Buzz Buys: Muhammad Ali, Ken Griffey Jr., Dr. J, Nick Chubb, Toni Storm, Lady Deathstrike, Denzel's RC & Biff Tannen's kid?

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few more Buzz Buys this month ... a super-sized mostly low-budget edition of items I've picked up throughout the year but hadn't found a place for just yet.

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A PIECE OF THE GREATEST
The Card: Muhammad Ali 2011 Leaf Metal Ali Materials Event-worn Blue Prismatic (/25)
The Price: $24.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: There's one truly iconic globally-known athlete out there who has a relatively limited number of low-volume memorabilia cards -- and despite that they are still relatively affordable in many instances. It's Muhammad Ali and Leaf released a handful of Ali products about a decade ago and there were training-worn, event-worn and fight-worn memorabilia cards made with each of them noting the scenario behind the swatch. Cheaper cards are around this price and even sometimes lower -- all seemingly too low for an athlete who was perhaps more influential away from his workplace while being a legend within. His full memorabilia items can't be anywhere as easily found as legends from baseball, football or basketball and I'd expect that when they do hit the auction block they are getting pricier and pricier through the years. That should make, along with licensing costs, future releases financially unlikely to include such types of cards unless his estate or family somehow (not likely) has a bunch of memorabilia held in reserve. I've picked off a few cards like this in recent months and will always check them to see if they drop to certain prices. They should be an easy buy if you ask me and a card like this one, in my mind, should be at least double this price considering his place as an all-time great.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but boxing boxes will be here when available.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

A WHITE SOX GAMER?
The Card: Ken Griffey Jr. 2013 Topps Mini Relics
The Price: $15.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The MLB Network documentary Junior got me looking at his Chicago White Sox cards when his time with that team was 100-percent ignored as part of the look back at his career. Griffey appears on more than 4,000 different memorabilia cards through the years ... but how many have you seen showing him with this team in this uniform with MLB licensing? There aren't many and I grabbed this card precisely because of that. I'm sure I pulled him on a Relic or two in the past and I'm sure none of them was one of these. 
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but MLB boxes are here.

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TWICE AS NICE ... (I BOUGHT IT TWICE)
The Cards: Toni Storm 2019 Topps WWE NXT Autographs
The Price: $45 each
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pair wasn't something that was planned. I picked one up at a bargain price based on her stuff (and a slightly higher price than I might normally do) since this is her only auto, but I'm also sold on the rocker schtick this Australian star has going in today's WWE. I grabbed one since it looked very, very clean from a set that does nothing but showcase card flaws easily with super-skinny stock, a black-bordered design and on-card autos. I grabbed the second from the same seller after my first was in-hand -- I'm thinking grading potential here on both. (They looked very good.) She already has a global fan base after wrestling at home, in England and Japan before WWE and she's in NXT now. She has more coming soon, though, so these might soften in price. I'd chase more from this one if they popped up clean, especially the parallels, but they are often in brutal shape right out of packs.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but WWE boxes are here.

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LEGENDARY PHOTO
The Card: Julius Erving 1996 Topps Stars Finest Refractor
The Price: $6.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Beyond 1989-90 NBA Hoops, the 1996-97 Topps releases that included NBA at 50 players and reprints of their past cards were a big deal for me. They introduced me to many of the biggest names in the game and allowed me to dabble in their cardboard within packs. This set was one loaded with A+ photography and this card is a Finest/Chrome parallel of one of the best in there -- so good I have grabbed it in both standard and Refractor versions with dreams of a high-grade slab but that's not as easily done. Why? These didn't flow out of boxes all that often and the boxes can be far too pricey now. It's such a great set, Chromed or not, with a great checklist and epic photos on both card fronts as well as the backs. 
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but NBA boxes are here.

