Mike Olson 1/1 baseball card

I like baseball cards. I’ve never collected then religiously, mostly because I’m not from the US and getting hold of them isn’t very easy. Regular cards aren’t worth very much. Older cards, or those with famous players can cost you an arm and a leg. Grated vintage cards reach insane prices. Nowadays, the baseball card producers try to make cards more desirable by stamping them 1/100 or 1/10 and even 1/1. The 1/100 could be a the image of a player with a green border, the 1/10 could be the same image but with an orange border and 1/1 could be the same image but with a yellow border. Even the 1/1 isn’t unique, because the only thing different is the border color. That’s all! Yes, there is only one, but it still feels a bit like cheating.

To have a 1/1 unique baseball card, how cool would that be? Well, meet Michael Olson! I came across his work through his Instagram account. This guy hand draws baseball cards from scratch. Yes, he also draws ice hockey and football, truly… anything you want.

Now that was something I would be into. I would come up with a player I’d like a hand drawn card of. Took me no time, he just popped in there: Joe Kelly! This guy had brought some more swagger to the Dodgers team. He was the personification of the ‘Not Like Us’ movement with his ‘nice swing bitch’ pouty face.

But the pouty face had been done over and over and I just wanted a happy Joe card so I chose as a reference photo a shot of Joe in his mariachi jacket (belonging to Grover Castro of Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar) which he traded for with a game worn jersey. He wore it to the White House celebration of the 2020 World Series title and threw the ceremonial first pitch in it before game 1 of the national League Wild Card Series in 2025.

So that’s the image I send to Mike and he was all happy about making it into a hand drawn card. He suggested using the Topps layout from the 1988 baseball card series, because it’s Joe’s birth year. I thought that was a great idea. Also because the Dodgers won the World Series in 1988.

A few months later it was done and, damn, that’s one fine card! It’s so much better than any numbered or limited regular card. It even has room on the back for Joe to sign it, if I ever bump into him.

The work is outstanding, the communication with Mike is smooth, he is a very friendly guy who thinks along with you about the overall look and feel of the card. His wife Mary designed the packaging and it’s all one big party receiving it and do the unboxing.

So, if you have a favorite player and you like unique art, visit Mike Olson’s website. He also sells pre-drawn cards so there is a good chance you’ll find a card there that strikes your fancy. Check out his Instagram account @mikeolsonart for recent projects. If you want to see his video presentation of my Mariachi Kelly card go here (I'll provide link when video is up).