Buzz Buys: Roger Maris ink, one huge Fernando Tatis Jr. card, Rhea Ripley, Shotzi Blackheart, Joe Namath, The Doors & more

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 Buzz Buys ...

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FINALLY LANDED HIM
The Card: Roger Maris autographed 1975 Topps MVPs card (PSA/DNA authenticated)
The Price: About $200 less than I figured it would cost me
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: For several years now, something on my want list for when I'd head to The National was to find a clean and slabbed Maris autograph of some sort. They're rare but not impossible as the former single-season home run champ who hit 61 homers in 1961 died in 1985 just as doing autograph shows was about to truly explode for past players. Had he died a decade later he'd probably be an easy autograph to find -- or at least an easier one -- but still in high demand. A typical signed and slabbed plain 3-by-5 card of him typically was around $500 when I was looking in the past and I've seen many of them but that was still a little too much to swing for me if I wanted to keep shopping while at a show. Signed and slabbed cards from his career are often a lot pricier depending on the condition of the card and the year ... some are quite impressive and many are not having been signed in ballpoint pen. Like pretty much everything, prices on his autos have jumped in the last few years but I still had been looking for something like this ... and then one day late last year I woke up and checked emails to see this one on the block with a buy price that made it an instant grab. It's not a perfect card, it's not a mangled card ... but it was an affordable one for me as it's a lesser card from just after his career ended (last cards as an active player were in 1968). As a bonus to me, he's seen alongside pretty much the other player I actively collect from the era ... but his auto is easy to find. I've crossed a big one off my want list.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... but MLB stuff is here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

BIG CONTRACT, BIG ROOKIE CARD
The Card: Fernando Tatis Jr. 2019 Topps Heritage High Number wall art (/99)
The Price: About $15 (after promotional discounts)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: He's been kind of a big deal, so I figured I'd grab one of these posters over on Topps' site late last year before I figured they'd vanish (they have since) and there were sale codes. Since he's got his big deal you see him here now. For those who don't know, this is an 11-by-14 jumbo print of a card (no back) that's limited to only 99 copies and printed to order. (I got No. 31 ... so you can bet that there weren't 99 made before they were taken off the site with a new year's cards here.) I try to grab Rookie Cards of notable players from time to time (often using Topps' buy-three discount) on prints and I have a number of key names from the last few years, though some series never got offered. (Like the 2018 Topps Acuña!) Tatis' flagship Topps RC poster was sold out, so I went with the brand I dabble with often ... Heritage. 
Grab a box right here: 2019 Topps Heritage High Number (for the regular-size ones)

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A SOLID & GENEROUS BONUS
The Card: Rhea Ripley 2020 Topps Finest WWE Autograph
The Price: Free (keep reading)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Remember last time when I had one of this WWE newcomer's Chrome autos leading off? Well as part of that buy, the seller threw in this card as a bonus ... free. I'm admittedly not sure why as this was a $50 card at the time (still might be close) and it's clean just like the Gold Chrome auto I landed at a price that was low enough for me to pony up and bite. The seller was new, so perhaps they were aiming to build strong feedback ... but this was a bigger win for me for sure. The arrival of several WWE releases all close to each other have hurt some of the values out there for 2020 cards (they are all competing with each other) but Ripley is easily one of the big ones and is due to make a big arrival on one of the main rosters any time now. I'm sold on a trio of new WWE names and Ripley is one of them when it comes to chasing cardboard. (That's partly due to the challenges of finding new wax across the board, not just wrestling ... it's forcing me to go the singles route more often.)
Grab a box right here: 2020 Topps Finest WWE wrestling cards

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ONE BIG BO
The Card: Bo Bichette 2020 Topps Heritage 1971 Topps Super Baseball box-topper
The Price: About $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This topper was one I've eyed since Heritage arrived last year and it's really a perfect card save for maybe that facsimile autograph being a smidge too thick. What is it? It's a modern take on the 1971 Topps Super set that was found three cards per pack with 63 cards on the checklist back in the day. In this case, it's a box-topper set but there are a few styles of bonuses to be found so it's not like you can just crack a hobby box and count on finding a card from this set. Ive said it before on other releases but I think box-topper sets are an undervalued and overlooked thing out there ... they are hobby-only and have to be a lot rarer than the standard stuff found in packs. The only challenge after finding these is storing them ... which is perhaps why a lot of people don't chase them down. 
Grab a box right here: 2020 Topps Heritage High Number

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YO, JOE!
The Cards: Joe Namath 2018 Panini National Treasures Collegiate Gold (/10) and 2019 Panini NTC Silver (/49) & base (/99)
The Price: About $10 for all three 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This brand is one where I hunt Joe Willie Namath somewhat regularly -- at least for memorabilia cards -- and the college releases of National Treasures can be the home to real bargains and that's precisely what you see here. I found these over a span of a couple months and didn't realize I had more than a couple in my stash waiting to show up here (I'm finally doing some grouping to get some of my older cards cleared out). The Gold was a steal at less than $6 and the base version was under $2 and all of those seem low but I'm sure the NFL stuff gets the main attention of a lot of collectors. Photos don't always work for older guys in college releases, but I didn't mind these for the price. Another reason these might be so cheap? People are chasing the hits ... not base and parallels.
Grab a box right here: National Treasures boxes (all years)

