While professional sports are currently on hiatus, sports fans can still relive the glory days with a selection of the top basketball and baseball trading cards that are going up for auction with eBay on 30 and 31 March. You can start bidding now. Here are the highlights of the upcoming sale:
The iconic 1952 Mickey Mantle card is arguably the most valuable baseball card on the market. It's the first Topps baseball card of the legendary Yankees player, who played for the team his whole career and was inducted the Hall of Fame in 1974. He currently holds multiples World Series records, including that for the most home runs.
For Mantle fans, there is also a rookie card of his produced by Bowman in 1951. This is an excellent investment piece because of its high value, but is comparatively lower price to other Mantle cards.
According to OldSportsCards.com, this Leroy Paige rookie baseball card is the hardest to collect on the market. In 1948, Paige played for the Cleveland Indians and was the first African-American to pitch in the World Series. While this card is inscribed with Leroy Paige, he was known as Satchel Paige, a nickname earned when he sold bags as a child. This card is especially rare because of its grade 5 rating, meaning good quality, gloss and colour.
One of the top collected basketball cards is this 1986 Michael Jordan rookie card. Jordan, who famously played for the Chicago Bulls and later the Washington Wizards, still holds world records for the highest career scoring average and most points scored in a playoff game. This card has a high 9.5 grade.
And we end with an homage to one of the greatest players of all time, Kobe Bryant. The late legendary Laker is arguably the most collected figure in the sport. Here is a 1997 card with an ultra impressive BGS 9.5 holder and scarce production. The back of the card is inscribed with the following: "While the 19-year-old Bryant may still need to learn the nuances of the NBA game, he cuts tot he basket with reckless abandon, and streak s down the court like a jet. And this NBA All-Rookie Second Team performer knows how to finish - witness his 1997 NBA Slam-Dunk Championship crown."