1998 Leaf Rookies and Stars (and other stinkers...)

[OscarOne]

Very excited to finally get all these together!

There were two unopened boxes I saw for sale...but I was worried that since there were SP I would not pull them, wasting money. Then I saw a set was for sale, and jumped. Still a little more than I would have liked to pay, but considering when I was little I did not think I would ever be able to have any of these cards...I will take it.

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[crtsports]

As a kid back in the 80's and 90's it was all about those up and down triangles on a monthly basis!

[bear0555]

Those cards were WAY out of my range back in the day. I feel the same as you - would want the set but not sure if I'd want to pay up. Cards are so nice tho. Congrats on the pickup.

[OscarOne]

Those cards were WAY out of my range back in the day. I feel the same as you - would want the set but not sure if I'd want to pay up. Cards are so nice tho. Congrats on the pickup.

I think it was less than $100. The boxes I saw were like $70 each. I though it was safer to go the $100 route, considering how SP some of the cards were. No regrets!

[OscarOne]

As a kid back in the 80's and 90's it was all about those up and down triangles on a monthly basis!

I wonder sometimes if those little arrows did for the hobby. I remember being so excited to see my cards go up...I have to think that as people my age got older, that played some role in the way people collect now.

Namely, people got addicted to the profit and gains--the arrows--and lost sight of why they collect.

Deep thoughts. Its past my bedtime.

[CharlieHustle]

I wonder sometimes if those little arrows did for the hobby. I remember being so excited to see my cards go up...I have to think that as people my age got older, that played some role in the way people collect now.


I remember cracking open every new Beckett, not just looking for up arrows, but looking for entire insert sets with up arrows. Like when some of those early 90's Score insert sets (Dream Team, Franchise, The Cycle, AirMail, etc) caught fire and all of a sudden common inserts were $3, going up and the "stars" were upwards of $60! Those were exciting issues, because it always made me look forward to the next card show to try to track down some wax packs and try my luck.

[bobthewondercat]

Yup, it's good to remember that post-boom, post 87 or so, it's been about value / investment / steals / flips just as much as it is now, just on a lower scale...

98L R&S is an all-time set IMO... I've gotten all the key RCs and SPs over the years except the Glaus, still waiting for one of those to pop up cheap!


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[rainbowkiller]

Good times. I hated the fact that this set was released in 1999, but it had Crusades inserts. I have a couple holographic longevity cards - Bartolo if I'm not mistaken is one of them!

[RookieAddict]

Awesome pick up. That set was huge back in the day. I've been wanting to pick up a glass rookie and those things are so hard to come by.

[Bhenry4]

I was obsessed with this set. I was buying the $30 boxes at KMart like they were going outta style. I made a killing on this stuff on beckett back in the day.

[Coug46n2]

Lots of good memories around this set for me. I busted a lot of packs (expensive!) chasing the SP rookies. Never pulled one, so bought the Drew for $150. Still one of the nicest designed cards IMO. I also like the 1998 football R&S set as well, with all the big 1998 names.

http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x441/coug46n2/Graded%20BGS%20Other%20Collection/P1060156.jpg

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[mrmojorisin71]

It is my set for football and baseball of the 90s

I have the Peyton manning true blue /500

[smapdi]

That was such a fun set. The SPs over 300 were so hot, and chasing them was a lot of fun. It took me years to finish the set. Although I think I got 98% of it pretty quickly, I never wanted to pay the $60 the Glaus settled at. I think I eventually paid about $15 in the late 00s. And the McGwire Power Tools eluded me forever.

[Stech36]

One of my favorite memories, my dad and I went to sports authority and just bought a ton of blasters, never hit the drew, but hit a glaus maglio and Mateo. I still have a true blue Jason Varitek rookie somewhere in my boxes

[Halonut]

As a kid in HS, I was never able to afford the Glaus. In the last year, I've picked up 2; a SGC 96 for $13 and a BGS 9.5 for $10 via the BIN:)

[SaveMeTheGum]

Just looking at that price guide makes me never want to buy another prospect again. Yeeshhh....

[ChampionMan]

Good times. I hated the fact that this set was released in 1999, but it had Crusades inserts. I have a couple holographic longevity cards - Bartolo if I'm not mistaken is one of them!

Is amazing the 1998 Leaf Rookies & Star Crusade insert is still one of the most popular insert for the 90's.

Just imagine if any of the rookies become HOF. Football have rookie of Peyton Manning & Moss. Crusade insert price seem to get better as time goes by just like 1993 Finest Refractor.

[callou2131]

I almost miss those days. I remember pulling some card of brett favre, not a rookie mind you, numbered to like 2,000 and sold it for $60 the day I pulled it at a show. Heck a star numbered to 1000 or less you were making BANK!

[rainbowkiller]

I almost miss those days. I remember pulling some card of brett favre, not a rookie mind you, numbered to like 2,000 and sold it for $60 the day I pulled it at a show. Heck a star numbered to 1000 or less you were making BANK!

Yeah, and $60 then is worth $86.52 today. Lot more collectors back then, but then again #'d cards were new so people didn't understand how to value them long-term; they mostly relied on Beckett and dealers for pricing.

People used to say "there's only 1000 made, so much less than vintage production... they're sure to be worth a ton twenty years from now"

[88horsepower]

As a kid back in the 80's and 90's it was all about those up and down triangles on a monthly basis!

Amen. I'd love to see someone post what 1990 Leaf was doing when literally every card in the set had up arrows.

