Collector Stories | Mark McGwire Super Collector

John Matthews Jr.’s Incredible McGwire Collection

Date: Oct 13, 2025

Author: Greg Bates

Topics: Baseball, Cards and Culture, Collector Stories, Mark McGwire

Length: 1031 Words

Reading Time: ~6 Minutes

When John Matthews Jr. got into collecting baseball cards in 1989, Mark McGwire was already a big name in The Hobby. His home run power dazzled fans nationwide. Matthews, who grew up in Florida, enjoyed watching McGwire’s prowess at the plate. The young collector also had a personal connection, sharing the same birthday of October 1.

Matthews was instantly hooked on Big Mac. He picked up The Hobby with his dad, and the rest is history.

“My dad collected coins, so that was his thing. He already had that collector mentality,” said Matthews, who just turned 40. “He saw that I had an interest in playing baseball when I was a kid. I liked Mark McGwire because he was the only Major League player at the time that had a birthday on October 1, and he was hitting home runs, so it was perfect.”

Matthews accumulated a large McGwire collection as a kid, but he stepped off the gas for a long time. Right around 10 years ago, he slowly picked it back up. Then his dad got sick.

“The last year that my dad was in and out of the ER, that brought all the memories back of collecting and the good times that I shared with him,” Matthews said. “Once he passed, I really started hitting it heavily.”

John Matthews Sr. died on Aug. 3, 2021. John Jr. now has a collection of 22,348 cards, including 8,658 different McGwire cards.

SuperFractors Galore

One avenue of McGwire collecting that Matthews latched onto is picking up 1-of-1s of his favorite player. His SuperFractor count is currently at 78, with his first being a 2022 Allen & Ginter autograph. Most of those are auto and auto relic cards from Topps products.

“I was trying to get to the 100 mark by the end of last year, but, believe it or not, there’s probably like a good dozen other McGwire collectors that I’m competing against,” Matthews said. “Every time a 1-of-1 McGwire pops up, I already know who I’m bidding up against.”

Matthews knows there are McGwire collectors who seek game-used memorabilia, gloves, and bats, and some go after card rainbow runs. Matthews’ niche is 1-of-1s.

“The way it is in the collecting world is you have to find your niche of that player and then kind of stick with that,” Matthews said. “I don’t have the most valuable 1-of-1s, because his most valuable 1-of-1s right now are the Dynastys.”

Matthews noted that most McGwire collectors he knows stay out of each other’s lane. That’s a big reason Matthews went the 1-of-1 route.

“I’m a commercial electrician, and I know I could do a side job this weekend and make $2,400 cash and then I could take $1,000 of that towards a SuperFractor that’s up for auction,” Matthews said. “A lot of the other McGwire collectors can’t do that.”

Last Christmas, Matthews’ family gifted him a pair of McGwire Topps Transcendent 1-of-1 autographed cards in PSA 10. Matthews now has a run of Transcendent SuperFractors from 2021-24. He’s is constantly on the lookout for the 2019 and 2020 Transcendent 1-of-1 autographed copies.

Starting the McGwire Collection

Matthews was just four years old when he got into McGwire cards. Hitting local card shows, flea markets, and card shops with his dad became a core bonding activity. The popularity of McGwire at the time meant card prices were on the expensive side, though.

“I remember probably the most valuable card that I had at that time was the 1982 Anchorage Glaciers Minor League card of his,” Matthews recalled. “Just a raw card of that was like $500 back then. Now, you can buy one for like $5 to $10. I remember that was like the one big purchase my dad made for me when I was young. I still have that card, and it has the $500 sticker on it and everything.”

The 1998 MLB season totally captivated the Matthews men. The single-season home run record chase between McGwire and fellow slugger Sammy Sosa was must-watch TV on a nightly basis.

“That was the most memorable season, because me and my dad would stay up late because the Cardinals games would come on Central Time,” Matthews said. We’d have to stay up until like 9, 10 o’clock to just see the beginning of the game to try to catch Mark McGwire.”

When McGwire hit home run No. 62 over the short porch in left field at Busch Stadium, the Matthews men were watching with bated breath.

“September 8 will always live in infamy,” Matthews said. “Me and my dad stayed up and we recorded the game, because ESPN was showing live broadcasts of McGwire’s at-bats. We videotaped it on VHS, man. It was the fourth inning when he broke the record. That was an awesome year.”

Besides all the SuperFractors, autos, and serial-numbered cards Matthews has of McGwire, one of his ultimate chase cards is a 1985 Topps Tiffany in a PSA 10. The PSA population report on that is just 35 because they were often cut unevenly in that product.

“That’s the number-one dream of any McGwire collector,” Matthews said. “That card is worth over $20,000. There’s a couple that pop up every now and again, and you’ll see it will sell for like $22,000 or $24,000. Any time I see a raw 1985 Topps Tiffany up for sale, I try to buy it if it’s in good condition and get it graded.”

Matthews believes he has submitted over 200 1985 Topps Tiffany cards to PSA for grading and has never received a 10. However, he owns plenty of 9s.

Remembering Through Collecting

Each time Matthews acquires a new McGwire card, he thinks of his dad. A former Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force and weapons management staffer at the Pentagon, Matthews believes John Sr. would be proud of the collection he’s amassed.

“He saw how it was growing the last year that he was here,” Matthews said. “He was pretty happy. It just keeps reminding me of him and the good times we shared. Hopefully he is happy, same with my uncle.”