Buzz Buys: Topanga Now, Bear Bryant, Bo Bichette, LeBron, Shotzi, some oldschool finds, Snoop, Axl Rose & plenty 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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MORE LIKE TOPANGA NOW
The Cards: Danielle Fishel 2023 Topps Now 10-pack (/4,993)
The Price: Bundle price from Topps
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is among the newer pick-ups for me from Topps this year -- there have not been that many, really -- but the novelty of this one got me to bite on some Topps Now hoping for maybe landing a parallel and something that might draw an elite grade. I got nothing on the parallel front and, well, maybe one of this 10 might be slab-worthy at some point ... but this one was not cleanly made (at least in my batch) with some corner issues and surface spots (lower left side most often). That made this not as fun as I had hoped but I did it anyway as I missed on the auto packs that were reasonably priced -- I would have bought one had I not missed the drop -- and those who have landed unsigned parallels are asking prices that are even higher than what ink cost ... so this one's novelty appeal is strong -- for now. Hopefully, more unusual cards will show up among Topps Now offerings in the coming weeks and months. Novelty Now will get my attention as stuff that's different and unique will have more appeal in the long-term than some might think. I still think a single auto (or maybe a low-volume auto parallel) mixed into regular Topps Now orders could draw more buys, too.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but MLB boxes are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

RETRO RARITY ...
The Card: Knute Rockne & Paul "Bear" Bryant 2010 Panini Century Collection Souvenir Stamps Sports Combos - Two Stamps Dual Materials (/100)
The Price: $86
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I ponied up for this one as this is the kind of memorabilia card not likely to ever be made again and this particular version doesn't pop up all that often. It's got a piece of a Rockne jacket (findable as it was big) as well as a piece of a Bryant houndstooth check fedora that probably didn't yield too many pieces. I only own one other copy of this -- landed it long, long ago -- and I would do more if the price is right. Why might it not be made again? The last two Bryant fedoras sold at auction went for about $100,000 total in recent years (one was more than $70,000) ... and that's too much for an item too small to make cards if you ask me. That's if one can even be found again. 
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but football boxes are here.

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UP NEXT? (MAYBE NOT)
The Card: Tyler Buchner 2023 Bowman University Alabama Football (/99)
The Price: $15
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pick-up was early on in the life of this product and Buchner was on my radar as the newest of the three Alabama QBs with cards in this set. I picked this up before he got his time on the field -- and didn't deliver -- in his debut after transferring from Notre Dame. (And, oddly, it didn't occur to me that he had previous ink on that other team, which is probably why this didn't get a little more attention.) I'll rip more of that one at some point but three Relics in three boxes (though one box delivered statistically well) was enough for this Crimson Tide collector for now.
Grab a box right here: Alabama football boxes are here.

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THREE OF A KIND ...
The Cards: Shotzi Blackheart 2022 Panini Impeccable WWE Holo Gold parallel (/10) and two base cards (/99)
The Price: More than I'd admit ... 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This trio of base cards and parallels came as a small lot for two of them and then a second single as, well, I collect this high-energy star and I liked this brand -- but its price point is not in my wheelhouse at all so singles it has been. The thick stock is nice as are the touches, but that errant spot of white in the bottom right corner of all of these does make them all look damaged when it's a spot that's part of the paint texture. (I'd change that if I could ... but I can't.) The rainbow of parallels here includes five colors beyond the base and all are lower volume, which means asking prices can still be high ... higher than what I paid, actually. Will I eventually grab others? Maybe ... it does seem like singles are starting to dry up some from this release, though you can still find some things here and there. 
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes are here.

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RELIC RARITY?
The Card: Quinnen Williams 2019 Panini National Convention NFL Draft Materials
The Price: $6
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This Alabama guy has put up good numbers in the NFL but there's one number that kind of matters here ... he's not appeared on many memorabilia cards out there -- approximately 30 -- and this might be the only one that's not serial-numbered. (Most are well under 50 copies.) Why? This jersey might have been the only one Panini got for cards. (Maybe?) I paid a little more for this one vs. my parallel version that's rarer (go figure) but I was OK with the grab as, well, I'm not sure I've actually seen other cards to even ponder grabbing them.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but NFL boxes are here.

