Keith Olbermann Sparks Alex Gordon Cards

Alex Gordon is at least several months away from the majors, but news/sports pundit and avid baseball card collector Keith Olbermann recently paid $7,500 for a fully-intact gem-mint version of Gordon’s 2006 Topps card. It’s not the player, but the actual baseball card that intrigues deep-pocketed collectors like Olbermann.

Last summer, in an effort to reduce confusion in the baseball collectibles marketplace, the Major League Player’s Association ruled that no player can be issued in standard issued 2006 sets before appearing in a major league game. Gordon, drafted No. 2 overall after leading Nebraska to the 2005 College World Series, did not qualify to have a 2006 rookie card, but somehow a handful of the third baseman’s cards survived the production process and reached the open market.

During the printing process, Topps cut the centers out of many Gordon cards, leaving only the borders. Hobbyists estimate 200-500 cut-out versions are in circulation, each selling for $30-$50 before Olbermann’s purchase, but are now selling for as much as $100.

When Olbermann buys a rare baseball card, collectors take notice. The former ESPN Sports Center host is a collectibles historian who published Collectors Quarterly magazine in the ‘70s. Olbermann’s baseball card collection covers every year from 1863 to the present.

Non-graded, fully-intact versions of the Gordon card were selling for $800-$900 before the Olbermann purchase. The same cards are now selling for $1,300. Hobby insiders estimate 10-12 of these cards exist.

A day after the Olbermann purchase, the number of Alex Gordon listings on eBay jumped from under 100 to over 1,000.

Interested buyers should be ware of a few unscrupulous dealers posting a picture of a full Gordon card, but actually selling a Topps box – be sure to read the fine print before placing a bid.

A third version of the mysterious Gordon Topps card appeared recently in the secondary market. Unlike the “cut-out” versions, this “blank front” is a full card. The gold-foil “Royals” inlay and banner consistent with 2006 Topps cards clearly appears, but without Gordon’s image. This first known “blank front” copy initially failed to sell on eBay with a starting bid of $999.99.