Got 'Em, Got 'Em, Need 'Em: A Fan's Guide to Collecting the Top 100 Sports Cards of All Time

by Jon Waldman, Stephen Laroche

?For over 100 years, kids of all ages have enjoyed the thrill of collecting sports cards. Whether it was souvenirs from their parents’ cigarette packs, pieces that came in bubble gum packages, or the modern dazzlers, the simple formula of pictures and text on cardboard have been a part of North American society for over a century. Now, take a look back at one of the most popular hobbies in history with Got ’Em, Got ’Em, Need ’Em. Covering baseball, basketball, football, hockey, boxing, and golf, this unique book offers a look at the greatest sports cards ever produced, including the players and personalities involved. Relive the days gone by with some of the industry’s most well-known experts as we count down the best from the business. Plus, as a special bonus, take a look at the best innovations, the worst blunders, and a special tribute to the hobby’s boom era in the 1990s.

Genres: Baseball

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Winnipeg's Jon Waldman is a multi-time published author, journalist, and marketing, communications and event professional.

From an early age, Jon knew that he wanted to enter the world of the written word. While in high school, he wrote for The Jewish Post & News locally and grew his profile in university, writing for Sun Media. Since graduating from Toronto Metropolitan University in 2002, he has appeared in dozens of publications in Canada, the U.S. and in Europe. His highlight publications include The Globe & Mail, The Telegraph, Toronto Sun, The Free Press, The Hockey News, Winnipeg Men Magazine, CBS Sports and Beckett Hockey among others.

In 2009, Jon expanded his writing to include books, and his shelf now includes six titles across multiple categories. His library includes two books specifically on hockey and two multi-sport publications.

Bookography
1. Canada Life Centre: A Pictorial Celebration of 20 Years of Sports & Entertainment (2024, True North Sports + Entertainment)

2. Swimming Aimlessly (2021, Simon & Schuster)

3. 100 Things Jets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die (2015, Triumph Books)

4. He Shoots, He Saves: The Story of Hockey’s Collectable Treasures (2015, ECW Press)

5. Got’em, Got’em, Need’em (with Stephen Laroche, 2011, ECW Press)

6. SLAM! Wrestling: Shocking Stories from the Squared Circle (with Greg Oliver, 2009, ECW Press)

Reviews

[Jay French · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite books is the “Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book”. It is a snarky walk down memory lane by the author, ruminating on things like whether Sal Maglee always had 5 o’clock shadow, and what makes a real baseball name. It illustrated these discussions with pictures of vintage baseball cards that so you could easily understand what they were talking about. It was very humorous. I was hoping that “Got Em Got Em Need Em” was more of the same, but it didn’t quite match the aplomb of the earlier book. “Got Em” etc. was a different story. It was to show the top 100 sports cards and to describe why they were on the list. It seemed to me on finishing the book that the authors really named the top 100 athletes that had been featured on sports cards, so it was a kind of subjective popularity ranking. This covered all sports that had trading cards, so baseball players accounted for half or so. As this was a Canadian book, hockey was represented (and in my American mind over-represented), but the authors provided a number of explanations behind their choices. It was quite a personal book for the authors. The bulk of the book is the listing of the 100 cards, with writeups on each and a photo. The writeups covered the athlete’s story as well as any unique story about the card. You learn a lot about the trading card industry and its history reading this. The authors included a few interludes describing some card bloopers as well as each author’s favorite cards. I learned a lot and was entertained. While I have collected some sports cards in my day, my collection is small and mostly from the seventies and early eighties. I was disappointed that the only card I had that made this list was Dr. J’s rookie card. And while I have OJ Simpson’s rookie card, that particular OJ card didn’t make the list, but another one did… I enjoyed this quite a bit. You will absolutely receive an education on hockey while reading this, but if you like to know more about trading cards in this kind of format, it works.

[Tim Timberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of cards, numbered not necessarily according to value. (My cheap collection even has one or two of the cards!) The authors did a good job including not just baseball but cards from football, basketball, hockey, golf, and boxing. The book is a little old by now, but it was still a good read.

[Christopher Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun, well illustrated, and easy to read look at the major sports cards in the hobby. Each entry is a history lesson of its own. Longtime collectors or those just starting out in the hobby are sure to find something new in this book.

[Caleb Midkiff]

I have not read yet