I've been saving some packs for future A Pack To Be Named Later posts, but last night I couldn't resist temptation and dove head first into the pack stack. It's actually a small shoe box filled with random packs that are either:
A. duplicates for my non-sport wax pack collection
B. oddball packs I find at card shows and flea markets
C. gifts from fellow bloggers
Out of all the packs, I decided to go with some vintage packs. Okay so maybe these aren't exactly what you define as vintage, but all of the packs are at least twenty-four years old and were the oldest I found in the box.
As luck would have it... there's a variety of sports and non-sports issues, so hopefully there's a little something for everyone.
I decided to rip open the packs in reverse chronological order...
1990 Topps Heads Up!
First up... a nice oddball set from the early 90's. Have you ever wanted to stick a blown up cardboard face of your favorite baseball player on your bathroom mirror? If so, this product is for you. I busted a box of this stuff last year, so I knew what to expect. And since the checklist is loaded, I knew I'd probably pull a decent player.
#6 Craig Biggio
Not too shabby. Biggio just missed the HOF cutoff this year... but the lifelong Houston Astro shouldn't have any issues getting in next year.
1986 Topps Garbage Pail Kids (5th Series)
Next up... a pack of our favorite Cabbage Patch doll parodies. If you're into busting old packs, you might want to stay away from 80's GPK. I can't speak for all packs out there, but this pack was severely damaged by the gum.
Most of the cards had this brown residue on one of the edges and all of the cards were warping, which caused some of the stickers to start pulling away from the backing. On the flipside, this pack was like trip down memory lane. I loved collecting these cards back in middle school.
1986 Topps 3-D Baseball Stars
Here's another oversized oddball issue from Topps. And just like the Heads Up! product, they were intended to be hung on something like a poster.
#15 Don Mattingly
However these aren't your everyday posters. These are embossed plastic cards made from the same material vintage Halloween masks from the 80's were made from. It's hard to see, but Mattingly is popping off of the card.
1981 Topps Animal Posters
Try to hold off on giggling. This isn't something I'd normally purchase for my collection. However I found an eBay dealer with a bunch of older packs at reasonable prices, so I took advantage of combined shipping and grabbed them.
#NNO Lioness and Cub
I was secretly hoping to pull the panda poster, so I could hang it up in my classroom. Yeah. I like pandas. Oh well... maybe I'll find a student who loves lions.
1981 Topps Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Photocards
Now this is more my style. I have never liked the Cowboys and after they marched into Seattle last weekend and knocked off the Seahawks... I like them even less.
#13 Cheer Up, Judy!
But I'm okay with their cheerleaders.
Last... but certainly not least is the pack I was looking forward to busting the most.
1975 Topps Wide World of Sports
Although I had no idea this product existed, the show was a childhood staple... as was my obsession with stickers. Combining the two equates to awesome.
#6 Hockey and #14 Skiing
And I couldn't be happier with the two that I pulled. Well... let's rephrase that. I really wanted the Muhammed Ali, but I'm not disappointed with what I got. Hockey rules and skiing is probably the sport I excelled at the most as a child. Plus if there's one thing I remember from watching ABC's Wide World of Sports, it's the skier wiping out in the show's opener.
Well that's all folks!
What are your thoughts? Did any of these products catch your attention?
My next Flashpack Friday post will feature more modern packs, but I'll try to include at least one "vintage" pack.
Happy Friday and sayonara!
19 comments:
I have a few of the heads up things. No Sox in the set though. The 3d Stars weee put out for two years. Have a couple from each year. Tuff to store either product.
Spanning the closet to bring you the constant variety of unopened packs!
The thrill of cheerleaders!
The agony of 30-year-old gum!
The disturbing sight of disembodied heads!
This is Fuji's Wide World Of Packs!
I keep telling myself that I should track down the Mets from the Heads Up and 3-D sets, but then rational though takes over and I say "And what will you DO with them?"
I notice that the Wide World Of Sports package says they're "Giant-Sized Stickers"... How big are they? They ARE pretty cool.
My thoughts?
Well I think the MLB needs cheerleaders.
I'm going to start a pc of Hamburger Pattie
I remember buying a few packs of the Heads Up "cards" in 1990 - I remember getting Tony Gwynn and Dwight Gooden, but I could never figure out what to do with the things.
I know I have the Topps 3D cards of Gary Carter from 1985 and 1986 somewhere - I had them in a shallow shadowbox frame for a while but I lost track of it when it had to come down during a redecorating move. They were bought as singles, though - I never opened any of those packs.
Aside from the Garbage Pail Kids, I wasn't familiar with any of the other sets before I saw your post.
I have some of those Heads Up and 3D cards buried in a box someplace. Or at least I did once. I might have thrown them out during the Great Junk Wax Purge.
Don't worry about putting the Panda up in your room. Put the cheerleaders up, that'll get the middle schoolers attention.
Love the Heads Up cards. I picked up a few of those a couple of years ago. Really cool.
Yeah... I own a set of 85 3D Stars and the 90 Heads UP... and both don't stack well.
I should pay you to write for me ;)
They're big. I wanna say 5x7ish. Gotta figure out what I'm going to stick them to.
They have them in Japan, right? I'm pretty sure the MLB could handle them. I know I'd support them.
It's all yours Matt.
Yeah storage is a pain... which is probably why they never really caught on. I'm a fan of oddballs, so I'm able to overlook the storage issue.
Lol... not sure if my principal would approve. But I like the way you think.
Me too. I busted a box of the stuff last year. Perfect collation... 1 box = 1 set.
I am going through a little life review with the memories they evoke. Thanks for sharing Fuji I had no idea some of these existed.
Don Mattingly looks like he's falling. But a nice card!
I had those very 1981 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders cards/photos when I was a teenager the year they came out. I don't know where they went. It is my goal to obtain them again.
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