STRONG TO THE HOLE

Women's Basketball, Feb 2005 by Cornelius, Maria M

Trading cards lead the way for women's hoops collectors. By Maria M. Cornelius

From rookie cards to bobbles to seat cushions, collectors of women's basketball memorabilia have an abundance of choices.

The 2004 WNBA season brought another crop of rookies, and card collectors tracked down the top newcomers, including Diana Taurasi, Lindsay Whalen and Alana Beard. Fleer also released an assortment of insert cards, including autographs and swatches of game-worn jerseys.

Pinnacle preceded Fleer in the WNBA card market with its 1997 Pinnacle Inside set-the inaugural release for the league. Packs of cards were inserted into cans that featured photos of top players, including Lisa Leslie and Ruthie Bolton. The league has thrived, but Pinnacle only survived long enough to release cards for one more season. Fleer picked up the contract in 1999 and has released WNBA cards ever since.

But collectors aren't limited to cards. NCAA Final Four memorabilia includes seat cushions, pins and mini-balls. Kenner's Starting Lineup released a figurine of Sheryl Swoopes in her Texas Tech uniform in 1998. Collectors who live in cities with strong followers of women's hoops-such as Knoxville, Tenn., and Storrs, Conn.-can find items in their area hobby stores. Everyone else heads to the Internet.

Kat Fox owns www.e-tradingcards.com The 54-year-old Californian collected baseball cards as a child. She went to a Sacramento Monarchs game in 1997 and saw some WNBA cards. She was sold, both as a collector and an entrepreneur. She set up her Web site and contracted with Fleer to sell the cards. She is now the top volume seller of WNBA cards for the New Jersey-based company.

Fox said top sellers this winter are Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird following the Seattle Storm's championship. When the season started last summer, Taurasi was the top rookie. When it ended, Whalen was No. 1. She was pushed to the top by her Connecticut Sun team's success in the post-season.

Bobble heads rolled onto the market several years ago and initially took collectors by storm.

"When they first came out, I couldn't keep them in stock," Fox said.

They are still fun to collect and easy to display, but demand has waned as more players and coaches flooded the market.

The exception is rare and hard-to-find editions, such as the one of coach Pat Summitt released a few years ago by the University of Tennessee. The production run was 20,000 and the campus store depleted its stock. Your only chance at finding one now is the rare Internet auction listing. Collectors are holding onto them, because Summitt's bobble is considered a valuable item to keep.

The rookie, jersey and autograph cards-besides being the most popular -also tend to be the most valuable. Taurasi's rookie sells for nearly $30. Her fellow UConn alum, Sue Bird, has two 2002 rookie cards in Fleer Authentix and Ultra. Both sell for about $50 each.

Indiana's Tamika Catchings has an autograph card in the 2004 Fleer product-limited to 100-that is valued at up to $300.

And stardom in the WNBA doesn't always matter. Jackie Stiles, whose pro career has been hampered by injuries, is still sought after because of her success with Southwest Missouri State. A Stiles combo jerseyautograph card from 2002 Authentix can sell for as much as $250, if you can find it. Only 49 were made.

"The bread and butter of the collectibles market is the trading cards," Fox said.