The First Shoeless Joe Jackson Relic Sells For $500 On eBay

In case you werent excited for Donruss Threads baseball, the first card of Joe Jackson in a long time, and first "legal" card in forever, will be included. This story was broken here.

Anyways, the first Bat relic from Shoeless Joe has been up and sold on eBay for a cent under $500. I think the person could have gotten a little more for it being the first one, and being from a new set, but that is still a pretty high sum.

I am excited for this set, and I am definitely of the ilk that says Joe Jackson should never have been part of that scandal.

Regardless of what you think, check it out here.

An Ode To DLP Baseball

One of the first posts I ever did on here was a plea to bring DLP back into the baseball market with more than just draft pick and college sets. Well, I finally got my wish with threads baseball, and I couldnt be more happy than I am right now. Yet, without an MLB license or any of the big name signees, will it be at all possible for them to make a worthy return to baseball?

For the answer, I have three words for you that say yes: SHOELESS JOE JACKSON.

I also broke the SJJ story a while ago, and I believe that his "relics" are a great addition to this set. Any set with Shoeless Joe is an EPIC win, considering that he barely has any cards. He remains one of the game's greatest players, and we deserve more. Was he guilty enough to suffer this fate? Im not sure, but his stats from the 1919 series speak for themselves.

We also will get a healthy dose of people who have been absent from cards since DLP left, mainly Aaron, Mays, and company. This is beyond a victory for collectors, especially with the crap that Barry "the Steroidisaurus Rex" Bonds brought to the title of HR King.

Lastly we also get Pete Rose, who I agree should be included. However, the guy is the epitome of how not to be a baseball player, so he is not my favorite, and I wont be getting his cards. Others will, so thats good for this set to have him as a part of it.

Basically, when it comes down to it, I miss DLP Baseball A LOT. They were everything they are to football now, and you will see the shear awesomeness when we break Absolute next wednesday. In fact, I have yet to see a VETERAN based product that was done as well as they were done with DLP. They took boring base card focused sets that I couldnt stand, and made them into ridiculously cool products that everyone could appreciate. Since they left, 2nd world baseball has sucked a whole fucking truck of dicks, and I am tired of it. For fuck's sake, not everyone can survive on collecting retro sets filled with players I dont want a base card of.

If there is a future for National Treasures baseball, I will be there busting boxes. If there is a future for the return of a new Timeless Treasures, ill be there too. If we get 2008 Absolute Memorabilia Baseball, there will be a happy dance, follwed by a case break on this site for sure. Thats how much DLP rules.

So listen UD and Topps, you may have some big shoes to fill coming up, I hope. So big that I hope a lot of the first worlders start to recognize that the grass is greener on the other side when its Absolute they are busting.

Shoeless Joe is BACK

Thanks to DLP, Shoeless Joe will again have baseball cards in a mainstream product. As it turns out, DLP has obtained a "game used" bat and will also be including the first relics of Shoeless Joe in some years.

Of course, this cant be THE Black Betsy as Im sure people would riot if it was cut up. I know I would be among those people.

Either way, Donruss Threads Baseball is shaping up to be pretty cool as Hank Aaron and Willie Mays seem to also be included in the product. I may buy a box or two.

Here is the official release:

"Shoeless Joe Jackson, banned from baseball for his alleged role in fixing the 1919 World Series, returns to baseball in 2008 Donruss Threads which will include game-used bat cards of the legendary Black Sox figure.

Donruss Threads, scheduled for a mid-October release, is the company's first full-scale baseball product in three years and combines baseball's rich past with its bright future through the inclusion of all-time greats with top-tier rookies and prospects. The release will be loaded with autographs and memorabilia cards.

Donruss recently purchased an outstanding circa 1916-1920-era game-used Jackson bat and will include pieces in 2008 Threads Baseball. The bat - with provenance - displays significant game use and carries the dark flame-treated finish Jackson preferred on his bats.

"True game-used Joe Jackson items almost never surface on the secondary market - they're kept in private collections or on display in museums," says Donruss spokesman Mike Payne. "But sometimes great pieces do find their way into auction, passed down from generation to generation, as this bat was."

Jackson joins other legendary names such as Pete Rose, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Nolan Ryan, Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Cal Ripken Jr., Bob Feller, Reggie Jackson and Whitey Ford among others, in the product.

Rick Porcello, the first-round pick of the Detroit Tigers I 2007, headlines a deep checklist of prospects, many of whom have never appeared on a certified autograph card before. Porcello's first certified autographs and game-used memorabilia will only be found in Threads.

Some of the other top prospects include Ike Davis, the New York Mets' 2008 first-round pick, Josh Vitters, Xavier Avery, Mat Gamel, Christian Marrero, Elvis Andrus, Jesus Montero, Brandon Waring and more than 110 others.

Five-card packs of Threads will carry a $4 SRP. "