Rickey Loves Relics & Retirement

Back in early April, I received a text message from Greg over at The Collective Mind.  His LCS had recently acquired a huge Rickey Henderson collection and he shared a pair of photos with cards that were available for purchase.

The collection was very impressive and I could have used almost everything in the pictures.  However at the time, I hadn't done my taxes... so I decided to shop conservatively.  I ended up picking two $25 cards:

2010 Topps Sterling Legendary Leather Relic #5LLR-5 (#'d 09/25)

2010 Topps Sterling Stats Relic #SSR-5 (#'d 08/25)

I don't usually spend $25 on relic cards, but these two took me on a trip down memory lane. 

Watching high-end breaks on YouTube in the late-aughts lured me back into the hobby and Topps Sterling was one of my favorite products to watch.  Boxes were usually player or statistically themed and 2010 was the final year of the initial product run.

That year each box cost collectors around $250 and contained only two packs: a mystery pack (with one framed parallel or a cut signature card) and a themed pack (with three base cards and two hits).  In other words it was a high dollar gamble and not a product I would ever consider opening.

On the other hand, I was very excited to add these two game-used jersey cards to my Rickey Henderson PC for about the same price as two 2026 Topps Series 2 value boxes at Target.  I also offered to send him $25 to cover shipping and reward him with a finder's fee, but he insisted on only accepting $10.

As a bonus, he tossed in this Rickey relic card:

2021 Topps Tier One Legends Relic #TTLR-RH (#'d 019/149)

2021 Topps Tier One is another high-end product.  These one pack boxes were also originally $250.  However instead of six cards, you only received three: 2 relic cards and 1 autograph/autographed relic.

In May, Greg sent me a few more Rickey Hendersons.  Two were for my Topps Base Card Run:

1995 Topps #559

2001 Topps Traded #T77

I'm down to these six:

Technically I already own copies of his 1980 and 1981 cards.  However the second year card is part of my 1981 Topps set and the rookies fall into one of three categories:

#1:  Part of my 1980 Topps baseball set

#2:  Graded Rookie Card

#3:  Signed Rookie Card

He also tossed in a pair of 2013 The National promo cards:

2013 Leaf National #N-RH1

It looks like this year's National Sports Collectors Convention will be held in Chicago again.  I'm not going.  In fact, I've never gone.  Not sure I ever will, but never say never.

The final cards in Greg's care package were customs created by his friend Eric (EricD3043 on TCDB):

I'm super jealous of collectors with the ability to create custom cards like these.  

My personal favorites are the 1965, 1978, 1979, 1980, and both of the 1960 customs.  Great job Eric!

Thank you Greg for going out of your way to grab those two high-end Rickey relics... and for giving me a bonus one to boot.  And congratulations on your retirement!  After dedicating the past 22+ years to that school district, you've earned some rest and relaxation.  Hope you get to spend some quality time with your girlfriend, cars, collection, and card room!

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Back in Time

This post is a few months late.  I originally wanted to publish this back in early March when some of us shifted our clocks one hour forward for Daylight Saving Time.  

1989 Topps #70

The contents of this post feature two oddball Oakland A's items from the Junk Wax Era that have one thing in common.  They both keep track of time.

Let's flashback to 2016.  A local sports fan reached out to me and donated a few boxes of newspapers, books, media guides, pins, ticket stubs, cards, and other oddball items.  One of those oddball items was this San Francisco Examiner Dot Racing wristwatch:

According to the paperwork included with this watch, it was part of a special giveaway sponsored by the San Francisco Examiner and the Oakland Athletics:

He even tossed in the newspaper clipping that featured his name in the list of recent winners:

This watch is one of the most unique memorabilia items sitting in my Oakland A's collection.  I couldn't find another one on the internet.  But it's uniqueness isn't the thing that makes it special.  Dot Racing was part of every A's home game at the Coliseum for as long as I can remember and this watch will forever keep those memories fresh in my mind.

Back in December, I added another wristwatch to my Oakland A's collection:

1989 Nelsonic MLB Card Watch

Ryan (@ SumoMenkoMan) sent me this watch in his 2025 Holiday Haiku Advent Calendar.  Here's the haiku clue he wrote for it:

I couldn't find a lot of information on this watch, but I did find a checklist and other interesting facts in a Sport Card Info blog post.

Nelsonic used a similar image from McGwire's 1989 Topps card.  When compared side by side, it's easier to see the the differences:

At first glance, it looked like this was the same at-bat, but McGwire is wearing a black wristband in the watch photo... plus not all of the fans in the background match perfectly.  If I had better detective skills and more time, maybe I could narrow down when and where these pictures were taken.  But I don't.

Regardless... both of these items are fantastic additions to my Oakland A's collection.  Thank you Bruce and Ryan!  And sorry it took so long for me to sit down and hammer out this thank you post.  Time sure flies by.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Seinfeld and Coffee Inspired

Seinfeld is one of my all-time favorite television shows.  Favorite character?

