while offering some protection to the sheet, as well. I mounted one on the wall, using a generous amount of putty on each of the top 2 corners, as well as a like amount about halfway down on the edges. I would guess the toploader weighs about 4 pounds, and the sheet inside weighs whatever 132 cards weigh, maybe a pound or so. The thing has been up for a couple of weeks, and doesn't appear to be going anywhere. The putty is doing a fine enough job.
However, I got to thinking... what if I want to switch out what it is that I have displayed. I'll have to yank the toploader away from the wall, remove (carefully) the sheet and insert (again, carefully) a new sheet, then press the toploader back against the putty on the wall. Not a very convenient thing to do. So, at the end of June when eBay was running the 15 percent off coupon, I bought 20 toploaders for right around $9 each, delivered, after the coupon. So, all of the sheets are now in their own toploader, but still, it's going to be inconvenient to fool with pulling the toploader away from the putty each time. How to solve this?...
Command strips from 3M! If you're not familiar, they're kind of like Velcro strips (more like interlocking plastic teeth) with adhesive to attach each side, one to the item to hang and one to the wall, and kind of a built in removal mechanism that is not supposed to leave any marks or residue on your wall if you decide you no longer want the strips applied there. I have not tested that part out, ever, but have been assured by multiple people that they work as advertised. I have measured and applied the command strips to the same exact spot on each toploader, so all I have to do is to easily pop the teeth apart and remove one toploader and then the next one pops right on the wall to take its place. Super easy, and really pleased with how they look.
As I said before, my card room really only had a spot for one, maybe 2 sheets. Meaning the rest are going up in various locations throughout the house. I currently have 5 up total, with plans to probably display at least 5 more on a permanent basis. I would then rotate the benchwarmers in whenever the inspiration hit me to change it up. I'm still looking to get the 85 McGwire sheet, and there are a couple of other ones that I'm targeting. Also, I've ended up buying several really desirable sheets that I may actually end up getting framed. As costly as that will likely be, it will probably have to wait a bit.
I plan to take photos of all the sheets that I've acquired, and talk a little bit about each one. So if you think uncut sheets are neat, or you're just curious about the layout of the cards on each sheet, then check back from time to time. And if you want to share any of your own, then please do. Thanks for reading.
Comments
Where are you located? I have the entire set in sheet form and even at lease a couple of the giant top loaders. Would love to see them go to a good home as I'm not doing anything with them.
i didnt mind the long read, but I really could have use the payoff of pictures at the end.
I live in the Kansas City area. I don't know if that's anywhere close to you. I'm really only on the hunt still for several very specific sheets. I've revealed that one of them is the 85 McGwire sheet, and as I post photos of my additional acquisitions, it would have been easy to deduce that I'm also looking for an 83 Sandberg sheet. I'm hesitant to announce the other sheets that I'm looking for while they are still being stalked by me, as I have only seen one or no examples make an appearance for sale since I've been looking.
Don't think that I don't appreciate the offer, because I do, but truthfully, I'm not particularly looking for the entire 85 set in sheet form. Really, the only reason that I was looking for 85s at all was because I'm certain the 85 Clemens/Davis was the sheet on my friend's wall, and I wanted it to remind me of all the days in my youth that I spent there at his house, wheeling and dealing cards. It complicated things when it became debatable that my memory was possibly incorrect, hence the need for the 85 McGwire sheet, as well. Then, as mentioned, my propensity for overdoing things took over, and now I've already ended up with just about more sheets than available wall space.
Possibly, as this thread continues, someone will chime in that they both live near you, and that they would be interested in the entire 85 set in sheet form for themselves.
There will be more photos coming. I have 16 more sheets, some of which will be of great interest, the others, maybe not as much. Next up, once I get a chance to take some photos, will be 5 of the 6 sheets of 1983 Topps baseball. The missing one includes the Sandberg.
Here are some photos of the 83s. This first one is on the wall with sticky tack, so did not take it down.
Sandberg does make a cameo.
Here is a close-up of the 3M Command strips. I've measured so each one is in the same location on the back of each toploader, so I can easily remove one and swap out another in its place. There is another just like it attached to the wall, and they just snap into place.
Future inductee to the Royals Hall of Fame, showing off his love of the bunt, even then.
Haha! I've wondered about that card since 1985, how it could have been miscut so badly. Quality control was definitely out of control that day!