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SO NICE I BOUGHT IT TWICE
The Photos: Shotzi Blackheart autographed 16-by-20 photos (Fanatics Authentic) -- two of 'em
The Price: Around $45 each with discounts/promotions
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This image isn't perfect Shotzi -- but it's a start and it's the first certified auto photo she has done -- at least as far as I know -- via Fanatics. I grabbed one at this big size at a low price on a sale weekend only to have the entire massive mailer and the toploaded photo inside essentially folded over during shipping ... so when I awaited details on a return/replacement (it was a successful one that just took some time) I actually grabbed a second one just in case there were issues. So, yes, I own two of these and I'm good with that -- I own a number of auto photos from throughout her career. These won't be the last.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but WWE boxes are here.

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ONE NEVER MADE & ITS TRIMMED MINI
The Cards: Steve Dalkowski 2009 TRISTAR Obak autographed card black printing plate & yellow mini printing plate (1/1s)
The Price: More than I'd want to admit ... but some retail blaster boxes cost more than these did. 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pair of printing plates are cards for Steve Dalkowski, who I have written about before here (poke around in the archives) and offered more details then. In short, though, he was a remarkably good -- and bad -- minor league fireballer who could set strikeout and walks records any night of the week -- look at these stats especially (Ks per nine and BBs per nine). He's the failed pitcher that Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh in Bull Durham was based on and he never played in MLB but did have a Rookie Card in the 1963 Topps set -- I landed that long ago. This card was one of very few overall after that and the printing plate for an autographed card here was cool in my mind as he didn't ever complete and return his auto stickers ... so the card was never released. The mini plate is cut a little weird as there should be some space below for his name but that wasn't in yellow ink so there's nothing there anyway.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but baseball boxes are here.

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TEN HUT!
The Photo: Richard Pryor (as Gus Gorman) -- Superman III 1983 press photo 
The Price: About $6
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The Superman films got my attention as a kid -- likely on VHS for this one -- as the zany of the superhero movies back then was taken up a notch even moreso with this comedy legend in the cast. This is from one of the more absurd moments, too, but with the photo being just him -- often times these photos will show two or even three or four scenes -- so I bit.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but non-sports boxes are here.

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NO PARALLELS FOR YOU!
The Cards: LeBron James & Mookie Betts 2023 Topps Now 10-pack (/32,719)
The Price: Bundle price from Topps
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was my other recent Topps Now pick-up as the idea of finding a parallel and maybe grading something from this one also was a possibility. No parallel again, of course, but these were a little cleaner than the Topanga cards despite a ton more being made for this one. It seems like it could be the first of James Fanatics cards to come in the future, too, based on observations of many online.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but MLB & NBA boxes are here.

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NO, NOT GERTIE, BUT ...
The Stickers: "Human Pyramid" 1982 Topps E.T. The Extra Terrestrial Album Stickers (both halves)
The Price: Pocket change ... per half
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one is just some trivia that, to my knowledge, somehow never appeared on any of the other E.T. sets ... and there are a few. It's been a long time since I saw this one but from what I remember Elliott causes a scene at school by letting a bunch of frogs loose in science class or something. (Don't really care enough to go look it up but you can -- I'm sure it lives on YouTube.) But what I thought was interesting here -- and she's not on any other cards -- is that the girl here is Erika Eleniak, who went on to have roles on Baywatch, Under Siege, The Beverly Hillbillies, Desperate Housewives, Charles In Charge, The Blob and more. This was her first movie.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but non-sports boxes are here.

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SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE
The Records: Guns N' Roses 7-inch vinyl record singles -- "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Welcome To The Jungle" and "Patience"
The Price: $9.99 apiece 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: These popped up from a dealer I buy from regularly as both a blast from the past -- I barely had singles vinyl like this as a kid but I did remember them looking like this -- and then when I compared the conditions of the sleeves here and the costs to others online, so I bit. Why? The images and conditions are strong (the red one has the band photo on the back) and other more-mangled copies had higher asking prices. These were priced to move and they moved to me. I don't know if pressing for sleeves like these is a thing like it is for comics and grading, but if they could be flattened out these are pretty strong (well at least the first two) with no real color loss on the paper.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but non-sports boxes are here.

