Flea Market Finds #184: Sheets, Sets, and a SLU

After over a month away from the local flea market, I made my out to the Branham Flea Market on Saturday for my first haul of 2026.  Not sure if it was the cold weather or the holiday weekend, but there were less vendors than usual.  However I did manage to make a few purchases from a pair of card dealers.

The first one is a regular that I've bought from on numerous occasions.  He's located on the very first row and is usually my first stop of the day.  This time around he had a table filled with uncut sheets.

Purchase #1a:  Uncut Mother's Cookies Sheets  $15

There were some cool oddball sets from the early 90's, but I was mainly drawn to his Mother's Cookies team sets.  He had five different 1985 sets which featured the cards handed out at the stadiums.  I was tempted to buy them all, but I didn't want to blow most of my cash on my first purchase.  So I grabbed my two favorite teams:

1985 Mother's Cookies Oakland A's

1985 Mother's Cookies San Diego Padres

I'm not sure how these uncut sheets were distributed, but I've written about the SGA sets from the 80's and 90's a few times on this blog.  Each year my brother would take me to a handful of Giants and A's games and I'd always try to circle the Mother's Cookies Players Card Day on the calendar.

The guy had the Giants sheet too, but I picked my favorite team over childhood memories.

Purchase #1b:  Hockey Autographs $2

The vendor also brought out a box of oddballs for me to check out and there were two 9-pocket pages with these signed hockey cards.  Not sure how legit these are, the price was right, so I took a chance on them.  I was mainly drawn to the Pavel Bure cards, but there are some other notable names in the lot.

The guy was still setting up, so I told him I'd come back a little later.  On the second row, I found the other card guy.  Remember the guy I bought the 70's Laughlin and 80's Traded sets from last year?  Well before he left for Arkansas, he sold his remaining inventory to this vendor.  I've seen him set up a few times, but his prices were always too high.  This time around he was more reasonable...

Purchase #2a:  1985 Donruss Factory Set $15

His first table was filled with 800ct. boxes filled with cards from the 80's and 90's.  His asking price of $15 for this factory set was reasonable, so I started digging through his stuff.

I opened the set while I was there and noticed that one of the packs had been opened:

I still decided to buy it.  Unfortunately when I got home, I discovered that it was missing the Roger Clemens rookie.  I've added it to my saved eBay searches.  My hopes is to find a clean copy for under $10 delivered.

Next to his sets, he had a bunch of wax boxes with packs that had already been opened.  I found one I was interested in...

Purchase #2b:  1996 Sky Motion Football  $5

As you can see, none of these packs were sealed.  But within the box, there was a nice starter set that included a few big names:

1996 Skybox Sky Motion #SM17

1996 Skybox Sky Motion #SM15

1996 Skybox Sky Motion #SM48

There were 37 different cards for my set build... leaving me needing only 23 singles to complete the set.  I immediately went over to Sportlots and crossed off 16 more:

Considering I have already invested over $25 into this set build, I'm already regretting my decision to build this set.

At least there were two of the Hobby Exclusive Gold parallels included in the box:

1996 Skybox Sky Motion Gold #SM32

1996 Skybox Sky Motion Gold #SM32

These were inserted into every other box and can be quite elusive when seeking specific players.

At the other end of his tables, the vendor had a bunch of knick-knacks including programs, photos, card sheets, and smaller card sets.  I bought a few more items...

Purchase #2c:  1982 Cracker Jack Sheets  $8

1982 Cracker Jack AL Sheet

1982 Cracker Jack NL Sheet

This is a set that I've been looking for on eBay for a few years.  I like the Cracker Jack border paired with the 1978 and 1979 Topps card designs.  Plus each sheet features eight hall of famers.

I didn't want to spend more than $10 for the pair... and thanks to this vendor I didn't have to.

In the same stack as these uncut sheets, I also found this cool Upper Deck SGA sheet from the 90's...

