This weekend I had the chance to watch Hillbilly Elegy on Netflix and it definitely held my attention. I tend to enjoy movies based on true stories and this one was no exception. Don't worry... this won't be a movie review post. I just wanted to point out one scene where the main character and his mother head to a card shop in Ohio back in the 90's.
I paused it a few times to get a better look at some of the collectibles in the shop. Ron Howard did a good job of hiring people to recreate an authentic card shop, because it had everything from Becketts to factory sets (1989 Bowman, 1990 Donruss, 1992 Topps baseball, etc) to Kenner SLU's.
The boy was interested in some Joe Montana cards... which reminded me of Gavin and one of his mini collections: Baseball Cards in Movies and TV. I noticed he let Garbage Pail Kids and a football card from King of the Hill, so I'm sure Joe Montana would fit into the collection as well.
Speaking of Gavin, on Saturday he wrote about a mystery Tony Gwynn card that Jim from cards as i see them sent him.
Jim also hooked me up with a copy for my collection:
There is no printing on the back and it's much thinner than your standard Chrome or Finest card.
Imagine if you took a Finest card from the 90's and separated the chromium part from the cardboard. That's kind of what we have here.
1995 Topps Finest Bronze (COMC Image)
The image and design itself comes from the 1995 Topps Finest Bronze set which could be purchased directly from Topps. I don't have a copy of this card in my collection, because they don't pop up in dollar bins very often.
Jim also included a few other cards in the PWE he sent...
2020 Stadium Club #124
If you follow my blog or read the comments I've left on other card blogs, then my love for 2020 Stadium Club is not a mystery. If I could only add one 2020 set to my collection, this would be it.
He also included this Hirano:
2020 Topps Update #U-167
This is my first taste of 2020 Topps Update and my first card of Hirano featuring him with the Mariners.
My second 2020 Topps Update card is this Ichiro:
2020 Topps Update #U-121
2015 Gypsy Queen White Framed #32
2015 Gypsy Queen White Framed #43
2015 Gypsy Queen White Framed #52
Thank you Jim for the care package. I love the mystery behind the Gwynn. As for Topps flipping the backs on Update cards... that's just weird. But don't worry... I have provided Ichiro a comfortable home in my collection. It's called unconditional love.
Have you watched Hillbilly Elegy? Did you like it?
Any card mysteries you've encountered recently?
Throw them down in the comment section below and maybe we can help solve it.
Happy Monday and sayonara!
December 7th, 1941
A date which will live in infamy. A date that impacted the lives of millions around the world. And a date that hit close to home as both of my parents were living on Oahu when the Japanese attacked. They could hear the explosions that Sunday morning. Never forget.
18 comments:
I've heard about Hillbilly Elegy but haven't seen it yet. I might have to check it out. Always nice to see card shops get some screen time :)
Never heard of Hillbilly Elegy but I was curious where they filmed the baseball card store. It's 3003 Vineville Avenue in Macon, GA. Most recently a Subway sandwich location. https://www.atlasofwonders.com/2020/11/where-was-hillbilly-elegy-filmed.html
I haven't seen it.
I have a mystery Mike Evans, but I don't know which box it's in. I'll have to look for it. It's similar to the Leaf draft cards, but the number doesn't match.
No but I have seen the great reviews on FOX. :). Topps did have some Finest blank backs in 1995'
My mother was telling me yesterday about her Pearl Harbor memories as a six-year-old. Lots of time crowding around the radio for any news. We are running out of people who can share those memories. I would loved to have heard recollections from someone who was actually in Hawaii.
Haven't seen it either. Worth watching? Other than the card shop, of course.
Haven't even heard of the film. My mystery is kind of boring. But I discovered I had two 1990 John Kruk OPC's and not a Topps base. But I've ordered one so that's all good.
Haven't watched anything ever with Hillbilly in the title. Well ok, the Beverly Hillbillies, but that's it! Hard to fathom living through any part of WW2 but for your parents to experience the bombing - must have been chilling to them. We need to cherish the stories our elders can share with us before it's too late and their histories are lost to time.
I watched it and I liked it quite a bit. I knew nothing of it going in other than it was trending so I watched. I found the scene with the grandmother trying to feed her grandson very moving.
