Box Break Bologna: 09/10 Panini Basketball HOF

It's that time of the year... when my students start passing around the yearly flu germs... and this year I caught it. Actually... I don't think it's the flu... but I caught a cold and stayed home from work today.

I'm actually one of those people who love my job, so it kind of stinks to miss work... especially when you have to write up sub plans. Well, what better way to cheer me up... than to bust some boxes.

When I bought the 2008 UD Masterpieces FB case a few weeks ago, I also picked up a couple of other boxes. Two of the boxes were 09/10 Panini Basketball HOF. I was pretty excited about this product because it features 1992 Dream Team memorabilia cards... plus the fact that you get two autographs of HOFer's per box doesn't hurt either.

It took me less than three minutes to bust both boxes, since each box contains only one pack. Each pack is suppose to contain eleven cards... two of which are autographed... and one is a memorabilia card. At least... that's what the box says.

Here's what I got:

Box #1

Base #'d to 599

I pulled six white bordered base card that are each numbered to 599. The overall design is cool... since I'm a fan of plain and simple. I was pretty happy with pulling the Wooden, since I don't own any cards of him. The other cards will added to my basketball tradelist sooner than later.

Black Parallels #'d to 199

Neither of these cards caught my attention. I've heard of Hal Greer, but don't know anything about him. And I have no clue who Buddy Jeannette is. But that's okay... I didn't buy this pack for the parallels or base cards.

Dream Team Black Border #'d to 199

I only pulled one insert out of this box, but it sure was nice. I'm a Lakers fan... so I would have rather pulled a Magic... but I'm still excited about pulling the Bird. Beckett actually lists this card for $30... which is what Bird's Dream Team Game Threads lists for too. I don't know about you... but I'd trade this insert for his jersey card any day of the week. Speaking of jersey cards... here's my one memorabilia card from the box:

Dream Team Game Threads #'d to 875

Simply awesome... I'm so glad I pulled one of these. There isn't a bad name on the checklist... so IMHO I hit the jackpot. Pippen is another example of one of those players I don't like... but definitely respect.

Famed Signatures Redemption Card #4

Another box break... another redemption card. Well... at least this one isn't expired... and it's actually a big Lakers's PC addition. Card #4 in the set is of Elgin Baylor who is a huge Laker legend.

So are you ready to do some math? Count how many cards I pulled from my box. Now count the number of autographs I pulled. If you came up with the numbers: 11 & 1... then you win a pat on the back.

One problem... Panini states on the box that you'll pull two autographs and one memorabilia card per box. This is a bunch of bologna! At least I pulled a nice memorabilia card and an autograph of one of the greatest players in the history of the Lakers franchise.

The second box had the appropriate number of hits... so I promise... no more complaining from this point out. In fact... I'll actually end on a positive note.

Box #2

Base #'d to 599

The second box provided five base cards... one being the inventor of the sport... Mr. James Naismith. The Oscar Robinson isn't too shabby either.

Black Parallels #'d to 199

Bill Russell and Jerry West... I'm all smiles ;-)

Scoring Legends #'d to 399

My lone insert was this Scoring Legends card of Isiah Thomas... I wish it was another Dream Team insert... but I guess beggars can't be choosers. Now for the hits...

Famed Fabrics #'d to 549

I love this card. It features a nice retro looking design with a swatch of The Human Highlight Film's jersey... definitely a PC addition. But it gets better...

Dream Team Game Threads #'d to 1075

I actually beat the odds and pulled a second memorabilia card. Unfortunately that means some poor soul has to go through the headache of contacting Panini about getting an autograph. Oh well... maybe it's Karma... and this is my retribution for only pulling one autograph from the first box. However you want to view it... this card is awesome.

Finally... I present to you my two autographs:

Famed Signatures #'d to 499

This is a great set... sure it has "Famed Signatures" right in the middle of the card... but does it really matter... since it features an on-card autograph? I love it!

Famed Signatures Redemption Card #17

Okay... so maybe I didn't pull two autographs... but one autograph and one autograph redemption card is better than nothing. I have no idea who Tom Gola is... but he's a HOFer... and I'll be glad to slide it into my collection as soon as Panini ships it to me.

I mentioned earlier that I'd end this post on a positive note...

I recently traded for this sweet Greg Maddux card on Sports Card Forum. If you've never seen these cards before, I encourage you to pick one up. Fleer printed the player's picture on a piece of material (not game used) and embedded it into the card. It's one of those ideas that have come and gone over the years.

Anyways... when I received the card in the mail... I noticed that it had been damaged by the post office. The trader had packaged it perfected in a penny sleeve/top loader/team bag which was inserted into a padded envelope... but someone at the post office must have been having a bad day, because they bent the heck out of it... even the top loader was bent. If you look closely at the bottom left corner of the frame, there's a white line. That's one of the creases. There were also two more creases on the back of the card.

To make a long story short... I told the guy on SCF about the damage... but told him that it wasn't his fault... and to not worry about it. The card was going into my Maddux PC anyways, so it didn't make that much of a difference.

Well... that wasn't good enough for him. Today I received these two cards in the mail:

I haven't received permission to use his username on the blog... but I just wanted to share a positive trading card story. Sometimes we (sports card collectors) get so caught up in the negative (like my complaints on expired redemptions... lol) that it's nice to hear a positive story.

This guy had no obligation to send me anything else. He packaged the card perfectly the first time and shipped it in a timely manner. In other words... he completed his end of the deal. But he insisted that he send me something. Well... I sent him a link to this post and if you're reading this... I wanted to let you know that you're one helluva trader and I appreciate the two cards. They'll fit perfectly into my A's PC.

Anyone else out there have a positive sports card story to share? C'mon... let's hear it!

Well... time to take another shot of Nyquil... my head feels like it's about to explode. Have a great week everyone! Sayonara!