Ok, I understand now. Less words, more pictures. I'll try to get some more posted soon.
1981, the first year that I collected. This sheet has many of the stars that I was chasing, and for various reasons, guys that were stars to me in 1981 that proved not to be so true.
The amount of stars on this sheet is ridiculous. If they had decided to reduce the 1984 set to just 132 cards, and only released the checklist of this sheet, I'd have still collected this set.
This is another sheet containing most of the collectible players from that year. The Larkin and Bo Jackson are together on another sheet. This has most all of the rookie cups, McGwire, Bonds, Clark. People forget that Kevin Mitchell was N.L. MVP in 89, and after that World Series, Clark and Mitchell cards were white hot. Check out an old Beckett sometime from the 89/90 off-season.
I hadn't planned to purchase this one, as I anticipated the next sheet I'm about to show would be a budget buster. Opinions of what constitutes a good price will always vary, but when the first sheet was obtained for much less than I'd thought it was going to take, I went ahead and picked this one up.
Two months ago, this wasn't even on my radar. Today, it is one of the centerpieces of my collection. If not in value, then certainly in the "coolness" factor.
Thanks! To be honest, while I admit now that the initial post came across as long winded, I was wanting to explain how I came about first deciding to acquire a sheet (which turned into sheets), and then explain how I decided to display the sheets, hoping to initiate discussion or perhaps plant the seed with someone else as far as collecting and displaying these for their own enjoyment. Or have others show their uncut sheets and how they display them. I know I've seen some photos before on other threads with really nice frames, matting, and UV glass or acrylic. I will eventually get that done myself for at least the sheet with the Brett rookie. I had also initially planned to slowly reveal the photos of each sheet, and include more discussion about each one, along with closeups. But you gotta give the people what they want...PHOTOS!!!
Those 75 sheets are crazy cool!
The only sheet I own is an 82 topps and I only bought it because it had a considerable
amount of K.C. players on it.
If the Brett-Yount rookie sheet is ever for sale let me know.
I'm in Springfield IL, about 70 miles north of St. Louis. This will sound odd, but I give stuff away at times because I think some items are meant to be in the possession of someone who is truly going to appreciate it. I have an older gentleman that comes to this little show that I set up, with his son, who is in his 30s. He is a Cardinals fan but also loves Mantle and DiMaggio. I sell him some stuff from time to time but he has started collecting magazines with Micky and Joe D on the covers so I taunt him a little and then give him one or two each show when I can dig them out. While I think they are interesting, I know that he will appreciate them more than I ever will. Sometimes we get too caught up in the monetary aspect of collecting and forget why we started doing it in the first place. It's those memories that take us back to our youth and keep us young, lol, at least I hope. That being said, I would be happy to dig out the sheet you are looking for and ship it to you, free of charge. You just have to agree to post a pic of it when you get it on your wall!
Tim
Wow Doug - fun read buddy!
On the Yount/Brett sheet?
I'd like to build my house around that!
Not to steal thunder...
I've got a couple of sheets framed in the front office/room.
The 83T Ryno is a half "Proof" sheet from the Toppsvault - had a bit of a battle for that one.
Here's both sheets framed:
and the Ryno:
He means the Munson-Tidrow sheet.
Those 75 sheets are sweet! Also illustrates why the toughest cards are as tough as they are on the edges of the sheet.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
I doubt that it will be something that I ever sell. I would probably have to be liquidating my collection in its entirety, as it would definitely be amongst the last items to go, if not the very last.
I either set you 2 PMs, or none at all. I'm not sure what was going on with the messaging feature.
I think perhaps I've seen you post those photos before, Mike, as I knew I recalled some members sharing photos of their sheets and the professional frame jobs. Very nice items! I will be looking to eventually pick up a regular 83 sheet with Sandberg, just to have the complete set.
Yeah, I was certainly looking over the layout, and nodding to myself, "I see why, now..."
Lol, yes, I was just looking and you sent two. They are odd looking as well so something might be up. I had pulled the sheets out earlier today and for whatever reason was thinking you still needed the Clemens sheet so I had that one set aside. I'll have to get back into them and pull out the McGwire sheet in the morning. I need to find something to ship it in as the only mailing tube I can find that is big enough is the one that the entire set is in. We'll get it to you though!
Tim
Congrats on the sheets. Very cool thing to collect and display. Thanks for sharing.
