Mike Schmidt Collection

I bought this first-generation print from a guy in Eugene, Oregon. I paid $90 in 2026, which was quite a bit more than the $7 reprints available. I generally dislike team photos (a fact you'll quickly discover on this site), but the foxing and wear on this print tells such a great story, I couldn’t turn it down. Schmidt is in row two, 7th from the left.

One of those cards I’lm not sure I'll ever find given Schmidt's late-season ‘72 call-up. There likely weren’t many of these made -- it's a wonder they were made at all. There is also some debate whether this card was from ‘72. I've seen it referenced as a ‘73 late-season issue as well. While I haven't seen definitive supporting materials to confirm or deny either claim, I'd lean towards ‘72 because of one small detail: the background. Player portraits were usually taken in front of a plain white backdrop during spring training. If you look closely, this card has what appears to be a block wall background. Why would the Phillies issue a late-season reshoot of Schmidt in ‘73 (who was having an awful rookie season)? The improvised nature of the block wall background fits the narrative of a late ‘72 call-up. Bob Boone was also called up in September of ‘72, and he too is pictured against a block wall. The main thing that puts a hole in my theory is the August ‘73 trade of Billy Grabarkewitz to the Phils, who was pictured on a block wall background that year. And it does appear that the ‘73 team had some image variations, so maybe there were a few reshoots.

#WhiteWhale

I picked up quite a few Phillies yearbooks — not so much for the collectibility, but for research. I’m less concerned about the condition of these and more interested in any context they provide for dating images, etc.

Currently listed on eBay for $4,800.

I finally found my (new) holy grail in June of 2026. I say new because as a kid I didn't know it existed. At age 50, for some dumb reason, I decided to buy for myself Schmidt's ‘73 rookie. And that's when I saw this. Noooo! Not fair! It's like they moved the goal posts on me. So of course this became the new object of my Schmidt cards obsession. It took a couple tries to get it. The first one I bought, the seller never sent it to the authenticator. In hindsight, I think it was an Etsy fake, and he was ignorant to the fact he had to send it to PSA first. But I'm glad this card (ok, it's a sticker) exists. I never thought it was fair that Schmidt had to share his rookie with two other guys.

#WhiteWhale

A PSA 10 copy of this card sold on eBay in 2026 for $70,888. I'd settle for a beat up raw copy, but this card is just hard to find at a reasonable price. UPDATE: I found a nice raw copy at a decent price. Added grading to authentication, so we'll see what happens. Hoping for a 5, but will be okay with a 4. Surely won't be lower 🤞

Apparently there are two versions of this card with slight differences in the blue facsimile signature. So that means there are two cards you'll never find instead of one.

#WhiteWhale

This is probably the closest I’ll ever get to owning the ‘73 team-issued photo of Schmidt.

The ‘73 yearbook gives us a nice alternative official team photo of Schmidt.

The Topps Schmidt rookie was always just out of reach for me as a kid — my holy grail. 35 years later, I finally bought it as a 50th birthday present to myself … and then fell headlong back into the hobby where I find myself doing nerdy shit like coding a personal searchable database for my cards.

These are so cool. Hard to find as a single — I had to buy the team set just to get the one I wanted.

I love how the ‘74 OPC backs are yellow instead of green. A hard card to find centered. Hard to find in any condition, really, and even the poor copies are pricey.

Schmidt’s “mustache rookie” (MRC). I found this in an eBay lot of multiple Phillies cards with a poor description. Part of what makes these team issue cards hard to find is that a lot of sellers don't know what they are, and they rarely provide exact years in the listings.

Yikes, I’m glad they didn’t use this yearbook portrait for his team-issued photocard.

I had two copies of this card as a kid, both miscut and beat to hell. It was either all I could find or, more likely, all I could afford.

I'm not a fan of calling team photo cards part of the collection, but I begrudgingly list them in this catalog because others do. Go ahead — try to pick Schmidt out in this photo. I'll wait.

My older brothers had tons of these “Twinkie cards,” as we called them. I was always so jealous. Hostess had stopped making them by the time I started collecting, and my brothers wouldn't trade any of them.

Some collectors have to own both the single and the panel of issues like these. Personally, I feel like owning one or the other satisfies the slot, but there are several cards where I have both versions as well.

These cards were beautiful. My older brothers had binders full of them, possibly complete sets. Man, those guys must've eaten a shitload of cereal.

BTW, slabbing these things apparently doesn't prevent cracking. See the attached “PSA 8” from one collector to see what I mean (and please accept my apologies if this one is yours).

I think multi-player cards were made only to annoy us.