Collector Pulls Historic Ohtani 1/1
In celebration of 1/1 Day, RIPPED profiles one of the biggest and best 1/1 pulls from 2024.
Alex Housego was on the verge of selling his card collection when a little divine intervention stopped him in his tracks.
Housego had been saving to buy a house and hoping to earn some extra money. The Ontario native doesn’t have a huge collection, but it’s a wide variety of athletes and sports. He was ready to sell his cards at the Toronto Sports Expo the weekend of November 7.
There were a few cards Housego was planning on saving. When superstar Shohei Ohtani became the first 50-50 club member, Housego quickly ordered two 20-pack bundles of his Topps NOW® that commemorated his achievement. Anyone who orders the Topps NOW® cards can receive random numbered parallels and rare redemptions for autographs to 5 and a 1-of-1.
Alex Housego showing off his historic Ohtani pull
“In terms of all the athletes that I’ve seen as a sports fan, he stands out by a mile,” Housego said. “So I was like, OK, let me try and get something I can have as a keepsake of his incredible season. I hoped to get something lucky in that Topps NOW® set and keep it for myself.”
At the end of September, Housego received a message from the post office letting him know he had a couple of packages. Housego wasn’t sure what was being delivered and could not pick up the items until the next day. Housego saw the Topps name on the boxes and quickly opened them.
“I hadn’t really ordered a Topps NOW® product before, and I saw there was that special blue pack that came in one of them. I got super excited because this is exactly what I wanted, like a short print. I wanted something as a keepsake, knowing I would be selling everything else. I opened it up and saw what it was.”
Housego received a redemption card that stated: “You are due to receive a Topps NOW® Autograph Card Gold Parallel of Shohei Ohtani.”
“Honestly, I wasn’t super familiar with the checklist,” Housego said. “Usually, when I open a lot of Topps products, gold has been out of 50. I sent a picture to my softball group chat because we all bought cards around the same time with this promo. They’re like, ‘Dude, Alex. This is like a 1-of-1.’ They’re like, ‘You’re messing with us.’”
Housego wasn’t messing around; he pulled the coveted 1-of-1. Ohtani would ultimately sign this card with the inscription “50/50 CLUB 9/19/24” underneath.
Once Housego realized he had hit a monster card, he couldn’t fathom what had happened.
“My body went cold. I was in shock. I was in full shock,” said the 29-year-old. “I knew big cards are out there, but you never see them. Just realizing what happened, I was in genuine shock. It was a life-changing moment.”
Ironically, Housego opened the Topps NOW® package at about 5 p.m. on October 30, and just a few hours later, he watched Ohtani win his first World Series title with the Dodgers’ victory in Game 5. That capped a fantastic day for Housego.
“This was honestly one of the coolest experiences in my life: I pulled the 1/1, and then the Dodgers won the World Series the same night. It was wicked,” Housego said. “Sorry, Blue Jays, but I’m a Dodgers fan now.”
Picking Up His Redemption Card in Person
Not long after the big hit, Housego submitted his redemption to Topps. On December 10, he picked up his card in person from Topps. “Once I realized how special this card was, I knew I was going to come down and pick it up in person,” Housego said. “There was no way I would wait for it to be shipped to me.”
When the card was ready, Housego and his cousin flew from Toronto to the Topps facility to claim his magic pull. “Surreal, six weeks in the making and holding the real thing is special,” Housego said when he was presented with his Ohtani 1/1.
The moment of the big reveal had an even more profound impact on Housego than when he first realized he had pulled the redemption card. “Absolutely beautiful. It’s better, cooler than what I dreamed it would be,” Housego said.
Holding onto His PC
Housego is going to hold onto his PC.
“The timing was crazy,” Housego said. “It couldn’t have come at a better time.”
“It’s crazy to think that could happen,” Housego said. “It’s definitely a piece of history in terms of baseball collectibles. It’s going to hold a really special place. I’m really happy that I was lucky enough to get to have it.”
