Making the Grade (Jan.): Iconic moments, early autographs, legendary stars, vintage greats and more for a new year

Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

MJ's MOMENT
The Card: Michael Jordan 2008 Goudey Hit Parade of Champions
The Reason Graded: This moment turns 35 this year and this insert card is one that ... came out of a box of baseball cards. It's a throwback to a 1951 set with stars from a little bit of everywhere in this Goudey version. These cards are smaller -- allowing for them to bounce around inside the wrappers -- but the only even close to deterring issue for grading with this copy was an irregular spot in the card stock itself ... but you can't even see it in this image. This finally made it into a grading submission of mine last year because it's an iconic moment for one of biggest names in sports history. The moment? This was Jordan's first championship.
The Grade: CGC 9

Reality Check: Behold! The worst of the four graded. Doesn't matter to me ... I just like the card and nines are fine.

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

MAMI'S HOME ...
The Card: Rhea Ripley 2020 Topps Finest* WWE Black Refractor Autographs (/25) -- RC-year auto
The Reason Graded: The label here has an error* -- it's definitely Finest -- but I'll survive with this being my best rarer rookie-year auto for one of the top stars in WWE today. Ripley's look was still evolving at this point (watch this video for her take on the topic and her career) -- so this look vs. now reinforces the feel of Rookie Card year. Ripley in black always works, though.
The Grade: CGC 10 (10 auto)

Reality Check: The only question with the error is whether it's counted in the pop report or not -- there's nothing in the Chrome pop stats -- and there are three noted for this card out of the 25 made. Otherwise, this is a solid grade on a solid card and it'll go perfectly with my perfect Gold (actual) Chrome auto you can see here in the archives and my standard Refractor of this one. Ripley is already an all-timer for WWE and it's just a matter of how much she does from here on out. Time is on her side as she's been wrestling since 2013 (in WWE since 2017) and will turn just 30 this year. (You can do the math.)

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ANOTHER MOMENT
The Card: Joe Namath 2008 UD Masterpieces
The Reason Graded: It was January 1969 and Namath's guarantee of a Super Bowl win against the Baltimore Colts changed the game. It established him further in pop culture where he's still residing today decades after his playing days ended. This visual has hit cards a few times but with it being from a night game from that era, the few photos are iffy and the video is rough, too, so I went with a painted rendition on a simple base card from this set to add something iconic into my stash of Namath slabs.
The Grade: CGC 9

Reality Check: Nines are fine -- and once again this is among the lowest-graded copies -- but I still dig it.

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THE MANIA MOMENT ON A RARE PARALLEL
The Card: Rhea Ripley 2024 Panini Instant WWE Versicolor* parallel (/5)
The Reason Graded: Just like my other Ripley this month, this too has an error* on the label where the parallel (the stripe is colored) fell off my submitted info and didn't make it onto the card. Only five copies of this exist and I grabbed it direct from Panini on drop day. I finally worked it into a sub last year to help add things into my registry ... but, alas, the error. (Registry is about the only place it really matters ... if I also had slabbed a regular version. But, I don't even have one of those.) This shows her entrance to 'Mania with her distinct makeup for the big day -- a different look from what we saw earlier.
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine)

Reality Check: Only five made, only one graded ... for any color. Works for me. Perfect works even better.

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FLYING FURBALL
The Card: Squatch (Seattle Sonics mascot) 2005-05 Topps Total
The Reason Graded: This card is a classic -- and Total has a number of quirky inclusions that would be worth a look and could make for a novelty slab ... that is if you can find the cards you want. Hunt down Rasheed Wallace for the year before to see one of the odd ones. This edition includes coaches -- not plentiful in most NBA sets if at all -- mascots, supermodels and even Jay-Z. Unlike some of the other sets out there, these cards can be cheap ... and that might make for good slabbing returns if in elite-level grades. Why? Top marks are not a given ... this stock is oldschool no-frills cardboard. In some cases, like this card, even an ungraded copy's price might be more than you might think.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: I was happy to see this check in where it did ... meanwhile, I was also shocked to see a second one also graded. I was happy I checked in far higher. Winning.

