Saturday, May 30, 2020

1997 Japanese BBM Historic Set Sample Cards

The first modern BBM (Baseball Magazine) pack-issued card sets were issued in 1997.  For the longest time, I had always thought the 1997 Modern set was released before the 1997 Historic set.  However, reading Sumo World Magazine from this time, it became evident that the 1997 Historic set was actually released first, followed several months later by the 1997 Modern.  What is the difference between the sets you may ask?  The 1997 Historic featured drawings and artwork of the very first rikishi before photography was invented.  Basically from the origins of sumo to the mid-1800s.  To help promote the 1997 Historic set, these 3-card promotional sets were given away to show potential buyers what the cards looked like as well as a little sales card that highlighted the composition of the set.  These very rarely pop up for auction so grab them if you can.  Have an awesome weekend and stay safe with all the craziness out there.  Sayonara!


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6 comments:

  1. FujiMay 31, 2020 at 8:58 AM

    I love sample/promo cards. Started collecting them when I worked at the card shop back in the 90's. Always knew about US card companies going buck wild creating them. These are the first Japanese trading card company samples I've seen. Very cool buddy.

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    1. SumoMenkoManMay 31, 2020 at 4:26 PM

      I feel like it is an under appreciated niche in the hobby for sure. There are a few other sumo sample cards issued in magazines. Hope to get them all catalogued in my book at some point. Thanks for swinging by!

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  2. JonMay 31, 2020 at 7:03 PM

    I've yet to see a sample card that I didn't think was neat, and these certainly were no exception! It seems like there wouldn't be a lot of sample sumo cards out there though, any idea on how many there might be?

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    1. SumoMenkoManMay 31, 2020 at 7:55 PM

      There weren't a lot out there. Maybe less than 10 throughout the last 23 years or so.

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  3. SeanMay 31, 2020 at 8:32 PM

    Do you have any 19th century Sumo Ukiyo-e in your collection (like the ones depicted on that historic set)?

    They come up for auction on Yahoo pretty frequently and I've bid on a few but never won, they really do look beautiful.

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    1. SumoMenkoManMay 31, 2020 at 10:44 PM

      I don’t, but they are very cool. Wish I had more room to collect and store them. They are absolutely gorgeous!

      Delete

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