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PRIME PRICED?
The Card: Julio Jones 2019 Panini Gold Standard Gold Rush Prime (/25)
The Price: $4.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one felt like a steal for me given the patch, the volume and the price -- and it didn't hurt that Jones fits in the school ties part of my collection. Jones is traditionally not a cheaper guy, so my stash of autos is nearly non-existent compared to other Alabama guys and my memorabilia card stash isn't that great, either. But if I found stuff like this at this price more often I'd buy them all day long.
Grab a box right here: 2019 Panini Gold Standard football cards

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(DEATH)STRIKING PHOTO
The Photo: Kelly Hu autographed Lady Deathstrike X2: X-Men United 8-by-10 photo (via GalaxyCon with JSA certification)
The Price: $35
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I'm a sucker for an affordable autograph on a striking image and this fits that bill. Hu has appeared in a number of memorable roles through the years in the sci-fi realm and has a few certified autograph appearances, too, but this photo of her from X2: X-Men United as the character that gave Wolverine a run for his money is an absolute classic. It was signed at one of her GalaxyCon appearances and then they JSA-certed leftover photos to sell online. I happened upon one recently and was sold -- way cooler visual than many (All?) trading card options. A big part of any item's value is its visual appeal and this one is Death-striking.
Grab a box right here: Non-sports boxes are here.

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POCKET CHANGE STARS
The Card: Nick Chubb 2018 Panini Playoff -- Rookie Card
The Price: Under $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This guy probably won't top his yardage mark of last year since he's missed some games but he should end up with a second straight 1,000-yard season and his first 1o-TD campaign very soon. He's got a lot of affordable cards and this off-season pick-up is a perfect example of that even with his RCs. His only truly pricier cards if you ask me are his autographs and rarer patch stuff, though Browns memorabilia isn't all that appealing with the colors. In my mind Derrick Henry is the best RB in the game right now and this guy isn't that far off. Chubb hasn't been as dominating ... so there might be a lot more room for growth on his cards in comparison. And if the Browns put together a postseason run? Watch out ... only a couple guys are primed for serious card hype there if/when it happens.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but NFL boxes are here.

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A SIGN OF THE TIMES
The Card: Mark Hamilton 2007 Bowman Chrome Prospects Gold Refractor Autograph (/50)
The Price: $5.75
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Hamilton's playing days ended in 2014 but since then he's pursued a medical career -- and earlier this year Hamilton graduated from medical school a month early to help fight COVID in his new field. He played nine years in the minors and in two big-league seasons with the Cardinals (47 games) where he hit .197 with 12 hits and four RBI ... not great numbers but he was promising enough to get some card appearances and an autograph deal. (He has a World Series ring at home, too.) I grabbed this one just because I just thought his story was interesting.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but MLB boxes are here.

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RARE NAMED MEMORABILIA?
The Card: Emily VanCamp & Chadwick Boseman 2016 Upper Deck Captain America: Civil War Broken Bonds Vs. memorabilia card 
The Price: $9
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Boseman's shocking death earlier this year got many people looking for his cards and he has a number of them from the Marvel realm, including memorabilia cards (but no certified autographs). Most of his mem cards show him as Black Panther but this card shows him out of that gear and in a suit with the swatch to go with it. I think I paid a little more for this card compared to the others I grabbed (and mentioned in a past Buzz Buys item) but I thought it had a different feel to it to justify paying more for my personal collection.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but Marvel non-sports boxes are here.

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COOPERSTOWN-CALIBER BARGAIN?
The Card: Johnny Bench 2001 SP Game Bat Edition Piece of the Game
The Price: $3.49
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: A Hall of Famer's bat card for less than a typical pack at the store? Done deal. This release was one where a game-used bat card in every pack led to a flooding of those cards at the time -- and a lot were names I wouldn't want. (That happened in the few packs I opened, too.) But a Hall of Famer here is a nice find even if bat cards aren't the toughest of pulls.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but MLB boxes are here.

