PWCC DECEMBER PREMIER AUCTION PREVIEW

PREMIER AUCTION

CLOSES DECEMBER 15 PREMIER AUCTION

The Premier Auction is a high-end auction event, exclusively presenting the most sought after, marquee trading cards and collectibles on the market. PWCC hosts this event on its website for approved bidders only.

If you would have told anyone who knew Tom Brady growing up how much he would go on to accomplish, they would have said you were crazy. Back then, Brady was not the born winner with a killer instinct that we have come to both root against and admire—instead, he was just Tommy. A California boy born and bred, the chubby, messy-haired kid that lived on Portola Drive in San Mateo was not exactly considered a star athlete... or much of an athlete at all. “Tommy would try to fit in,” recalled Brady’s eldest sister Maureen. “I remember one time some boys were throwing a football around our street and they told Tommy to go deep. He ran all the way down the street waiting for the football and they turned around and left.” Tom’s shortcomings as an athlete were only magnified at home, as all three of his sisters excelled at sports. Nancy, who is a year older than Tom, received a softball scholarship to UC Berkeley, and his middle sister Julie walked onto the soccer team at St. Mary’s College before earning a scholarship. Yet it was Maureen that proved to be the star, someone you might call

“the Tom Brady of softball pitchers.” Posting a 111-10 record at Hillsdale High, Maureen still holds several all-time records and was even inducted into the San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame. “They were all stars—and beautiful,” shared John Kirby, one of Tom’s high school teammates. “He’d always see their names in the paper. Tommy had all that to look up to growing up. He saw that level of competition.”

In fact, if there was one word that defined the dynamic of the Brady kids, it was competition. Whether racing home from church or seeing who could throw a rock the farthest, everything was a contest between Tom and his siblings, a mentality that Tom Brady Sr. admits to encouraging. Yet it was this competitiveness that would shape Tom’s insatiable desire to be the best, beginning when he was relegated to being the third-string QB of his high school’s 0-8 JV football team. READ THE FULL DESCRIPTION ON THE PWCC PREMIER AUCTION WEBSITE

Health is wealth. And perhaps nobody’s health has more economic and historical upside than LeBron’s. Estimated to have a net worth upwards of one billion dollars, it is no surprise that LeBron invests heftily in all matters related to his physical and mental well-being. While estimates have tallied his health expenses at one and a half million dollars per year, that is chump change in the world of LeBron and his brand. The King leans on trainer Mike Mancias, who quarterbacks everything from LeBron’s diet to his sleep hygiene. As one of the greatest basketball players to step on the hardwood, it is no wonder that LeBron benefits from prioritizing his wellness regimes. At 6-9 and 250 pounds, the 38-year-old has been a professional athlete for more than half his life. And between regular season and playoff games, LeBron’s 63,636 minutes logged (and counting) place him second all-time behind— you guessed it—Kareem Abdul Jabbar. As LeBron is poised to surpass Kareem’s all-time scoring record later this season, the Chosen One’s commitment to health contributes to his high level of play for so many years.

Naturally, LeBron has a personal chef. While he has experimented with Paleo and Keto-based diets at various times, he is not attached to diets per se, preferring to simply eat healthy foods. He avoids red meats and relies on highquality protein and carbs—lots of carbs for lots of minutes played. But LeBron is adamant about avoiding processed foods and does his best to avoid all sugar during the playoffs to maximize his recovery time. Famously, LeBron does have “cheat days,” which can involve elaborate chocolate desserts with his chosen guilty pleasure of a glass of red wine—usually preferring a Bourdeaux (#GoodForMyHeart).

As for working out, Lebron is an early adopter of Cryotherapy (think ice bath). He touts the positive results of the hyperbaric chambers, which boost oxygen levels and mental agility (we will trust LeBron on that front). Utilizing the “Cryo” approach to help with speedy muscle and joint recovery, LeBron engages READ THE FULL DESCRIPTION ON THE PWCC PREMIER AUCTION WEBSITE