Interesting to me that most of the valuable rookies are all on the edges.
This coincidence also struck me as odd, to the point I'd lean towards it not being a coincidence. I looked at some 1984 Topps Football uncut sheets, and Marino is on the very left edge, 4th row down. Elway is also on the far left edge, in the 6th row, with just one card separating the 2 HOFs. I also looked at some 1980-81 basketball sheets. The Bird/Erving/Johnson card appears in 2 locations on the sheet. The very top right corner (or bottom right, if you view the sheet horizontally). Along that same right edge (bottom edge if viewing horizontally) there is another Bird/Erving/Johnson. The 1975 sheet with Rice and Carter and Hernandez rookies has all 3 cards along the bottom. The 87 Bo Jackson is on the bottom, too. The 87 O-Pee-Chee Bonds ends up as the very bottom right corner card. The 1978 Molitor/Trammell card is also on the bottom edge, as is the 93 Jeter, as well. The 78 Eddie Murray is along the right edge, directly above the bottom corner card. It likely has something to do with finalizing player selection for the sets, and then coming up with an acceptable photo at a bit later time in the layout process.
countdouglass- I didn't think you would want to sell, but I had to try.
That Brett-Yount sheet is the coolest thing I've ever seen on these threads. Yount is right next to
HANK AARON, for crying out loud. Bob Gibson, Brooks, Munson, Morgan and Bench from the Big Red Machine.
Just crazy!
Really neat that Dave Guisti and Frank Tanana are at top left and right, as you know two of the toughest
in the set to find in PSA 9. Entire first row tough in PSA 9.
Ken Brett even on there!!
Thanks for posting the pic, truly enjoyed looking at that masterpiece.
Yeah, it's one of the coolest things I've ever seen, as well. I don't have any idea how common uncut 1975 sheets are, or how often they come up for sale, but when I saw the Brett/Yount, I decided right then and there that it was going to be mine.
I have to give a big thanks to @PROMETHIUS88. He sent me a 1985 McGwire/Gooden/Saberhagen sheet, free of charge. The only thing he asked was that I post photos of it hanging on my wall. So, in order to fulfill my end off the deal...
Glad it flattened out well for you and also glad it is in a good home where it will be appreciated!! Enjoy it!! Tim
Wow Tom, so amazing to see a 1971 OPC sheet!
And a high number sheet to boot!
How about a double uncut 1979 O-Pee-Chee Hockey sheet with Gretzky Rookie
Great thread, and congrats on the sheets.
I really love collecting them, they make great display pieces. Unfortunately once they start picking up any value they get bought up to be cut up, and seem to get harder and harder to find.
I'm playing around with completing a few sets in uncut form. Was making some headway on '71 until prices started going thru the room, suspect that will happen to '70 soon as well.
Here's a few that I've managed to keep from the guillotine.
'67, one of my favorite sets
'64 Giants, saved the auction image instead of reshooting once I got it. I love the information that uncut sheets give us- why a card is always off center, pack sequencing, or a condition rarity. This sheet proves that there were no short prints in that set (my experience when buying them in packs at Dodger Stadium in the '70's) and why Mantle was so common.
'53 Bowman. Stunning color. My favorite sheet (tied)
Half of an uncut '41 Playball set
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
Griffins, I love all of those sheets. Thanks for sharing. I'm especially fond of the 64 Topps Giants. I love that set, completing it in the PSA holders awhile ago, but only ranking in the 60s with a 7.40 GPA . Like you said, much information can be learned from the uncut sheets.
Also, thanks for sharing your O-Pee-Chee sheets, tsalems1. I've always especially loved the look of the 71s and their yellow backs.
I ended up getting a set of the 67 All Star and SF Discs on an uncut sheet, but missed out on a similar sheet for the 68s, which ended up being cut up for individual sales to player collectors.
The 84 Topps sheet below was a prototype design not used in the issued set, referred to as Encased or Head in the Box. Note that on it the Carlton and Mathews inserts are switched
The 67 Stand Up sheet was from Topps Vault and has several printers notations on it. It is half the set
After putting the 74 Deckle set together in white and gray back, and in proof form, I had the chance to pick up a 4th set on two uncut sheets.
