30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Logo-less and Lovely

Logos matter.  At least to this collector.  If you read this blog on a regular basis, then I'm sure you know that I've never been shy about my dislike for most logo-less trading cards.  However every now and then, I'll come across a non-MLB licensed product that isn't too bad.  I enjoyed collecting Panini Hometown Heroes a few years ago.  Their Golden Age cards were cool too.

Last March, I wrote a post about the 2015 Leaf Sport Kings buyback autographs that I enjoy picking up whenever they're affordable.  It was then and there that I confessed that I had a change of heart when it came to purchasing logo-less sport cards.

That's why I was pretty excited to see that Sage was going to release a 2018 Sport Kings product.  My main concern was that it was a set being created by Sage, which is a company I've never really been a fan of.  But I figured if they were able to utilize the traditional attractive card design as well as add some decent names to their multi-sport checklist, then I'd give this stuff a shot.


After watching Steel City Collectibles bust a blaster on You Tube in early November, I was interested.  A few weeks later, I saw blasters on Target's website.  In two separate purchases, I grabbed four boxes.

Last week, I opened all four and was very pleased with what I saw.  The base cards are truly gorgeous:


And if you're wondering why there aren't career statistics listed on the back of the cards, it's because the original 1933 Sport Kings didn't either.

As expected, the checklist is filled with legendary sports figures like Walter Payton, Abby Wambach, and Joe Lewis.


Unfortunately since the checklist is only made up of 48 athletes, there were a ton of big names left out.  But that's okay.  Maybe this will become Sage's version of a living set.

Another thing that I love about this product is that there aren't a bunch of inserts and parallels.  It's pretty simple.  There are exactly two variation cardsTy Cobb and Walter Payton.  There's the standard sized base set, the autographs, and relics.  Outside of that, the only other thing to collect are the mini parallels:


It looks like the hobby boxes also have their own special base cards with green text as well as sketch cards that aren't available in blaster boxes.  Thanks Kin for bringing this to my attention.

Each blaster box contains 8 packsSeven of the packs contain four standard sized cards and one mini.  The eighth pack contains your hit.  Here are the four that I pulled out of my boxes:


***That's Mike Boddiker pictured on that Palmer relic.  Thanks to Dion and sg488 for pointing this out.

Normally, I'm all about the hits.  But these are by far the least favorite part about this product.  The other downside was that I wasn't able to complete a base set from the four blasters I opened.  Here's a look at what I still need:


I was able to pull both Ty Cobb cards, but only one of the Walter Paytons.  Plus I need two other cards.

I'm also chasing the mini set as well.  I purchased a large lot of minis on eBay, which helped me narrow down my wantlist to these nine cards:


I know that this might sound a little crazy, but I actually think this was my favorite product of 2018.  It's definitely my favorite logo-less sports card product of 2018.  I'm excited to read what you think.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

16 comments:

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

I seen this at Target and maybe even Walmart, not sure. I only collect baseball so I steered clear, and with my 2019 goals....no ripping recent blasters. The cards do look okay, sort of like Hometown Heroes.

Kin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kin said...

Like you I tend to dislike the logoless sets, with some exceptions. I loved what Leaf did with Sport Kings (and have 20 or so of them) and was looking forward to Sage's SK debut. I actually like what Sage does.

Card funds are down a bit because of the wedding, but I hope to pick some of these up down the road. One thing I don't recall you mentioning is that the retail and hobby versions are different. I believe the back text is a different color and also one version has the trademark, while the other doesn't.

I did get a blaster for Christmas and liked what I got. Knowing going in that you'll get the one hit, I can't complain. Mine was a Tim Brown relic.

Not sure if I will go for the retail or hobby version if I pick up more. There still seem to be a lot of them locally at retail so if they get marked down, that might help make my decision.

-kin
ifeellikeacollectoragain.blogspot.com
beansballcardblog.com

The Lost Collector said...

Hmmm. Never seen these. The base cards look pretty good.

Billy Kingsley said...

That doesn't really look like Buddy Baker at all. I'd probably pick up some if I saw them anyway.

Big Tone said...

The artwork reminds me of Fleer Pro Visions.I wonder If It's the same artist?

P-town Tom said...

The artwork is fantastic and I really like how the silhouetted action poses, just above the name plate, are different for each sport.

acrackedbat said...

You've just introduced me to a Cobb mini that is a must for my collection. What a good design overall. If this were baseball only, I'd be busting away!

SumoMenkoMan said...

They actually have a few sumo wrestlers in the previous sets that I keep meaning to pick up when I find them for a good price. The artwork is decent here and no complaints on the subjects.

Dion's IP Autos only said...

Pretty sure on your hit Jim Palmer Jersey the picture is not Palmer but Mike Boddicker..... hmmmmmm Error corrected or not done on purpose or not.......

sg488 said...

That hit is definitely #52 Mike Boddicker,not Palmer.

Fuji said...

john miller - lol. that's my 2019 goal as well. sure glad i picked these up last year

kin - thanks for pointing it out. i read or heard that hobby was going to be serial numbered to 50 or 100, but i guess they're not just limited to 50 or 100. i'll edit my post as soon as i'm finished with these comments. as for being marked down... i'm pretty sure they will. either that or blowout will come in and offer to buy their entire stock and they'll sell it for a discounted price.

the lost collector - i'm excited to build the set and put it in a binder for easy viewing

billy kingsley - i'm pretty sure i have an extra baker. email me your address and i'll send it your way (lol even if it doesn't look like him).

big tone - lol. they are similar. except there aren't any flaming balls or flying through space.

p-town tom - the silhouetted action poses are one of my favorite parts of the design as well.

julie owens - i'll check my doubles... if i have an extra cobb, it's yours.

sumomenkoman - that's awesome! i can totally see that. i'm pretty sure there's even a fisherman in this product.

dion's ip autos only & sg488 - wow. nice catch. i didn't even bother to look at the picture closely. i'll update this post to reflect it.

GCA said...

Let me know if you have an extra Palmer. The base card - I'll let that relic slide....
I hate it when retail and hobby are different for the same product. They're missing the point.

Bulldog said...

I really like that art. Combined with a stacked chechlist this is a really good looking set. Can't wait until I get a chance to break a blaster. Good stuff .

The Snorting Bull said...

I think my favorite logoless set is the 2014 Panini Hall of Fame set. Lot of autographs, good pictures where the lack of logos does not hit you right away. Sport Kings are nice looking, but I am not sure I would do much with them. Especially since I am trying to cut back on collecting current sets.

Fuji said...

GCA - Yup. I'll send it your way. Can you do me a favor and shoot me an email with your mailing address?

Bulldog - check blowout and steelcity, both offer sales on these blasters.

snorting bull - i hear ya. i'm trying to cut back on retail, but there's no way i'd open the hobby version of this product.