Dave Portnoy has taken Barstool Sports to the moon. And what he has done during the COVID-19 pandemic to help small businesses has been amazing. Seven years ago Topps put a trading card of Dave Portnoy in their annual Allen & Ginter baseball card sets. Barstool’s Dave Portnoy’s baseball card sales are skyrocketing.
Who is Dave Portnoy? What is Barstool Sports? And why are Dave Portnoy baseball cards selling for outrageous prices?
The Barstool Sports Story
Portnoy launched Barstool Sports in 2003 in a print format that was distributed in the Boston area. It went to an online blog format in 2007. Since its inception, Barstool has covered print, blogs, podcasts, and has a 24-hour Sirius XM channel, Barstool Radio 85.
Calling himself, “El Presidente,” Portnoy has a huge following and fans of Barstool Sports are known as “Stoolies.” One of the most popular segments is Portnoy’s pizza reviews. A few quotes coined by Portnoy originated in these reviews such as “One bite….everybody knows the rules,” and “Alright, Frankie.” There’s even an app where you can review pizzas and view videos of Portnoy’s reviews. One of my favorite pizza spots in Madison, Wisconsin, Salvatore’s Tomato Pies, was reviewed in 2019.
The Barstool Fund
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Portnoy and Barstool formed the Barstool Fund. As of this writing, the Barstool Fund has raised almost $30 MILLION to support small businesses across America. You can donate to the Barstool Fund and you can also purchase merchandise where 100% of the net proceeds benefit small businesses impacted by the pandemic.
With Barstool’s growing popularity, Topps included Dave Portnoy in its 2014 Allen & Ginter set with a regular base card along with jersey relics and autographs. Another Barstool blogger, Kevin Clancy (KFC), was included in the set.
Barstool’s Dave Portnoy’s Baseball Card Sales
One night last week I pulled out a random monster box of baseball cards to sort through and pull any valuable cards. One row of cards was from the 2014 Allen & Ginter set, and I stumbled upon a couple Dave Portnoy cards. Thinking I could sell them for a dollar, I set them aside. Later on, I decided to check eBay comps to see if they might sell for a little more…like $5.
I was correct the Portnoy cards would sell…but I was way off on price. Barstool’s Dave Portnoy’s baseball card sales sales were averaging around $100. A base card. $100. You read that correctly. Then, I tweeted out my shock and dismay over the Dave Portnoy card market which led collectors everywhere to pull out their common boxes from seven years ago.
Here’s a PSA to folks opening up Allen & Ginter and get upset because they pulled an autograph from a blogger they’ve never heard of. Even the random jersey relic cards are selling in the hundreds.
Since this was all revealed recently and collectors are scouring through old boxes, many Portnoy cards have hit eBay and the sold prices are dropping to an average of about $50 for the base card. Still…many of these cards have been tossed aside like a junk wax 1988 Donruss Paul Noce.
There is a market for everything out there, and Dave Portnoy Allen & Ginter sales was certainly the hobby shocker of the month for me.