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TWO DOWN ...
The Cards: Nick Swisher 2006 Topps Triple Threads triple-Relic autos (RBI version) (/18)
The Price: About $30 total? (That surprised even me.)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I picked up one of these more than a year ago and then the other more recently as this first year of the premium brand is one where I like to pick off both of his versions (different letters on the windows) and then parallels for my player. How many do I own? I'm not totally sure but I could be coming up on the halfway mark on this one as it's the easiest version to land. It's been a while since I had seen any of these, too, so that's probably why I bit on one at a slightly higher price.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but MLB boxes are here.

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FRAMING IT UP ...
The Item: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith 35-mm film cut (five-frame strip)
The Price: Less than $5 (with promo/extras in order)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is a simple selection of frames cut from a film print but it's arguably one of the more-memorable ones as Yoda gets into a Lightsaber fight with Palpatine that you can see here at the 2:07 mark. As you know if you're a regular reader here, I like how these are presented by the seller in stickered semi-rigids that give them more of a card-like feel. All in all, something cheap and something different. (For more details, check out last month's Buzz Buys as well as some previous ones.)
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but Star Wars boxes are here.

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BO KNOWS NOW
The Cards: Bo Bichette 2021 Topps Now MLB Network Top 100 Players & base (/768)
The Price: About $2 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pair was an easy pick-up for the price as it was well below what they originally cost and they're both far rarer than stuff that was in packs. His pre-rookie 2019 Now cards and then 2020s from his RC year can sell for more ... and I'll dabble with them all on the cheap. In fact, I'm 99-percent sure I had the network one already but at the price I was fine grabbing one more.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but MLB boxes are here.

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HE'S BACK ...
The Cards: Rob Van Dam 2002 Fleer WWF All Access & 2002 Fleer WWE Royal Rumble memorabilia cards 
The Price: About $6 total (one was in a lot)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pair of memorabilia cards come from his Rookie Card year (first American cards in packs for WWE at least) and can sell for plenty more than what I paid. One has an asking price above $20 on one site where I buy a lot of stuff, but thankfully I found mine in a large lot of wrestling auto/mem cards for about 20 percent of that when all cards were pieced out.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but WWE boxes are here.

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THROWBACK GAMING?
The Cards: Captain Britain 1977 Marvel Super Heroes Card Game
The Price: About $3
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This character made his debut in late 1976 and this card arrived the following year and I didn't know this one existed until I recently found it. With it being an old example of gaming and an early card for this character that I liked (and collected) back in the early 1990s when I regularly chased comics, this was an easy pick-up.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but non-sports boxes are here.

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A BARGAIN ... FO SHIZZLE
The Slides: Snoop Dogg two 1990s Jeffrey Mayer portrait slides 
The Price: Less than a quarter ... total as part of a bulk lot
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I grabbed a decent-volume lot of these larger-format slides -- these images are 2.25 inches and the frames even larger -- and I did so only for about a dozen other really nice celeb portraits of one star. (You'll see those at some point here soon.) Because of the volume in the lot -- it was a mostly a bunch of pop/low-grade boy band celebs and others -- they all came out to about 12 cents apiece. For the other name I like, they really feel like slides that could sell for $20 or more apiece ... meanwhile, this pair is not quite as clean. The better one at left has been popped out of its frame for better scanning (hence the creases) while the other is clean. You never know what you might find if you look around at stuff you might not normally search for.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but non-sports boxes are here.

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STRANGER THINGS ...
The Card: Nick Swisher 2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes Charcoal Autograph (/50)
The Price: $7
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This set isn't one of my favorites from the past as there are a ton of parallels -- signed and unsigned -- to chase but this rarer color at a low price jumped out at me and I grabbed it months ago. What makes this one -- and all the others -- quirky and worth noting here? That sticker auto was applied upside down here ... and on all the rest.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but MLB boxes are here.

