rookie cards

When I conceptualized writing an article on the emergence of the so called “rookie card” into the world of mainstream sport trading card collecting within Australia, I thought it would be a fairly simple process to clearly and simply define what a “rookie card” is.  How wrong I was.  

Defining a “Rookie Card”

The term “rookie” can clearly be traced back to the initial recruitment of players to U.S. baseball, basketball and hockey teams. Over recent years the term “rookie” has also become commonplace with the initial recruitment of players to Australian rules football, cricket, and rugby teams.  My research does confirm one thing; there is still no official “rookie card” definition which is commonly accepted or adhered to within the trading card collecting communities, within the U.S., Australia or elsewhere.  Reference to a range of obvious reputable sources, such as Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) Card Grading publications and Becketts and related price guide publications brings me to the conclusion that the term “rookie card” and its true definition remains highly subjective. The following commentary and definitions, however, hopefully provide some scope to describe what actually constitutes a “rookie card”.

The Beckett Definition of the “rookie card” states that a “rookie card must come from a fully-licensed (both MLB and MLBPA), nationally-distributed set that is primarily focused on current Major League players. It must be a base card and cannot be an insert, parallel, or redemption card”.

“The is much debate within the hobby, as some collectors and pundits believe that an athlete’s first appearance on any trading card qualifies as his rookie card. Others believe that a rookie card is the first licensed issue from a major manufacturer that is widely distributed. There can be more than one rookie card for a player (Wikipedia)”.

This view is supported by BaseballCardPedia.com, which on its website asserts “a rookie card is a trading card that is the first to feature an athlete after that athlete has participated in the highest level of competition within their sport. Collectors may value these first appearances more than subsequent card issues. A rookie card is not necessarily always produced during a player’s rookie season because there could have been cards that fit the definition printed in previous years. It is generally agreed that to be a true rookie card, the card must be counted as part of a product’s base set. Thus, limited quantity insert cards of any type are generally not considered to be rookie cards”.

In 2006, Major League Baseball instituted a set of guidelines which dictated what cards could and could not bear the official MLB rookie card logo. Despite these guidelines, many collectors still regard a player’s “true” rookie card as being their first officially licensed prospect card”.

It is now customary for athletes to be commemorated on trading cards which are highly collected based on the popularity of the athlete. The value of “rookie cards” predictably fluctuate based on consumer interest, supply and demand and other factors, but prices can often surpass thousands of dollars.

Four key principles in identifying a card as a “Rookie Card”

From my perspective, the following four basic principles should apply when determining whether a particular card featuring an athlete is his or her “rookie card”:

• The card is the first to feature a player/athlete after that player/athlete has participated in the highest level of competition within their sport;
• The card must be a base card and cannot be an insert, parallel, or redemption card;
• The card must come from a fully licensed nationally distributed set; and
• There can be more than one rookie card for a player/athlete.

To validate these principles, let me use AFL Hall of Fame Member and Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley as an example.  Nathan Buckley was initially recruited from Port Adelaide to the Brisbane Football Club, where he played a total of 20 senior games during the 1993 AFL Season.  Buckley did not feature on any football card in the 1993 year.  He then transferred to the Collingwood Football Club in 1994, where he played for the remainder of his AFL career. 

Buckley features on three football cards as a Collingwood player, in the official Select AFL Football Card series produced in 1994.  The same identical photo of Buckley features on a common base-set card, on a gold insert card and he also features on a personally signed limited edition gold insert card. Using the above-mentioned principles, the two gold cards are indeed insert cards, therefore his “rookie card” is in fact the numbered card from the base set.  

Nathan Buckley also features on a card in another licensed series of AFL cards (Card No. 121 Artoons) produced by the then Dynamic Marketing Company, also in 1994.  This card depicts him in a caricature image wearing a Brisbane guernsey.  To the best of my recollection, both the Select Card series and the Dynamic Marketing series were released at about the same time during 1994.  Applying the above-mentioned principles, it is arguable that the Dynamic Marketing Card No, 121 can also be classified as a legitimate Nathan Buckley “rookie card”.  Or does the fact that this card is a caricature card which does not feature a photo of the player preclude it from being considered a “rookie card”?  My research cannot find anything that distinguishes a caricature card from a photo card in this debate.

