Top 10 Additions to the Collection in 2024

 Yesterday I compiled a list of my top five autograph pulls from sealed sports cards during 2024, so today I'm going to do a top ten list of all additions to my memorabilia collection that I added in 2024. 

10. Pedro Martinez

It was tough for me to come up with the bottom few items that make the list because I added so many big names throughout 2024. In the end, I decided on going with my Pedro Martinez rookie card I sent in to a private signing that happened earlier this year. It was an Upper Deck rookie card and it came out nicely.

9. Erling Haaland

Soccer has become my primary focus in collecting and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add the best striker currently playing in the Premier League, Manchester City's Erling Haaland. This card was an auto/game used memorabilia combo from a set I like, Panini Select. Haaland is the first of many huge soccer autos that came my way in 2024.

8. Mark Messier

Any time you can add one of the top ten players of all time in their respective sports, it is a big addition to your collection. I got the chance to do so during the fall when Mark Messier did a signing and I was able to participate by sending in a rookie card to get signed. Finding rookie NHL cards from his time frame isn't an easy tax, but I found an off centered one on eBay for a reasonable price and used it for the signing. I am happy with the result.

7. Lamine Yamal

During the summer time I opened up a box of 2023-24 Topps Finest Champions League and managed to pull two numbered rookie cards of the worlds top young talent, Lamine Yamal. My autos weren't great, so I went and bought myself a Yamal rookie auto from the same set. The price I paid at the time was much lower than what it currently costs as Yamal has done nothing to lower the huge expectations placed on him at 17 years old. I fully anticipate this card to gain value as he ages and becomes one of the world's best players. 

6. Paul Skenes

This one was covered yesterday on my list so there isn't much to add other than this was a really fun autograph to find out of a blaster box from Target. The fact I pulled it with my son watching made it more fun and like Yamal, Skenes has done nothing to dim the hype he has gotten. 

5. Mariano Rivera

Two things make this card a top five add for my 2024. One, it's the greatest closer of all time and two, I got to participate in this signing for a much cheaper cost than the previous signings I had seen Rivera participate in. When I say cheaper, the cost to get my rookie card signed was less than half of his previous signings so I felt compelled to jump at the chance to add him to my growing collection at a reasonable cost.

4. Cristiano Ronaldo

We have now reached the greatest of all time portion of my list, and this is where it got a little complicated to rank these players. One of the two greatest players of his era to play soccer,  Cristiano Ronaldo absolutely was going to make the top four of this list. If you click his name above, you will read that I actually ended up with two if his autographs in a one week span. It wasn't intentional, but I am not complaining either. I'll likely end up using one down the road to add another GOAT that I don't yet have. What do you think, which of these autos do you like better? 

3. Wayne Gretzky

 Of course Wayne Gretzky made the upper echelon of my list, as he is arguably the greatest athlete in his individual sport of any player in any sport of all time. However, for a long time I already thought I had his autograph from when I was a kid before I figured out that it was the dreaded autopen when I was an adult. As such, I can't put him into the top two even though he is the reason I am a die hard LA Kings fan to this day. What also makes this card great is the fact that it's an on card auto and numbered 13/25. Just a fantastic autograph to add to my collection.

2. Kobe Bryant

Not much to say about this one other than he was the guy growing up that people my age considered to be GOAT number two. I never really agreed with that, but I recognize his place among the very best the NBA has ever seen.  Having grown up in Southern California and lived here my whole life, Kobe was synonymous with the Lakers and many of their titles. Cleary he won't be signing any more autographs either, so anything Kobe related will only go up in value long term. He wasn't a name I thought I'd ever be adding to my collection but fortunately that turned out to be incorrect and I was able to add this big card to my collection a couple months ago. 

1. Pele

What makes this Pele autograph my favorite addition in 2024 is the fact that is he not only one of the GOATS of soccer, but this Prizm card came from a set I really liked opening throughout 2024, and that is the Copa America Prizm set. I pulled a few autos from the product myself as well as bought some off eBay. None were bigger than this Pele auto which not only is Brazil jersey color match, but also 10/10 for jersey number match. The way this card refracts light in the sun is something else and I was thrilled to get this one in my hands. 

Honorable Mentions:

• Karl Malone 19/49
• Paolo Maldini
• Franco Baresi
• Oscar Robertson
• Xavi 9/10
• Jackson Merrill 

Thank you for reading my final post of 2024. From a sports memorabilia perspective, this was easily the best year I've had in terms of the sheer number of huge names I have been adding. Here is hoping 2025 brings more of the same and I do feel like I am due to pull an auto from a pack that is on par with the David Beckham I pulled from Premier League Prizm a few years back. I added a lot of big names in 2024 but it was mostly through straight purchases and participating in signings. I'd like to have a bit more big name luck to my sealed product pulls. 

Happy New Year and see you in 2025!