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CAPTURING THE MOMENT
The Card: Kenyan Drake 2019 Donruss Highlights
The Price: Under $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Remember back when it was a shocker that the Patriots lost and Rob Gronkowski couldn't tackle? Boy, have times changed since "The Miracle in Miami" where Kenyan Drake scorched the Pats to win it. How much has changed? Drake is on the Cardinals now, Tom Brady and Gronk play in Florida now and the Dolphins' QB is an Alabama guy a little younger than Drake. I think we would have seen a little more of the play on cardboard (the only other ones I know of off the top of my head are in Panini Instant and Panini Legacy) had Drake not changed teams. (Update: Oh, and, by the way ... that's not him in the photo. Whoops.)
Grab a box right here: 2019 Donruss NFL cards

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BOUGHT SOME LOTS
The Cards: A lot of 21 2014 & 2016 BenchWarmer Eclectic Autographs 
The Price: Less than $1 per card ... shipped.
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pick-up wasn't because I thought it might be some money-maker but you never know -- bulk autograph lots with prices like this might have potential if somebody in there gets some viral attention or a reality show or something-- but I grabbed this one since it was all from a brand and design I like and I've ripped a lot of. Do I have the basic auto set? Maybe for the first year ... but I'd have to get a lot more organized to know. Among some of the names in this lot -- a mix of 2014 and 2016 cards were Angela Fong, Ryan Shamrock, Candace Kita and Nikki Ziering. No huge names ... but enough volume that I bit. (This also was a buy when retail card aisle shelves were pretty barren ... so I was looking around for other stuff to dabble with. And I clearly had a lot more top-loader supply back then, too.)
Grab a box right here: BenchWarmer Eclectic boxes are here.

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THREE-DIMENSIONAL NEED
The Card: Nick Swisher 2013 Topps Qubi stamper
The Price: Under $3
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Remember these? It's quite possible you don't ... these are oddball rubber stampers that show MLB players on five sides of a clear plastic cube. The Red at the bottom here is the lid over the stamp and its ink. This one stamps Swisher's signature in red ink. I never bothered to grab one of these back when they were more plentiful. Oddly, the NFL and NFLPA logo are on the this one's lid ... so maybe the seller put the wrong one on here? (NFL Qubis also exist.) These were sold in a blind bag with 18 packs per box ... but with more than 75 different ones to chase, according to early info (that Swisher didn't appear on), that makes any particular name not the easiest find if ripping a box. Most stamps are player sigs but some others show the player's face and some stamp team logos. If you collect a certain player who has one here, I'd recommend grabbing it ... they seem pretty obscure. (You can find some packs and lots out there but not a lot of them.)
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but MLB boxes are here.

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REMEMBER THAT NAME?
The Set: 2000 Vancouver Canadians Grandstand team set
The Price: Around $5
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you're a regular reader here, then you might remember this name from a past item. This isn't some dark-horse prospecting pick-up -- 20 years too late -- and there aren't any MLB notables in this set, either, but this set is simply a pick-up where I went to school with the guy you see here. (I really should have posted both sets last time but here we are.)
Grab a box right here: No boxes ... but MiLB boxes are here.

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NAME IN THE NEWS
The Card: Eden Stiles (Brandi Rhodes) 2011 Topps WWE Classic -- Rookie Card
The Price: Under $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Wrestling Rookie Cards aren't really something that's formally recognized out there, but in recent years Topps has started to use an RC logo as well as a First NXT logo to help. This year's releases seem to be finally merging those two things in the correct way and that's good. Back to this card ... it's the first WWE appearance for Brandi Rhodes, who had this and a Gold parallel in this set -- and that's it -- until 2015 when she arrived as just "Eden" on all of her cards. After that she had cards in just one 2016 WWE release and then had nothing until arriving as Brandi Rhodes in 2020 Leaf Ultimate Wrestling. In all, she still appears on fewer than 75 cards though that figures to be changing with an All Elite Wrestling set likely on the way soon via Upper Deck. (Stars have been seen online signing stickers.) She's an executive and on-screen performer for AEW who has had a big month and that's why I have this one here this time. She had a showdown with Shaq earlier this month and then this week announced a child on the way in 2021 with Cody Rhodes. This card isn't a big deal, but picking up first cards is easy to do when so affordable
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but WWE boxes are here.