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THE OTHER McGWIRE INK
The Card: Dan McGwire 1992 Pro Line Profiles Autographs
The Price: Under $3
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: For those who don't know, yes, this is Mark McGwire's little brother. He was drafted 16th overall in the 1991 NFL Draft after dominating at San Diego State and initially playing for Iowa. In five seasons with the Seahawks and Dolphins he started just five games and played in just 13, completing 74 of 148 passes for 745 yards and two TDs with six picks. Sure, that's bust material ... but that's not why I grabbed this one. I'm a sucker for Pro Set and Pro Line stuff form this timeframe and this card was part of a two-card puzzle showing how tall he was (6-foot-8 ... an NFL record for a QB) and is one of less than a dozen certified autographs he has. All but two of those autos is in this set as Profiles used a nine-card page-size mini set to tell the player's story on and off the field. (Players signed copies of all cards.)
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... but newer NFL cards are here

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COLLECTING SOMETHING DIFFERENT
The Piece: The Doors media press kit (info packet, booklet and 14 8-by-10s)
The Price: $25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: What is this? Well besides being a sign I need more wax to break and can't find it, this purchase from last year is one that I think is a fun but undocumented and sort-of untapped market. Back in the day and up until the early 2000s movie studios used to send media members packets of info and printed photos (numbered if you look closely here) for upcoming films -- the years before e-mail and online dropboxes -- to help inform them of coming attractions. (Just like product sell-sheets that used to be printed and mailed to dealers to reveal new card products.) With a lot of magazines and newspapers out there back in the day, these kits are often quite plentiful in general but sometimes tougher to find for popular movies in popular genres. (Also sometimes complicating things ... dealers will simply break up the kits to sell photos as singles or lots.) This Oliver Stone movie from 1991 looked at the life of Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger, aka The Doors, and this kit included a number of images and was very clean and clearly unused so I grabbed it. Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan and even Billy Idol are among the actors you can see here. I've dabbled with press kits pretty hard through the years from time to time (mostly when cheap and for sports movies) but hadn't really done any recently. I'll mix 'em in here when they pop up into my hands ... they aren't cardboard but they might fit the spot if you have favorites from the past. Stuff from the late 1980s-2000 can often be found quite often. After that, they moved to CD-ROMs or downloads.
Grab a box right here: Check out non-sports boxes here

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HALL OF FAME RARITY
The Card: Robin Roberts 2004 Leaf Certified Cuts Hall of Fame Souvenirs game-worn hat/autograph (/36)
The Price: About $40
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I had some Fanatics Fan Cash to burn off and this one presented itself on sale as something I wouldn't really have been looking for -- but something I couldn't pass up. It's a relatively rare card for a Hall of Famer with a game-used hat piece in the card that's got to be pretty obscure in the big picture of things -- he only pitched in 23 games for the Astros over two seasons as part of his 19-year career. (There's got to be a lot less Astros stuff than Phillies stuff for him.) The autograph is fine here -- I struggled to get a good pic between glare of the slab and the sticker -- though I know many would rather have on-card sigs. It's about the total package here. The card isn't graded as Fanatics simply slabs single cards when selling them (that's safe on their end) but I don't mind the presentation here ... and it does look clean enough to be graded and come out pretty well.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one... but MLB stuff is here

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TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
The Piece: Shotzi Blackheart autographed 8-by-10 WWE photo 
The Price: Around $20
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This young NXT star is still relatively new to WWE after working in independents for the last half-decade but she has her Rookie Cards and first autos in the 2020 NXT release where she's among the more-popular finds. Before that one arrived late last year, I had figured I'd grab some ink and went the autograph show/appearance route after cross-checking auction listings with social media channels to confirm that she had done a signing for the seller's company. It's not third-party certified and she has a simple sig that in theory could be faked, but I was fine going this route (for now) as young (and established) wrestlers do signings all the time and their ink can be found. I'll land the certified auto at some point ... but I'm being picky. She's still got time to go before making the next level of WWE, but as an eccentric high-energy character with "it" she's already there -- I mean she comes to the ring driving a freaking tank and that's been a key part of some funny storylines. It's absurd (that's the point) and I can't necessarily explain it ... yet I can't not watch.
Grab a box right here: 2020 Topps WWE NXT has her first autos

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TRIPLE FROWN? (TWO FOR SURE)
The Card: Delmon Young, Kyle Sleeth & Tim Stauffer 2004 Bowman Chrome Stars of the Future Autographs
The Price: Under $4
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This trio was three of the top four picks in the 2003 MLB Draft with Young going first to the Rays and then the others third and fourth. Sleeth never made the majors, Stauffer played 183 games (33-34 career record) and Young got 10 years in and hit 109 homers for the Rays, Twins, Orioles, Tigers and Phillies. That was not exactly what people expected but he was good enough to play more than 1,100 games and hit .283 -- a solid career. So, why is this one here? It's a reminder that all those can't-miss prospects can. This was a really, really good find back in the day and I'm sure it was a strong seller, too. Now? It's just not.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... but MLB stuff is here