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THREE DECKS TO COLLECT
The Card Decks: 2019 Rachel Lowe Games & Puzzles WWE WrestleMania, 2018 Aquarius WWE Evolution & promotion-made 2013 TNA Knockouts Playing Cards decks 
The Price: Varied (and I picked these up long ago ... so I don't actually remember the details)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: These pandemic-time buys were when I refused to pay up for stuff that had dried up and there wasn't as much new stuff coming from Topps ... but a couple of these are nice oddballs for a wrestling collector. The Mania set is from a UK card-maker and has a striking all-black design showcasing many top names, while the Evolution deck shows a pair of cards (an action and more of a portrait) for solely women's stars and covers most of the top active names for that event. The TNA set is from a decade ago and has some names who don't have a boatload of cards, but the paper used is a little iffy so I never worked it into a past Buzz Buys or a break as everything is pretty simple and a bit underwhelming. (The WWE sets feel more like nice gaming sets than poker cards.) I figured I'd drop them all here together as something different.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but WWE boxes are here.

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RETRO BARGAIN LOT
The Cards: 1940s Exhibit/Mutoscope-style card lot (36)
The Price: $9.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: These aren't all that rare despite their age, and the general conditions here (corners) are not super-elite grade but for about a quarter apiece I bit when these can typically sell on their own for $5-10. Did I need what are basically oversized vintage BenchWarmers cards with names I didn't know? Probably not, but the price was compelling ... and there were only a few duplicates.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but non-sports boxes are here.

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TWO OF A KIND
The Cards: John Johnson 2006-07 Upper Deck Chronology base (/199) and autograph parallel 
The Price: About $52 (most of that the auto)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This release was one that came and went and for years I had no idea the set even existed -- I just can't collect everything and higher-end NBA wasn't on my radar back then. Meanwhile, these are among a handful of post-career card appearances for Johnson -- he's got school ties for me so I casually collect him -- and this is one of just five certified autographs he has (and one of that five in this set might not have been made). It's got a Gold parallel (/10) and his other inked card also has a rare parallel like that to go with the base version in a different release. Oddly, the base card here is numbered and the ink is not. I'm not totally sure if I had the ink -- at most, I probably have one other copy -- so I ponied up for it, while the base card is also among my stash but not in any kind of volume, either.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but NBA boxes are here.

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HER FIRST FILM
The Photo: Jennifer Connelly, Robert DeNiro, Elizabeth McGovern & others -- Once Upon A Time In America (1983) press photo (slightly smaller than 8-by-10)
The Price: About $7
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This promo photo has some names attached to it for sure, but the reason I picked up this piece for promoting the release of a Sergio Leone movie is because it's Connelly's first film. IMDb lists just a TV show and an uncredited Duran Duran music video appearance for her before this one. She has a few trading cards and a lot of magazine covers though the years but this is as early as it gets and at a cheap price I thought that made it interesting ... plus it's in very good shape for being almost 40 years old.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but non-sports boxes are here.

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BACK IN THE WWE
The Card: Stacy Keibler 2023 Panini Instant WWE (/85)
The Price: Direct from Panini America 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: To get free shipping on a different Panini Instant card buy you saw here earlier this year, this card of a returning star for her Hall of Fame induction was my throw-in. That's the literal reason I grabbed it, though it's actually not a bad grab as the overall volume made here is pretty low for a veteran star from an era full of talent and lots of past cardboard. I ponder a lot of the online releases but have generally only stuck to first-year cards or some key names I like when it comes to grabbing them direct.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but WWE boxes are here.

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MINT-CONDITION BARGAIN ...
The Item: The Addams Family (1991) press kit with 21 8-by-10 photos -- Christina Ricci, Christopher Lloyd, Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia & others
The Price: $9.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This press kit wasn't one I had to have, but it's a really solid one as the photo volume here is legitimately huge -- many kits feel big with about 10 images and a lot don't even come close to that. Why so many here? There was a lot of promotion from Paramount for this movie and the cast here has proven to be a big deal even all these years later. To make this one even better it was obvious when it arrived that it was a kit that never got touched so all those photos are as fresh as they were all those years ago.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but non-sports boxes are here.

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INTERNATIONAL THROWBACK ... AND DEBUT?
The Card: Shayna Baszler 2017 Stardom Collection (Japan) Autographs 
The Price: $25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I grabbed this in late 2022 but it kind of got buried in my photos and got plenty of waiting time to show up here -- and it is here as Baszler was recently the one who handed Ronda Rousey the loss in what sounds like it was her final WWE match. This card is a certified auto from one of the Stardom promotion's many releases that are absolutely loaded with a number of today's WWE and AEW stars long before they had any other cards. I literally only own this and one lesser base card but have several names I'd want to land but a lot of them have super-meaty asking prices (5-10x this one) for just base cards. The print quality on a lot of the signed cards is slightly funky with gloss that led to smudges and scratches on ink easily. This one is pretty clean and was super-cheap for a name who has had some success in WWE so I couldn't pass it up.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but WWE boxes are here.

