CGC Collectorverse: Collector Origin Stories – Hofsportscard

For this issue of Collectorverse “Origin Stories,” we're spotlighting CGC Cards Registry user Hofsportscard and their collection of cards from one of the most popular sets of the 1950s: the 1959 Topps Baseball set.

Hofsportscard has compiled a set featuring more than a third of the 1959 Topps checklist and that also includes more than 100 Top Pops in the collection. Many baseball collectors are nostalgic about the vintage set because of its unique design, vibrant colors, and a checklist that includes numerous Hall of Famers. Those include stars of the day like Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Sandy Koufax, Ernie Banks, Duke Snider, Bob Gibson, and more.

For Hofsportscard, the 1959 Topps set kickstarted his hobby of card collecting as a kid. Drawn to the colorful 1959 Topps cards, Hofsportscard's journey into sports cards began decades ago. Yet in recent years, they have begun to slab their collection with CGC and now proudly show off their progress in the CGC Cards Registry, breathing new life into the vintage set after all these years.

Q&A with Hofsportscard

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! Tell us how you got started collecting baseball cards?

I started collecting in the early to mid-1970s as a kid. Like many kids I held on to my cards in a shoebox with rubber bands wrapped around them. I didn’t collect much in the '80s, as I was raising a family and had some other interests. But I got back into collecting in the mid-1990s and here we are!

You have an award-winning competitive 1959 Topps Baseball set on the CGC Sports Cards Registry that you’re working on. What drew you to collect this set specifically?

This was my very first set from when I started collecting. I think the colors drew me to it!

This is a big set, with nearly 700 cards total. You’ve got a little more than a third of those cards currently. What cards would you most like to add to this set and why?

I gave CGC a try as the slabs looked beautiful and I thought I’d grade a few cards here and there. As I received some cards back, I just started submitting more and more. Obviously sending in cards to grade is a financial investment, so my strategy was to send in a handful occasionally. I just sent in another couple hundred and hope to complete the set this year. I’m hoping some folks that grade their cards with other companies give CGC a shot, as the CGC Sports Cards Registry is very handy and easy to use to track your collection. Plus, it’s fun to interact and compete with others collecting the same set.

Were there any cards in your set that were tougher than others to find?

Yes. Tracking down the error cards in high grade can be expensive and fairly difficult to find in the wild.

How has the CGC Sports Cards Registry helped with your collecting goals?

It helps with tracking your collection, plus, the images are uploaded automatically to your set. Or you can upload your own images. It’s a particularly nice feature when upgrading a card with a grade or better centering.

And, finally, if you had a time machine to the past, what cards would you stock up on to bring back to the present?

Probably 1986-87 Fleer Jordans! But I’d also pick up pre-war cards: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and so many others. I couldn’t narrow it down!

About CGC

Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games, and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for sports cards, TCGs, and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation, and more. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray, and more. CGC also offers seamless solutions for autograph collectors with CGC Signature Series and JSA Authentic Autograph services.

CGC is part of the Certified Collectibles Group, a global provider of expert and impartial authentication and grading services for collectibles. Since 1987, the Certified Collectibles Group companies have certified more than 110 million collectibles, including coins, banknotes, comic books, cards, autographs, and stamps.