30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Sports Card Story Time

Every card has a story.  Whether or not it's a 1988 Donruss Alfredo Griffin that was pulled from a pack last year and thrown into a box that was eventually tossed into a dumpster or the 1975 Topps Robin Yount Mini I purchased when I was a kid that will stay with me until I draw my last breathe.

Today I'll be telling five short stories about some cards that were sent to me earlier in the week by Steve over at 1975baseballcards.  He sent me a care package that included a note that broke down the reasons he sent me specific cards.  The note was so impressive, I felt that some of it needed to be shared with you.

Card #1:  1973 Topps #117


If you haven't figured it out by now, Steve collects baseball cards from 1975.  One of the most popular cards from that year is the 1975 Topps George Brett rookie card.  Brett played for the San Jose Bees in 1972.  Ramon Hernandez played for the Bees in 1962 and 1964.

I started collecting San Jose Giants minor league sets a few years ago.  I don't own any San Jose Bees cards yet, but this card will make a nice place holder until I do.

By the way, did you know that the Baseball Hall of Fame has a series of articles titled Card Corner that feature interesting stories behind baseball cards?  I didn't... until Steve pointed out to me that this card was featured here.


Card #2:  1991 Topps #178


When I first saw this card, I had no idea why he included it in the care package.  But his letter mentions that this is one of the 1991 Topps Glow Backs.  I've known about these for awhile, but never checked to see if I owned any.

Last night, I tried to turn my iPhone into a UV light, but ultimately failed.  I'll just have to take Steve's word.


Card #3:  Vintage Packers and Seahawks


There was a nice stack of vintage Green Bay Packers, along with a pair of 1978 Seattle Seahawks, and a lone 1974-75 Topps Don Lever.  All of these were part of Steve's childhood collection, which is really cool.

If I could go back to 2001 when I sold off the bulk of my collection, I would have set aside more cards from my childhood.  Monetary value isn't everything.


Card #4:  Reggie Jackson Cardboard Icons


These 5x7 cards were originally available online as sets.  If I remember correctly, the sets were broken down by player and would contain reprints of their regular issue base cards.  I purchased three sets:  Rickey Henderson, Tony Gwynn, and Brett Favre.

Steve has been putting together a master set of all of the different players who has a 1975 Topps card.  The only one he's missing is a Nolan Ryan.  Anyone have one available?


Card #5:  1996 Leaf Signature Series #37


Much like the Hernandez and Valle, I was scratching my head a little trying to figure out how this card fit into my collection.  Eventually, I gave up and turned to the note.

This is actually a "two in one" card.  Steve knows I collect left-handed hall of famers and damaged cards.  Most people send me A's and Padres cards, so I completely forgot about the whole "left-handed" thing.



As for the card being damaged... well you have to look very closely at one of the corners on the back to see any damage.  Sorry Steve.  This one doesn't make it into the Damaged Card PC binder.  I did add it to the left-handed hall of famers collection though.


Before I wrap things up, I wanted to share a few more things Steve sent...

2016 Topps Mini Blue #119 (#'d 03/10)

Steve asked if this would fit into my Prime Number PC.  Unfortunately it doesn't.  That's reserved for "first in the run", "last in the run", and "jersey numbers".  However, it's a pretty awesome addition to my Oakland Athletics collection.

He also included these two stamps:

1950 3¢ California Statehood
1959 7¢ Hawaii Statehood

These are awesome!  If you're wondering why these were included in the package... I'm a lifelong Californian... and my parents were born and raised in Hawaii.

Thank you Steve for all of these wonderful hand chosen items!  I really had a lot of fun reading your letter and trying to figure out the significance of certain cards.  Don't really have a need for those Pro Set hockey cards, so I'll make sure to pass them along to Night Owl.

Oh wait... I almost forgot.  There was one more card that Steve sent that I wanted to share...

1992-93 Skybox David Robinson #R3

This card really stumped me, since I haven't collected basketball cards for a few years and David Robinson really doesn't fit into any of my team or player collections.  So, what's the story?  Well... Steve has started a new blog called... Athletes With Phones.  It's a blog that centers around trading cards with phones.  If you have a few moments, I encourage you to head over and check it out.

Well that's it for today.  Happy Saturday and sayonara!

5 comments:

Peter K Steinberg said...

Nice cards and nice story; and particularly cool that you can pass the out-of-your-wheelhouse cards on to another collector that will find a good place for them. I think that's one of the best things about this card community: everyone is so thoughtful. And generous.

Jason Presley said...

Poor Mr. Robinson, all folded up in a standard Navy bunk!

SumoMenkoMan said...

Great package and nice that it adds a little mystery to the mix. That last card is crazy....phone and all.

Steve at 1975BaseballCards.com said...

Hey Fuji, glad the package got to you. And good to know that at least some of it was useful.

Too bad on the Valle card (it took me a while to pack it all up in between everything else, so I likely mixed it up). Those glow backs aren't all that exciting unless you put together a Halloween display. More along the lines of sort-of-interesting, unlike your iPhone UV light trick, which seems fascinating. I didn't know you could do that!

I'm sending send more of ones that I know glow so you can can test them (if your phone works for that, I may use this trick in the future).


And thanks for the shout out on the new blog. I just wrote a new post today as I'm aiming to post more than once a month :-)

Fuji said...

Peter K Steinberg - The credit definitely goes to Steve. That note was something that will go into the collection too and within it, he mentioned that Night Owl might appreciate those Pro Set cards. But I agree... the blogosphere is very, very generous.

Jason Presley - Feel bad for Mr. Robinson. I guess that's one of the few benefits to being short.

SumoMenkoMan - Never seen a phone like that. Very cool. By the way, received another huge box from you. I still owe you for two other packages. :D

Steve at 1975BaseballCards.com - Thank you for the package! The Valle is probably a glow back. I just think the YT phone modification failed. Found a UV light on Amazon though, so I bought it. Can't wait to try it out. As for your new blog. I can't wait to read future posts. Very cool idea.