I did this with Ohio State alum, Chris “Beanie” Wells and will probably do it again with Topps Archives’ Official Ginger, Andy Dalton.
A few things to know when you go about collecting an entire year’s worth of base rookie cards:
PATIENCE: Express it and lots of it. You want to knock these out in lots and the big breakers will end up stockpiling these over the course of the year. Buying the cards the day after release will put you in competition with all of the player collectors and you’ll end up overpaying for the card and shipping. Wait until the “20 Different Andy Dalton Rookies” hit eBay.
DISPLAY: I like these things: Ultra Pro 20 Page Binder but there’s the 10 Page Binder
if you can find them. You’ll really only need the 10 page binder
and they’re only 3.99, but your best bet is grabbing them from the hobby shop unless you’re buying quantity.
So:
Bowman Sterling Base Rookie Card
Donruss Elite Rookie Card
Donruss Rated Rookie Rookie Card
Absolute Memorabilia Rookie Card
Panini Certified Rookie Card
Panini Classics Rookie Card
Panini Crown Royal Rookie Card
Panini Epix Rookie Card
Panini Gridiron Gear Rookie Card
Panini Limited Rookie Card
Plates and Plates (I don’t know if this features base rookies, didn’t buy any of it)
Panini Prestige Rookie Card
Panini Leaf Rookies and Stars Rookie Card
Panini Donruss Threads Rookie Card
Panini Playoff Contenders Rookie Card
Playoff National Treasures Rookie Card
Score Rookie Card
Topps Finest Rookie Card
Topps Five Star Rookie Card
Topps Base Rookie Card
Topps Chrome Rookie Card
Topps Magic Rookie Card
Topps Platinum Rookie Card
Topps Prime Rookie Card
Topps Supreme Rookie Card
Topps Tribute Rookie Card
Topps Triple Threads Rookie Card
Topps Unrivaled (ugh) Rookie Card
Upper Deck Exquisite Rookie Card
Upper Deck Sweet Spot Rookie Card
Upper Deck SP Authentic Rookie Card
Upper Deck SPX Rookie Card
We’re basically dealing with about 30-40 cards with the rest of the binder being filled with random inserts that you hand pulled, maybe a chrome refractor, and random other things. This isn’t exactly a player collection so much as it’s just a documentary of the year in football cards.
Even with the binder and a couple 3.00 lots, you’re really only looking at spending 25 bucks on this project. Yes, you can get a nice autograph for 25 bucks, but if your collection is anything like mine, it’s almost all autographs anyways!
