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Anyone ever seen/heard of a 1990 Action Packed Basketball Sample "WHITE VARIATION"???.....
steel75
Posts: 1,648 ✭✭✭✭
With all the collector knowledge on here, maybe we can figure this out. I stumbled on this Ebay auction for a "white variation" of the Jordan Action packed sample. The information on this auction states the white ones are extremely rare. I have a "White" Patrick Ewing and always thought I had a "screwed up" version as they always have gold borders. Mine is ungraded, but appears perfect or at least a 9. Bottom line is......what kind of price would you put on this card if I were to sell it? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Jordan auction below
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item4ab9845644&item=320940037700&nma=true&pt=US_Basketball&rt=nc&si=sT1vpE%2Bf10Br%2F4VvpN5%2FP4gTHeY%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc null
my white Ewing.....Text
Jordan auction below
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item4ab9845644&item=320940037700&nma=true&pt=US_Basketball&rt=nc&si=sT1vpE%2Bf10Br%2F4VvpN5%2FP4gTHeY%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc null
my white Ewing.....Text
1970's Steelers, Vintage Indians
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Does yours say sample on the back?
Don't waste your time and fees listing on ebay before getting in touch me by PM or at gregmo32@aol.com !
The Jordan auction link is in my initial thread above............
Text
Back in the era those were made, I was at a show and purchased a bunch
of singles including The Basketball as well as Hockey and Football.
(The hockey featured Gretzky, Lemieux and Yzerman)
I also purchased (3) UNCUT sheets with the entire set including an unknown
checklist on the sheet.
I gave one of them to my brother, I kept one and sold the other one.
Still have mine.
In all of those bunches of singles I had, I never saw ANY white ones that I can
ever recall.
This is probably not much help, but, thought you'd like to know my experience
with them.
Tony
KalineFan
Just have never seen the white ones for sale until the white Jordan auction and the info it had.
It seems like it has people stumped........maybe it is that rare?
I realize I'm bringing back a very old thread, but I've been researching these Action Packed samples extensively, and this discussion has become an important piece of the history.
I've been researching the 1989–1990 Action Packed/Hi-Pro samples and prototypes, particularly the Michael Jordan Gold, Silver and White versions. I've also been fortunate enough to speak directly with one of Action Packed's early employees who was involved in creating the samples.
We now have confirmed physical White examples of other subjects, including Patrick Ewing and Mario Lemieux. The White cards are especially interesting because they contain the Hi-Pro copyright information, which gives us an important clue about how they fit into the production process.
The Michael Jordan is the one I'm still trying to document more completely.
The original poster in this thread saw a White Jordan offered on eBay in 2012, and the original eBay item number was preserved here. Beckett also has a population entry for a BGS 9 identified as “Michael Jordan (White Version W/Copyright Date)”.
What I have still not been able to recover is a photograph of either that 2012 eBay card or the BGS 9 White Jordan.
If anyone who participated in this discussion years ago saved the eBay images, knows who owned the card, remembers the seller, has photographs of a White Jordan, or has any additional information about these samples, I would really appreciate hearing from you.
I'm also interested in any firsthand information from former Action Packed/Hi-Pro employees, printers, dealers or collectors who encountered these samples around the time they were produced.
A lot more information has surfaced recently, and I'm trying to separate documented evidence from collector stories and theories so we can preserve the actual history of these cards.
Thanks for any help. It's amazing that a discussion started here in 2012 may still help answer some of these questions 14 years later.
Major update on the White Jordan research: we finally have a photograph of the BGS 9 “White Version W/Copyright.”
A longtime collector who contacted me through this research went back through photographs he had saved over the years and found the attached image.
The card is:
1990 Action Packed Promos #3 Michael Jordan
BGS 9
“WHITE VERSION W/COPYRIGHT”
Cert #0007208716
This is the card represented by the Beckett population entry that we have discussed previously. Until now, I had never been able to locate an actual photograph of it.
The photograph raises a major question, however:
The card appears Silver, not White.
We've recently been comparing numerous Silver Jordan examples and have found inconsistent grading-company attribution. Some apparent Silver examples have been labeled Silver, some Gold, and some simply Sample.
Looking at BGS #0007208716 independently of its label, I would personally identify the metallic finish as Silver.
The Gold Jordan photographed beside it is BGS #0007208712, only four certification numbers away. That does not establish that the cards were submitted together or came from the same source, but the certification proximity is worth documenting.
There is another historical development.
The collector also located an old email exchange with Steve Taft concerning Action Packed White material. Steve wrote:
“Action Packed White: I saw some way back in early 90's, I'm trying to remember if they were still a single card sheet as opposed to being folded into the card.”
That recollection is particularly interesting given the unfolded/unassembled Action Packed samples that have subsequently been documented.
I want to be careful about what this does and does not establish.
It does establish that we now have a photograph corresponding to the BGS 9 White-labeled Jordan.
It does not establish that Beckett's attribution was correct.
And Steve's recollection provides historical evidence of White Action Packed material, but does not establish that what he saw was a completed, folded White Michael Jordan card.
This also means I am revising something from my earlier posts. I previously treated the Beckett BGS 9 population entry as strong evidence of a completed White Jordan. Now that we can actually see the card, I don't think the label alone is sufficient evidence for that conclusion.
The 2012 eBay White Jordan report remains another piece of the puzzle, but we still have not recovered a photograph from that listing.