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HE KNOWS BIFF
The Card: Tommy Wilson 2019 Bowman Chrome Prospects Blue Refractor (/150)
The Price: $3.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The "Up Close" trivia lines on the backs of many Bowman cards are the home of some classics and this one's was enough to make me grab it. Why? So you could see it right here. It reads: "Son of actor Thomas Wilson, who played Biff Tannen in Back to the Future films ... Grew up admiring Bryce Harper and Clayton Kershaw ... Chick-Fil-A enthusiast." The player references are interesting considering his age (born in 1996) and the chicken taste is good, but ... Biff Tannen! (And also Griff Tannen or Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, depending on which movie you prefer.) Wilson's only MLB card appearances are the 15 found in this release -- no certified ink -- though he likely has some MiLB team set appearances. This card back doesn't have space for any other anecdotes, but Wilson talked about the movies to MiLB.com. "Throughout my whole life, I kind of continually realized how big the movies were," he said right here earlier this year. "Everybody I've run into and everybody I meet has heard of it or seen it or whatever. Still today, I continually am surprised by how big of a deal it is." Crazier nugget in that story? Apparently pops comes to some of his games and gets after the umps on calls. Imagine that ... Biff Tannen, heckler.
Grab a box right here: 2019 Bowman Chrome baseball cards

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LEGENDARY CARDBOARD
The Card: Pete Maravich 2014-15 Panini Select Premier Level Diecut Blue Prizm (/199)
The Price: $1.75
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This legend is one player where I pick up his cards here and there, and in this case I thought a diecut and numbering made this a nice card for the price. Simple as that. The color scheme looks pretty good, too.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but NBA boxes are here.

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BIG APPEAL
The Card: Jackie Robinson 2019 Topps Stadium Club wall art (/99)
The Price: Less than $15 (after promotional discounts via Topps)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card looked really good as a box-topper in last year's Stadium Club release and I figured it would look even better at an even larger size. I grabbed this in Topps' recent Black Friday sale where they gave you a discount on top of a discount you got for buying three posters at once. (The colors on my photo here are rough as I botched my pic of this 10-by-14 but only realized it after I boxed it away in my stash.) Topps' posters are printed to order with a cap on this one at 99 copies for however long it's available. So far, only five exist. The photo, according to Getty Images, is from Robinson's first spring training appearance with the Dodgers and this moment is one that is priceless if you consider the social impact he had on the game and beyond.
Grab a box right here: Stadium Club baseball boxes (all years)

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AWAY FROM THE GAME
The Card: Renee Montgomery 2018 Rittenhouse WNBA (announced /500)
The Price: $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This former UConn star has an NCAA title on her résumé and won a pair of WNBA titles with Minnesota in 2015 and 2017 but she opted to sit out this season, which would have been her 12th as a pro. Why? She decided to step away and work as an activist and focus on social justice reform -- to try and make a difference beyond playing during a tumultuous 2020. Here is Montgomery's story in her own words regarding the decision. Her Rookie Card and only autograph can be found in the 2009 WNBA release but I grabbed one of her later cards -- she only has about 40 in her career -- for this mention.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but WNBA boxes are here.

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BARGAIN ON THE ICE
The Card: Colby Cave 2013-14 In the Game Heroes & Prospects Game-Used Jersey -- ITG Vault Gold (1/1)
The Price: Under $5
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: His death earlier this year was one that shocked the hockey world as he was just 25 -- read his wife's account of his sickness here -- and he was on the cusp of rejoining the Edmonton Oilers if needed for the playoffs. He appeared on just under 20 cards during his career and has just one Rookie Card -- a 2017-18 UD Young Guns -- but I grabbed this memorabilia card (one of only a few) from ITG. This one is a little more unique as it's a 1/1 stamped Vault buyback. I figured I'd rather have a memorabilia card tucked away in my small hockey stash than an RC just because it was a bit more unique.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but NHL boxes are here.

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BACK ANY TIME?
The Card: Ronda Rousey WWE Funko Pop! figure
The Price: $5
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is just a standard Pop! but I never found one out in the wild back when it arrived and this popped up on the WWE Shop's $5 Friday sale not that long ago. It went in my order with some variants (which you may have seen here already) for the heck of it and work in something different here. It's not her first Pop! -- she had one with UFC -- but the depth of what's out there for these toys is amazing. You can (almost) literally find anything and that is what makes me think there will be continuing appeal here.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes are here.

