This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/6/2021
Back in the day, you bought a pack of sports cards and you got sports cards, with maybe a stick of gum as well. Then came inserts (stickers, stamps, iron-ons), and a wide variety of subsets. To give the collecting experience a more intimate feel between hobbyist and athlete, the introduction of "game-used memorabilia" cards was born. The featured card was injected into the 1997 Upper Deck basketball series and, as the very first game-used jersey card, it is apropo that basketball's GOAT Michael Jordan be the subject. Unlike today's game-used jersey cards, the large white swatch offered here comes from the very jersey that is pictured on the card, worn by MJ in the 1992 NBA All-Star game. The card is graded PSA 9, a tremendous accomplishment considering that this was Upper Deck's first attempt at sealing a piece of cloth within a sports card, and more often than not, the surface of the card would crease due to the uneven thickness of the cardboard. Not here though, this one has survived unscathed, right down to the lack of chipping along the black-colored edges on the front. The autographed version of this card has sold for over two million dollars and simple math dictates that given the size of the swatch and the surface area of the jersey from whence it came, the number of possible examples that match this one probably doesn't reach triple digits. A truly historic card of the greatest baller in the history of the sport!