Making the Grade (September): Joe Namath's ink, Dak & Jerry Rookie Cards, Saquon Barkley, Lonzo Ball, 1990s NFL classics, high-grade vintage, The Four Horsewomen of NXT & more

Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

The Card: Joe Namath 2015 Topps 60th Anniversary Rookie Reprint Autographs #T60RAJN
The Reason Graded: Buzz first met this NFL legend almost 20 years ago and landed the ink for free thanks to some luck while autograph hounding but when it comes to certified autographs of this icon I didn't have any until recent years. Why? He's always been a pricey auto but that has come down a bit as he's been a steady signer and doesn't have quite as much hobby heat as the guy at the end of this month's list. This release was how Topps burned off its Hall of Famer autographs via packs on its website once its NFL deal was done, so the influx of big-name autos helped make the supply even stronger at the time perhaps without added demand. I scouted them all where I buy and this one looked near-perfect to me in both its centering and that ink. Seriously, look at that signature ... that's a perfect Namath auto.
The Grade: BGS 9.5/10

Reality Check: I absolutely thought I had a BGS 10 contender with this one, though I submitted it before I picked up my better loupe and I probably didn't check the back as closely as I should have. Either way, it's still a very solid card in my stash. I don't grade autographs all that often -- I fear results I won't like on those -- but this one I had to. Most of them landed this grade with only one higher so I don't feel bad about not landing a 10.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

The Card: 1974 Topps #472 World Series Game 1 -- 1989 Topps Auction blank-back proof (BGS 9)
The Reason Bought: I wrote about one of these pick-ups in a recent Buzz Buys and here's the deluxe one that had me doing a double-take when I saw its grade and its price. For less than two blasters, I landed this near-perfect proof card from 1974 and the landmark 1989 Topps Vault auction via Guernsey's. There is a mistake on this slab, though -- it's the wrong card listed. How? This blank-back card does appear to have Rollie Fingers on it, but it's actually Darold Knowles.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: The pop report really doesn't matter here as it's ultimately a rare card in an elite grade because it was never put into packs. While other proof cards I've seen had card numbers written on the backs in pencil (that hurts the grade) that was not the case here. This is a classic card in my mind -- though I do wish it was Fingers. I only realized the slab error when I went to check who was on the World Series subsets -- it actually looks like Jim "Catfish" Hunter to me save for that whole Southpaw thing going on here. (The pop report above is for the card that it's labeled as being and it's the best-graded copy for it -- or the card that it actually is.)

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The Card: Saquon Barkley 2018 Donruss Optic Red and Yellow #156 Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: I didn't do as much ripping of this one as I should have last year with that strong rookie crop, but the few Mega Boxes I did rip treated me well. My Baker Mayfield led things off here in a past month, while this one looked just as clean. I submitted this one as well as a few other key rookies recently and this won't be the last you see of this brand on Making The Grade in coming months.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It graded about as I had expected, though the centering sub surprised me a tad. Either way, it would have been the same grade. It's not a tough pull and it's a popular card for a guy who was a dominating rookie. I figured why not get it slabbed since football season is here. There are none graded higher, which is a good thing.

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The Card: Dak Prescott 2016 Prestige Xtra Points Purple #206 (/100) Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: I pulled this one in a past break here -- actually from a marked-down $10 blaster box from Walmart -- and had it sitting in a top-loader for all of his good times on the field and the bad. I got it slabbed a few months ago and held this one for football season -- we'll see how those contract wants work out.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: The grade surprised me a bit -- I had figured a potential BGS 9 since foilboard can always present problems -- but I'll take it. Just two copies of this one have been graded and the other is a BGS 9. There are only 10 total cards slabbed from this set for all players so that's another sign that RCs and RC parallels are not graded as much as ink.

