What is a Boston Week without diving into some of the greatest sports cards of our favorite Boston athletes over the years? Some have been great acquisitions. Some, to sadly admit, were not so much (Looking at you N’Keal Harry). The sports cards collecting arena, or “The Hobby”, as it’s known, has picked up in interest and value exponentially at the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020 in a way that many collectors never saw coming! I, like many people my age, remember the days of collecting sports cards in the late nineties into the early 2000’s. Sports cards shops were a normal presence in many neighborhoods and towns. The brick and mortar business model of the hobby dropped off substantially compared to two decades ago, but the reemergence of the hobby has taken form in a new way. Online channels on YouTube as well as sports cards apps like Loupe and WhatNot have created a market for sports card “breakers”, those who you pay to open cards live on stream and then have mailed to you. Then, there’s always the old traditional method of buying single cards on EBay and other online markets. I’ve been lucky enough to find some really nice gems of Boston sports athletes both ways and here are my tops ones!

A 2019 Topps Triple Threads Rookie Future Phenoms on card autograph numbered to 35 of Boston Red Sox Rafael Devers! I got this on EBay two years ago at a steal. I love Devers and think he should be in a Sox uniform and get paid. This card graded as a PSA 9 Mint and I’m not complaining one bit!

My next Boston sports card is my 2021 Panini Prizm Draft Picks numbered only out of 199 rookie autograph of Patriots quarterback Mac Jones! This one I actually was lucky enough to pull out of a pack on the sports card app Loupe a month after Jones got drafted. I was stoked! I sent it away to PSA to get graded and was hoping for a 10 but I’ll take a PSA 9 for this haul!

I know he’s gone but I would be kicking myself for not sharing Rob Gronkowski’s 2010 Topps Platinum Rookie Auto Patch that’s numbered to 800. I never got it graded. But I loved Gronk and loved the fact that the jersey patch was a four-color patch with his autograph. I have no idea what the future holds for him but I know this card was a personal favorite of mine!

Last but not least, Brady. What kind of Boston sports card dive would this be without a card of the GOAT. This card holds some real sentimental value to me. This is Brady’s 2019 Panini Donruss Optic card. This was his last year as a member of the Patriots. The print run on this specific card with the rbluebordering is only numbered 50. There are 50 of this exact cardon the face of the earth and I pulled this out of a box of cards a week before he announced he was leaving the Pats. The way the blue border matches the Pats color and the picture used for Brady is quintessential Tom. Sometimes it’s not about the price of a card, but the story behind the pull and I’ll never forget it.

Happy Boston week to everyone and thanks for reading!