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BEFORE GEORGETOWN
The Card: John Thompson 2012-13 Panini Past & Present -- sort-of "Rookie Card"
The Price: Under $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Most people likely know this Hall of Famer as the long-time coach of the Georgetown Hoyas and a mentor to Hall of Famer Allen Iverson -- read this piece -- but long before all of those college successes he was a member of the Boston Celtics and on two championship-winning teams in his only seasons as a pro. (He retired when he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 1966 expansion draft and turned toward coaching.) Thompson appears on roughly 60 different cards through the years but a good chunk of those were tied to his coaching career until Panini got him in the mix. His first Celtics/NBA cards didn't arrive until a few 2012-13 Panini releases but oddly this is the only base card made for him -- everything else is autographed that year and also in appearances that followed.
Grab a box right here: 2012-13 Panini Past & Present

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SHOTS FIRED!
The Card: Grover Cleveland 2018 Historic Autographs Pieces From The Trash document relic card (/168)
The Price: Under $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: It's not often that companies take shots at each other via their cards -- it has happened -- but this one is from a Historic Autographs set that was given away at the 2018 National Sports Collectors Convention with a bit of a message. Find one of these "mockumentary" cards to see the details on the back where HA notes what the deal is. (Kind of.) This card's front carries a piece of a document signed by former president Grover Cleveland and with a few lines of type I liked how it looked for the price. Something odd, something different.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but HA boxes are here.

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HOLLYWOOD CAMEO
The Card: Denzel Washington 1994-95 NBA Hoops -- "Rookie Card"
The Price: About $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I must have been busy or focused on different sports back when this one arrived because I totally didn't remember it despite my being a sucker for a good celeb cameo. This looks like it's his only traditional trading card appearance -- he has a lot of memorabilia cards that don't actually picture him -- and it's a simple card that basically plugs the Boys & Girls Clubs of America within the set. There's really no other card like it as a look at the checklist shows this one coming after the coach cards and a Magic Johnson tribute card and then before three checklists. This is the kind of simple oddball card that would have a lot of appeal with a top grade in a slab.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but NBA boxes are here.

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AN ITEM WITH A STORY
The Card: Major League Face In The Crowd 1988 metal ticket keychain
The Price: $15
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: What the heck is this? Well, let me tell you. When the movie Major League was filmed back in 1988 some extras who were in the stands of County Stadium in Milwaukee were given one of these as a souvenir (at least that's how the stories go). Why Milwaukee? That was the stand-in for Cleveland's Municipal Stadium -- for whatever reason the movie couldn't be filmed there. This piece came before the movie's familar script logo was developed and the block lettering you see on it also is on the super-rare first baseball card set made in conjunction with the film. I picked up one of these long ago but it had taken a beating despite being made of thick aluminum. This one is nearly perfect in comparison and I grabbed it the second I saw it earlier this year.
Grab a box right here: No boxes ... but MLB boxes are here.

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THE DOG OF THE LAST DANCE?
The Card: LaBradford Smith 1991-92 Upper Deck Rookie Card & 2011-12 Panini Past & Present Elusive Ink
The Price: Less than $4 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: While many of you were busy fighting each other for increasingly pricey Michael Jordan cards as The Last Dance aired on ESPN earlier this year, these two cards were among my grabs. Why? Smith was the target of one of the memorable Jordan anecdotes in the documentary -- and it simply didn't happen. You know what almost didn't happen? Smith appearing on basketball cards. He's got just under 40 -- compared to Jordan's 13,000-plus. This is his only Rookie Card and his only NBA autograph that came long after his playing days had ended. (Smith's only in-career auto was in a Star Pics college draft-picks set.) This is the only only card Panini has made for Smith and is his only card since 1994-95 when he appeared in just one set. Its back details his game where he scored a career-high 37 against "greatness" on March 19, 1993.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this ... but NBA boxes are here.

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