Purchase #2d:  1993 Upper Deck Billy Martin Tribute Sheet  $2

Billy Ball played a big role in my childhood and Oakland A's fanfare, so I'm always looking to add new Billy Martin items to my collection.  Upper Deck made a bunch of these tribute sheets in the 90's.  I have a few sitting in my collection and one of them is framed and hanging up in my office.

But before Saturday, I had never seen this sheet before.  It was passed out on August 15, 1993 at the Oakland Coliseum.  Fans who attended that game were treated to this sheet as well as Kirby Puckett's career day at the plate.  He went 5 for 5 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI's as the Twins destroyed the A's 12 to 5.

Purchase #2e:  1983 Stuart Montreal Expos Set  $5

Among the card sheets, programs, and photos, there were also a few sets I was interested in.  The first one that caught my eye was this Montreal Expos oddball set:

Based on what I found online, Stuart was a company that made snacks in Canada.  Based on a TCDB photo, these appeared to be inserted into boxes of snack cakes back in 1983.

The set features all of the early 80's Expos you're familiar with, including these three hall of famers:

1983 Stuart Montreal Expos #4

1983 Stuart Montreal Expos #8

1983 Stuart Montreal Expos #9

I'm happy to add this to my Montreal Expos PC.  And I'm happy to add the next set to my Green Bay Packers PC...

Purchase #2f:  1997 Playoff Packer Super Sunday Set  $5

When the Packers beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI, it was the first time celebrating a Super Bowl victory.  Sure I had watched and rooted for teams every year leading up to this one, but they were never my own team.  I was very happy to find this set for a reasonable price.

Purchase #3:  Hot Wheels 2020 GR Toyota Supra  $8

After walking around the rest of the flea market, I didn't see any other deals on cards.  But I saw a guy with a bunch of diecast vehicles.  I asked if he had any GR Supras and he started digging through his boxes.  He found this one:

2024 Hot Wheels Green and Gold #3

I've been trying to track down all of the MK5 Supra die cast cars and this is one of the ones I needed.  I normally wouldn't pay this much for a non-premium Hot Wheel, but the guy did take the time to look for it.

Freebie #1:  1992 Tom Seaver Opened Kenner SLU

When I was done walking the entire flea market, I went back to the guy with the Mother's Cookies sheets.  We were talking about cards and stuff when he pulled this out of a box:

He told me I could have it for free, since the packaging was less than pristine.  The poster and figure are pretty cool:

1992 Kenner SLU Figure & Poster #NNO

But this was the thing I was excited about the most:

1992 Kenner SLU #NNO

He started pulling out other items from the box.  I wasn't really interested in any of it, but I felt obligated to buy something since he gave me this SLU.  So I bought this...

Purchase #4:  2016 Panini NFL Sticker Collection Album  $1

Out of the 485 stickers in the set, this album is only missing 16 of them.  I originally planned on tracking them down, but after wasting so much money trying to build that 1996 Skybox SkyMotion set... I'll probably just leave it as it is.

Well that wraps up my first flea market trip of 2026.  Although I wouldn't call any of these purchases "stellar deals", I am pretty excited about the oddball sets and uncut sheets.

Here is today's question of the day...

Do you collect uncut sheets?

If so...

Do you have any personal favorites in your collection?

Although I love these Mother's Cookies and Cracker Jack sheets, my favorite uncut sheets to collect are Sports Illustrated for Kids magazine cards.

Okay... this post has dragged on long enough.  I appreciate those who stuck it out.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

The Bulk Box Keepers

It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon and I'm spending the majority of it on my back in an effort to let my lower back relax and return to normal.  As I promised on Thursday, I wanted to write up a post featuring a bunch of cards that Kevin over at The Diamond King sent me recently.

They were part of a giveaway he held on his blog that featured a bunch of bulky cards he was giving away for the holidays.  The catch?  The only thing he requires is that the winning recipient must send out at least one care package you weren't already planning to send.

Well I had a few care packages planned for this holiday season, but thanks to Kevin... there will be a few more.  I even went out and purchased some cards on eBay for these care packages.  As soon as everything has arrived and packaged up, I'll ship them out.