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MEAN MAN
The Card: Joe Greene 1979 Topps
The Reason Bought: His famous Coca-Cola commercial debuted on Oct. 1, 1979, and it forever (in my mind) created more than a few game-used memorabilia collectors and sold plenty of fizzy sugar water, too. This four-time Super Bowl champ, NFL All-Time Team member and Hall of Famer's debut comes from several years before this one, so the value for this is not high ... but I don't mind a vintage slab in a higher grade and a modest price. I found this at a price where I couldn't pass and it just looks good for its era.
The Grade: CSG 7.5

Reality Check: Just my luck this month ... this one checks in toward the bottom of the pop report -- but not the worst like others. It's clean -- and a vintage 7.5 is respectable.

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AN EPIC PHOTO
The Card: Julius Erving 1996-97 Topps Stars Finest Refractor
The Reason Graded: This iconic image was taken by Sports Illustrated legend Neil Leifer -- see what he gets for prints of this one here as well as a design-free, full-frame look -- and it's easily one of my favorites when it comes to sports photography. I think I graded the standard Finest (Chrome) version of this card here in the past and when I was revisiting some old boxes I noticed this parallel again. After a closer look, it looked better than I had remembered so I slabbed it.
The Grade: CGC 9

Reality Check: Lone copy graded is surprising but only five graded for the regular version perhaps shows that these Chromium parallels aren't as plentiful as you might think all these years later. Plus, the boxes that this one came from -- it's an NBA at 50 team showcase -- aren't cheap now. I ripped a decent amount of these packs back in the day and they really got me into exploring NBA history and old cardboard more. (Easily done as there's a lot less of it vs. MLB or NFL.)

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YOU KNOW THERE'S ALWAYS BO ...
The Card: Bo Bichette 2020 Topps Finest Flashbacks -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I picked this off on the cheap side of things probably not all that recently ... but since I have so many of his cards stashed it has sat for a spot here. Why cheap? Chew in the stats below.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: Those numbers say to me that there are plenty of 10s where even those probably have too much competition when it comes to sales -- and anything not-a-10 probably has even less. I'm just a fan of the photo and the oldschool design here and that was my reason to grab.

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AN ICONIC COVER
The CD: Ozzy Osbourne The Ozzman Cometh (1997)
The Reason Graded: With The Prince of (bleeping) Darkness' surprising death at age 76 back in July, I immediately had a few things on my mental grading radar -- just to slab some things regardless of pure value -- as I am a fan and actually got the autograph years ago when he did a book tour. This compilation CD (basically a greatest hits album at that time) with some other stuff worked in was likely my first Ozzy CD and then I worked backwards to Black Sabbath where I'd count him/them among my handful of favorites. This iconic cover -- that being one of his famous gold crosses that he always wore in some fashion -- immediately came to mind for me for a slabbed item on the recordings front.
The Grade: AMG 9 (Open)

Reality Check: This is probably* the only one of these graded as it's a 2002 re-issue edition that I only recently bought. I intended to send it in for a slab for a shelf in its fresh, unopened form but the shrink wrap arrived clean and crisp ... but very, very wrinkled on the front and I knew it wouldn't look good against the all-black cover. So, I carefully removed it and sent this guy in since this is all about the presentation over it being an original or a perfect copy. You can grade via AMG open or closed -- and even displayed differently than this in more of a presentation slab -- but I opted for the front of the disc only. This will be the first of a handful of Ozzy slabs of varying types to pop up here this year ... and I still have a couple things I wouldn't mind tracking down. I just haven't decided whether I'll track down a couple raw copies to grade or grab already graded items on those.

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TIFRY TIME!
The Card: Tiffany Stratton 2023 Donruss Elite WWE
The Reason Bought: This simple -- downright plain -- design arrived in boxes that were pricey right out of the gate and I just didn't feel like they'd deliver well enough for my taste, so I didn't rip much other than a couple of blasters. As for singles, if you have slabs in mind you might be better off to let somebody else take the risk of grading as the fronts of these cards can be scratched easily with all that foilboard and these have back edges that live in the chippy/fibery realm and can be messy. This photo is simple -- and it's been topped since this one's arrival -- but this card was one of the first looks at her later look gear-wise that was closer to the style of the here and now vs her Rookie Cards and earlier styling ... so it stood out. The silver gear and the gold design elements also give this one a simple, strong feel for a base card.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: Rather than grade it myself -- with no guarantees of any high mark -- I just grabbed this already slabbed when it popped up. Only one copy tops it -- but not by much.