The 1961-62 NBA season not only stands as the most impressive of Wilt Chamberlain’s career, but also as arguably the greatest individual season in NBA history. At 25 years old, the 7’1” phenom averaged an unprecedented 50.4 points over 80 games—to put that into perspective, Michael Jordan (37.1 PPG in ‘86-’87) is the only other player to even come close to this number. In fact, Jordan is the only player not named Wilt Chamberlain to crack the top 6 on the all-time list of individual scoring seasons. This was on top of a staggering 25.7 rebounds per game, the third-highest single-season average in NBA history trailing only his own averages from the 1960-61 (27.2) and 1959-60 (27.0) seasons. Playing all but 8 minutes over the course of the season for an absurd 48.53 MPG average (he would have played every minute had he not been ejected during one game), the Big Dipper became the first and only player in league history to break the 4,000-point barrier; to this day, only Michael Jordan has managed to put up even 3,000 points in a season. He also set the All-Star Game scoring record with a 42-point performance during that year’s contest, though beyond his superhuman numbers, the true highlight of that season was his iconic 100-point game. Facing the New York Knicks in front of a half-capacity crowd at Hershey Sports Arena, Wilt proceeded to go 36 of 63 from the field and 28 of 32 from the stripe in what many consider to be the greatest performance in sports history. He broke six records that game, including his own mark for points in a single game (71) set earlier that season. READ THE FULL DESCRIPTION ON THE PWCC PREMIER AUCTION WEBSITE

KIND OF THE HEART AND SOUL OF THAT OFFENSE, TOUGH TO DEFEND AND TOUGH TO PLAY AGAINST HIM.”

Dozens of NFL head coaches and defensive coordinators have tirelessly worked to draft blueprints for a scheme to contain Patrick Mahomes. The shifty, big-armed Chiefs quarterback has danced around or thrown over most every scheme opponents have employed against him since taking over as the starter in 2018. He bulldozes blitzes, evades edge rushers, laughs off linebackers, and, as a result, collects championships. At age 27, he is already a two-time AFC champion and has hoisted the Lombardi Trophy—and it seems like he is just getting started. “He’s electric,” said Jaguars coach Doug Pederson after Mahomes threw four touchdowns and was never sacked in a Week 10 victory. “He’s a guy that can extend plays. He gets the ball out of his hands so fast it’s hard to get to him. He’s kind of the heart and soul of that offense, tough to defend and tough to play against him.” In other words, Pederson crumpled up that game plan and will draw up a new one the next time the Chiefs fall on the schedule.

The problem for those coaches is that if you put Mahomes’ DNA under a microscope, forget about finding a double helix—all you would probably see is a string of footballs, playbooks, and first-down markers braided together. Football would have to be in the blueprints of his body for him to covert the plays he makes— and the recipes for holding back instinct are very few and far between. And every time he adds another piece of hardware to his collection, which already includes regular-season and Super Bowl MVP trophies, his ties to the game will grow stronger. In turn, so will demand for his best rookie cards—especially those that have been closely scrutinized and awarded GEM MINT distinctions. This example of his 2017 National Treasures RPA was put under a microscope and came away with that coveted PSA 10 designation. With its three-color patch, hard-signed signature, and /99 production run, this card would be pivotal in the blueprints for any serious Mahomes collection.

“HE’S

“At the height of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle frenzy in 1989, Konami released a Nintendo video game to capitalize on the craze. Although researchers did not conduct a study on the topic, no shortage of parents correlated a link between the video game’s launch and a drop in homework completion. A proud generation of TMNT addicts hit their consoles daily for a chance to take down a pack of carnivorous robots. Fueled by pizza slices and their nunchukus, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo turned on their tortoise radar and navigated their way through secret sewage passages to stop the villains. The fun never ended, but fortunately for collectors, it never started in a few instances as some of the game survived in unopened boxes. And now those same TMNT fans have a chance to own the first home console game based on the television series. This is the first appearance of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a video game. Michael Dooney of Mirage Studios created the cover art. Eastman and Laird originally used it on the second printing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 comic book. Michael Dooney also created the cover of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III video game, which collectors can also find in this month’s Premier Auction. The lore of this game and the franchise remains strong today as does the demand for high grades of the game in its original packaging. This game is copyrighted by Mirage Studios, also known as Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman’s kitchen table in New Hampshire—the true origin of the TMNT. This Sealed WATA 9.4 will delight collectors as it presents a rare opportunity to own one of the industry’s finest examples.

THIS 2019 NATIONAL TREASURES RPA PUTS THE REST OF JA’S ROOKIE CARD CROP TO SHAME.

