Hall of Fame — Cardboard Police

September 08, 2026

1962 Topps #17 Mike Ditka RC — Zero PSA 10s in 1,273, and Only Four Nines in Sixty-Four Years

PSA has put 1,448 copies of Mike Ditka's rookie card in holders. Not one of them is a Gem Mint 10, and the entire top of the population is four Mint 9s. The 1961 Rookie of the Year got card #17 in the 1962 Topps set — a black-bordered design that ha...

Card of the Day Football Topps Vintage Hall of Fame Rookie Card

CASE #0312 Misdemeanor

Read case file →

September 05, 2026

1977 Topps #50 Mike Haynes RC — Nine PSA 10s in 823, and Forty-Eight of the Nines Are Qualified

PSA has put 918 copies of this card in holders since 1977. Nine of them are Gem Mint 10s — and the scan PSA publishes on its own CardFacts page is one of the nine, cert 18955654. The 1977 Topps set gave card #50 to a rookie cornerback who had just i...

Card of the Day Football Vintage Hall of Fame Rookie Card

CASE #0309 Misdemeanor

Read case file →

September 03, 2026

1966 Philadelphia #31 Dick Butkus RC — One PSA 10 in 1,723, and More Qualified 8s Than Clean 9s

PSA has put 2,048 Dick Butkus rookie cards in holders. Exactly one of them is a PSA 10. Nine more are straight PSA 9s — and forty-four copies earned a PSA 8 with a qualifier attached, which means the defect-flagged 8s outnumber the clean 9s by nearly...

Card of the Day Football Vintage Hall of Fame Rookie Card

CASE #0302 Misdemeanor

Read case file →

September 01, 2026

2006 Topps #334 Devin Hester RC — 366 PSA 10s in 661, and the Card Calls Him a Cornerback

The last four football cards to run in this slot produced twelve PSA 10s between them. This one produced 366. PSA has assigned a straight grade to 661 copies of the 2006 Topps Devin Hester rookie, and more than half of them came back a 10. The car...

Card of the Day Football Topps Hall of Fame Rookie Card

CASE #0299 Misdemeanor

Read case file →

August 29, 2026

1974 Topps #219 Ray Guy RC — Three PSA 10s, and the Card Next Door Is Franco Harris

The Pro Football Hall of Fame did not enshrine a punter until 2014, and that punter's rookie card sits one number below Franco Harris in the same 1974 Topps set. PSA has assigned a straight grade to 741 copies of Ray Guy's #219. Three of them came ba...

Card of the Day Football Vintage Hall of Fame Rookie Card

CASE #0293 Misdemeanor

Read case file →

August 28, 2026

1970 Topps #25 Jan Stenerud RC — Nine PSA 10s in 762, and Canton's First Pure Kicker

The 1970 Topps football design tucks each player's position into a little brown football in the bottom corner of the card. On card #25, that football reads KICKER. In every case file this blog has published, it has never once run the word. No kicker,...

Card of the Day Football Topps Vintage Hall of Fame

CASE #0290 Misdemeanor

Read case file →

August 27, 2026

1971 Topps #245 Joe Greene RC — Zero PSA 10s in 3,296, and Fourteen Nines Behind a Black Border

The card above is a PSA NM-MT 8, certification number 14003129. On most vintage football cards that is a very good copy sitting two rungs below the ceiling. On this one it is sitting two rungs below nothing at all. PSA has certified 3,296 copies of ...

Card of the Day Football Vintage Hall of Fame Rookie Card

CASE #0287 Misdemeanor

Read case file →

August 26, 2026

Heritage's $62.9 Million August Was the Largest Sports Auction Ever — Led by a Wagner Once Valued at $25

Heritage Auctions' Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction closed on August 23 having realized $62,963,254, which the house says makes it the largest sports auction ever held. The previous mark, $61,645,972, was set by Heritage's own 2024 Summer Platinu...

Hobby Article Market Analysis Card Prices Vintage Hall of Fame Pre-War

CASE #0285 Informational

Read case file →

August 24, 2026

1984 Topps #280 Eric Dickerson RC — 143 Gems From 11,276, and the Same Gem Rate as Marino

The 1983 NFL Draft is remembered for its quarterbacks, and this blog has opened a file on the rookie card of each of the three who reached Canton. John Elway went first overall, Jim Kelly fourteenth, and Dan Marino twenty-seventh — five other quarter...

Card of the Day Football Vintage Hall of Fame Rookie Card

CASE #0273 Misdemeanor

Read case file →

August 23, 2026

1972 Topps #200 Roger Staubach RC — 4 PSA 10s From 5,626, and More Flawed Nines Than Clean Ones

Roger Staubach was a 30-year-old reigning Super Bowl MVP by the time Topps got around to printing his first card. He had won the Heisman at Navy in 1963, then spent four years of mandatory active duty — including service in Vietnam — before he could ...

Card of the Day Football Vintage Hall of Fame Rookie Card

CASE #0279 Misdemeanor

Read case file →

the cardboard chronicle

Tagged: Hall of Fame

1962 Topps #17 Mike Ditka RC — Zero PSA 10s in 1,273, and Only Four Nines in Sixty-Four Years

1977 Topps #50 Mike Haynes RC — Nine PSA 10s in 823, and Forty-Eight of the Nines Are Qualified

1966 Philadelphia #31 Dick Butkus RC — One PSA 10 in 1,723, and More Qualified 8s Than Clean 9s

2006 Topps #334 Devin Hester RC — 366 PSA 10s in 661, and the Card Calls Him a Cornerback

1974 Topps #219 Ray Guy RC — Three PSA 10s, and the Card Next Door Is Franco Harris

1970 Topps #25 Jan Stenerud RC — Nine PSA 10s in 762, and Canton's First Pure Kicker

1971 Topps #245 Joe Greene RC — Zero PSA 10s in 3,296, and Fourteen Nines Behind a Black Border

Heritage's $62.9 Million August Was the Largest Sports Auction Ever — Led by a Wagner Once Valued at $25

1984 Topps #280 Eric Dickerson RC — 143 Gems From 11,276, and the Same Gem Rate as Marino

1972 Topps #200 Roger Staubach RC — 4 PSA 10s From 5,626, and More Flawed Nines Than Clean Ones