COLLECTOR’S SHOWCASE BADDEST COLLECTION
inexpensive, including from megafights with Michael Spinks, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. Another popular early Tyson item that can be found for far less money than a debut program is the Sports Illustrated with him on the cover for the first time, emblazoned with the memorable line “Kid Dynamite.” The January 6, 1986, issue, published when he was just 15-0, all by KO, was published 10 months before he drilled Berbick. A nice copy can be had for less than $50. Rookie cards are typically an athlete’s most popular issue, and usually the most expensive, and it’s no different with Tyson’s, which run into the thousands depending on condition. His rookie, which is printed on very thin paper and extremely condition-sensitive, is found in the 1986 Panini Supersport multi-sport sticker set from Italy, but because they have been relentlessly counterfeited, beware of buying one that isn’t authenticated by a third-party grading company. For those on more of a budget – meaning hundreds instead of thousands of dollars – two nice alternatives are the 1987 Panini sticker or the card from the 1987 edition of the British trivia game “A Question of Sport.” Tyson was such a huge star that soon after becoming champion came the release of the iconic “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!” video game in 1987. I suppose you could still hook up the old gaming system and go a few rounds with Glass Joe or Bald Bull, but in terms of collectability, there is a healthy market for complete games, meaning the cartridge with an original box, instruction booklet and other inserts. Another way to collect Tyson is to seek material from a favorite fight. I’m partial to the somewhat tough (and, unfortunately, usually expensive) items from the title win against
Berbick and from when 42-to-1 underdog Buster Douglas knocked him out in the 10th round to win the undisputed title in 1990 – the greatest upset in boxing history.
famous moments in sports history, making anything from the fight that took place at Japan’s Tokyo Dome desirable. I own the glossy oversize program, which has great-looking art of the fighters on the cover. It’s written mostly in Japanese but with some English. One in nice shape can be had for a couple hundred bucks. More daunting to find is the all-Japanese – and horrendously ugly – ticket, which I don’t have, and the three site posters, which I fortunately do have. The most popular of the trio is the larger main version. It’s sharp with red and gold colors and a blue border, art of both fighters, ticket prices and English and Japanese writing, including “Tyson is Back!” splashed across the center – a nod to the fight being his second in Japan after having KO’d Tony Tubbs in the second round to retain the title two years earlier at the Tokyo Dome. As much as I love all of the Tyson stuff in my collection, my favorite item is something also from the Douglas fight. It’s a rare phone card set sold at the stadium that included two fight-branded phone cards (worth 50 yen apiece!) that are credit card size and made of thin card stock. They came housed in a fight- branded four-page horizontal folder that featured a Tyson action shot on the cover, a Tyson-Douglas tale of the tape on the inside cover, the two phone cards affixed to the third page and a white back cover with the fight logo. It’s an awesome piece. Over the years, I’d seen the phone cards but never together, and I’d never seen the folder, much less with both phone cards. When I found one on eBay in 2024, I was thrilled. Frankly, I don’t think the seller had a clue what he had, and I quickly bought it for the grand total of $130.89, which I consider one of the greatest buys of my 40-year boxing collecting journey.
ON THE PLANET By Dan Rafael
M y teen years coincided with Mike Tyson’s rocket ride to the top of boxing as he became, at age 20 in 1986, the youngest heavyweight titleholder when he memorably destroyed Trevor Berbick in the second round to win the WBC belt. I was 16 and had watched several of his fights on ESPN, SportsChannel and HBO, becoming a fan not
only because of the highlight-reel knockouts but because he fought regularly in the Albany, New York, area, where I grew up. He was a local celebrity well before winning the title and was often written about in the local newspapers and covered on the nightly news we watched on TV during dinner. As a teen, I was a ravenous sports card collector and was interested in expanding my horizons to boxing. A good portion of my resulting collection was eventually dedicated to Tyson, who evolved into a global sensation and one of the most popular fighters of all time. Who knew that some 15 years later I’d wind up covering him? He is probably the most
stream of base cards produced in current Leaf and Panini sets, pick up his cards from the recently released Topps Chrome set or even the Topps Now cards commemorating his exit from 19 years in retirement to face Jake Paul in their 2024 blockbuster/sideshow. Or you could go big and go after four- figure, high-grade slabbed cards and stickers from the 1980s and 1990s. If programs and posters are your thing, they exist for virtually every one of his bouts, although some are far rarer than others. There is so much to select from if you’re trying to build a Tyson collection. Anything from Tyson’s early days is desirable, nothing more so than the rare program or poster from his pro debut, a first-round knockout of Hector Mercedes on March 6, 1985, in Albany. The poster is extraordinarily rare and only a few hundred of the four-page programs were produced (if that), and many were surely crumpled up and/or thrown out on fight night. They are tough to find even in lesser condition and go for four figures. But many of the programs from Tyson’s more famous fights are plentiful and
The program from the Berbick fight is somewhat scarce. While I love having it in my collection, I’ve never been a fan of the cover. Instead of photos of the fighters, it has a bland picture of a red boxing glove. The three site posters from the fight are a mixed bag. There is the black- and-white poster that also doesn’t have photos of the fighters and instead features art of an ungloved fist. I don’t have that one, but I have the other two that are far nicer. One is referred to in collecting circles as the “tombstone” poster, as it has a painting of Berbick and Tyson in an exchange atop of what appears to be a gray tombstone with the fight information. The other is a classic painting of the boxers by Hall of Fame artist LeRoy Neiman. Tyson-Douglas was one of the most
collected fighter in history, other than Muhammad Ali, and there are plenty of ways to go for somebody looking to build a collection of the former “baddest man on the planet.” There is a vast array of items available at all price points, be it cards, posters, programs, tickets, credentials, magazines and other oddball items. Tyson is also a prolific signer, so autographed items of all kinds are plentiful. You could spend a few dollars for any of the steady
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