1987 Topps K-Mart Mickey Mantle Baseball Card Contract

1987 K-Mart Mickey Mantle Baseball Card Contract

Sold on eBay By: Topps Vault – Direct from Topps’ Legendary Vault
Auction Dates: October 7 – 14, 2010
Watchers on eBay: 76
Final Price: $910.00

In 1987, mega retail giant K-Mart and the Topps Company teamed up to produce a 25th Anniversary Baseball Card set that featured current and former players from 1962-1987.  The set, dubbed “Baseball’s Stars of the Decades – 25th Anniversary Collectors Edition,”  was released at K-Mart stores across the United States in large quantities meaning today you can still find a complete set of the 33 cards on eBay for less than $10.00.

For all these years Topps has kept the contracts they wrote up for all 33 players and decided in October 2010 to sell them on their official Topps Vault eBay account. You can always find great, unique items from the Topps Vault on eBay and often times they put up one-of-a-kind items such as the contracts from the 1987 K-Mart Topps set. The most popular player from that set was Mickey Mantle and it’s no surprise that his contract, which includes an authentic autograph, will command the most money at auction. Mantle was paid $1,500 back on August 17, 1986 to grant Topps the right to include his name, picture and biographical information in the set. Here is the contract written in it’s entirety:

Name: Mickey Mantle

In consideration of One Thousand, Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00), receipt of which I hereby acknowledge, I hereby grant to Topps Chewing Gum Incorporated and it’s wholly owned subsidiary, Topps Ireland Limited, the right to include my picture, Professional Baseball playing data, biographical data, personal statistical data, and Professional Baseball statistical data, in a set of picture cards featuring Baseball players who played in the period from 1960 to the present: said set to be distributed exclusively in K-Mart stores in 1987.

The rights grated will terminate on December 31, 1987. The One Thousand, Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) is accepted in full payment for the publication described above, any other Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding.

I understand that this release does not constitute a testimonial or endorsement of Topps, K-Mart, or the products they sell.

Signed: Mickey Mantle
Date: 8/17/86