PSA 1.5 Wagner T206 delivered to ‘The Chase’ set

Holland of Real Sportscards in Minnesota joins as live guest

By David Yarger

Co-Host “The Chase”

Ladies and gentlemen, my hands are still sweating. 

It was a loaded show, but we got off to a hot start, as the PSA 1.5 Honus Wagner T206 card, which we live bid for on the show a few weeks back and eventually won the auction for $3.72 million, made its way to the set. The card was delivered by two security members of Goldin in a Flawless briefcase, before we eventually unveiled it from the briefcase and its packaging. 

The T206 Wagner card is one of the most historic cards and has accrued over millions of dollars. The $3.72 million was the new record for the 1.5 grade and the same card had previously sold for $2.28 million back in May. This was also the 14th public or private sale of a Wagner since 2020. All but one has sold for no less than $1.1 million. The one example was essentially torn in half and sold for $475,000. 

The record price for a Wagner was $7.25 million. There are approximately 60 copies of the card left in existence. 

For those who don’t know, Wagner is one of the most legendary players in Pittsburgh and baseball history. He had a career .328 batting average and amassed 3,420 hits. He led the league in batting average eight times in his career. He was also a part of the 1936 inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame Class with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson. 

Live Guest, Ryan Holland

On top of everything going on today and our special guest Honus Wagner, we also welcomed Ryan Holland of Real Sportscards on to the show. Holland’s shop in Minnesota is a pretty sweet setup with a full-blown sports lounge and on top of that, he does a ton of things to help children in his shop’s community in Minnesota. 

Holland recently spoke on an LCS panel at the Industry Summit in Las Vegas, as well. 

He said his interest in the hobby began as a young kid in Minnesota, and he remembers watching the 1987 Minnesota Twins win the World Series. 

Before owning his shop in Minnesota, Holland had some other occupations before fully diving into the hobby as a full-time occupation.

Originally, Real Sportscards started as Real Breaks, which was Holland recreationally breaking for fun. 

“I had no idea that this could be a business,” he said. “In that same time frame, you had guys like Chris Justice and Rich Layton starting to build these companies to open product for other people online, but I couldn’t even fathom it could be a business.”

It wasn’t until 2016 where Holland said he started thinking he could turn it into a true business from just doing it recreationally. 

As far as experience at Holland’s shop, he said he gets comments from parents praising his shop because it is a safe environment for kids, and it’s a very homey feeling with the sports lounge and welcoming atmosphere. He added, he built it with hopes of creating one of the best sports lounge/man cave type shops and he’s been blown away with the response his shop has received. 

Recently, Holland spoke at the Industry Summit and sat on the LCS Panel. He said it was a great moment for him and he was proud to be apart of it with many great names in the hobby. 

“It was an honor. I was on that panel with a Piece of the Game and the Roadshow Guys. Two amazing guys that have built fantastic, modern card shops and looking to create the same kind of experiences,” he said.  

At the Summit, Holland mentioned he has several initiatives geared towards kids in the area such as aiding them for participating in sports, hooking them up with school supplies when needed and more! 

“There are some things that you do as a business to make money and then there are some things you do as a business that are just your mission and how you can impact other people,” he said. “I’ve really tried to focus on mission in my business. One of the things I’m super passionate about is kids and youth. There are a number of ways that we’re trying to impact that part of our community.”

He added that he has partnered with the St. Paul Saints (Minnesota Twins Triple-A affiliate) to sponsor some baseball camps for kids. Additionally, he has helped pay for kids to play sports, because no kid should ever have to not play because they can’t afford it. 

And as more news continues to come out about the state of the hobby, Holland said he is optimistic that the hobby is moving in the right direction, and he expects prices to lower and make it easier for collectors to continue enjoying the hobby. 

Holland had much more to speak on regarding investing in players, the role of your favorite LCS’s and more. To see the full interview, click here.

To see more on Holland and Real Sportscards, check out their social media and webpage.

Also on “The Chase” …

Today on the show we ripped Panini’s Three and Two Baseball and pulled a Corbin Burnes auto out of 25, a Paul Goldschmidt three and two relic card out of 25, a Jarren Duran rookie out of 99, Nolan Arenado out of 99 and a Julio Rodriguez All-Rookie Team out of 150. To win these cards, comment on the YouTube video with your all-time favorite World Series moment. A winner will be announced on Friday’s show at 9 a.m.