Many eyebrows were raised when Ja Morant was named the 2022 NBA Most Improved Player. After all, Ja was the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and already a rising star by this point—was it not the expectation that he was supposed to get better? Yet if you compare Ja’s statistical leap between his second and third season with those of the previous five MIPs, it becomes blatantly clear that Ja more than deserved the award. From 2020-21 to 2021-22, Ja increased his scoring average from 19.1 to 27.4, an 8.3 PPG jump rivaled only by Pascal Siakam’s increase of 9.6 during ‘18’19—still, Siakam only averaged 7.3 points and started just five games the season prior. The other MIPs’ leaps were subtler: Julius Randle went from 19.5 PPG to 24.1, Brandon Ingram from 18.3 to 23.8, Victor Oladipo from 15.9 to 23.1, and Giannis Antetokounmpo from 16.9 to 22.9. Ja also raised his field goal percentage from .449 to .493, with Siakam the only other MIP to improve his FG% by more than .04 (Randle and Ingram both saw a decrease in this stat). Even when compared to other

MIP candidates from that season, there is still no debate: Dejounte Murray and Darius Garland only saw an increase of between 4-5 PPG and a .01 FG% bump, with neither qualifying for the playoffs—Ja got his team all the way to the Conference Semifinals.

Ja was clearly the right choice for MIP, and with averages of 28-5-7 to start his fourthyear campaign, the Grizzlies superstar just might be ready to make the leap into the MVP conversation. Ready to leap with him is this 2019 National Treasures RPA, as this card puts the rest of Ja’s rookie card crop to shame. An Emerald parallel minted to just five issues and boasting a beautiful two-color stitched letter patch, this card raises eyebrows in the best way with a truly stunning aesthetic. A Pop 1 of 1 BGS 9.5 with no examples graded higher, this RPA needs no improvement.

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In 1996, Derek Jeter burst into the major leagues like only Derek Jeter could, putting up a unanimous Rookie of the Year campaign before finishing the season as a world champion. Yet while this version of The Captain—dominant, confident, a born winner—is the one we have come to associate with his Hall-of-Fame career, the Derek Jeter that stepped onto the field for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast Yankees in 1992 looked about as fit for the major leagues as a tee-ball player. Beginning his professional career by going 0-7 with five strikeouts, Jeter struggled mightily in the 47 games he played in the Gulf Coast League, hitting a pathetic .202 and actually being benched in the final game of the season so he would not fall below the infamous Mendoza Line. Still 18 years old, Jeter was terribly homesick for his family back in Michigan, crying himself to sleep at night and racking up hundreds of dollars in phone bills from the calls he made to his parents. Yet despite his poor 1992 season, Jeter was promoted to the Class-A Greensboro Hornets for 1993, where he managed to raise his batting average to a respectable .295. His fielding, however, was atrocious that season, as he committed a South

Atlantic League-record 56 errors at shortstop. “He had gangly legs going in every which direction, gangly arms going in every which direction,” remarked teammate R.D. Long, who compared Jeter to a third baseman playing shortstop. “If he picked it up, he threw it away. Every way you can make an error, he made it.” Still, Jeter’s strong season behind the plate put his stock on the rise, and after training relentlessly during the offseason to improve his defense, his 1994 campaign spread across the High-A Tampa Yankees, Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees, and Triple-A Columbus Clippers proved to be his breakout. Slashing .344 with five home runs, 68 RBIs, and 50 stolen bases, Jeter was honored with multiple Minor League Player of the Year awards and was ranked baseball’s fourth-best prospect by season’s end. That is why on the morning of May 28, 1995, Clippers manager Bill Evers knocked on the 20-year-old’s door at 6 AM with the news of a lifetime: “Congratulations, you’re going to the big leagues.”

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JUSTIN HERBERT

Over the years, Chargers fans have adopted the term “Chargering.” It is an unflattering descriptor for a team that has seen its fair share of bumbles, fumbles, misery, and failure throughout the bulk of its 63-year history. Justin Herbert hopes to eliminate the term from the lexicon—or at least put it into the past. Because as the San Diego Union-Tribue once wrote: “it would take some serious ‘Chargering’ to not have a lot of success with Herbert.”

