Time continues to mess with my mind. On one hand this school year seems to be taking forever. On the other hand... we are already into the 5th Saturday of 2021 which means another This Week in Blogging post.
#1: An Underrated Set
1991 Score #317
A couple weeks ago, I started writing a post where I ranked the 1991 flagship baseball card designs and Score was near the bottom of the list. After reading Night Owl's post which showcased his favorite 1991 Score card from every team... my rankings haven't changed. But I do have a higher level of appreciation than before.
His post opened my eyes to the vast variety of action shots featured in the set... which is something I value in a trading card.
#2: A Treasured Traded Set
One more Night Owl Cards post... then I promise to feature other blogs. I realize that if you're reading this post, then you've probably already read Greg's posts... but I'm documenting card blogs and he happens to write posts that capture my attention. So blame him, not me.
1987 Topps Traded #70T
Last weekend, Night Owl Cards wrote about his 1987 Topps Traded set build. I'm always excited to read a blog post featuring Topps Traded sets from the 80's, because from the mid 80's on... I made sure to track them down for my collection. I'm pretty sure the 1985 boxed set was the first I ever purchased, but the 1986 was the first I treasured.
1986 Topps Traded #11T
1986 Topps Traded #20T
It's one of the most star stacked Topps Traded sets of all-time. Just look at the list of young stars included: Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Jose Canseco, Will Clark, Andres Galarraga, Bo Jackson, Wally Joyner, John Kruk, Kevin Mitchell, and tons of other guys who had solid MLB careers. Plus don't forget the stars and hall of famers that make up the "traded" players: Don Baylor, Ken Griffey, Phil Niekro, Lou Piniella, Darrell Porter, Tom Seaver, Ted Simmons, Chuck Tanner, and Dick Williams.
I'm not sure when these sets started selling in the $25 to $40 range, but I could have sworn dealers were selling these sets for $5 to $10 just a year or two ago.
#3: Sunsets and Criminals
On Saturday, Chris showed off some Larry Bird and Lawrence Taylor cards on his blog: The 1993. He also asked his readers if they collect "sunset" cards and whether or not they avoid collecting athletes who have committed crimes or other objectionable acts.
2002 Topps #99
Although I don't actively chase "sunset" cards, I do enjoy having them in my collection. There is just something cool about a card company producing a final card with full career statistics for an athlete after they've retired.
As for guys who have committed crimes...
1985 Topps #620
1994 Ted Williams Roger Staubach's NFL Football #S32
1989 Donruss #542
Athletes have never been my heroes... so I have no problem separating the accomplishments they've made on the field from the crimes they've committed off of them. And ultimately... I collect trading cards that represent history... and that includes the good and the bad.
#4: A Star is Born
Wrigley Field Roster Jenga returned to his keyboard about a month ago and last weekend he wrote a really cool post about the night his son was born. I think it's something the little guy will be happy to read one day when he's old enough.
2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-JRU
Blogs weren't around back when I was born, but I have tried to document some of the things that happened in the sports world the day I was born. Most notably the 1972 Olympics were in full swing... and the Oakland A's beat the Detroit Tigers behind a three run homer by Joe Rudi.
#5: Cry for Help
Two days ago, Hackenbush showed off his Alan Alda silk cachet over on his blog: Can't Have Too Many Cards. I know I've seen these pop up on a few blogs in the past. My question is... what's the story behind them? Were they originally sold at the post office?
I've picked up a few over the years. The first one highlights Ichiro and the 2001 All-Star Game. I picked this up off of my buddy at a flea market for a buck. Were these sold at the game?
The next two were a little more expensive:
If any of you have any information on silk cachets... feel free to leave it down below in the comments.
#6: A New #1
2021 Topps #1
On Thursday Topps announced that Fernando Tatis Jr. would be honored with being card #1 in the 2021 Topps flagship set. Personally... I heard about it over on John Sharp's blog: John's Big League Baseball Blog.
2020 Topps Fire #169
2020 Bowman #11
The jury is still out on this particular design. It's definitely not going to be a favorite of mine, but I'm not ready to lump it in with the 1988, 1998, or 1999 flagship designs either. Personally... I think this year's design looks like the love child of 2020 Topps Fire and 2020 Bowman.
#7: Two-Sport Athletes
When I was in middle school, I really started getting into watching the WWF. Most of my friends were too. Guys like Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and the Iron Shiek were a new source of entertainment for this teenager and I enjoyed watching it whenever I had the opportunity.
On Monday, my buddy Ryan showed off a pair of 70's sumo wrestling cards featuring WWF star King Haku over on his blog: Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko. It's cool because it features an athlete famous for one sport being featured on trading cards of another sport. This isn't exactly a new theme in trading cards. I've written about Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and Danny Ainge before on this blog.
1963 Topps #54
But today... I wanted to show off my latest two sport athlete purchase. This is a rookie card of Dave DeBusschere. The same year he was drafted by the Detroit Pistons, he also signed a contract with the Chicago White Sox.
Although he is more famous for being a basketball hall of famer, he did pitch a complete game shutout versus the Cleveland Indians on August 13th, 1963. I picked this card up two weeks ago for $9.41 ($4.49 bid + $4.50 shipping & $.42 tax).
#8: Basketball Bonanza
By the way... if you like vintage basketball cards... then head over to Can't Have Too Many Cards again. Hackenbush showed off some really nice 70's basketball cards on Monday including a Dr. J. rookie card.
1971-72 Topps #70
Unfortunately... most of my basketball cards are from the 80's, 90's, and 2000's. But I have about 100 different cards sitting in my vintage basketball binder including this Chamberlain.
I like how the cartoon on the back references his 100 point game versus the New York Knicks back on March 2, 1962.
#9: Wrapping Things Up
It looks like Chris is starting to wrap up his All-Time Hockey Teams series. Last weekend, he showed of his all-time Pittsburgh Penguins team which featured a lot of guys I remember playing with on those early 90's NHL games on the Sega Genesis.
1990-91 OPC Premier # 50
One of those guys was Jaromir Jagr who went on to have a stellar career. Chris's post inspired me to see how much his 1990-91 OPC Premier rookie card was selling for. I was blown away that raw copies are selling in the $30 to $40 range... while PSA 10 copies are fetching over $600.
Back in August of 2018, I picked up my copy for $75 (+ $5 shipping). At the time, I was second guessing the best offer price I sent to the seller... but now I'm sure glad he accepted.
Chris also showed off his all-time San Jose Sharks team which featured these six guys:
Well that wraps up another This Week in Blogging. Here are some conversation starters for you...
What's your favorite 1991 flagship baseball card design?
What is a Junk Wax Era set you think deserves more hobby love?
What's your favorite "sunset" card?
Is there room for a criminal in your collection?
What's the story behind silk cachets?
What's your favorite card #1 from a Topps flagship baseball set?
Do you collect vintage basketball cards?
Have you noticed any specific cards that are selling for outrageous prices lately?
That should get the conversations flowing... however even if you don't like these questions... feel free to leave any thoughts down below and I look forward to responding to them.
Happy Saturday and sayonara!