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The Card: Jerry Jones 1995 Pacific Crown Royale #12 Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: How about them Cowboys contracts? Well, this is the guy who'll be signing off on those deals in Dallas and this is another card I picked up a while back for less than a blaster box. I did that despite having had one raw since not long after it arrived back in 1995. Why? It's a unique card and he's not had many cards since despite being a high-profile owner. It's unofficially a Rookie Card though he does have a cameo appearance on an earlier Jimmy Johnson card.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: I'm fine with 9s and this one is a card that could have all kinds of problems if you decide to slab it yourself. The top of the crown is the only part that touched one side of the pack and it can be found dinged (that was the case with my past pick-up) and all those edges with gold foil could get tweaked by penny sleeves very easily. The total number graded here is a bit of a surprise as this card was a big deal as it arrived in the Cowboys' 1990s heyday.

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The Card: The Four Horsewomen of NXT 2016 Topps WWE Road to WrestleMania #109
The Reason Graded: Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Bayley and Charlotte Flair helped revamp the Women's Division of the WWE while they were back in NXT and this was one of their last big moments together at that level after Bayley won the belt at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. They didn't stop changing the game there, either, as yhey all were promoted to the main roster within a year or so after this moment and each has been a champion at the top levels of WWE. This is simply a card I like -- but it's also got tough centering, even tougher skinny stock and those black borders that can disappoint you time after time right out of a pack.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: I was surprised on this one (I had figured 9s all day long here) but I guess it was cleaner than that. I think I pulled this one out of a recent cheap box after I was disappointed in a bulk lot of about 40 copies I picked up at pocket-change prices. Landing a 9.5 ends the small obsession I had with this one -- I'm not sure 10s can exist but I'd want one. Another reason I slabbed this one? This might be a cooler card if the long-rumored reunion as a faction happens at WrestleMania (or any time afterward). We'll see.

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The Card: Pete Rose 1985 Donruss #254 (Expos)
The Reason Bought: I grabbed this one for $7 and it's not even the only graded copy of this one that I own because if there's one kind of Pete Rose card that stands out to me it's the few that show him with the Montreal Expos. This one is by far the best one of those if you ask me and it's a bit of an oddity as he also has a 1985 Donruss card as a member of the Reds. Topps and Fleer put him in their Traded and Update sets the year before -- Donruss didn't have one so that's probably why this one was left in. The oddity of a Rose Expos card had appeal then, too.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: I wouldn't rip into packs of this year for stuff to grade -- this one had to come from a factory set -- but I simply grabbed the slab because that price can't be beat for the grade to me. The price is probably closer to right, though, as this is the most-plentiful grade for this card.

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The Card: Ross Perot 1992 AAA Sports Decision '92 Promos #P1
The Reason Bought: I picked up for $8 and I'm still not sure why other than I was curious about what cards he had when I had heard of his death in July. Perhaps it was because of all those Dana Carvey impersonations on Saturday Night Live back in the day? Perhaps part of it was because this was a promo card for an oddball set that didn't interest me much then (or now). Either way, I knew this card would land here because it's an oddball slab for sure.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: I'm not sure if I should be surprised by the pop report here or no,t but this is the top-graded card. It's also the most-slabbed card from the set.

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The Card: Lonzo Ball 2017-18 Donruss Optic Shock #199 Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Bought: This one cost me less than $5, which made me wonder ... has his ship sailed now that he's no longer in Los Angeles? Or, was this a steal of sorts as he'll get some attention playing alongside the No. 1 newcomer in the league, Zion Williamson? We'll find out soon but there's probably another reason this readily available card wasn't expensive.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: They grade with ease, too, so that might answer the question here more than anything ... at least for now. Only his basic RC has been graded more than this one -- and most of both cards are 10s.

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The Card: Emmitt Smith 1990 Pro Set #685 Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I ripped more than a case of this one last fall and landed maybe a couple of cards that I thought could be top contenders for top grades out of PSA and maybe an OK grade from BGS. All that contemplation went out the window when I got this one for less than $8 and it's a very solid PSA 9. (I've seen some I wonder about there.)
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: Based on some I've seen, it feels like this one could have been a 10 except it has a small spot on one of the back edges here. Maybe I'll revisit my Pro Set Emmitt stash when I do some reorganizing boxes, but the idea of slabbing one myself is definitely close to finished now. This one cost me less than it would have with either grading company. The pop report here is loaded and the 10s do seem genuinely rare to a degree.

