There was a time long ago when baseball belonged to a 260 lb. beast named Frank Thomas. He was the most dominant and feared hitter in all of baseball without the need for Steroids or other enhancements. Before the game became tarnished by ridiculous home run records, the “Big Hurt” was head and shoulders above any slugger.
Before all was said and done, Thomas ended his career with over 500 home runs and a .301 lifetime batting average. Perhaps he hung around a bit too long judging by his final seasons in Toronto and Oakland but no one will ever forget the years Frank won back to back MVP trophies or his torrid 1994 season before baseball went on strike.
As you can imagine, Frank Thomas has some of the most dedicated and loyal collectors who spend most of their times scouring through eBay looking for that next amazing card to add to their collection. Trying to find a nice game-used relic or certified autograph isn’t too hard but it’s those early-year “hits” that collectors really love.
Take for example the 1997 Leaf ‘Thomas Collection’ patch you see below. It’s a beautiful card from the days when Donruss knew what they were doing but it’s not all that impressive. The patch is not really that big and the card is numbered to an astonishingly high (by today’s standards) 100. At the most you’d think it would sell for close to $100, if that.
Here is what the card actually sold for!
The Baseball Card Blog 