The 73 or 74 ( likely 73), Action Emblems may have been the weirdest Topps baseball issue ever ( although the 68 Plaqs and 65 Embossed are close). The set, which featured cartoon players and made up team logos can be put together in cloth or cardboard. I picked up the cardboard sheet below after putting the set together in cloth. Like other Topps supplemental offerings in 73 ( Comics and Pin Ups) a license dispute between Topps and MLB apparently prevented Topps from using actual MLB logos on anything other than the basic set.
The 68 Deckle proof sheets for the 69 Deckle set had only one guy who made the set, but can be found with 3 different colored ink autos.
The 67 Who Am I prototype sheet did not seem to go anyywhere
Bowman Baseball -1948-1955
Fleer Baseball-1923, 1959-2007
Al
Awesome looking items, everyone! These last few posts have the kind of stuff that I was hoping to see when I started this thread a few weeks ago!
Hi, any idea of value on a 1987 Bellingham Mariners uncut sheet? (one set of cards)
Thank you
A couple of custom baseball related Topps sheets
Bowman Baseball -1948-1955
Fleer Baseball-1923, 1959-2007
Al
These are incredible!!! Didn't even imagine some of these still existed! Thanks for sharing!
This is my most recent pickup. Love all of the future stars, including Valenzuela, Scioscia, Peña, and my favorites, good ol' Rusty Kuntz and undercover narc Ned Yost. Also, League Leaders, postseason highlights, and the team photos of all but the Canadian teams, including the Cubs floating heads.
I have the Nestle sheets from 84. One has Mattingly and I think Rose. Same as the Topps sheets.
My latest score arrived today.
Andy
great looking at these uncut sheets. I really like the 75 topps with brett and yount sheet. also the bowman with the mantle is really nice. the Clemens and puckett 84 sheet is great. my favorite is the 83 topps sheets and the rest of the 75 topps those two sets are most favorite sets.
Does anyone have any 1986 Topps baseball sheets? The 1984 and 1985 seem fairly common, as they were sold in Kay-Bee toy stores as sheets and (I think) you could order them as well. The 1986 baseball seem a little harder to come by. That is my favorite set, and the one that started it all for me, so I am casually on the hunt for those if they pop up and are reasonable.
kevin
I had been looking for 86 baseball sheets (along with many other years) since the end of May, and in that time have only seen one 86 sheet come up for sale in that time. It was a Puckett/Gooden sheet, if I remember correctly. I would have bought it, except I was trying to reconcile the fact that because of the 2 tone design, every alternating row was printed upside down. It makes sense, after the fact, that printing it in that arrangement allows for OC cuts that don't result in a white line at the top or a black line at the bottom. But until I'd seen it, I hadn't really thought about the cards being printed in that fashion. I was still trying to decide if I wanted to display that item on my wall when someone else benefited from that indecision and snagged it themselves. Off the top of my head, it was $30-$35 delivered. I'm sure you can still find it in completed sales on eBay if you want to take a look.
I just checked on eBay, and my memory was off. The Puckett/Gooden sheet was $22.99 delivered. And I'd completely missed the Clemens sheet that had sold several weeks prior for $25.99 delivered. But that's it, as far as completed sales of late. 1986 Topps baseball sheets don't show up often, that's for sure.
Thanks for the info! I will have to keep my eyes out for them then. I only started recently looking, and just observed that the 1986s seem a little harder to find. Not necessarily more expensive, apparently, but maybe not as readily available. Something fun to hunt for!
kevin
It does make sense! And it explains why the 1963 baseball sheet was laid out similarly....
it also explains the layout of the 1975 sheets, with adjacent colors matching.
Fascinating info on the 1964 Topps Giants. No short prints? That blows my mind as those were always the seven hardest to get cards! I noticed on the sheet that ALL seven supposed short prints are the first card on the left side under Mickey,
Every site I look on for info has these as short prints...even PSA. So maybe that row was not printed as much?
@psychump
From the sheet it looks like there are 10 double prints and Mantle is a triple print. So the other 49 cards appear only once each.
On the other hand, since the players in the left edge which appear once are likely tough to find centered, maybe that creates the perception that they are shorter printed? The right edge is all double prints, so they would not seem as tough.
We would need to see the 2nd sheet.
My guess is that the left column only appears once on each sheet for a total of 2x on the whole sheet, while the others show up 3x or possibly 4x. I collected the set in PSA 8. There are plenty of cards showing up only 1x on the sheet shown that are very plentiful, like Marichal, Spahn, Oliva, Pizarro.
The bottom row is the toughest from a condition perspective.