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GOT THE HORNS
The Card: Tom Brady 2002 Fleer Box Score Classic Miniatures
The Reason Graded: This mini GOAT looked so strong I had to slab it ... and I clearly got the horns here as an eight was not the surprise I was expecting. At all.
The Grade: CGC 8

Reality Check: It's one of two copies to check in dead last ... and all I can spy is there could be perhaps some slight edge curling on the back. It's a mystery why this one dropped so much, but I'll not dwell on it. I pulled it from a set in a hobby box (the small sets were a bonus) all those years ago.

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ALL THESE YEARS
The Card: Todd Marinovich 1991 Action Packed Rookie Update 24K Gold -- RC-year insert
The Reason Graded: I could tell you exactly where I was when I pulled this card from a pack all those years ago -- I'll spare you the minutiae -- but at that time this card was "booked" at $175 and was, by far, the biggest deal I'd ever landed from a pack of cards. Why? Well, this No. 12 for the Raiders was a first-round pick out of USC and this card was an insert (it's a parallel but not every card got a 24K Gold version so it's a different card number ... so an insert) and with that gold leaf it was destined to be a big deal. These days? Not so much ...
The Grade: CGC 9

Reality Check: Action Packed cards aren't rare now -- probably weren't then, just more sat on -- and they aren't all that grading friendly but I slabbed this just for the place in my collection after pulling it 35 years ago. Sheesh.

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SOAK UP THE SUN
The Card: Sol Ruca 2025 Topps Now WWE Gold parallel (/50)
The Reason Graded: This Now drop came at a funky time for my cashflow, so I opted for a lot of one other name's cards and did a single Ruca as a throw-in to make sure I had one -- or, maybe to get free shipping ... I can't remember. Another reason why? Well, this was her first card in the set and it was a big moment. My main lot didn't yield anything special, while my lone Ruca card spot yielded this parallel card, which was probably a bigger win than had I landed the same card for the other name. Ruca was the top women's star in NXT this year (there's an annual award) and she seems primed for a call-up with this year's Royal Rumble being the likely time. Ruca got a showcase match during John Cena's finale show and she did well ... we'll see her on the main roster every week beginning soon. It's just a matter of when.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: Parallel or not, this is the only copy of this card graded by CGC. That's a little surprising, though it's not a Rookie Card ... just a key moment for her career -- the biggest -- at that point.

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BARGAIN BO
The Card: Bo Bichette 2023 Bowman's Best Blue parallel (/150)
The Reason Bought: I landed this card already graded for just $8.50 which was good in my eyes as a color match for his team -- I always check blue parallels first. It's not a rookie or anything like that, but when it's that cheap for a numbered card I'm good, though I do prefer CGC.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: This one checks in at not-a-10 so that probably explains why the seller let it go for little.

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SO NICE I HAD TO GRADE BRYCE
The Card: Bryce Young 2022 Goodwin Champions Playing Cards
The Reason Graded: This card is one now found for pocket change as it's one of many oddball finds in the annual eccentricities showcase that is Goodwin ... but this card of the former Alabama Crimson Tide QB is as clean as it gets as were other cards I picked off from this set on the cheap. How clean? So clean I wanted to grade and see if landing a perfect grade could happen.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: No perfect 10, but most of the 25 cards graded from this set via CGC do check in at a 10 or higher -- all but five cards in fact. A trio of cards -- two Tiger Woods and one Caleb Williams -- have a perfect mark. If you wanted a mini challenge of collecting a set and then slabbing it all with perhaps upper-echelon results without having to spend a boatload before the slabbing stage, this could be a candidate ... if odd, multi-sport cards are your thing.