Throughout much of the Super Bowl era, the Chargers have been blessed by standout quarterbacks. Hall of Famer Dan Fouts started most games between 1974 and ‘87. Stan Humphries and Drew Bress handled most of the snaps between 1992 and 2005. And Philip Rivers played at a Pro Bowl level between 2006 and ‘19. Those QBs pushed the Chargers into the postseason 14 times, but all there is to show for it is an 11-14 record and one Super Bowl loss. Herbert has yet to make his postseason mark, but with the Chargers in the thick of the AFC West race, this could be the season the thirdyear QB crunches a notch into the doorframe of the NFL postseason. “We know we’ve got a guy. Our reality is there’s genuine mystery about how

far we can go,” said running back Austin Ekeler. “Justin has such an amazing talent cap. I’m real curious to see where our cap as a team is, too.”

Statistically, Herbert has been one of the most prolific young passers in NFL history, and his big arm means it would take some serious “Chargering” by the defense to allow an opponent to build a lead too large for Herbert to overcome. In Week 3, Herbert became the second-fastest player to throw for 10,000 career yards (35 games), and through 40 career games, Herbert already has nine fourthquarter comebacks (the NFL record is 43). “It sets the tone because he has rare competitive stamina,” said Chargers coach Brandon Staley. “It tells the organization that we better keep up with him, and that’s a good thing.” Collectors hoping to add Herbert’s 2020 Panini Prizm 1/1 Black Finite Prizms Rookie Auto will need to bring their competitive stamina to this month’s Premier Auction. Keeping up with the field of bidders for this one-of-a-kind parallel of one of Herbert’s most popular rookie autos may prove daunting. But if your strategy does not include any “Chargering,” you may find yourself with a new card to brag about.

In sports, it is rare for two players considered to be the greatest of all time to carry out their careers simultaneously. This is why the MJ vs. LeBron debate will never be settled, or why some still hold onto the belief that Gordie Howe was better than Wayne Gretzky— because their primes never coincided and they played in different eras, we cannot definitively say one player was better than the other. Yet for the past two decades, the soccer world has provided the lone exception in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Beginning their careers in 2003 and 2004, respectively, Ronaldo and Messi both came up playing similar positions and enjoyed their primes at the same time, providing us with a more accurate picture of which footballer is better... or, so you would think. Despite playing against one another 36 times and each man holding an edge over the other in various categories, it is nearly impossible to pick one player over the

other. Head-to-head, Messi beats Ronaldo 22 goals to 21, yet Ronaldo has 819 career goals to Messi’s 788—Ronaldo, however, has played in 144 more games than Messi. The Argentine icon is far and away the better assist man, beating Ronaldo 12-1 head-to-head and 348-234 for their careers, yet the Portuguese superstar has more assists in Champions League matches and is the all-time international scoring leader with a staggering 118 goals. This is the case for nearly every statistic or accomplishment— while one man has the edge in one category, the other has an even larger advantage in another. Yet beneath all this back-and-forth, most people fail to recognize that Messi and Ronaldo are doing things that mere mortal men should not be capable of accomplishing. READ THE FULL DESCRIPTION ON THE PWCC PREMIER AUCTION WEBSITE

A looming question going into the 1921 World Series asked what would happen now that a true power hitter would be on display in the Fall Classic? The World Series had been contested 17 times in the past, but only 23 players (over 99 games) had hit a homer during the annual tugof-war for baseball’s championship, and those longballs only made a significant difference in the outcome a handful of times. After breaking the all-time single-season home run record for a third straight season in ‘21, Babe Ruth led the New York Yankees into the World Series for the first time, and it was expected his fireworks would continue against the New York Giants in what became dubbed the “Manhattan Classic.” Ruth hit his lone home run of the Series in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 4, but his solo shot did not spark a rally as the Yankees lost that game and eventually the rare bestof-nine series in eight games. After falling to the Giants again the following season, Ruth began to show how much damage a power hitter could inflict in a World Series. Over

the next decade, the Yankees played for the championship five times, and Ruth unloaded 14 home runs along the way to help New York claim its first four World Series titles.

Collectors will be swinging with clout in this month’s Premier Auction for their chance at this offering of the Great Bambino from over a century ago. The American Caramel Company in Pennsylvania produced a series of 80 players in 1921, including three versions of Ruth’s card. Collectors can find his card with his first name printed as Babe, “Babe,” or George, and though it features a recycled photo from his days as a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, each variation of the card is coveted among Ruth collectors. This PSA 3.5 example of the “Babe” variation earned the PWCC-A (Above Average--Top 30%) Eye Appeal designation for its centering, surface preservation, and edges, so collectors have extra motivation to round the bases in the extended bidding session.