Snacks, Cards, and more Childhood Memories

This photo (found online) was taken sometime in 1986.  Unless you grew up in South San Jose... it probably doesn't do anything for you.  On the other hand, this photo takes me back to my middle school stomping grounds.

Sunrise Plaza is a strip mall that currently looks like this:

I'll still head over there whenever I'm craving a burrito from Chavez Supermarket or need a sporting good from Dick's.

But back in the mid 80's, it was the home to the UA Cinemas, Nova Arcade, and a local pharmacy.  That's where my friends and I would to buy snacks and packs of cards before watching a movie or hanging out in the arcade.

I hadn't thought about that pharmacy in years.  But a few weeks ago, Gregory over at Nine Pockets wrote a post about some Mario Lemieux cards that originally came with some candy.  One of the questions he asked his readers was if there were any stationary or drug stores with racks of candy in our areas when we were kids.  That immediately made me think of The Pharmacy.

By the time the late 80's rolled around, a card shop called National Pastime opened up in the shopping center.

A few years later the shop moved right down the street from my house.  It's currently a nail salon, but that's a photo of the actual address where the card shop was located.  I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to work at my LCS back then.

Anyways... today I figured I'd share another present from Ryan's advent calendar that is directly related to snacks and cards.

However let's kick things off with a cardboard appetizer involving two Nolan Ryan food issues:

1986 Drake's Big Hitters #33

I don't remember eating any Drake's baked goods, but they seem to similar to Hostess products which I ate all the time as a kid.

1991 Jumbo California Seeds #20

Sunflower seeds were a staple for me and my Little League teammates back in the 80's.  By the time Jumbo was inserting these cards into their packages of seeds, I had hung up my cleats.  But I picked up this card somewhere along the way.

Why am I featuring cards of Nolan Ryan?  Well he celebrated his 79th birthday yesterday and he happens to be one of SumoMenkoMan's favorite baseball players.

Okay... let's get to the advent calendar portion of the post.  Here's the haiku hint that Ryan wrote:

The 25th present in the advent calendar was a large box of rice crackers:

The box contained twenty individually wrapped packages that had a pack of cards attached to each one:

I opened them up, dumped the rice crackers into a bag, and separated the packs from the bags:

There were two different packages available:

Each came with a single pack attached to the back:

Here's a closer look at the front and back of one of those packs:

I cracked open the first five packs.  Each contained one baseball card and an advertisement card.  The baseball cards are made out of acetate or something similar:

Here's a peek at the card backs:

I love that there are so many snacks in Japan that are sold with trading cards.  Personally, I wish we'd see more modern food issues here in North America.

What about you?

Would you be more likely to purchase your favorite snacks if they came with trading cards?

There's no doubt in my mind that I'd seek out more snacks at the grocery store if they came with cards.  Heck... a few years ago I bought a box of cereal mainly because it contained an uncut sheet of MLS cards.

That's it for today.  Thank you Gregory for inspiring this post... and thank you Ryan for providing the snacks and cards.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #180b: The Rest of the Stuff

Here's part two of my De Anza Flea Market haul from earlier in the month.  If you're interested in seeing part one, click here.

This post has been delayed long enough, let's dive into it...

Purchase #3:  Action Packed Football  $15

1990 Action Packed Football Factory Set

I'm not sure why I'm so interested in Action Packed football cards, but I am.  A vendor had this set sitting on his table.  He was asking $10, which I figured was a fair price.

Here's a closer look at the set:

After I told the guy I was interested in the set, he dug out this box of cards:

1989 Action Packed Football

This was the test issue released by Action Packed in 1989.  I actually picked up a pair of factory sets of this product back in August.  This box contains unopened packs of the same cards.  He told me that if I bought the set, I could have this box for $5, so I grabbed that too.

Purchase #4:  One on One Video Game  $10

1987 Electronic Arts One-On-One Basketball (Atari 7800)

I never owned an Atari 7800, but I remember playing this game on the Apple IIe.  Even though I won't be able to play it, I figured it's a cool display piece and the $10 asking price seemed reasonable.