1994 Parker Brothers Picture Pursuit #2A

George Costanza and it's not even close.  Yesterday, Matt over at Cards Over Coffee referenced both in his latest post when he announced that next year will be The Summer of Matt.  Since I'm not teaching this summer, I figured I'd proclaim this The Summer of Fuji.

The idea comes from the Seinfeld episode titled "The Summer of George".  If you're bored and confused, feel free to click here to learn watch some clips.

A big part of my eight weeks away from the classroom involves some short trips, catching up with friends, and lots of rest and relaxation.  However in regards to collecting, I'm working on organizing, sorting, and taking inventory.

Yesterday I spent a few hours digging through some boxes searching for my two largest basketball player collections:  Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.  Most of you prefer baseball over basketball, so I won't show off any of those cards today.

Instead I'll be showing off six baseball cards that Matt sent me last month.  Let's start off with a hall of famer:

2025 Topps Allen & Ginter Wicked Curves #WC-30

During the Oakland Athletics' playoff run from 1972 to 1974, Hunter pitched in 13 games with a 7-1 record and a 2.24 ERA.  Based on this insert, a lot of his success had to do with his wicked curveball.

The A's pitching staff has struggled this season, but one of their young arms is showing his coaches, teammates, and fans that he's reliable coming out of the bullpen:

2026 Topps Gold #273

While discussing struggling players, it's hard not to talk about Brent Rooker:

2025 Topps Chrome Refractor #54

Rooker has been a stud for the Athletics the past three seasons averaging 33 home runs and 90 RBI's.  He's still crushing the ball, but his strikeout rate has soared and his batting average has dipped.  Hopefully he'll figure things out when he returns from IL.

The other fan favorite that's struggling at the plate this season is Lawrence Butler:

2025 Topps Update Stars of the MLB #SMLB-85

The A's don't normally offer up long contract extensions, but they hooked up Butler last year with a fat contract.  His batting stats are low across the board compared to his past two seasons.  And this year he's hitting below the Mendoza Line.

That being said, this insert card finished off my 2025 Topps Update Stars of the MLB set:

Matt also sent me an insert card of the A's brightest young star:

2026 Topps Heritage Raw Power #RP-NK

Nick Kurtz won last year's AL Rookie of the Year Award and after a slow start to his sophomore season, he's showing fans that he's the most reliable bat in the lineup.  As of yesterday, he was leading the AL in walks, runs scored, and RBI's.  He's also been in the Top 10 among AL home run hitters the past two seasons.  Topps got it right.  Kurtz has raw power.

The final card is a pretty pink parallel card of former A's centerfielder:

2026 Topps Heritage Chrome Pink Sparkle Refractor #236

JJ Bleday drove in 2 of the A's 3 runs in their final home game at the Oakland Coliseum.  That's the memory I will always cherish when his name is mentioned.

Thank you Matt for this generous six-pack of A's cardboard.

While digging through my basketball boxes yesterday, I thought of you and decided to show off five New York Knicks cards in honor of them winning this year's NBA Championship.

I know you appreciate 90's inserts as much as I do, so let's start with:

1993-94 Ultra Jam City #4

Patrick Ewing is the Knicks all-time leader in almost every statistical category.  This is the most attractive insert card I could find of his.  Unfortunately my scanner does not do this card any justice.  If you want to see a better image, click here.

As much as I love this insert, this might just be my favorite Knicks card in the collection:

1997-98 Stadium Club Co-Signers #CO-12

I know The Mailman wasn't a New York Knick, but he shares this card with John Starks:

The early 90's Knicks with Ewing, Oakley, Smith, Rivers, and Mason were fun to watch.  My favorite was Mr. Starks.  Who remembers him dunking on the Chicago Bulls in the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals?

Two years before I was born, this guy helped the New York Knicks win their first NBA Championship:

1998-99 UD Century Legends Epic Signatures #WR

Willis Reed played his final NBA game when I was still wearing diapers, so I never saw him play.  Regardless, he's a legend and a hero to Knicks fans for courageously playing in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals with a thigh injury and helping them win their first title.

Here is another 90's Knicks fan favorite:

2012-13 Panini Intrigue Immortalized Autographs #52

Sadly... Mason passed away at the age of 48 back in 2015.  When I heard the news, I wanted to add an autograph of his to my collection.

The final Knicks card I picked out is their current superstar:

2018 Sports Illustrated for Kids #697

I didn't watch the NBA Finals this year (or any other NBA season since the late 2000's, but I definitely heard about Jalen Brunson.  His name was tossed around at school, on the radio, and in highlight videos the entire series.  Pretty sure this is the only card I own of him.

Congratulations again on the Knicks winning it all!  I had fun picking these singles from my collection and reminiscing about basketball and cards.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!