Monday, January 24, 2011

Big Country In The Hoopography House: '98 SkyBox Ruby

Quick trivia question. Who was the first ever pick of the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies franchise? It was none other than the 6th overall selection in the 1995 NBA Draft, Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. The 7 footer was nearly 300 pounds and had a pretty cool flat top hair cut. Although Reeves had several solid seasons early on in his career he only played six seasons in the NBA. Unfortunately, weight issues and injuries took a toll on Reeves after he singed a six-year $61.8 million contract.

The card is a '98 SkyBox Premium Ruby #'d/50. These Ruby cards are absolutely gorgeous. Similar to a refractor, but I think a bit nicer. Plus, this was a cheapie. Which is always nice.

I've picked up a couple Ruby cards over the past few weeks from different years including a Thurman Thomas. These can get pretty expensive because of their scarcity. The foil surface is cool too, but is suseptable to chipping. The patient collector can find mint versions of these at decent prices. Just make sure to look closely at the edges and corners for wear. Thanks for reading and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

6 comments:

  1. Man, I forgot how ugly those old Grizz jerseys were.

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  2. I had a ton of his RCs back in the day. Nick is right, those old jerseys are awful!

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  3. Wow... I'm embarrassed to admit it... but I invested a lot of money into this guy's rookies ;-(

    Beautiful card though.

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  4. @ Fuji, you may have invested a lot back in the day, but is it worse that I bought a card of his now?

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  5. I'm not sure what you spent on this rare... highly desired parallel of Big Country... but I'd take your card over any (make that all) of the rookies I have sitting in my commons box. :-)

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