To add to the discussion, Buckley also features on another base card in the Sensation Series (Card No. 48/110) produced later that year by Dynamic Marketing.  In this second series of cards, Buckley is wearing a Collingwood guernsey.  Under these principles, this card would not meet the criteria as a “rookie card” as it was not the first trading card trading card that featured Buckley after he has participated in the highest level of competition within his respective sport.

Prevalence of Caricature Images of Players/Athletes on Trading Cards

Interestingly, caricature images are a feature on many identified “rookie cards” of champion athletes, including many Australian rules football players.  They were particularly prevalent in many trading cards issued by companies as promotional material from the early to late 1990’s and they are still a feature of trading cards to this day.  As indicated in my earlier comments on Nathan Buckley my research could not find any references at all that precludes a caricature or artist drawn card from the definition of a “rookie card” or that places a lower value on a caricature card from a photo card in this ongoing debate on “rookie cards”.

Richmond great and AFL Legend Jack Dyer’s “rookie card” is featured in the 1933 Carreras Football Series, promoting Standard Cigarettes.  This card is a caricature of “Captain Blood” drawn by highly regarded artist of the time, Bob Mirams.

Champion Essendon player and AFL Legend John Coleman first appeared on a card issued by the Victorian Nut Supplies series in 1949. This card features a black and white caricature image of Coleman, again drawn by artist Bob Mirams.  This elusive Coleman “rookie card” sells these days for prices ranging from $500 to $1,300 depending on grade/condition, on the rare times a copy comes up for sale.

It is conceded by most collectors that the legitimate “rookie card” of AFL Hall of Fame Legend Ron Barassi Jnr is the base card featured in the 1957 Kornies VFL Mascot Card series.  This card has a black and white photo of Ron Barassi’s head inserted into a caricature drawing of a Melbourne Football Club player.  It has been reported that a near mint copy of this card recently sold for $675. Barassi “rookie cards” in similar condition were generally selling for just $80 in 2020.  This represents an 844% increase in value over the past two years.

I have also noticed a number of 1969 Scanlens Football Cards featuring AFL and Hawthorn legend Peter Hudson are being listed as his “rookie card” for high prices on Ebay.  As outlined earlier, my research failed to find anything that distinguishes a caricature card from a photo card in the debate on what constitutes a “rookie card”.  On that basis, the true “rookie card” of Peter Hudson is the caricature card of him which features in the 1968 Twisties/Sun Valley set of football cards (Twisties/Sun Valley were licensed by the then VFL to produce football cards in 1968 and 1969).  The promotion of the 1969 Scanlens VFL Card as Peter Hudson’s “rookie card” is misleading to potential purchasers to say the least.  

Players/Athletes with more than one “Rookie Card”

Carlton and AFL Legend Alex Jesaulenko’s first appearance on football cards was in each of the two versions of the 1968 Scanlens VFL Card Series.  It is my, understanding both versions of the cards were released simultaneously but in separate display boxes and with different wrappers.  Alex Jesaulenko therefore has two legitimate “rookie cards”, being the 1968 Scanlens “A” series and “B” series cards.  Similarly, Hawthorn and fellow AFL Legend 

Leigh Matthews also has two legitimate “rookie cards”, being the 1973 Scanlens Series “A” and Scanlens Series “B” VFL cards, which were issued together (the only difference is that Series “A” cards have different backs to the Series “B” cards).  The first appearance and confirmed “rookie card” of Carlton champion and AFL Team of the Century member Bruce Doull also feature on both versions of these 1973 Scanlens VFL cards.

