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		• Wayne Gretzky Rookie Card Sells for Record-Setting Price of $80,000 • More than Mike: The Story of the 1973 Topps Baseball Set • Provenance: How Much Reliance Should be Placed on the Written Word? • The Spotlight is on Robert's T68 Collection • PSA Q & A     • Survey: Dream Pack     • Announcements

Wayne Gretzky Rookie Card Sells for Record-Setting Price of $80,000
MINT State, a collectibles dealer specializing in high-grade sports cards based in Elburn, Illinois, has sold a 1979 O-Pee-Chee #18 Wayne Gretzky rookie card for $80,000, making it the most valuable hockey trading card in existence. Click here for more details.

More than Mike: The Story of the 1973 Topps Baseball Set
Already boasting the rookie card of one Hall of Famer (Mike Schmidt), the 1973 Topps Baseball set is bound to become more popular when Goose Gossage receives his call from Cooperstown. However, with its notorious centering issues and prevalent condition problems, this underappreciated set is primed to send collectors on a wild "Goose" chase. Click here to read on.

Provenance: How Much Reliance Should be Placed on the Written Word?
When it comes to proving that a baseball bat was actually game-used, how much weight should be given to written provenance such as letters of authenticity? It's an important question for the bat experts at PSA/DNA. In this article, John Taube and Vince Malta explain the importance of written provenance to bat grading. Click here to read more.

Question: Do baseball players receive gloves with their names etched into them like baseball bats?

Answer: Great question. With baseball bats, both vintage and modern, the player would receive their preferred model with their name or signature foil stamped or burned into the barrel from the outset. With gloves, many modern athletes do have their name stitched in; however, this was not always the case. Decades ago, most players did not receive gloves with their own name etched or stitched in. In most cases, those players had to earn that distinction through star status and, ultimately, endorsement of the particular glove brand. So, even for many Hall of Famers, the gloves they used early in their careers were often models that carried another player's name. That is, until they "earned" their own model. Even at that point in their career, that doesn't mean they always used their own model glove but the probability was much higher. With bats, they can be custom ordered and ready for action very quickly with minor preparation (like handle tape, scoring, etc.) but gloves (especially in the pre-1980 era) had to be prepped with patience and care. This could result in players using gloves that did not bear their own name more often if they were already ready for game-use.

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