Have you heard about a 1990 basketball card and how it intersects with one of the more infamous murders of the 80's?
Last week a redditor named u/Pirate_Redbeard shocked the hobby (and apparently much of the news reading public) when it was pointed out that a 1990-91 Hoops card of Mark Jackson also features two young murderous chaps enjoying courtside seats in the background.Sitting behind Jackson are Lyle and Erik Menendez.
I kid you not!
Check out the bubble on the right. On the left is a close up view.Furthermore, it was also mentioned that the photo was taken after the duo killed their parents, but before their eventual arrest several months later.
Wow!
Reporter Darren Rovell confirmed the coincidence, via twitter:
This card is news to me. When this set was released in the early 90's I was a very active dealer and I have no recollection of his little tidbit. As an aside, I'm pretty sure I've got multiple of copies of this card sitting in a box somewhere at home.
Which does make me wonder... is this common card now selling for big bucks online?
The answer to that is yes, and now I read that eBay is shutting down a bunch of those auctions. Per a Beckett story:
After a wild weekend where 1990-91 Hoops Mark Jackson cards went from dime box denizens to hot sellers of $20 and more, the online auction house is pulling listings of the card.
...
“You listed an item affiliated with a known murderer. eBay does not allow items that were owned by or affiliated with many murderers and serial killers. While we appreciate that you have chosen to utilize our site, we must ask that you please not relist in this case.
“Affiliated with means items that are directly associated with the person. This can include (but is not limited to) objects like photographs, paintings, action figures, flags, sculptures, pins, books authored by the person, items they have owned, etc.”LOL!
First of all, this is a common card from one of the most overproduced sets ever created, so there's no need to bid tooth and nail for it. Secondly, are you serious eBay? There are thousands of listings featuring other infamous murderers on eBay like OJ Simpson, Aaron Hernandez and Oscar Pistorius. And those are just the names of who I can think of off the top of my head.
UPDATE: Apparently, eBay is no longer banning the card. Go here to check out some listings, and marvel at the insane prices people are paying. WTF!
OMG! Burbank Sportscards appears to have sold 241 of them at $34.99 apiece! This is totally insane.
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Someone posted one BINOBO for a couple of bucks. I checked out and sent the seller a paypal payment. The transaction went through and I have tracking... but that all occurred before eBay banned the sale of the card. Now I have a giant mystery spot in the middle of my eBay purchases. It’s the most bizarre thing to happen to me on eBay for almost twenty years.
ReplyDeleteCan't imagine how many copies of these I've dropped off at Goodwill over the years. At least I know I have one copy sitting in my collection (Sears set).
ReplyDelete