My quest to dominate the 1954 Parkhurst Wrestling Set UPDATED

wrestlingcardking

I have been working on the 1954 Parkhurst wrestling set for quite some time. In the early years on ebay there were various wrestling card collectors who were happy to put together the set raw and now there are a handful of guys going after the set in graded form and you see many more graded singles than you ever used to. These cards have so many issues it is crazy from severe centering issues, to wax stains that permanently stain the card and the poor quality of paper that just devastates any hopes of finding them in good grade. The real question is how they were distributed? I have never found solid proof of how they were released and have never seen an unopened pack. I was able to make a major leap on dominating the registry by picking up the #2 all time set from Mile High last year and combined it with my already number one set

My basic set of 75 cards I currently have 71 of the 75 cards in the highest possible grade. After being edged out on the final day of 2011 for the top set, I've held the top set from 2012 until the present day. It isn't possible for me to be anywhere near being passed on the registry unless there is a significant find of some kind.

I also have the top master set by holding the top grades of 130 of the 137 possible cards out there. There are some cards that have a biography back in addition to having a lucky premium back. My master set was created in 2014 and I have held the top slot each year. There is only one PSA 9 graded and I have that in addition most of the 8s that are out there.

Here is some of the star power of the set.

Champion Lou Thesz

Verne Gagne, I have a lucky premium that is .5 higher but you will find many cards with centering issues

The only PSA 9 of all of them graded!

African-American legend Bobo Brazil rookie

KIller Kowalski rookie

Gorgeous George PSA 8 rookie, I own all three of the 7s too!

Dpeck100

Great addition to your set with the GG. That is a big time card.

2dueces

Not to derail your thread but I thought you might like to hear a wrestling story from the days of the set.
My grandmother, the wrestlers called her “Ma Brennan” had the same seat at the Aud in Buffalo for 40 years. Never missed a match. All the greats came and visited her at her house when they came to town. When I stayed there on the weekend 1962-67 I remember all of them showing up at her door. Little people with blocks on their shoes driving Cadillac’s. Huge men with flowing blond hair. He’ll even Jay Silverheels at the door when I answered. When she passed in 1967 over 50 wrestlers were at her funeral. If she were alive she might be able to tell you how the cards were distributed. Thanks for revitalizing my memories of “Ma Brennan”.

wrestlingcardking

This is an addition to the thread and not in any way a derailment..... thanks for sharing and this is what collecting is all about!

wrestlingcardking

Of the 1638 cards submitted for grading there has only been the one 9 that I have. One out of 1638 is a percentage of .06% of all submitted. For PSA 8s there have only been 23 of 1638 submitted for a percentage of 1.4%. A challenging set in a high grade.

wrestlingcardking

I have 43 Parkhurst wrestling cards at PSA since June 30th and they have entered grading. I am thinking that I may get some upgrades to my master set so it will be exciting to see my final results with this submission. I am hopeful that I will be able to raise the bar on my master set. It's rare to sub a pop 1 card from this set from 1954!

Rofles

What a cool thread! Thank you for sharing some of your collection and the background behind the set too! Looking forward to seeing what you get!