Birthday Card Project

Topps Now isn't for everyone.  I get it.  People should collect stuff they enjoy and enjoy the stuff they collect.

Today I'm celebrating my fifty-third year on the third planet from the sun and I wanted to share a new card project that centers around my birthday and the Topps Now product line.

A few years ago, I started collecting stuff related to my birthday.  It started with magazines and comic books.  Then I started collecting autographs of athletes who share my birthday.  After that I started collecting autographs of guys who hit a home run on the day I was born.

2021 Topps Heritage News Flashbacks #NF-BF

About a year ago, I discovered a card honoring Bobby Fischer's win over Boris Spassky in the "Match of the Century" which took place on my birthday.

This card got me wondering if there were any other cards featuring key events on my birthday... which eventually got me thinking about Topps Now cards over the years.  I started looking at checklists and was surprised at how many Topps has created over the years. As of right now... I'm only targeting one from each year to kick off the project.

Unfortunately they didn't produce a birthday card in 2016 and the representatives for 2017, 2019, and 2022 are waiting to be shipped from COMC.   In the meantime, here are the other years I have already acquired: 

2018 Topps Now #669

This card celebrates Betances who became the first reliever to record 100 or more strikeouts in five consecutive seasons.

Sadly he would only record twenty-nine more strikeouts the rest of his career and that includes the fifteen he had the rest of the way in 2018.

2020 Topps Now #191

Five years ago, Alex Dickerson, Donovan Solano, and Brandon Crawford each drove in six runs for the San Francisco Giants.

This was the first time in MLB history that three teammates collected 6 RBI's each in the same game.

2021 Topps Now #743

Four years ago, Max Scherzer tied Clayton Kershaw for the second most games with 9+ K's and 0 walks in MLB history.

At the time, Randy Johnson held the record with 41 games.  Since then... both pitchers have surpassed him.  Scherzer currently holds the record with 44 games.

2023 Topps Now #800

Two years ago, Aaron Judge hit his 30th home run of the season to become the fastest player in MLB history to reach the 250 home run milestone.

He became the fastest to reach 300 home runs less than a year later on August 14th, 2024.  And back in July, he became the fastest to reach 350 home runs.  This guy is truly amazing.

2024 Topps Now #634

Last year on September 1st, Bobby Witt Jr. became the first Kansas City Royals player to hit 30 home runs in consecutive seasons.

That's pretty surprising considering the franchise has had guys like Bo Jackson, George Brett, and Salvadore Perez playing for them.  By the way, it'll be hard for Witt to extend the streak this season.  That being said the Royals still have twenty-five games left to play.

Well that's my latest card collecting project.  Hopefully something eventful happens today, so Topps will add a card or two for me to chase down over the next 364 days.  If not, there are thirty-three more September 1st Topps Now cards for me to chase.

Happy Labor Day and sayonara!