Wednesday, January 7, 2015

1958 Topps Unitas... or is it Joe Forte?


This 1958 Topps John Unitas card took me awhile for find, not because they are scarce, there are a bunch of them on eBay, but because I didn't want to spend much on a card for my Colts vintage collection that I already had in my Unitas PC. 

I ended up spending about $20 for this one. It's very off center but otherwise in good shape. Decent ones on eBay and elsewhere usually go for more than $30 and the price can escalate quickly from there.

The cheapest one had a minimum bid of $10. Take a look at it and tell me if you would have paid that.


Yes, that's how it showed up in the auction listing. Now I have cards in my collection that have been written on... several of my 1950 Bowman Colts have had their colleges added neatly to their bio... but nothing like this. I wish I knew if the card sold or was yanked from eBay.

I had a link to the auction someplace but I can't find it now. Honestly, I'd have hesitated to spend 10 cents on that thing.

I've googled 'Joe Forte' and can't find a football player by that name. There was a North Carolina hoop player by that name who was drafted by the Celtics (and apparently was a major bust) but that's as close as I can come to puzzling out the info written on the back of the card. I even checked the Duke football media guide to see if they ever had a player by that name and got no results.

So in the end I found a pretty good '58 Unitas to the Colts vintage binder and had a chuckle or two. It's a great hobby, yes?


3 comments:

  1. Perhaps it was an attempt to answer the trivia question on the back...
    Q.) What is John Unitas' nickname?
    A.) "Joe Forte, Quarterback, Blue Devils"

    I'm thinking that Joe Forte was the artist and original owner of this card... I know I made an attempt or two to make a card with my name on it.

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  2. What a strange story!
    But in the end you got the right card ;)

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