Today's edition · July 19, 2026

Liverpool and Palace both go retro for 2026-27

A white Liverpool away shirt built from 1970s match tickets, Crystal Palace's sash back after 50 years, and two big Topps pre-orders opening this week.

Drop Radar

Official imagery published July 19 by Footy Headlines, with a confirmed July 28 release date.

Liverpool's 2026-27 away kit is white, with a crest built from 1970s match tickets

adidas has Liverpool back in white for the first time since 2023-24, and the detailing is the story. The crest sits inside a shield pattern lifted from 1970s Liverpool match tickets, paired with maroon logos and the old Trefoil. It goes on sale Tuesday, July 28. The keeper shirt tips its cap to the purple 1994-95 number.

The kit reveal ↗

Liverpool adidas 1994-95 goalkeeper kit

Source: Footy Headlines · Published July 19, 2026

Official club announcement, on sale July 17, corroborated by Footy Headlines' release post.

Crystal Palace bring the sash back for the first time in 50 years

Palace's new Macron home kit puts the red-and-blue sash across a white shirt, the look first worn in 1976 and gone for half a century. The badge is the circular crest the club ran from 1973 to 1987, on the left chest. It went on sale July 17, with adult shirts from 65 pounds and the Body Fit cut at 75.

Palace's announcement ↗

Crystal Palace Macron 1976 sash kit

Source: Crystal Palace FC (official) / Footy Headlines · Published July 17, 2026

Confirmed July 20 pre-order date reported by Beckett News, corroborated by SI Collectibles.

2026 Topps Pristine Baseball opens pre-order July 20 with its smallest base set since 2022

Pre-orders go live on Topps.com Monday, July 20 at noon ET, sold through the EQL raffle. The base set is down a third to 200 cards, the leanest Pristine has run since the brand came back in 2022. Hobby boxes carry two autos and one autographed relic, with new inserts including Pristine Wilderness, Spotless and Timeless Connections.

Beckett's write-up ↗

Topps 2026 Topps Pristine Baseball

Source: Beckett News

Release date and cover athlete confirmed by SI Collectibles and Beckett News.

2026 Topps Flagship Football pre-orders open July 24, No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza on the cover

Topps set July 24 for pre-orders on Topps.com, with the full release August 21. Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the top pick in this year's draft, fronts it. The checklist brings first rookie cards for the 2026 class, Mendoza, Jeremiyah Love and Ty Simpson, plus 1991 Topps Football throwback inserts and Golden Mirror and True Photo parallels.

SI's report ↗

Topps 2026 Topps Flagship Football Fernando Mendoza Las Vegas Raiders

Source: Sports Illustrated (Collectibles)

Under the Radar

Surfaced on r/baseballcards' top-of-day feed; exact vote count unavailable today, since Reddit rate-limits thread-level fetches.

A 1948 Menko mail day from Japan, and the occupation history behind it

A collector shared a haul of 1948 Menko cards out of Japan along with the backstory that makes the format tick. Under MacArthur's occupation, traditional hero imagery, samurai, military figures and folklore warriors, was banned, so card makers turned to sumo and baseball instead. The poster says four Hall of Famers turned up in the batch, though the post does not name them. Vintage Japanese Menko stays a genuinely under-covered corner of the Western hobby.

The thread ↗

1948 Menko Japanese baseball cards

Source: r/baseballcards · Published July 19, 2026

Surfaced on r/baseballcards' top-of-day feed; current eBay listings put Raines autos in the $20-plus range.

A $10 Tim Raines auto, and a growing Expos personal collection

A collector pulled a Tim Raines autograph off eBay for $10 and added it to a growing Montreal Expos PC, then asked the community where to find more Expos signatures. Raines autos generally list north of $20 right now, which is what makes ten dollars a real find. Expos gear remains one of the game's quieter collecting corners.

The thread ↗

Tim Raines Montreal Expos

Source: r/baseballcards · Published July 19, 2026

Live Heat

Fanatics Collect announced the sale July 14 at $3,365,000, stating it as the Ohtani record.

Ohtani Superfractor rookie sells privately for a record $3.365 million

Fanatics Collect says its Private Sales desk brokered Shohei Ohtani's 2018 Bowman Chrome Superfractor, the 1-of-1 batting-variation rookie graded BGS 9.5, for $3,365,000. The platform calls it the most anyone has paid for an Ohtani card, topping the $3 million a 2025 Topps Chrome MVP Award Gold Logoman auto brought previously.

The report ↗

Shohei Ohtani Bowman Chrome Fanatics Collect

Source: Yahoo Sports (Fanatics Collect announcement) · Published July 14, 2026

Closed July 14; exact hammer prices reported by Auction Report.

Presidential baseball master set brings $3.055 million at Hunt Auctions

Hunt Auctions' MLB All-Star sale closed with a Commander in Chief master set of presidential autographed baseballs, Theodore Roosevelt through Donald Trump, at $3,055,000. On the game-worn side, a 1980 Tug McGraw Phillies jersey from the World Series Game 6 clincher hit $440,625, and a c.1958 Ted Williams Red Sox home jersey went for $381,875.

Auction Report's recap ↗

Hunt Auctions Tug McGraw Ted Williams MLB

Source: Auction Report · Published July 14, 2026

Closed July 16; exact hammer prices reported by Auction Report.

Signed Griffey rookie tops Sirius Sports Cards' July 16 auction at $1,755

A 1989 Upper Deck #1 Ken Griffey Jr. signed rookie, PSA Mint 9 with a PSA/DNA Auto 10, led Sirius Sports Cards' sale that closed July 16 at $1,755. Behind it: a 1952 Topps #191 Yogi Berra, PSA EX-MT 6, at $1,318, and a 1992 Topps #362 Shaquille O'Neal signed rookie, gem mint 10 with a 10 auto, at $1,198.

Auction Report's results ↗

Ken Griffey Jr.Sirius Sports Cards 1989 Upper Deck

Source: Auction Report · Published July 16, 2026

PSA figures reported by Yahoo Sports July 13: 14M peak, 12M now, 5M reopen threshold.

PSA's grading backlog falls from 14 million to 12 million cards

PSA's backlog, which peaked at 14 million in June after a May 14 pricing change set off a submission rush, is down to 12 million with the grading team working overtime and weekends. The paused Value tier, shut since June 2, stays closed until the pile drops to 5 million, now projected for somewhere between November 2026 and January 2027.

The report ↗

PSA

Source: Yahoo Sports · Published July 13, 2026

The weekly digest is coming. One email every week with the signal that mattered. Newsletter signup opens soon; grab the RSS feed in the meantime.

Reading the archive builds trust: every past edition stays up, unedited.