Cllct continues its dual autos week, compiling the best potential dual autograph cards we could dream up for the hobby.
Today's theme is couples.
OTHER EDITIONS OF THE DUAL AUTOS SERIES:
- Parental edition: Griffeys, Earnhardts, Rodmans, more
- Rival edition: Ali-Frazier, Harding-Kerrigan and other enemies
- Sibling edition: Manning brothers, Williams sisters and more
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
Is there a more popular couple in the world right now? Doubtful.
Swift was the story of the NFL season. Games she attended became must-watch television for young audiences around the country. And celebrities followed. During any given Chiefs game you could see Hugh Jackman, or Blake Lively, or Ryan Reynolds, or Sophie Turner or all of the above sitting beside the music superstar.
Per “The New York Times”, when Swift attended a Chiefs game, networks averaged 9% more viewers in the late Sunday time slots and 15% more viewers in the early Sunday time slots. Overall last season, viewership was up 7% around the league.
Her Eras Tour is now the highest-grossing tour of all time, becoming the first tour to ever generate more than $1 billion.
She is quite literally impacting the national economy in whatever country she visits. And Kelce is along for the ride, making guest appearances now at her shows.
And winning a third Super Bowl this past season didn’t hurt as well.
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio
Monroe was, and continues to be, an eternal symbol of style and beauty. During the 1950s, she was arguably the most famous woman in the world.
DiMaggio was one of the greatest baseball players ever, winning three MVP awards, despite missing three years of his prime due to military service. His 56-game hit streak has stood since 1941 and might never be broken.
The pair’s marriage was brief, lasting just nine months. But there was an everlasting affection between the former couple. Monroe died seven years after their divorce, yet DiMaggio arranged the funeral and sent fresh roses to her grave twice per week for 20 years.
What is most notable for this fantasy card, after Monroe’s death DiMaggio famously did not sign anything she had previously signed, making this card all the more valuable.
Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird
Let’s just get the accolades out of the way.
Rapinoe:
- Two-time World Cup champion
- One Olympic gold medal
- Ballon d’Or Féminin winner
Bird:
- Four-time WNBA champion
- 13-time WNBA All-Star
- Five Olympic gold medals
They’re both Hall of Famers in their individual sports, and would be on this list on accolades alone. But what makes them so important as a couple in the sports community is the impact they’ve had on both the growth of women’s sports and serving as pallbearers for LGBTQ+ rights and equality both in and outside of sports.
Rapinoe led the charge in soccer for equal pay between USMNT and USWNT, protested in support of Black Lives Matter and earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Bird has fought the same battle over the wealth gap in the NBA vs. the WNBA and is a founder of TOGETHXR, which creates films spotlighting female athletes. Their on-court/on-field success is tremendous, but rightfully lives in the shadow of what they’ve done in the community.
Victoria and David Beckham
It’s about time we got to Posh and Becks! It’s very rare when an athlete is part of the world’s most famous celebrity couple. Travis Kelce is going through that right now with Taylor Swift.
But the late ‘90s belonged to the Beckhams.
David helped lead Manchester United during its most prosperous era in team history and truly was one of the first “celebrity athletes”, where his efforts on the pitch were dwarfed by his celebrity status.
Meanwhile, Victoria was headlining stadiums around the world with the Spice Girls.
Take into account the power of British tabloids in the late 1990s and early 2000s and you have a couple phenomenon, both for good and evil, and the Beckhams were at its epicenter.
Mia Hamm & Nomar Garciappara
This pair often feels like the forgotten athlete couple because they simply aren’t in the limelight, especially in the age of social media. But their relationship was a conjoining of two of the best athletes in the world.
Many still recognize Hamm as both the greatest and most influential women’s soccer player in history. She began playing for USWNT at just 15 years old, and still remains the all-time leader in assists and remains top three in goals and international caps. She won two Olympic gold medals, two World Cups and twice was named FIFA World Player of the Year.
She graced the cover of Wheaties, starred in a Gatorade commercial with Michael Jordan and had her own video game, “Mia Hamm Soccer 64” (the first video game to feature only female athletes).
Garciappara ... he was pretty good, too. The shortstop was a six-time MLB All-Star, two-time batting champion and if it weren’t for a debilitating wrist injury, would likely be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, though he was inducted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
Nonetheless, what often feels like the forgotten athlete celebrity couple, is actually one of the most dominant ones.
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct.