30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

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Saturday, July 28, 2012

The chosen ones...

The Dimwit asked... 

 Which is your all time favorite product in each sport you collect?

This was a very difficult question to answer, since I collect a variety of things and love them all. But I'm sure that's not the response he's looking for. So after 30 minutes of deliberation, here's what I came up with:

Baseball: 1983 Topps


1956 Topps baseball is my favorite baseball card design... but unfortunately... I don't have the funds to actively collect it. So my favorite set to collect would have to be the 1983 Topps set. I like the dual photo design and the fact that it holds my favorite player's rookie card.


Basketball: 2008/09 Topps Signature Autographs

A lot of people aren't big fans of sticker autographs and I'm one of those people. But I truly enjoyed the challenge of building this set. The 85 card checklist has a balance of both rookies (Derrick Rose), veterans (Dwight Howard), old timers (Spud Webb), and legends (Bill Russell). And since Topps used this product to dump their basketball stickers before losing their license, there was a wide range in production numbers: from J.J. Hickson (only 125 copies) to Nick Young & Yi Jianlian (6,225 copies each).


Football: 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces

I'm a huge fan of Upper Deck Masterpieces in general. Any sport... period. But I just so happened to bust a case of this awesome product and speaking from a collector who rarely busts new products, I will say this... I have zero regrets. UD Masterpieces features a simple design, painted portraits, and a great checklist.


Hockey: 1997/98 Zenith Dare to Tear

Are you a fan of gimmicks?  If so, this was the product for you.  Pinnacle forced the collector to make a decision: keep the 5"x7" card intact or tear it open to reveal the regular issue card. Fifteen years ago, I busted a ton of this product and built both sets.

Now before I go too far, I'd like to publish this disclaimer: My selections were made off the top of my head.  Did I put some thought into it?  Of course.  But I'm getting old and my memory isn't as good as it used to be.  I've collected for over thirty years and I'm sure there are a ton of other sets I love to collect. So I reserve the right to swap some of these sets out if something else comes to mind.

So while I'm weighing my options over the next two to three decades... let's go ahead and see yours.

What are your all-time favorite products to collect in each sport?

1 Point - Leave your response below.
2 Points - If you've already written about this on your blog, then leave a link below.
3 to 5 Points - Write your response in a new blog post, then leave a link below.

I'll accept responses until tomorrow (Sunday) at 3pm (PST). I look forward to reading your responses.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

at

43 comments:

  1. Section 36July 28, 2012 at 4:33 PM

    Since I only collect one sport, I only have to give one answer. Baseball's 1975 Topps set. It's the best. It's the only set I'm trying to complete. It simply has it all. The list of Hall of Famers is incredible, from Aaron to Yount. It has the old school four-player rookie cards. It has the MVP subset to include Mays and Mantle. It's just solid all through the set.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:23 PM

      I'm a huge fan of this set... maybe one day I'll attempt to build it.

      Delete
  2. NickJuly 28, 2012 at 4:41 PM

    While I've dabbled in other sports in the past, the only sport I'm currently collecting is baseball.

    My all-time favorite baseball set is 1965 Topps. Whenever I think of a baseball card, my mind goes to the '65 Topps set. The pennant with the team name, the colorful borders, the gigantic rookie cup. All of it just screams "baseball card" to me.

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:25 PM

      Yeah... love the design... especially the pennant.

      Delete
  3. BA BennyJuly 28, 2012 at 5:16 PM

    I do mostly baseball when it comes to set collecting and I would have to say is my favorite set to collect is one I haven't begun to yet but do plan to. The 1975 Topps set is one of my favorites and one I had most of as a kid but alas, my mother tossed all my cards and it was gone. I loved it back then and still do so I will chase it once again in the future.
    The only football set I have done is last years Legends of the Gridiron and I like it a lot. I am close to finishing it so maybe I will pick another set to chase.

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:27 PM

      Bummer... can't imagine my mom throwing out my collection. I store half of my collection in their garage. I can only imagine how I'd feel if I went there and they dumped it all.

