Paul Skenes & Nolan Ryan Share 1/1 Auto Card in Topps Museum Collection
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Topps has announced that for the first time ever, Paul Skenes and Nolan Ryan will have a dual autographed card in the next iteration of Museum Collection. Museum Collection is one of Topps' higher-end products. Collectors can pull some of the most detailed relic and autographed relic cards. Topps also includes booklet autographs, and cards with both game-used jersey pieces and bat relics in the product.
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A Legend and a Legend in the Making
Nolan Ryan began his storied career in 1966 with the New York Mets. While his career numbers are incredible, he didn't make his first All-star team until 1972. From there he went on to make seven more All-star games, threw seven no-hitters, was an 11-time MLB strikeout leader, and holds the career strikeout record at 5,714. What's wild is that as good and accomplished as Ryan was, he never won a Cy Young Award.
While Ryan's career got off to somewhat of a slow start, Skenes on the other hand was a hyped prospect and a No. 1 overall pick out of Louisiana State University and lived up to the hype almost immediately. Though he only has pitched in two season, he already has two All-star appearances (one of which he started), won Rookie of the Year in 2024 and is the reigning National League Cy Young winner.
Sneak Peak at the Dual Card
The image released with the social media announcement features the 1-of-1 version. It's a vertical card that shows an image of both Skenes and Ryan from the waist up. Topps put a nice, light-colored bubble next to each player, giving them more than enough space to sign with the blue ink featured in the preview photo.
While Skenes has only known the Pirates in his early MLB career, Ryan pitched for four teams: Mets, Angels, Astros and the Rangers. Topps rarely (if ever) releases the reasoning for putting players in a specific uniform, but it would be curios to know why they chose to use an image of him in his Houston jersey and hat.
While Ryan's legacy is already cemented in baseball lore, Skenes only has two seasons under his belt. However, giving the accolades the Pittsburgh pitcher has already earned in just two seasons, he certainly is on the trajectory to a spot in the history books with Ryan.
After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2008, Cole worked as an advertising copywriter until shifting to print journalism a few years later. Managing three weekly newspapers in the Dakotas, Cole won numerous awards from the North Dakota Newspaper Association including Best of the Dakotas and, their top award, General Excellence. He returned to collecting in 2021 and has since combined his passion for writing with his love of cards. Cole also writes for the Sports Cards Nonsense newsletter and has made guest appearances on multiple sports card collecting podcasts including Sports Cards Nonsense, and the Eephus Baseball Cards Podcast. IG: coleryan411 X: @colebenz