My mom tried to get me to read the "Hillbilly Elegy" book since a lot of it takes place in Middletown, Ohio (which I live just outside of) but I never did. Parts of that movie were actually filmed in Middletown, some of it on the block where my dad used to live when I was kid (200 Harrison St). The grocery store, Dillman's, was an actual store with several locations in the city (University Ave, Roosevelt Ave, and Central). The University and Roosevelt stores were taken over by Save-A-Lot and the Central location, while still standing, is now a Dollar General.
Anyway, enough Middletown history. It's crazy that your parents were in Oahu on the day of Pearl Harbor. I didn't even realize that next year will be the 80th anniversary of that. Wow.
Hope things are well in your neck of the woods Fuji!
I have not seen Hillbilly Elegy, but now I am intrigued. Did you parents ever talk about that day or was it too painful to relive? Crazy and glad they survived! No new mysteries for me that I can think of. Cheers buddy!
we did watch hillbilly elegy, and i was happy to see a scene in a card shop.
sorry i don't have any more info on the gwynn card. i received 3 of them in the mail as bonus cards in an ebay purchase, and i sent the third one to Rod.
I was recently going through some cards and was reminded that 1999 topps flagship also had some flipped backs. i had forgotten but i am sure that i noticed it and was annoyed by it back then as well.
Finally, I hope that your parents were not treated poorly as were other Japanese-Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Yes,no and none.
Tcdb lists those blank back cards as parallels https://www.tcdb.com/Checklist.cfm/sid/175619
I only have maybe a dozen or so cards of Tony Gwynn, so it's hard to believe that one of them is one that you don't own. I got the Bronze Gwynn off of Listia some years ago for the equivalent of like five bucks in credits (probably a lot more these days).
chris - outside of this one documentary on netflix... i can't even think of another movie where a card shop makes a cameo. but it's mid week and it's approaching my bedtime
bo - that's some awesome detective work. thanks for sharing the link.
elliptical man - hope you find it and write a post on it one day
johnnys trading spot - i've heard mixed reviews... but i liked it. as for blank backs... this isn't your average blank back, bc this card wasn't inserted into a pack. the bronze card is like a medallion and i'm pretty sure it's smaller than this "proof"
runforekelloggs - i wrote about my mom and dad's experiences last year: https://sanjosefuji.blogspot.com/2019/12/day-of-infamy.html
the diamond king - i liked the movie, but i've heard mixed reviews. i think it's one of those movies where you figure out if you're into it within 15 minutes
peter k steinberg - that's a cool mystery. i'd always rather have 2 opc... since it's probably easier finding a topps card here in the states
a cracked bat - yeah... i was just talking to my co-worker about how it won't be long before all of the people who were there for the war are gone. that's why i'm glad i asked my mom about that experience before she passed away.
the lost collector - someone had mentioned it to me and then i saw it on netflix's 10 ten list.
adam - that's pretty cool that you live in that area. has it changed a lot? i actually think my parents and grandparents were lucky that they lived in hawaii. had they lived on the mainland, they would have been interned.
sumomenkoman - there are some stories my dad doesn't like to talk about, but pearl harbor wasn't one of them. both of my parents have talked about that day on numerous occasions. a few years ago, i sat down and made sure to take notes. i wrote about it last year
gcrl - i appreciate adding any new card to my gwynn collection. i think there were a lot of japanese-americans living on the islands at the times, so i don't think they were mistreated. the only thing that stands out is the military visited my mom's home and confiscated anything that looked like it related to imperial japan.
sg488 - yeah... i've heard from people who liked it... and people who didn't.
jongudmund - i think that tcdb has that wrong. i'm not 100% sure, but i'd be willing to bet that these were not found in packs of 1995 finest. then again... i'm not an expert
jon - nice pick up. i'd pay $5 to add it to my collection. i've actually been looking for the complete set for a few years now.
Fuji -- to be honest the area hasn't really changed all that much, aside from the fact the city feels very dead. it used to be kinda vibrant but when the local steelworkers union got locked out for over a year in the mid 2000s, that pretty much killed the city and it hasn't recovered since. my grandparent's old neighborhood though, well ... it's definitely not how it used to be. i don't go through there anymore because i don't want to see what its become. i want to remember it the way it was.
Adam - Oh man. Sorry to hear about that. It's never good to hear about an entire city struggling. I totally understand wanting to remember things the way it was. Sometimes that even replies to our hobby.
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