If anyone recognizes BGS #0007208716, knows its history, has a photograph of the back, or remembers seeing White/unfolded Action Packed samples in the early 1990s, please reach out.
UPDATE: Our Investigation Into the Original 1990 Action Packed Prototypes — New Discoveries
I wanted to share a substantial update on my ongoing research into the original Action Packed prototypes featuring Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing, Sugar Ray Leonard, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Steve Yzerman.
I own both the Gold and Silver Jordan prototypes and have been working with another collector to piece together their history. We've made some interesting discoveries.
I connected directly with Michael Jerchower, who designed the original prototypes.
He confirmed that the seven athletes were part of the original licensing effort and recalled approximately 100–150 Gold examples being produced per athlete.
He didn't recall seeing the Silver or White variations, leaving some important questions about their origins.
This is probably our most interesting discovery so far.
A collector posted photographs of an original Action Packed football sheet containing all seven prototypes alongside regular football cards.
Each athlete appears once in the visible sheet configuration.
This establishes that all seven prototypes were printed together in at least one configuration. However, it doesn't establish the total print run, whether additional configurations existed, or how many finished cards were produced.
Original photograph:
Beckett's original hockey checklist reports that approximately 1,000 Gretzky, 1,000 Lemieux, and 300 Yzerman prototypes were reportedly produced.
Those figures differ considerably from Jerchower's recollection.
Beckett doesn't identify its original source or specify whether the numbers represent printed, finished, or distributed cards.
We're investigating that discrepancy rather than assuming either account is incorrect.
Our research uncovered a possible connection to Primary Packaging, a company that operated in Maspeth, Queens.
There is some historical recollection connecting the company to Action Packed, but we haven't independently confirmed that it manufactured these particular prototypes.
We're trying to identify former employees or locate original manufacturing documentation.
In a 2012 Collectors Universe discussion, a collector reported purchasing three original uncut sheets containing the prototypes and an unidentified checklist.
He kept one, sold another, and gave the third to his brother.
We're investigating whether these sheets match the recently photographed example or represent another configuration.
Where things stand today
I've now contacted former Action Packed personnel, Beckett, the original designer, and several collectors who may have additional photographs or firsthand information.
We're waiting for responses.
What we're ultimately trying to establish is how many of each prototype were manufactured, how the Gold, Silver, and White variations originated, and whether any original production records survive.
This is where I could use everyone's help.
If you own any of the original seven prototypes, an uncut sheet, or original Action Packed promotional material, I'd love to see photographs.
I'm particularly interested in hearing from anyone who worked for Action Packed or its manufacturing partners, remembers these cards when they first appeared, or knows the history of any surviving uncut sheets.
Even a small piece of information could help us document something that has remained a mystery for more than 35 years.
I've included photographs of my Gold and Silver Jordan prototypes for comparison.
I'll continue updating this thread as we uncover more information.
I wanted to add an update because there has been a noticeable increase in activity around the 1990 Action Packed Michael Jordan samples over the past few months.
I've been tracking completed sales of both the Gold and Silver versions, and I currently have 29 documented sales in 2026. That isn't necessarily every sale, particularly because eBay's completed-sale history only goes back 90 days, but it is enough to show some interesting movement in the market.
Some of the more notable Gold sales include:
The Silver cards have shown an even larger move.
A PSA 8 Silver sold for $3,800 on August 7, and a PSA 6 Silver sold for $2,579 on August 26.
Then on October 4, a BGS 9.5 Silver sold at Fanatics Collect for $16,800, including buyer's premium, after receiving 33 bids. The card was listed as BGS population 1 of 2 with none graded higher.
There are now several more Action Packed Jordans coming onto the market. Fanatics Collect has multiple Gold examples available as Buy It Now, with another PSA 8 Silver scheduled for auction. A PSA 9 Silver, Pop 1, is currently at Goldin, and there are roughly 10 Action Packed Jordans currently listed on eBay.
One particularly interesting card on eBay is a PSA 6 that PSA has labeled Gold but appears to actually be Silver. The card has the Silver finish and the Hi-Pro copyright line on the reverse. I'm tracking that auction closely because it could provide another direct PSA 6 Silver comp.
That misidentified card also raises an important issue with the PSA population numbers. At least one Silver appears to be included in PSA's Gold population, so I don't think the published Gold and Silver population figures can currently be treated as an exact census of the two versions.
There has also been another development with my unusual Gold Jordan.
My card is one of the Gold examples I've documented that does not have the vertical "HI-PRO MKTG., INC. Copyright 1990" line on the back. These cards also differ on the front: MICHAEL JORDAN and BULLS do not have the black printing/fill seen on the standard Gold and Silver examples.
I've now documented four Gold Jordans with this no-copyright configuration.
My example was recently examined and authenticated by MBA and received a numerical grade of MBA 7 Near Mint.
We still do not know what this variation represents. It could reflect a different production stage, test configuration or something else entirely. I don't want to assign an explanation without evidence. But the combination of the missing copyright information and the different front printing makes it increasingly difficult to view these simply as standard Gold cards missing one line of text.
The timing of all of this is interesting. At the same time we're learning more about how these prototypes were produced and discovering previously undocumented variations, more examples are coming onto the market and prices are moving significantly.
I'll continue documenting the Gold and Silver sales, including certification numbers and visually checking the cards whenever possible rather than relying solely on the grading label or listing title.
With several important Silver auctions coming up, we should have considerably more market data very soon.