When collectors think of the 1990-91 Hoops Basketball set, the Mark Jackson card with the Menendez brothers sitting courtside usually comes to mind first. That same release also gave collectors another oddity: the Sam Vincent No. 223 card featuring a cameo from Michael Jordan, who was wearing an unfamiliar jersey.
While Vincent was a respected NBA guard who played seven seasons with Boston, Seattle, Chicago and Orlando, his card is best known for capturing Jordan in a No. 12 Bulls jersey rather than his iconic No. 23.
The photo was taken on Feb. 14, 1990, when the Chicago Bulls faced off against the Magic in Orlando. Jordan’s No. 23 jersey was stolen from the Bulls’ locker room before the game. As unthinkable as it is today, Chicago didn’t have a spare No. 23 jersey on hand.
“I know when MJ found out his jersey was missing, he was very upset and did not want to wear a different jersey,” then Magic equipment manager and director of team operations Rodney “Sid” Powell told Yahoo Sports in 2020.
The Bulls reportedly tried to find a fan in the stands wearing a Jordan jersey that Jordan himself could borrow for the night, but none were big enough. So he had to wear an emergency No. 12 uniform with no name on the back. Despite the disruption to his pre-game routine, Jordan went on to score a game-high 49 points as the Bulls lost to Orlando 135-129 in overtime.
What happened to the missing jersey?
Powell said that days later, someone spotted a ceiling tile that was ajar in the visitors’ locker room. Upon closer inspection, the jersey was found hidden behind it.
“In the end, it was proven that the jersey was taken by a member of the arena security personnel with the intent to keep,” Powell said. “The security member tried to come through the ceiling after the gameday shootaround in the morning. They were successful in getting to the jersey and must have planned on leaving the jersey in the ceiling for a while to come and retrieve at a later date.”
Powell said the jersey was then sent back to the Bulls, but according to Yahoo, Bulls officials said they didn’t remember the team receiving it.
Mitchell and Ness went on to sell reproductions of Jordan’s nameless No. 12 jersey for $300 each. Upper Deck sells versions of that jersey autographed by Jordan for $15,000 alongside his No. 23 and No. 45 jerseys.
Feb. 14, 1990, was the only night Jordan wore No. 12 in his career. Photo: RVR Photos-Imagn Images
Following the Vincent card’s appearance in 1990-91 Series One packs, Hoops opted to produce a different version of the card that was later issued in the Series Two release. The second version uses a completely different photo of Vincent dribbling, with Jordan no longer appearing in the image. Collectors searching for the original version will notice that many eBay sellers title the listing with an “a” after the #233 card number, while the revised variation is typically labeled “#233b.”
Even though the Jordan cameo card was only included in Series One, it was produced in large quantities because it was released during the “Junk Wax Era” — a period in the late ’80s and early ’90s when card manufacturers flooded the market with new products and inflated print runs. As a result, PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) has graded close to 7,000 copies of the card, with around 640 earning PSA 10 grades.
Ungraded copies of the card sell for as low as $2. Graded Mint 9 examples are currently selling for about $30, while PSA 10s tend to land around $200. Before 2020 and the resurgence of the entire sports market that drove the value of the card above $500 in 2021, PSA 10s were worth a whopping $20.
It’s not the only basketball card to feature Jordan in the No. 12 jersey, though. In 1999, Upper Deck produced a Jordan tribute set that also included a card with a photo from that night.
Despite its modest price point, the Sam Vincent #223 1990-91 Hoops card remains a fun bit of basketball collecting lore and preserves a bizarre incident from Jordan’s career.
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