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A JUMBO LOBBY CARD
The Card: Drew Barrymore, Tommy Lee Jones & Debi Mazar Batman Forever (1995) 11-by-14 lobby card 
The Price: About $20
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This oversized lobby card is one that looked really solid vs. a lot of others I've seen and it also looked quite clean, which isn't always the easiest thing to say with these oversized lightweight cardboard creations made to be taped or pinned up in theaters to tease releases in the past. This one clearly never got used and now it's a part of my varied Barrymore stash of cards, mags, autos and more ... mostly from the mid-1990s and beyond. It wasn't a cheap grab but the condition was there.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but non-sports boxes are here.

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A NEW START?
The Card: Dana Brooke 2016 Topps WWE NXT Bronze (/50) -- Rookie Card parallel 
The Price: Under $4
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: She was in WWE for quite some time and off the radar a lot but she also had her moments, too, before being recently released. Brooke has a lot of card appearances but this one is a rarer parallel from the year where her first stuff arrived and that was why I grabbed it along with a number of other parallels from this release that were all on the cheaper side long ago. A lot of it has dried up even more since then, though I'm not sure if she'll get back in the ring or not ... that's a reason I finally put this one in the rotation.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but WWE boxes are here.

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CELEBS SLIDE INTO THE BALLPARK
The Slides: Tom Selleck, Kevin Costner, Tony Danza, Jon Lovitz, Billy Ray Cyrus, Garry Marshall, Kevin Dobson press photo slides from celebrity baseball/softball events 
The Price: Pocket change apiece via some bulk-lot buying
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: These aren't all that cool but a couple of them really do offer up some time capsule vibes as there are some big names who were big deals here in the late-1980s and early 1990s. Celebrity All-Star games were a staple for years in Los Angeles (still might be I don't know) and those are part of what's here along with a Cyrus event. I picked up a ton of cheap slide lots with mixed A-listers and other celebs and was surprised how much stuff like these popped up. They weren't alone and I'll pop up a second batch with some other names and events at a later time.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but non-sports boxes are here.

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HER FIRST TWO AUTOS ...
The Cards: Layla El 2007 & 2008 Topps Chrome Heritage WWE Autorgaphs 
The Price: About $25 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pair of cards are the first two of only about a dozen certified autos made during her roughly decade in the ring, a run that included a couple of championships and some notoriety in the industry as she checked in at sixth among the top 50 women's wrestlers, according to Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 2012. Why did I note that? She had only started wrestling in 2006 as she was a professional dancer for major musical acts and then a member of the Miami Heat Dancers for two seasons before WWE ... she's got an NBA championship ring to show for it, too. (Fun Fact: She's not the only WWE star on the women's side to have pro sports experience ... can you name the other?) I'm not a big fan of the silver-sticker era for Topps autos but that's all there is ... and there also were no parallels for these releases -- one and done.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but WWE boxes are here.

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TWO MORE FROM THE LEAGUE ...
The Photos: Madonna & Geena Davis A League Of Their Own 8-by-10 press photos 
The Price: About $8 apiece 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This iconic women's baseball film has a lot of stuff like this (press kits, lobby card sets and other promo items) but I hadn't actually seen either of these before. The only bummer here is the crease on the right side of the Davis photo (I might have avoided that one had I noticed if a better one was available). These are simple items for a beloved movie ... and it's one that might not ever have cardboard beyond some small stuff made in the past.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but baseball boxes are here.

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THE MOMENT
The Card: Joe Namath 1999 Upper Deck Century Legends 
The Price: $2.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This moment was one captured by NFL Films as well as Sports Illustrated photographer Walter Iooss Jr. (here) after Namath jogged off the field after guaranteeing his AFL team's win over the NFL's Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. It's not the greatest photo but it's the moment and that's why I had to have this card ... and there aren't a ton of cards that use it. This is also the simple kind of iconic card -- again for the moment --  that I'd slab, too, if it looked like a high-grade contender.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but NFL boxes are here.

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