Purchase #5:  A Friendly Purchase  $8

2024 Panini Contenders Rookie Ticket Swatches #RTD-JDS

Outside of some Packers and Seahawks, I don't own a lot of newer football.  That doesn't mean I don't appreciate the sport.  Jayden Daniels had a stellar rookie season last year, so I've been interested in adding a rookie card of his to my collection.

My buddy Tony had this card sitting in his display case, so I bought it.  He's taken care of me over the years, so I don't mind paying him top dollar every now and then to return the favor.

Purchase #6:  A Pair of Bruces  $25

Tony sets up next to Tom who primarily focuses on non-sports stuff.  A few months ago, he was selling these boxes of Bruce Lee cards.  Well he eventually opened a few and had them displayed in his case.

I picked out these two:

2024 Keepsake Bruce Lee 50th Anniversary #228

2024 Keepsake Bruce Lee 50th Anniversary #230

At the time, I thought it was pretty cool to own a pair of cards with swatches of clothing once worn by the legendary martial artist.  Unfortunately these are just swatches from modern keepsakes featuring him.

Had I turned the card over, I would have noticed the yellow Bruce Lee x Vans Half Cabs which I purchased a few years ago myself.  Oh well... at least the money went to a friend.

Purchase #7:  B&W Bo  $1

1990 Score #697

Found a lady with an entire binder filled with Bo Jackson cards.  She wanted $50 for the binder, which I had zero interest in.  But I was interested in this iconic card which she let me have for a buck.  It's not in mint condition, but this is one of those cards I'd love to fill a 9-pocket page with.

Purchase #8:  An 80's Oddball Set  $15

1982 Diamond Classics Set

I found this set sitting in this guy's display case with a $15 price tag.  I wasn't familiar with it, but the set was numbered to 10,000 and loaded with legends.  I discovered that if you're patient you can grab this set on eBay for under $10 shipped.  Guess not all of my flea market finds are winners.

That being said... I'm still happy to add this set and those silly Bruce Lee cards to my collection.

Well that's it for my De Anza Flea Market haul.  I'll be headed back out there in nine days.  

Until then...

I should have one more Flea Market Find post (from my trip to the Branham Flea Market) coming out next week.  Stay tuned.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

A Few Firsts

Woke up this morning and started catching up on this weekend's blog posts.  Greg over at Night Owl Cards wrote about some "personal firsts" which inspired me to get out of bed and hammer out this post.

But since my first response to his "first" topic involves a basketball product, let me first show off this cool Ohtani that he sent recently sent me:

2024 Topps 2023 Greatest Hits #23GH-14

This guy is off to another stellar season at the plate.  Not sure when he'll pitch again, but it sounds like it might be in the second half of the season.  Let's focus on the now and look at Night Owl's first category...

First Blaster Purchased:  1998-99 Upper Deck Basketball

 eBay Image

I have no idea what product had the honor of being my very first blaster box.  Honestly... I'd have to search this blog to tell you my last.  That being said... I do remember going to Walmart with my buddy Mike and grabbing boxes of 1998-99 Upper Deck Basketball.

1998-99 Upper Deck #230d

That's the oldest memory of me going out and purchasing retail/blaster boxes.

First Parallel I Knew:  1975 Topps Minis

Although I have never owned the standard sized version, this 1977 Topps Mini Robin Yount rookie card has been in my collection since the early 80's:

1975 Topps Mini #223

I'm about 90% positive I purchased this in 1982 or 1983.  Is there a chance I learned about the 1984 Topps Tiffany set before this purchase?  Maybe.  But odds are I knew about the 1975 Topps Minis first.

First "Old Card" In My Collection:  1979 Topps Bump Wills

One of my neighbors gave me a shoebox filled with 1979 Topps baseball back in the early 80's.  While my friends and I owned stacks of 1981 Donruss and Topps baseball, I remember thinking how cool it was to own a bunch of these "old" 1979's.

This card stood out:

1979 Topps #369

While I was at the local sports memorabilia store (same store I purchased the Yount at), I learned about this card and his corrected version:

1979 Topps #369

The crazy thing is... I opened packs of 1977 Topps Star Wars, but at the time... the baseball cards felt older.