      Delete
  4. JafroniusJuly 28, 2012 at 5:24 PM

    For baseball, it's 1987 Topps, as it's the first set I started collecting. The wood borders with the logo at the top left and the slightly wierd lettering they used got my brother and I hooked. I would imagine that if I started buying packs in 1986 or 1988, I wouldn't have been as impressed and maybe I would have stopped collecting.

    For basketball, I think it would be 1991-92 Upper Deck. Hmm, that's the wood floor design, must be a sucker for light brown borders. Since the Bulls won their first title the prior year, this was the perfect set to start following basketball closely with.

    I buy less football and even less hockey, so I have no comment for them.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:30 PM

      1987 Topps was the first product I ever purchased in bulk... I remember sitting there on my family room floor busting boxes of that stuff & sorting out Mike Greenwell, Pete Incaviglia, and Ruben Sierra. LOL... good times.

      Delete
  5. SpankeeJuly 28, 2012 at 5:40 PM

    Baseball: 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter - A&G is my favorite line, so naturally the first run is my fave.

    Football: I think 2011 Score is an awesome base set, but I have to go with Masterpieces as well.

    Basketball: 1989-90 Fleer - It was the oldest thing I could afford as a kid. I still love the design.

    Hockey: No thanks.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:31 PM

      I've always wanted to buy or build a A&G set... one of these days I'll get around to it.

      Delete
  6. SpastikMoossJuly 28, 2012 at 5:42 PM

    Tough. In baseball and football it's sort of a tie between 1995 Topps and 1997 Fleer Metal Universe.

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:31 PM

      Thumbs up for the Fleer Metal Universe vote!

      Delete
  7. night owlJuly 28, 2012 at 6:10 PM

    I don't think anyone wants to read me write about the 1975 Topps set again, so here are my picks in comment form:

    Baseball: 1975 Topps. The best set ever made in any sport or any pastime that the world has ever known. Period. End of story. Resistance is futile.

    Football: 1977 Topps. Love that set. No logos and all.

    Hockey: No idea. Haven't collected enough.

    Basketball: Who cares?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:33 PM

      Love your passion for the 1975 set. If money wasn't an object, I'd probably feel the same way towards the 1956 Topps set.

      Delete
  8. WilsonJuly 28, 2012 at 8:05 PM

    The only one I really have a favorite for is baseball, and that's 1997 Studio. But, I managed to make a rational pick for the other sports too.

    http://tenetsofwilson.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-favorite-sets.html

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:46 PM

      Great post. I love the 90's Game Day sets and the 1997 Studio 8x10's. Thanks for sharing.

      Delete
  9. The Lost CollectorJuly 29, 2012 at 4:01 AM

    Hmmm. Good question.

    Baseball I'd say 1968 Topps Game. Cool cards, great checklist, reasonable prices even today.

    Basketball I'll go with 1995-96 Ultra. I got a box for Christmas and remember the set well. The Gold Medallions we're so pretty.

    Football I'll go with any Collector's Choice product that had You Crash The Game. I loved watching to see if the player on my card scored a TD that week.

    Hockey - never collected, so I'll replace with racing and say 1991 Maxx.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:49 PM

      I have a few of those 68 Topps Game cards and you're 100% right. It's amazing that they're so affordable.

      I also like your You Crash The Game selection... did you ever win?

      Delete
  10. DawgbonesJuly 29, 2012 at 5:53 AM

    Don't collect the following:
    Hockey: our local Admirals kicked ass and took all the names last season!

    Football: that annoying time between baseball seasons when sunday night T.V. gets screwed up!

    Basketball: Yeah, right!

    Tennis: see Spankee, My Cardboard Mistress...

    Wrestling: entertainment, not sports, and I actually got suckered into two mystery packs of this last year (side note, mis-typed entertainment, and these, edutainment, infotainment, came up as the only suggested replacements!)

    as for what I do collect, give this a little look-see:
    http://dawgbonesaphilliesphan.blogspot.com/2012/07/what-are-your-all-time-favorite.html

    though I did not pick a year for any of them.
    Thanks again for the contest Fuji, it has been a blast again this year!
    Dawgbones

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:54 PM

      Great post... congratulations on hitting it big with the Howard W. autograph.