Fluctuating Value of “Rookie Cards”

It is fair to say that almost without exception, most of the top expensive sports cards in the world are “rookie cards”.  Among those are the famous T206 Honus Wagner baseball card issued by American Tobacco in 1909 and the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card. In 2022 a T206 Honus Wagner card sold for a then record $7.25 million (U.S.) in a private sale facilitated by a U.S. Auction house.  Only 50 to 60 copies of this rare trading card are believed to exist.  A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card with a 9.5 grade from grader SGC was sold later in 2022 for a record-shattering $12.6 million (U.S.). That is the most money anyone is known to have paid for any type of sports item, card or memorabilia.  Interestingly, there are an estimated 1,800 or so 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie cards that are known to exist. Of these 1,800 cards, the majority are said to be in poor condition.  

One of the most sought after “rookie cards” is the 1986 Fleer U.S. Basketball card featuring champion player Michael Jordan. These “rookie cards” regularly sell in a Gem Mint condition for between $18,000 and $30,000 (U.S.) A buyer is known to have recently bought two of these cards in a PSA 10 grade for $738,000 (U.S.) each.

It is fair to say that over the past two to three years, the Australian sports trading card collecting community has followed the trend in the U.S., where we have become almost obsessed with sourcing, collecting and selling so called “rookie cards” featuring footballers, cricketers, basketballers, baseballers and other prominent athletes. For example, so-called Donald Bradman “rookie” cricket cards produced during the1928-29 cricket season by both Wills and Ogdens have been changing hands for phenomenal amounts over the past two years.  Wills and Ogdens Bradman cards produced in 1928 have been regularly listed for sale on Ebay for between $400 and $1,200 (depending on grade/condition).  A few years-ago these cards would have reached a price of no more than $50 near mint each.  The recent untimely death of Australian cricketer Shane Warne has seen significant price rises in cards produced by the then Futera Sports Cards Company featuring him in 1993/94.  Warne “rookie cards” have been changing hands since his death at $150+; whereas as they were selling on the open market for no more than $20 each just prior to his death.  So called “rookie cards” featuring the late Formula One racing car driver Ayrton Senna, which featured in the Scanlens produced Australian Motor Racing Cards series in 1986, are currently being listed at ludicrous prices of between $500 and $2,700 on Ebay.  Up until recent times, these full sets of the cards were changing hands for no more than $60 per set.

In terms of Australian rules football cards, one of the rarest and most sought after “rookie cards” is the Gary Ablett Snr card, which was produced by Armona in 1982, during the player’s only year at the Hawthorn Football Club. This card has for a number of years fetched anything between $1,000 and $3,500, depending on grade/condition.   These Ardmona cards were issued in perforated team sheets of 18 cards allowing the cards to be separated individually. They could be obtained by redeeming labels from Ardmona canned fruit products. The cards predominantly show game action photos of the players. They are not numbered, have rounded corners and the reverse shows player details. I notice there have been numerous 1986 Scanlens cards of Gary Ablett Snr as a Geelong player being listed (and indeed being sold) on Ebay as his “rookie card” for prices ranging from $150 to $400 each.  Admittedly, it could be said this card is Gary Ablett’s first appearance as a Geelong player on a football card. However, to promote this card as his “rookie card” and to sell it for ridiculously high prices on that basis, is in my view highly inappropriate.

The latin phrase “caveat emptor” (Let the Buyer Beware) truly applies to those who want to acquire, collect and trade in “rookie cards”.  For example, I notice over recent times that a 1982 Ardmona VFL Series 2 Card featuring Brian Taylor (as a Richmond player) has been listed as his “rookie card” on Ebay with an asking price of $300.  That card appears to be Taylor’s legitimate “rookie card”, however good luck to the seller if he/she gets that asking price.  In my experience as a certified practising valuer, I can without hesitation say that the value of anything is what someone is prepared to pay for it. My advice to collectors who want to invest in collecting “rookie cards” is to do your homework before accepting a particular card is that subject player’s or athlete’s true legitimate “rookie card”.  The reality is that there are many people in the card collecting industry and community that can mislead you, unintentionally or otherwise.

I have taken the liberty of putting together a complete list of “rookie cards” (in alphabetical order) featuring all the Australian Football Hall of Fame Legends and AFL Team of the Century players for review and further debate.  I will not be offended if any readers want to take me to task on my assessment of the “rookie cards” featuring these players and I welcome the ongoing debate on this emerging trend in sports card collecting.

Geoff Alway