It was a normal after-school trip to swim lessons. For Kansas City Royals fan Robert Marsh, affectionately known by his friends as “CardBoard Jesus,” some extra time on the way to the pool meant running to a local card show for a box of Allen & Ginter. What he pulled was a piece of history.
I asked Robert to describe what happened and how things played out. “When I opened the pack, we had already pulled one relic, and I thought, ‘Shoot, another relic.’ Then, I saw it and was like ‘what is this'” he goes on, “Then I thought….holy s**t, that’s JFK” Robert had pulled the 1/1 JFK relic autograph card from a hobby box with his daughter Ari on the way to swimming. “I FaceTimed the owner of our local card shop, Dugout Sports Cards [in Columbia, Missouri], and they all started going nuts…it was wild!”
Allen & Ginter is known for including pieces of history not just of the game but of Americana in their boxes. That gets the special treatment this year: the 75th anniversary of Topps coincides with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence being signed, meaning collectors this year will be chasing a cut autograph from our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln.
The President
As the 16th President, Lincoln oversaw the Nation as it suffered its most devastating division in history. Originally elected to the House of Representatives, representing Illinois for one term from 1847-1849. He would then run for a Senate seat against Stephen A. Douglas in 1858 but lost. This would set up the 1860 Presidential election ballot, when he again faced off against Stephen A. Douglas.
The 1850s were perhaps the most tulmultuous years in the Nation’s history and that fact was echoed in the Presidential election. The Republican Party, with their first Presidential nominee in Lincoln, would run against a split Democratic party with Stephen A. Douglas representing Northern Democrats and John C. Breckenridge representing the Southern Democrats. With only 39.7% of the vote, Lincoln would win the election and be inaugurated as our 16th President.
The Product
Although informal versions of baseball cards appeared as early as the 1860s, it wouldn’t be until Allen and Ginter produced a set in 1887, titled N28 “World Champions.” The ten-card set featured Charles Comiskey, Cap Anson, and Mike “King” Kelly. The design of the mini cigarette cards has been reused every year since Allen and Ginter was revived in 2006 by Topps. Now, the set is heavily inspired by the mini cigarette cards of the past,with a variety of fun insert runs featuring anything from birds and beaches to cold cut sandwiches.
The Chase
Fans will be sure to seek the Abraham Lincoln autograph, as his signature sells very well. A cut autograph from 2022 Topps Transcendent sold in April of 2023 for $16,350. And who’s to say it won’t be pulled by someone taking their kiddo to swim lessons, stopping off to pick up a hobby box to eat up some extra time?
Like Chais Blakemore, owner of the Dugout Sports Cards in Columbia, Missouri, Robert Marsh’s local card shop, said about once-in-a-lifetime pulls, “It’s always crazy when someone pulls one of the featured cards on the box, let alone when it comes from our shop. It’s always pretty cool to see cards like that pulled, especially when it’s a piece of history. We’ve had our fair share of crazy cards pulled over the years for sure. [Including] a dual auto relic booklet of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.”
While there won’t be a George Washington or other President with the Lincoln to be a booklet like the Ruth and Gehrig pulled at Dugout Sports Cards, fans of history and baseball alike will look forward to seeing the Abraham Lincoln auto in this year’s Allen and Ginter set.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/collectibles as Abraham Lincoln 1/1 Autograph Featured in 2026 Allen and Ginter.