      Delete
  11. Dion's IP Autos onlyJuly 29, 2012 at 5:55 AM

    As for a set it's the Topps 1975 set which I've had a complete set for quite a while now as for something I'm currently collecting it would be not one set but it would be signed certified company cards across all product lines. Thanks dimwit & Fuji good question.

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:55 PM

      1975 Topps is awesome... you're lucky to own a complete set.

      Delete
  12. Zippy ZappyJuly 29, 2012 at 7:54 AM

    At this point I guess I'm a "one & done guy" as far as the contest is concerned but I love these topics so I'll still drop a comment (is that okay?).

    *Baseball: Topps 2011
    After nearly half a decade away from U.S. soil, I found something that I had considered long since taken away from me. MLB, in the form of a pack of 2011 Topps Series 2. I didn't know who over half of the players I pulled were, but I caught up pretty quickly and I haven't looked back since. The design was slick and the fact that Topps was doing a bunch of promotions for their 60th anniversery only added more fuel to the fire.
    ATM 2012 Allen & Ginter is pretty close though since I've dished out quite a lot more than I usually do for cards in hopes of completing this set (if I do it'll be the first set I've ever completed, never had the patience to go beyond one hobby box lol).

    *Football - 2009 Upper Deck Rookie Premiere
    Some might consider this boring since it's just the same 30 cards in every box with a 1 in 24 chance that I'd get an auto (which I didn't), but for $10 (technically 1000 yen) and a gauranteed Mark Sanchez RC in the 30 cards I just had to have it (the only card shops in the U.S. I have ties to are located in New York where you can't get any Sanchez cards for just $10).

    *Basketball - None
    Not a basketball person sorry. I have a friend who collects basketball cards though (pulled a Michael Jordan relic once).

    *Hockey - None
    Not a hockey person either. I have another friend who used to collect hockey cards though. The other day we went to a card shop and he only bought 2 packs but pulled 1 jersey card from each (meanwhile I pulled a Harper lol).

    *Soccer - None
    Not a soccer person. I have another friend (different from the first 2) who collects soccer cards though. Sorta, the cards he collects are used for a soccer themed arcade game (Winning Eleven I think).

    *Idols - Yumi Sugimoto Produce 2010 Set
    Not a sport I know, but Google Image search Yumi Sugimoto and you'll know why I brought this up in a topic about favorite card sets :).

    ReplyDelete
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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 4:58 PM

      Where can I find a Yumi Sugimoto card? She's hot!

      As for the contest... you're still in it. For every 5 points you earn you get one entry into random.org, so you're golden.

      Best of luck!

      Delete
    2. Zippy ZappyJuly 29, 2012 at 8:28 PM

      I'll be happy to trade some extra ones I have lol.

      And thanks :).

      Delete
    3. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 9:08 PM

      What kind of product do these cards come from? Is it a Yumi specific set or are there other hot Japanese girls?

      Delete
    4. Zippy ZappyJuly 30, 2012 at 2:36 AM

      It's a Yumi specific set.

      Delete
    5. FujiJuly 30, 2012 at 7:25 AM

      Thanks... just looked on ebay. They even have relic cards of her, but they seem sort of pricey for a hot girl I've never heard of.

      Delete
    6. Zippy ZappyJuly 30, 2012 at 8:01 PM

      Yeah eBay is not the best place to buy japanese cards from. Holla at me if you wanna work out a trade. If necessary I could bring Ryan into the picture if you prefer trading with him.

      Delete
  13. Greg ZakwinJuly 29, 2012 at 9:46 AM

    My many, many answers:

    http://plaschkethysweaterisargyle.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-favorite-products-to-collect-theyre.html

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 5:06 PM

      Great post... you've got some amazing A&G cards. Glad you showed The Big Bang Theory some love too.

      Delete
  14. Play at the PlateJuly 29, 2012 at 10:12 AM

    My current choice...

    http://playattheplatedude.blogspot.com/2012/07/i-can-only-have-one.html

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 5:10 PM

      Huge fan of the 1956 set. I wish you the best of luck, when you decide to start building this set.

      Delete
  15. Baseball NutJuly 29, 2012 at 11:32 AM

    Honestly, this is like picking a favorite child. So I'm going to go with the products that have provided me some of my favorite recent cards.

