Lopsided Trades

[1963Topps Set]

It has been well documented over the years the worst trades in Major League history. Ryan for Fregosi, Brock for Broglio, Carlton for Wise, etc..

What about in baseball cards? Haven't you ever had such a trade?

I have had two that I can think of:

During the summer of 1971, my first year of collecting, I was being tutored in math (along with other students) at a teachers house. A girl there wanted my 1971 Topps Mets Team card and offered me an older card for it. I jumped at the deal because I wanted the older card. That older card was a 1968 Topps Ryan / Kooseman rookie. I still have it and it is the corner stone of my 1968 set...When I put the 1971 set together a few years ago and reacquired the Mets team card.. certain emotions came to the surface!

During the summer of 1973, A neighbor hood kid wanted my 1973 Topps Willie Mays, he offered me an entire shopping bag loaded with 1970 Topps cards! This included many of the stars and the Munson rookie. Needless to say, it was done deal!

Any others????

[Mamunrud]

I had one happen to me last year. I was set up at a card show that was very slow the whole time there, so I was looking to leave early but had one guy come up to me and asked if I like to trade. He had a small handful of cards he handed me and I saw a couple of older Packers cards in there I liked, plus a few 60s baseball cards of some minor stars. I asked him what was he looking for and he said he wanted some newer rookie cards of the Brewers and Packers players. I got out a Ryan Braun RC, Aaron Rodgers RC and looked thru my boxes and found about 10-12 more low end RCs of current players and a few retired guys. I asked him what else he liked and he said that should be enough, but I might like these other two cards he had in his coat pocket. He pulls out a 1967 Hank Aaron and under it was a 1954 Aaron rookie card with a punch hole in it. I had to ask, what are you doing with this and what do you want for it? He responds with, if you like them you can have them, they're not worth much to me as I have doubles of them. I asked him again, you got to want something else for these, there's some value in this even with a hole in it. Nope, he was good with what he had out and said thank you, enjoy the cards! Well, I put the Aaron RC on Ebay with clear and close up pictures of the card and its defects and it still sold for $206. I've never seen the guy again when I go back there. Very strange...

[Gr8Beldini]

Few years back, I saw a mint mint mint mint Brett rookie in some dealer's showcase. This was before the grading companies changed the game. I had brought 5 Dan Marino RC's to get rid of at the show. The Marino's were overpriced at the time (in my opinion) and the cards I had were mostly EX/NM, certainly no better. I offered any three for the Brett. Dealer countered with Brett for all 5 Marinos. I didn't think twice. Those Marino's were junk in my eyes and in exchange I have the best Brett rookie I have ever seen.

[Beatles Guy]

I traded a Billy Ripken "FF" error for a load of '80s RCs (when they were worth something). Several Boggs, Mattinglys, Gwynns and Sandbergs.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Beatles Guy

I traded a Billy Ripken "FF" error for a load of '80s RCs (when they were worth something). Several Boggs, Mattinglys, Gwynns and Sandbergs.

I think you could still make that trade.

[71buc]

My favorite occurred in 1974 at lunch. I was in the 5th grade. I always carried a stack of cards secured by a rubber band in my coat pocket. I made trades more frequently than Billy Beane. One day a portly kid I had never conducted businesses with approached my lunch table. He held out a 1953 Satchel Paige. My heart stopped momentarily.

My father grew up on the Pennsylvania Ohio border and told me stories of Paige’s days with the Tribe. A very progressive great aunt who was a huge baseball fan told me of meeting and dancing with Paige in a Pittsburgh bar in the early 1940’s. I have come to believe that she was an early Baseball Annie. Growing up hearing these stories made very aware of who Satchel was.

I composed myself and quickly offered the Hank Aaron special card everyone was chasing. He declined. I added Rose, Morgan, Bench, Ryan and Seaver. Once again he declined. Growing desperate I asked what he wanted. He said,” two chocolate milks and an ice cream sandwich”. Needless to say the deal was done. The next day he came to again and asked for the card back. I refused. He told me that his brother owned the card and was going to beat him if he didn’t get it back. I told him that was a beating he was going to have to take.

Thirty-one years later I didn’t want to go to my 25th HS reunion. My wife made me. While there I was approached by a very large gentleman who obviously was no stranger to the weight room. He asked if I remembered him. I apologized and said no. He then recounted our Satchel Paige deal. I told him that I still had the card in my collection and was willing to take a beating to keep it there if that was what he had in mind. He laughed and I was very relieved. Here is the Satchel in all it's glory. As you can see he has been well loved over the years. Ironically on the bottom border you can see a stain. Perhaps it's chocolate milk?

[Exhibitman]

Nice idea for a thread. I guess we could subtitle it "A fool and his cards were lucky to get together in the first place". I will throw two stories out there:

I Am A Very Bad Person

I was a voracious reader of all information on cards when I was a kid. Not much out there...Anyhow, one of the books I read a lot was The Complete Book of Baseball Cards: For the Collector, Flipper and Fan [1975; Steve Clark]. Actually, I studied it like a Bible, especially the chapter on rare cards.

One day in 7th grade one of my neighborhood card collecting rivals/friends got a shoebox of 1960s cards. He really wanted a creased 1968 Clemente I had; I sort of wanted some of his new cards. Then I saw one that keyed to something I thought I read: an ugly green and sepia card of Gino Cimoli. I flipped it over and read the back, verifying what I thought. A 1958 Bell Cimoli SP. Very tough card, even with chip stains. I put it down with a poker face and we dickered over the other cards for some time. I wasn't seeing much I wanted for my Clemente--this was the era before card stores and before card shows and conventions, so assembling a run of player cards was not an easy thing, so the Clemente was no joke. Anyhow, we had an offer pending, it was OK, so I asked for that weird Dodgers card too and he threw it in to close the trade! Even then it was like an $80 card.

I Am A Very Stupid Person

It is a few years later and I am at an actual card show. I have a box of 1960s football cards that I got handed to me by some family friends as part of a giant box of mixed sports cards. I've traded and sold many, these are the leftovers. Probably 200+ minor stars and commons from 1958-68. Pre-Beckett, pre-anyone caring about football other than a few I see a 1941 Play Ball Wyatt and offer the delighted dealer the box for the card. Easily the most expensive f-ing Whit Wyatt card ever purchased...

[rats60]

In the winter of 1998 a dealer at a show had a 97/98 Skybox Michael Jordan Ruby #/50. It was a $500.00 card at the time. I asked him if he would be interested in trading and he said yes, he said he was from Minnesota and he would trade it for $500.00 worth of Randy Moss RCs. Today that Jordan is worth ~5K, those Moss cards are less than $50.00.

[aelefson]

Hi-
Great thread! I particularly like 71Buc's post with the follow up. I have two quick tales. In the late 1980s, Eric Davis' 1985 Topps rookie was considered a "hot" card. I traded it for a 1983 Topps Gwynn rookie when their values were fairly comparable. I was ribbed a bit for the trade because Davis cards were considered to be going up in value whereas Gwynn cards were more stagnant.
Around the year 1991, I traded a couple of Upperdeck Griffey rookies and several promo cards that were quite valuable then for a 1961 Topps Mays, a few other 50s-60s stars, and a few T206s (commons). I made several other trades similar to that to build a small vintage collection back then. I loved that dealers would trade the new stuff for vintage, but I also know it was an way for them to make quick money on the hot item of the month.

Alan