In the meantime, let's look at the cards I decided to hold onto from The Diamond King's giveaway...

Let's start off with a trio of cards for my team collections:

2022 Donruss Retro 1988 Materials #R88M-HK

This is my very first Ha-Seong Kim memorabilia card.  I was a big fan of his during his four seasons with the San Diego Padres.

2007 UD Masterpieces Captured on Canvas #CC-JK

I'm sure most of you remember Kendall for his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he also spend two and a half seasons with the A's.  If you've never held one of these Captured on Canvas memorabilia cards, they're really nice.

2020 Topps Player Medallions #TPM-MC

Manufactured relics like this commemorative coin can be hit or miss.  I like this particular one, because it's heavy and has the density of a paper weight.

Here are a few more manufactured relics from Kevin's giveaway that I added to my collection:

2022 Topps Update Commemorative Batting Helmet #BH-FF

This was the thickest card in the box... and is right up there with the Chapman in regards to weight.  Even though I'm not a fan of the Dodgers, I'm a big fan of Freeman and this card.

2020 Topps Update 20 Years of the Captain

Commemorative Patch #20YCC-13

Another player I admire pictured on a team I dislike.  What's the saying?  Don't hate the playa.  Hate the team.

2022 Topps All-Star Alumni Commemorative Relics #ASA-HAA

I definitely don't hate the Braves.  In fact, outside of the A's and Giants, I have watched more of their televised games in my lifetime than anyone else.  As for Aaron, he had retired before I became a huge baseball fan.  But I learned about his career and legacy early in my childhood.

Kevin actually sent me two really cool Hank Aaron cards, but one of them will be passed along to a fellow blogger who collects the Braves.

Next up are a pair of thick high-end base cards I'm adding to the collection:

2019 Topps Triple Threads #47

2023 Topps Tribute #23

Topps Triple Threads and Topps Tribute are two products you'll never see me opening up.  It's not because I don't appreciate them.  I think both of these cards are really nice.  I just can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on a box of cards.

2021 Topps Update All-Star Stitches #ASSC-JS

I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is my first Juan Soto memorabilia card.  He's such a dynamic player whose career is off to a stellar start.  It's just a shame that he's played with four teams over the course of the past four seasons.  One day he might be remembered as one of the Mets all-time greats, but for now... I associate him mostly with the Nationals.

Next up, a legendary lady...

2008 Donruss Americana Hollywood Legends Materials #HL-60

I don't think I have ever watched one of Hedy Lamarr's movies, but she's a familiar name and ranked #24 on IMDB's list of the most beautiful actresses of all-time.

The next single I want to share is my personal favorite:

2008 Donruss Americana Sports Legends

Museum Collection Materials #MC-4 (#'d 160/250)

This card instantly reminded me of my father and his love of golf.

Although my dad's favorite golfers were Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, Snead's name also came up whenever we talked about the all-time greats.

The final six thick cards pulled from Kevin's box that were put into the keeper stack were these:

Cronenworth and Tatis Jr. have been added to my Padres PC, while Clemente, Trout, and Johnson are cool cards that I wanted.  The Hafner autograph is a keeper for now.  I read an interesting fact about him recently.  He's the only player in MLB history to hit five grand slams before the all-star break.

I'll wrap up this post of bulk box keepers with the only thin card in the box:

1984 Calbee #95

Back in October, Kevin opened up a pack of 1984 Calbee and pulled this sweet Sachio Kinugasa card.  I had never seen one of these Calbee cards before, but I really like the design which kinda resembles the 1981 Topps baseball.

Kinugasa is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall Of Fame.  His best season was the same year this card was produced.  That year he won the Central League MVP Award.

Kevin was also kind enough to send the original pack wrapper:

Thank you Kevin for sending me this box of bulky cardboard and adding eighteen new cards to my collection.  The rest will be shipped out in care packages, used in a future giveaway, or be added to my box of trade bait that has slowly dwindled in size over the years.

More importantly... thank you for holding these giveaways and inspiring me and others to ship out more care packages during the holiday season.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!