Geoff Wilson Cracked A PSA-Graded 1967 Topps Pack. Guess How It Went.

Geoff Wilson, of Sports Card Investor, decided to crack a PSA-graded 1967 Topps pack and then send some of the cards to CGC via Fanatics. In all likelihood, one of those two sponsors paid for the pack.

I watched the video and cringed many times. Geoff is an ultra-modern guy, and his videos about vintage almost always fall flat unless he’s talking to an expert. In this case, he was by himself.

I texted my friend Dan, of Dan’s Vintage Baseball PC, and asked him if he had watched it. He had not, and now he’s mad at me for suggesting that he should. I asked him if he would write something about it for my newsletter, and boy did he ever.

Before we start, though, here’s another great opportunity to check out my only sponsor:

Here is Dan’s article:

Geoff Wilson cracked a 1967 Topps cello pack and graded some of the cards, and I was interested in the results so I watched the entire 23 minute video.

“I Just Opened a 57 YEAR OLD Pack of Cards! Ripping 1967 Topps Baseball” is the name of the video, but there are so many errors, head-scratching bumbles, and profound ignorance of baseball and vintage baseball cards that I had to write a review.

The video opens with Geoff at a desk with the PSA-graded and -slabbed cello pack, a few tools (that he misidentifies), and some card supplies. Geoff never tells us the PSA grade of the cello pack, and doesn’t mention the edge damage while the cards are still in the slab.

He admits to being a “rookie” who has never cracked a PSA slab before, which begs the question of why would a first-timer be tasked with cracking a $2,000 slab. This becomes a problem later when Geoff handles the cards and the poster with bare hands, but not before banging on the exposed cello pack to finally remove it from the case.

The video does discuss the 1967 Topps 5th Series, and the potential Hall of Famer and “hit” cards (Clemente, Rose Sutton, Niekro), but fails to mention that the series also contains Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm.

When Geoff finally begins to flip through the cards it becomes fairly obvious that he knows absolutely nothing about any of these players. Admittedly, the pack is all “commons”, but there are some known players in the pack. Dean Chance, 1964 Cy Young award winner is the second card in the pack. What’s also neat about Chance is that he was the starter for the AL in the 1967 All-Star game, the very year of this Topps card. Lee Elia is also in the pack, and although a fairly unknown player, later became a manager of both the Cubs and the Phillies in the 1980s, a period when Geoff claims to have been a baseball fan. Geoff mispronounces Elia’s last name.

At this point, Geoff decides to take a look at the back of the 1967 Topps cards. Its fairly apparent that he’s never paid any attention to the back of a ‘67 card, since he’s drawn by the green color and the “art deco” design. This is not an “art deco” design, Geoff.

The one fairly unique aspect of the 1967 Topps back is its direction – its one of the few Topps backs that runs vertical rather than horizontal. But Geoff doesn’t seem to know enough to note this fact.

Geoff gets excited when he discovers the “Atlanta Aces” card, which features pitcher Tony Cloninger and infielder Denis Menke. Geoff doesn’t mention the players, but is excited that the card has “Atlanta” on it, because his store is in Atlanta. Geoff notes, "We have a couple of Braves pitchers on here”. No, no you don't, Geoff. Denis Menke was an infielder.

At this point, I guess even Geoff is becoming self-conscious about the fact that he seems to know literally zero about any of these players. The next card is Fred Newman, pitcher, Angels. "I've heard of Fred Newman before". No, Geoff, you probably haven't heard of Fred Newman, who pitched in obscurity for a few seasons for the Angels as a reliever in the 1960s. But you know who didn't pitch in obscurity for the Angels in the 1960s? 1964 Cy Young Award winner and the starter of the 1967 All-Star game for the AL, Dean Chance. Whose card is sitting right there next to you, Geoff.

When we come to the end of the pack, Geoff is completely taken off guard by the 1967 Topps poster of Clemente. "Its actually kind of a big printed card." No, Geoff, this is not a card. This is a hit, Geoff. Get this graded, but first stop mishandling it with your bare hands, as that poster is made of paper, not cardboard.

1967 Topps Pin-Ups are not only fairly common, but one of the more popular and ubiquitous 1960s inserts. The fact that Geoff has literally never even seen one or heard of them is really quite shocking for a guy who owns a large sports card channel and an actual card shop.

The video then cuts to Geoff on an airplane to the Fanatics offices in Oregon to get the cards graded by CGC. He has chosen three cards to grade out of the cello pack. One card is Jim Coates, another fairly obscure relief pitcher from the 1950s and ‘60s, who had one All-Star year for the 1960 Yankees, but was mostly a well-traveled pitcher whose last season was 1967. Geoff gets these facts quite wrong — "this Jim Coates card is the most valuable of all the cards I pulled," "This guy was a pitcher in the majors for many many years." Nine seasons actually. The card is not valuable at all.

He also chose Dal Maxvill for the condition, and his cherished “Atlanta Aces” card. Geoff then reveals more information about the Clemente poster, much of which is wrong, before manhandling the paper poster again with his bare hands. Geoff claims that the posters were inserted in cello packs, but the inserts were also in wax packs. Geoff also says of the posters “they had all of the players”, which is comically untrue. It’s a 32-player set. Interestingly, this is the last we hear of the poster, which is the only part of the cello pack that he should have graded. But apparently didn’t.

The video ends with Geoff at the Fanatics facility to get the cards graded. He’s added in a few modern cards, but we are only interested in the 1967 cards. The “most valuable” Coates grades a 6, the Maxvill is a 6, and “Atlanta Aces” is a 4. Geoff has turned a $2,000 PSA-graded slab into a few CGC-graded commons.

Geoff is still excited to have his “PC card” of the Atlanta Aces graded though because it’s a card of “Atlanta pitchers.” No, Geoff, Denis Menke is still just an infielder.

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