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STRANGER SIGS
The Card: Linnea Berthelsen as Kali -- 2019 Topps Stranger Things 2 Autographs
The Price: $12.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This isn't some big Stranger Things fandom speaking here -- it's fine and I'll watch the new ones when they arrive for sure -- but instead I grabbed this auto some time ago because it jumped out of the pack compared to other signed cards she did for Topps. How so? This one has a full-name sig as well as a smiley face and X-whatever that is. See how most of her autos looked here. Most of her cards simply have a "LinBer" auto with maybe a secondary marking so this must have come from early in her signing before she decided the clock was ticking and shortened things up. She also added little touches to cards here and there based on an eBay search I did, but I'd be skeptical if any have ink that doesn't exactly match the auto ... people have and will add them to try and get more money for their cards. (FYI: Blackheart's first NXT cards occasionally had additions ... and I have seen at least one example on eBay that sold ... where somebody tried to add value to their card by adding one.) A few of Berthelsen's cards from this set do have longer inscriptions and a full sig -- they are cooler than mine -- but there can't be many. Most are just a shorter sig. Non-sports collectors are often pretty savvy about chasing different variations of hits like this ... so this probably isn't news to them. I liked the card.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one but all Stranger Things boxes are here

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VINTAGE DEBUT
The Card: John McNamara 1970 Topps -- Rookie Card
The Price: About $7
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This high-number card is a debut for a guy who had a number of runs as an MLB manager including taking the Boston Red Sox to the 1986 World Series where, well, we all know what happened. I've had one of these for years but his death last July got me looking at all of his stuff again and this card just jumped out at me with its condition. It's slab-worthy and this one looks better than a PSA 9 that's bargain-priced out on eBay right now. Will I grade this? Maybe at some point. Beyond this one's condition, I have always liked the card because it's a pretty strong photo for the era and it shows that odd white A's cap briefly used for managers and coaches ... and Joe DiMaggio was on that staff. But, that's a story for another day.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... but MLB stuff is here

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THREE OF A KIND
The Print: John Densmore & Shepard Fairey signed The Seekers lithograph (/1,000)
The Price: $60
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I grabbed one of these late last year -- it's a 24-by-36 print of the cover of John Densmore's new book, The Seekers, which is signed by The Doors' drummer as well as the artist. Fairey is known for his "Andre The Giant Has a Posse" and then his "Obey" pieces as well as the Barack Obama "Hope" poster among other works. I think he is a pretty solid sig to have given his decorated career, but I don't know if it's all that rare or not. I was looking for Densmore as I actually stumbled upon this when pondering whether I should grab a signed book. These were initially sent to some book/music stores to sell, promote it and help them raise money as they fought to keep their businesses going during COVID. I almost bit on one for about $100 on eBay but didn't, then not that much later they were offered on The Doors' website where they didn't last long at $60 a pop. (I bit at that price.) I now have three of the four band members' autos -- Jim Morrison being the pricey one that I'll never land -- after getting the two others through-the-mail in the 1990s. (So unfortunately they are all on different pieces.) Years ago, the band previously released a deluxe book where the three remaining members had signed and I passed on that around $100 only to watch the book explode in price. My other autos are on Pro Set cards and CD covers tucked away in my stash while this one will stay in its tube until I can figure out whether I will display or not. (That's their promo photo above ... I knew I couldn't take a good photo of this one.)
Grab a box right here: Check out non-sports boxes here

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SMALL SAMPLE SIZE?
The Card: Joe Namath 1998 Collector's Edge Masters Super Masters Media Samples
The Price: About $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: There are plenty of promo cards from this era but I don't remember the last time -- or even really any time -- where I have seen them foil-stamped as "media sample." But with this oddity being a Hall of Famer with some school ties for me, I bit ... especially at the price. It looks like Collector's Edge did this at least a handful of times -- including on a memorabilia card set where those are pricier and should be more limited. These? Probably not so much ... but I have a gut feeling they could be rare in the big picture of things. Otherwise, I should have stumbled upon them at some point in the past. Right?
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... but newer NFL cards are here

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LOVING THE LIVING STACHE
The Print: Rollie Fingers Topps Living Set art print (/100)
The Price: $19.99 direct from Topps 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I grabbed this back when it was live and have had it stashed (pun intended) far too long as this is print No. 281 in the series and they should be launching a new wave of prints soon. (The newest in the archive is No. 300 while the cards are closing in on No. 400 ... so then should be the time for new prints.) This Hall of Famer's stash is amazing in this rendition by Mayumi Seto and it's true to the original photo with those shadows the absolute real deal. The card using this image sold 2,633 copies and I'm not sure if I ever tracked one down but I made sure to grab one of these.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... but MLB stuff is here

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