    Baseball - 2011 Topps Tribute - Pulled some great cards from this product, but non better than a Hank Aaron Triple relic/auto
    http://booboosue.blogspot.com/2011/04/2011-topps-tribute-baseball-cards-all.html

    Basketball - 2010 11 Panini Gold Standard - Another great product. Pulled some great cards including a Twenty Four Karat Kobe Bryant On-Card Autograoh.
    http://booboosue.blogspot.com/2011/08/2010-11-panini-gold-standard-basketball.html

    Hockey - 2010 11 Panini Playoff Contenders - The Steven Stamkos Auto I pulled from that box was sweet. http://booboosue.blogspot.com/2011/06/2010-11-playoff-contenders-hockey-nhl.html

    NASCAR - 2012 Press Pass RedLine is a tremendous set of cards. Pulled a Sheet Metal/Autograph of Trevor Bayne.
    http://booboosue.blogspot.com/2012/07/2012-press-pass-redline-nascar-racing.html

    UFC/Wrestling/MMA - I certainly hit bigger with other products, but 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth cards were some of the best looking and most complete collection of cards Topps has done.
    http://booboosue.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-topps-ufc-moment-of-truth-box.html

    Mixed Sports - I am an Olympics junkie so my pick, 2012 Topps US Olympic Team is a no-brainer. It is a tremendous set of cards with some awesome hits. Love my Jackie Joyner-Kersee Auto.
    http://booboosue.blogspot.com/2012/06/2012-topps-us-olympic-team-box-break.html

    Entertainment - 2012 Rittenhouse Archives James Bond 50th Anniversary Trading Cards are chock full of goodness. If you are a Bond fan, these cards are tremendous, covering every character/actor and movie in the series.
    http://booboosue.blogspot.com/2012/07/2012-rittenhouse-archives-james-bond.html

    Fun cards - I haven't opened any Mars Attacks yet, so I'm going with 2011 Topps American Pie. These cards are more entertaining and informative than any history class I've taken (sorry Fuji, that is not a knock against all teachers) These cards highlight the intangibles that form our culture and make us tick. They also had some really fun hits.
    http://booboosue.blogspot.com/2012/01/2011-topps-american-pie-trading-cards.html

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 5:13 PM

      Don't worry... I don't take offense to your comments. I fell asleep more than once when I was in school myself. Now onto your pulls:

      WOW... you've pulled some amazing cards. I need to get some rest... I'm starting to hyperventilate.

      Delete
  16. CommishbobJuly 29, 2012 at 12:51 PM

    1960 Topps Baseball, 1990 Pro Set Football, 1977/78 OPC hockey. I'm not in this for the points so I'll post something overnight.

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 5:16 PM

      Great picks... especially the 1990 Pro Set selection. There's something about that set's design that I really like. Can't really explain it... because it's so damn simple.

      Delete
  17. hockey kaziJuly 29, 2012 at 1:55 PM

    anything Upper Deck starting with the flagship product 90/91--I don't collect other sports religiously.

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 5:17 PM

      90/91 Upper Deck hockey is awesome... if only they had a Brodeur card.

      Delete
  18. Ryan GJuly 29, 2012 at 2:40 PM

    Http://thiscardiscool.blogspot.com. I am having commenting issues plus I'm posting from my iPhone. I'll spruce up the post when I get home with pictures but until now, there it is!

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 5:20 PM

      Sports Illustrated for Kids cards? You're gonna love seeing what I just purchased. I'll write about it next week after my contest is over.

      Delete
  19. arpsmithJuly 29, 2012 at 3:51 PM

    I think I missed the time deadline but was just able to get on.

    I really only collect football and baseball.

    My favorite football product was 1984 Topps - great rookies, liked the design and it was a set I didn't collect much at the time and had to go back and put the set together.

    My favorite baseball product is the 1960 set. Not necessarily the best design but it is magical to me as my dad collected it as a kid and I was able to complete his set. Seeing all those retired HOFers as a kid really got me excited about collecting.

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    1. FujiJuly 29, 2012 at 5:21 PM

      You're in... thanks for sharing. Love the 1984 Topps football set too.

      Delete