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EARLY HARLEY
The Card: Harley Cameron 2024 UD AEW Canvas -- RC-year insert
The Reason Graded: Poke around in the archives and I'm sure you'll find a mention or two of this AEW star who's currently a tag team champion in the ring who, not that long ago, wasn't even a wrestler at all. She's a model, singer (sometimes of other wresters' themes), musician, ventriloquist and probably more of a frenetic freak who unleashes a wrath upon her opponents like no other. Just watch this -- it's as absurd as it gets and always an amusing feud. (That's a playlist ... there's so much.) And here's an overall timeline (four hours?!) of her evolution in AEW that actually doesn't even include the last six months. Thanks to set delays, she doesn't have boatloads of cards -- but there are more coming with all new releases. The energy and the talent is real, must-watch stuff.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: Lone copy, top copy ... no surprise. She doesn't have a lot of anything graded at the moment -- a literal handful of AEW cards slabbed across all sets.

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HERITAGE BARGAIN-HUNTING
The Card: Jackson Merrill 2024 Topps Heritage High Number -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: The hype train rolled for this release from the get-go and that can be seen in the volume slabbed for this card for sure -- that's not normal but also not surprising -- considering he's one of the better rookies to be found here. This card is crisp and clean and grading Heritage cards would probably not be first on my priority submission list as the recent years' editions aren't all that grading-friendly. Is this one that just often pops up clean or was there a bulk slabbing deal done here where they weeded out the lesser copies before submitting? Dunno ... but I liked the price and look here though to just grab one already graded.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: That 10 volume is high, so that probably does mean this one naturally pops out of packs cleaner than others for some reason -- could be sheet location, typical pack placements or even dumb luck. I'm not a big fan of the photo but the overall look here is good and Heritage RC slabs are on my radar off and on all the time.

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THUNDERSTRUCK
The Card: Thunder Rosa 2022 AEW Metal Universe Metal-X Achievements
The Reason Graded: These cards are thick-stock chromium cards with plenty of flash as you can see here. I picked off this copy raw over on COMC and opted for grading having never seen it in-hand and, well, it came back with a comfortable mark ... just not as high as obviously one would hope. But, I collect her stuff to a degree -- not all cards, just some with slabs -- and I liked this one's photo, colors and flash.
The Grade: CGC 9

Reality Check: Centering and back corners always seem to be funky here so top marks might not be easy .... but I'm good with the one I have. A number of her cards have been graded by CGC for this overall product and all but two, I believe, are mine. (I'm a collector.)

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THE MIDDLEMAN
The Card: John Johnson (and others) 1980-81 Topps
The Reason Bought: The center spot here is for the first NBA player I ever interviewed thanks to some school ties long ago ... so whenever a slab from his playing days presents itself without some dumb price tag attached I'll bite. This oddity of a set is, as you can see, one standard card perforated to be pulled apart to make three mini cards. It's not the only time it has happened, but it's quite a convoluted set that's home to a number of combos. There are sometimes the same card on different panels -- including Rookie Cards of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird both together and separate -- but I tend to just look and at a few names at times.
The Grade: CSG 8.5

Reality Check: Just two slabbed and this one checks in at the top. I knew an 8.5 wouldn't be easy -- these are often pure slop -- so it was an easy grab.

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MORE BO, YOU KNOW ...
The Card: Bo Bichette 2020 Topps -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I've lost track of how many of these RCs I own and it doesn't matter -- it's a few -- and they have all come at good prices for the player I collect. Why cheap? Plenty made and plenty graded -- this number below is high via CGC  but it's not obscene like it is over on the PSA pop report where this card has topped 30,000 slabbed copies.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: The numbers don't really matter to me ... I'll pick more off if the price is right. Just for fun.

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REMEMBER THESE CARDS?
The Card: Shannon Elizabeth 2004 Donruss Throwback Threads (MLB) Fans Of The Game
The Reason Graded: Know all those odd celeb appearances and brands with all kinds of unusual subjects inside made over the last 20 years? To a degree, they all arrived in the wake of the unusual splash made by this Donruss/Playoff set that included a handful of celebs (and their autographs on some versions) a few at a time in MLB and NFL sets released throughout the year. The early ones were pretty popular and that led to more. This one came from Throwback Threads MLB and notes her being a fan of the Red Sox. They're often cards found affordably but that dark bottom edge combined with the gloss and stock can be messy.
The Grade: CGC 9

Reality Check: The front here looks to be as clean as it gets -- at least in this image -- so I'm not sure what knocked it down. It's probably something on the back corners or edges ... or some glossing. I graded this since it did look like a top-grade contender and was a good reminder of these unusual cards from the past.