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The Card: Randall Cunningham 1987 Topps #296 Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I have more than a few raw copies of this one -- probably 100 -- from way back in the day but none that I think would be an easy PSA 9 or 10 because of recurring spots and the printing/cutting standards of the time. So I ponied up a bit at about $14 for this one when it presented itself. Much like the previous card, it's one I'd like to have in an elite grade but I'm not going to overpay for it.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: PSA 10s do look pretty rare here and that makes me feel even better about a PSA 9 since the cost on a 10 should be a tad higher. The centering on this one is clearly off but it looks good in general, which is not easy for that timeframe.

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The Card: Paul Tagliabue 1992 Pro Line Portraits Collectibles #PLC7
The Reason Graded: I'll readily admit I was chasing BGS Black here as this card was 100-percent spotless when I examined it after pulling it from a pack last year. This is an insert set of the former NFL commissioner -- not expensive but also not in every box, either. It's not his first card but if you collected NFL stuff around 1989-1990 then you know how commissioner cards got many of us looking with Pro Set cards ... to be the oddity of it carried over to this brand, too, and it's one loaded with non-traditional cards.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: I'm not a commish fan or anything but this should have been a 10 by Pro Line standards. At least I can say none top it? One thing I also wondered about ... who are these kids and do they have any ties to the NFL? (The card doesn't say.)

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The Card: Ken Stabler 1992 Pro Line Portraits #441
The Reason Graded: This also was a card I wanted in a slab for a number of reasons -- it's just a classic -- but I'd only want it in an elite grade. This Hall of Famer was one of the first NFL players I ever met (though not the first) and this is a classic card that's got a great nod to his nickname, Snake. And then, of course, there's all that Zubaz. If there was a Pro Line Card Hall of Fame, this one would be in there. There's a certified auto version I wouldn't mind in a slab, too, but that's pricier and the on-card sigs increase the chances of there being damage here and there could make for disappointing grades. It's not too big of a priority, though, as I got one of these signed TTM long ago.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: I got the elite grade here though its flaws must have been on the back side as I'm just not seeing it at all.  This one works for me, though, helping narrow down my remaining Pro Line high-grade slab want list to only a few more cards. I was surprised to see I was the first graded card here while there are three slabbed autos (nothing above an 8.5) -- that wasn't shocking.

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The Card: Trishelle Cannatella 2006 Bench Warmer Series 2 #H73 Lingerie Bowl SP
The Reason Graded: This former MTV Real World cast member has been on a number of reality shows since that time -- even one where she tag-teamed with WWE's The Miz -- but her only cardboard arrived from some BenchWarmer sets back in the day. This one was unique enough that I figured I'd slab and hold for football season ... so here we are. What's the deal with this card? Well, apparently she was the quarterback for the New York Euphoria -- the winning team in Lingerie Bowl III, which was a Super Bowl halftime counter-programming event in 2006. I had no idea these cards existed as short-printed base cards in one of the basic BenchWarmer sets until I was ripping into those dirt-cheap (and sadly gone) Eclectic boxes in the recent past looking for autos.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: I landed a strong grade for what I will admit is a gimmick submission -- though I'd bet somebody out there somewhere has a Real World or Lingerie Bowl card collection (there are names to be found for both). Believe it or not, this is not her only slabbed card -- somebody graded a 2007 autograph back in 2012.

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The Card: Tom Brady 2018 Panini Elite Primary Colors Pink #14
The Reason Graded: Like Mike Trout, there's one name that's safe to grade and probably flip regularly for a decent amount if you can land a top mark. In football it's Tom Brady and I opted to slab this one since this color is a retail-only parallel and this looked like a contender for a top grade.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: I clearly missed something on this one as the surface brought me down from easy 9.5 status. These cards have an etched and embossed surface, so it may not be that easy to get a 9.5 or 10. This grade bummed me a bit as I'm not that big of a Brady fan -- I just liked the look of this one for whatever reason. (I would have liked it more in a gold slab.) Three cards from this set -- in any color -- have been graded for Brady and they're all checking in at BGS 9s or less so I guess that takes some of the sting away.

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