By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

Return of Action Figure Spotlight

In Brief: Jim Ross is wrestling’s best announcer – and the most collected.

Card Show #50: Jim Ross

Jim Ross is back in the news this week after Global Force Wrestling announced that he will return to the booth to call the New Japan Pro Wrestling pay-per-view in January.

For decades Ross has been considered the best announcer in wrestling, whether he was calling the action in Mid-South, WCW or the WWF/WWE. His passion for pro wrestling and pure talent behind the mic have also made him the most collected announcer among wrestling trading card enthusiasts.

Ross first appeared on trading cards in 1991. Championship Marketing included Ross on several cards in its 1991 WCW Collectible Trading Cards set; these cards feature a high gloss and black borders with gold stars. That same year, Impel featured Ross on cards 154-156 in its 1991 WCW Premier Edition set. These cards feature color photos against bright, neon colored backgrounds.



The 1991 WCW cards from Championship Marketing and Impel are very common, and most Ross cards can be found for $1 or less. Be aware that autographed copies of the Impel cards often pop up for sale on eBay, but they are not certified autographs.

Ross debuted for the WWF in 1993, and appeared on his first WWF trading card in 1995. Ross was featured on card #70 in the October 1995 issue of WWF Magazine. He appeared on several WWF/WWE trading cards from Fleer from 2001 through 2004. His most notable Fleer card can be found in the 2002 Fleer WWF All Access set, which was the last trading card set produced under the WWF name. That set includes Ross’ first certified autograph in the Off the Mat Graphs subset. This has been a popular card with collectors for more than a decade, usually selling in the $25-40 price range.



Ross has been included in most Topps products since 2005, when that company began producing WWE trading cards. His most popular Topps card is his 2009 Topps WWE Autographs, which was a hobby exclusive; those cards were inserted at a rate of one in every 54 packs. Ross’ 2009 autograph is easier to find than his 2002 signature, and also slightly cheaper, usually selling in the $15-20 range.

Ross most recently appeared in the 2014 Topps WWE Chrome product. Some of his serial numbered Refractor cards have been popular with collectors, specifically the Gold Refractor. That card is serial numbered out of 50 and usually sells for $10 or less.

Action Figure Spotlight

As noted in last week’s PWTorch Collectibles Column, Action Figure Spotlight feature will return on November 18. If there is a particular wrestling figure you would like to see included in an upcoming Action Figure Spotlight, send me an email or a tweet...

PWTorch Collectibles Specialist Michael Moore can be reached at michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MMooreWriter .

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