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VINTAGE HALL OF FAMER
The Card: Dan Dierdorf 1975 Topps
The Reason Bought: This Hall of Famer turned broadcaster has a decent amount of cardboard and much of it can be found on the cheap. However, razor sharp -- or at least reasonably clean -- vintage like this ain't the norm so I bit at a price where I'd buy stuff all day if it was from this era and looked like this for names I know.
The Grade: CSG 7.5

Reality Check: This one is clean but there is actually one cleaner copy out there in a CGC slab ... but nothing higher than an eight. Sure, small sample size, but those elite marks just aren't easy in this era of cardboard.

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SHOTZIMANIA RUNNING RIGHT AT YOU ...
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 2020 Topps WWE Slam Attax Reloaded
The Reason Bought: Speaking of not-easy grading ... this set is a bit of a bane of my collecting existence, though I don't sweat it like it could since it's gaming. This one is from the UK and there is also an identical Topps India printing and with those back edges front and back none of them are truly good options for grading. The UK set is cleaner so that's probably where this one came from ... but I ran into a lot of damaged cards from my imported copies' packs bouncing around in special tin packaging.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: Shotzi is among a few then-newcomers with early cards here, so I have a few -- I think I picked off every copy at an 8.5 just for fun when they got cheap -- but I waited to grab this one, which is the best copy on the pop report. I think I landed this for less than my first copy of an 8.5 ... because I was patient. There are others in this big set who would be worth the slabbed look -- top grades here would be a challenge, if not impossible -- and people who want key cards of the names they collect might pay well.

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A TOUGH TIFF TO GEM
The Card: Tiffany Stratton 2022 Panini WWE Sticker Collection -- RC-year sticker
The Reason Graded: This, too, checks in as a grading challenge as it's from an internationally released sticker set but not one you'd find all that plentiful here in box form. It's a big set -- more than 400 stickers -- and that's not even guaranteed to be completed if you bought two boxes with perfect collation. That math means you'd have to really like stickers to amass enough copies here to cherry pick good enough copies to grade ... and even that isn't easy.
The Grade: CGC 7

Reality Check: So what's the deal? Well, nothing on that front looks catastrophically bad ... so I'm assuming that some of the black ink from the fronts leaving a light haze of ink on the backs here (top edge for sure) is the big flaw atop maybe some smaller ones that may make top grades here impossible or at least very, very unlikely. Raw copies aren't all that cheap for a sticker -- since she's a key name -- and slabbed copies aren't either. Asking prices on some top slabs from PSA and elsewhere are steeper -- too steep for my taste -- and I didn't even take a closer look at the backs to see if I think they are accurately assessed.

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THIS ONE JUST TURNED 31
The Mag: Drew Barrymore -- Playboy, January 1995
The Reason Bought: I last mentioned this one here back in March last year and it remains an enigma. I collect 199os Barrymore stuff here and there and this one is an issue I own slabbed a few times with some chasing still to do. ... Last March, just 56 copies were graded here and the top of the scale remains the same -- nothing at a generally perfect 9.8. The 9.6 number is the same. The 9.4 number went up by one. The 9.2s went up by three. The 8.5 volumes doubled and all the others with grades went up, too. Again, that's an overall increase of about 33 percent with the top slots of the pop report essentially the same.
The Grade: CGC 9.2 (Universal)

Reality Check: Clearly there's something here that prevents a top mark. I have a couple copies I landed where they definitely would need pressed and then maybe (hopefully) they'd be contenders for something near the top. Maybe. Do I want to roll the dice this year and finally press and grade a couple? Kind of ... we'll see. Finding the lesser grades here aren't hard -- the American edition shouldn't be difficult to find for raw copies -- but essentially untouched and even bagged newsstand copies are. Prices are usually steep here for slabs, too, with many grading perhaps hoping for fireworks and still hoping for a payday with any grade. Short of the 9.6, I'm not a buyer ... I'm sure probably overpaid for this one last year -- despite having my graded copy last year being a 9.4. I guess I just wanted one in every slot except the one I don't have and the one that doesn't exist. (A 10 and a 9.9 won't happen here short of some scale change.)

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