[texmcpherson]

Man, when J.D. Drew was supposed to be the next best thing ever.

[OscarOne]

I remember cracking open every new Beckett, not just looking for up arrows, but looking for entire insert sets with up arrows. Like when some of those early 90's Score insert sets (Dream Team, Franchise, The Cycle, AirMail, etc) caught fire and all of a sudden common inserts were $3, going up and the "stars" were upwards of $60! Those were exciting issues, because it always made me look forward to the next card show to try to track down some wax packs and try my luck.

Was it the 1993 and 1995 Score sets that were so popular? I think the Airmail set was in the 1995 issue.

[Brdhas]

Just found this thread, I love 1998 Leaf R/S, I am trying to complete the true blue set, I need about 40 cards left. If anyone had any I’d be interested in buying, even if i already one I may try to put two sets together, thanks

[Cavaliercards]

Oh Magglio I swore was going to be a HOFer

[GatorPie]

https://i.postimg.cc/K8fSTK9W/1998Drew.jpg

[actionbryan]

A lot of those guys had solid careers (Mags , glaus, el duque , others too )
We all just had unreasonable expectations


What was it , 98 Fleer update that had a JD Drew that we all went nuts for , or was it Rick Ankiel ? I forget

[eye4talent]

Though it’s not officially a rookie card, the Beltre deserves some love. I’m still hoping to land a Longevity one of these days.


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[mcholke]

Couple of my favorites from the set

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[eye4talent]

This thread prompted me to look ‘98 Longevity listings/sales. Apparently, the J.D. Drew hyped hasn’t died down yet. This sold four days ago...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184656521917


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[jduds]

Oh Magglio I swore was going to be a HOFer

I still think he could sneak in eventually by committee. I don't know how popular he was amongst players, but I don't remember hearing anything bad.

[bbteamw]

https://i.imgur.com/dgnHikw.png

[Boredlawyer]

I still think he could sneak in eventually by committee. I don't know how popular he was amongst players, but I don't remember hearing anything bad.

Doubt he ever returns to the U.S. He moved back to Venezuela. He's a mayor and crony of Hugo Chavez, now Maduro. Kind of wild that he went from MLB player to vocal supporter of two of the most evil world leaders.

[BigL7370]

I still think he could sneak in eventually by committee. I don't know how popular he was amongst players, but I don't remember hearing anything bad.

Canseco once tried to out him because he wouldn’t give him money to make a movie.

[salas1991]

I still think he could sneak in eventually by committee. I don't know how popular he was amongst players, but I don't remember hearing anything bad.

As much of a Tigers folk hero as he is, I just don't see him getting in - probably would have been right on the cusp if he hadn't had to deal with the injury bug the last few years.

He just did a private signing, meant to get him on my 2006 team ball and then forgot to send the thing in.

[RookieAddict]

That knoblauch is AWESOME!!!! Wonder how many people know what it is lol

[21Pittsburgh58]

As a kid, owning a JD Drew was a pipe dream (like crack pipe dream). JD Drew was supposed to be what Mike Trout is.

Owned a Glaus and Mateo. I had Mateo on my prospect short list - so that sucked.

This set was legendary (at the time).

[jduds]

I loved the football version of this set as well and was shocked to see how low it sells for. Easy nostalgia rookie pickups.

[joshua.roundtre]

As a kid, owning a JD Drew was a pipe dream (like crack pipe dream). JD Drew was supposed to be what Mike Trout is.

Owned a Glaus and Mateo. I had Mateo on my prospect short list - so that sucked.

This set was legendary (at the time).


This guy knows.

The SP RCs in this set (over 100) were fire. Carlos Lee, Troy Glaus, Ruben Mateo, Magglio Ordonez, and the best card.... JD Drew. If anyone has a Longevity version available of any of these players, I’m all ears.

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[warrenwolk]

Yup, it's good to remember that post-boom, post 87 or so, it's been ab

Post '89 I'd say. The hobby was on fire in '87. Donnie Baseball, Jose Canseco, Big Mac, Fleer Baseball, Kevin Seitzer, Pure Hotness.

That was the year I walked away from a barrell of Fleer Basketball Sets (with stickers of course) for $6 each. Spent my money on Star Co Roger Clemens sets instead <Sigh>

[kabrune2]

Oh Magglio I swore was going to be a HOFer

It’s not like he was a slouch, .309 career BA, 1200 RBI’s, 294 HR, 40 career WAR... he had a couple injury seasons that hurt his chances, that and his bat speed dropped overnight.

[soey10]

I once compiled the entire set in 1999 by busting two boxes and buying singles on eBay. I had the Glaus graded by Beckett on my first submission and it came back a 9. It was a $600 card, completely insane. I ended up selling the entire set for around $200 in 2009. I picke up a JD Drew a couple of weeks ago in a PSA 9 for $12 out the door. Truly an awesome set and one of my favorite cards is the card with McGwire and Sosa together.


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[sammyjankis]

https://i.imgur.com/dgnHikw.png

I bought the Gabe Kapler 01/50 on eBay maybe 5-6 years ago and always wondered if it might be backdoored (or fake) since it isn’t holographic. Glad to see a real 01/50 to compare it with.

[GatorPie]

Yes, the 1/50 are the only version to have a refractor coating so they are a 1/1 card. Same with the football set. They are known as "Longevity Holofoil".

[MoreToppsPlease]

501958
501959
My two 01/50s, one sexier than the other.

[Coug46n2]

I did not know about the 1/50 being holofoil. Very cool!

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