First Baseball Cards Purchased Through Mail-Order:  1986 Topps Glossy Mail-In

1986 Topps Glossy All-Star #57

This one is a toughie.  I'm 80% sure I sent in some of those special offer cards and ordered one or two of these special Topps mail-in sets.

I might be a year or two off, but I went with 1986 because it's my best guess response.

First Sitcom I Saw:  The Brady Bunch

There are a lot of shows from the 70's that I remember watching with my family.  I definitely watched a lot of Brady Bunch reruns when I was a kid.

1998 DuoCards Happy Days #1

But not exactly sure if that was before or after Happy Days, which we watched on a weekly basis.  Like Greg said in his response... it's "a gray area".

First Big Kid Book I Read:  Forever by Judy Blume

eBay Image

I'm not sure if this counts as a "big kid" book or not, but I remember getting my mom to buy it for me when I was in the 4th or 5th grade.  I remember it was one of those books where one kid at our school read it and word got around that it talked about "sex".  Don't remember the plot, but I definitely remember the cover.

First Cartoon That Freaked Me Out: Not Sure

Heavy Metal (1981) VHS Tape

Can't really think of any cartoons that freaked me out.  I remember watching Heavy Metal and seeing nudity... but I was a teenager when I saw it.  In other words, it didn't freak me out.

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)

I'll modify the topic by replacing cartoon with "kids movie" and go with Gene Wilder and his chocolate factory tour.  That scene when they're on the boat in the tunnel with salamanders and chickens definitely freaked me out as a kid, but I still watched it over and over.

First Championship for a Favorite Team:  1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers

1983-84 BASF #NNO

One of my fondest sports memories involving my dad was watching the NBA Finals in the 80's with him.  He was a Boston Celtics fan... which shaped me into a Los Angeles Lakers fan.  I was pretty devastated when the Celtics beat the Lakers in 7 games in 1984, but that was the year I really started following basketball.  The following season the Lakers beat the Celtics in six.  Good times.

1984 was a big year for me in regards to sports.  While watching the 1984 World Series (or shortly after)... I adopted the San Diego Padres as my National League team.  Unfortunately they lost in five games to the Detroit Tigers.  But I'll never forget rooting for the Brown & Gold.

Night Owl recently sent me some 1984 Star panels featuring one of the key players from that World Series roster:

1984 Star Steve Garvey Panel #1 (#'s 1-3)

1984 Star Steve Garvey Panel #6 (#'s 16-18)

1984 Star Steve Garvey Panel #7 (#'s 19-21)

1984 Star Steve Garvey Panel #8 (#'s 22-24)

1984 Star Steve Garvey Panel #9 (#'s 25-27)

1984 Star Steve Garvey Panel #10 (#'s 28-30)

1984 Star Steve Garvey Panel #11 (#'s 31-33)

1984 Star Steve Garvey Panel #12 (#'s 34-36)

These 8 panels are part of a 12 panel set produced by The Star Company.  I really like the simple design and the color matched borders.

Based on the checklist, the missing panels contain Garvey's Dodgers cards:

I love oddball issues like these.    I'm still deciding if I'll keep these panels intact or separate the cards and get these into the Garvey section of my Padres binder.

Greg also sent me a pair of colorful Padres parallels:

2024 Topps Blue Holofoil #2 (#'d 998/999)

2024 Topps Holiday #50

It's been over a year and I'm still trying to figure out what design is featured on this Soto card.  Regardless... it's shiny and pretty.

Speaking of shine, Greg also sent me some A's parallels for my collection:

2024 Topps Archives Black Foilboard #113

2024 Topps Allen & Ginter Chrome Refractor #35

Soderstrom started off hot this year, but has cooled off the past few weeks.  He still leads the team in home runs, RBI's, and slugging percentage.

2024 Topps Holiday Holiday Tree #H127

Hopefully F-Face Fisher will build a playoff caliber team around the twenty-three year old slugger.  Better yet... I hope he sells the team and the new owner builds a team around him.

Thank you Night Owl for the care package and inspiring this post of "firsts".

Happy Sunday and sayonara!