Flea Market Finds #172: Singles, Sets, Boxes, & Figures

Kicked off my spring break with a trip to the Branham Flea Market on Saturday.  Found a few vendors with sports related stuff and made more purchases than normal, so let's get right into it...

Purchase #1a:  Bay Area SLU's  $5

One of the regular vendors ended up selling the bulk of his inventory last month to one guy, so he dug out a bunch of new stuff which included a table full of Kenner Starting Lineups and McFarlane sports figurines.

He was asking $3 each for the SLU's, but said I could have two of them for $5.  I picked these two:

1989 Kenner SLU #NNO

1989 Kenner SLU #NNO

I wasn't sure if I had either of these cards in my binder, so I picked them over all of the 1988 baseball figures he had out.  When I got home I discovered that I have copies of both.  However for the price, I'll just keep them intact.

Purchase #1b: A Little League Sponsored Game $2

1989 Baseball Wit Set

The guy with the figures also had some new cards.  I already own a sealed copy of this set, but for two bucks I'm going to open this one up since there are a few guys on the checklist that I collect.

Purchase #2a:  A Bag of Bonds  $10

The figurine guy was sharing a space with another guy who only had cards.  He had this team bag filled with Bonds Home Run History cards for ten bucks.  This is a set that I'm trying to build even though I doubt I'll ever complete it.

Anyways, here are the contents of the team bag:

That's the first Chrome version for my collection.  One down.  Twenty-seven to go.

Purchase #2b:  An Overpriced MJ  $3

1995 UD Minor League Top Prospect #45

The Bonds guy had a bunch of singles.  Most of them were newer basketball, football, and soccer.  I found this 90's Jordan card that I don't think I hav.

Was hoping to pick it up for a buck or two, but he wouldn't go lower than three.  Obviously I gave in. 

Purchase #3:  A Questionable Purchase  $10

2003 Princess of Japan Barbie

This is ten dollars I wish I could have back.  What can I say... the lady selling this was good.  She noticed me looking at it (I was intrigued by the kimono) and kept lowering the price until I felt like I was getting a bargain.

Not exactly sure what I'll do with this thing.  I'd consider giving it to my friend's daughter, but the packaging isn't in great condition.  Maybe I'll open it up and display it on a shelf in my classroom.

Purchase #4a:  Another Jordan Inspired Purchase  $10

1989-90 Fleer Basketball Set w/Stickers

There was a lady selling her husband and son's collection of cards.  I saw this set for $10 and figured the two off-centered Jordans were worth the asking price alone.

I kept digging through the lady's boxes and found two more items I was interested in.  That's when I realized that I should have held back, created a stack, and made a lump offer. 

Purchase #4b:  36 Packs of Oversized Baseball  $10

1989 Bowman Baseball Wax Box

I was pretty excited to see this unopened wax box.  Most collectors seem to stay away from these oversized cards, but I have a soft spot for 1989 Bowman.  Seeing this takes me back to my days working at Thrifty's.

The problem is I didn't want to pay the $20 price tag, so I paired it up with a small factory basketball set and made her an offer...

Purchase #4d:  The Final Jordan Inspired Purchase  $10

1989-90 Hoops Super Stars Factory Set

This had a ten dollar price tag, so I asked her if she would take $20 for this and the Bowman box.  She gladly accepted.

We started talking about her stuff.  She asked me if I was a dealer and if I would be interested in purchasing everything.  I told her that I was just a collector and didn't have the room to store all of the stuff she had.  I also explained that I normally just pick up a few cards here and there.

She pulled out a small box of singles she was selling for a buck each...

Purchase #4d:  The B&W Bo  $1

1990 Score #697

There were a ton of 1991 Upper Deck basketball and football holograms, but the Bo Jackson was the only card I was really interested in.  I will buy this card for a buck every day of the week.  I think this is my 4th copy.  Maybe one day I'll fill a nine-pocket page.

Purchase #5:  Cheap Autographs  $2

Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg Programs

A lady a few spots down from the card lady had two signed programs from the 2009 Strikeforce fight between Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg.  This was the first major mma fight to headline two women and it took place at the San Jose Arena.

I didn't attend the event, but I remember people talking about it.  Unfortunately both programs are pretty beat up.  But each of the covers were signed by Cyborg.  She also signed each of the biography pages inside each program.

Plus there was a bonus 8.5" by 11" signed photo inside one of them:

Not exactly something I collect, but I couldn't pass up five signatures for two bucks.

Purchase #6a:  Oversized Baseball Set  $15

Remember the guy with the Sears football posters from last month?  Well he was back and I picked up two really cool sets from him.

First up was this 70's oddball issue: 

1976 Lauglin Diamond Jubilee Set

I have been looking for two singles from this set for quite some time.  However before we take a closer look at them, here's the set in its entirety:

I first discovered this set looking for this card:

1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee #16

Back in 2020, I learned about an interesting piece of baseball history involving Stan Musial and Nate Colbert.  That's also when I started targeting this card.

I've been also trying to track down this card:

1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee #26

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick up the pair plus the other thirty cards in the set for fifteen bucks.  I honestly would have paid twice his asking price.

Purchase #6b:  Big Baller Set  $70

The other set I purchased is possibly the most I've spent at the flea market on a single purchase in years:

1984-85 Star Court Kings 5x7 Set

While I was there, I quickly looked up the checklist and completed listings for this set and discovered this was too good of a deal to pass up.

I was originally going to open it up and take out the Magic and Kareem for my Lakers PC, but after seeing sealed copies of this set sell on eBay for $400 to $600... I won't be opening it.

Purchase #7:  Football Food Issues  $6

I've written about how my interest in 7-11 Slurpee discs dates back to my childhood, but I don't remember ever seeing football versions.

Found a guy with about ten different ones, I grabbed these two:

1984 7-11 Slurpee Discs (West) #VII

1984 7-11 Slurpee Discs (West) #II

I asked if he'd take two for $5, but he wouldn't budge.  Figured I had dropped over $100 already that morning.  One extra dollar wasn't going to stop me from adding these to my collection.

Purchase #8:  More Starting Lineups  $5

This flea market is pretty small, so I always go back to the beginning and walk around one more time.  The guy with the baseball SLU's also had these two Gretzkys:

1997 Kenner SLU #NNO

1998 Kenner SLU #NNO

Originally he didn't want to sell these two at the 2 for $5 price, but when I went back he said they were all mine.  I already own the 1997 card, but I don't have the 1998... which means I'll likely open it up.

Well that's it for now.  I spent way more money than usual and some of these purchases are head scratchers.  But overall, I'm very happy with this week's flea market finds.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

Wrapping Up 2024

Do you know what Rickey Henderson, Kobe Bryant, Kurt Suzuki, Charles Woodson, Barry Bonds, Doug Wilson, and Marshawn Lynch all have in common?  They all wore #24 at some point in their careers and they're all athletes I really like and collect.

That's why I'm wrapping up 2024 with a celebration of these athletes and twenty-four of their cards featuring clear shots of #24.

The cards will be presented in chronological order... so you'll see streaks of certain players.  That's because some of these players wore #24 during specific parts of their career.

For example, Barry Bonds wore #24 for most of his tenure in Pittsburgh which lasted from 1986 to 1992.  Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of quality examples of his cards featuring #24.  However I was able to dig up two of his early oddball issues with nice photos:

1987 Classic Travel Update #113

1988 Kenner SLU #NNO

Three of my all-time favorite athletes wore #24.  Rickey Henderson wore #35 his first stint in Oakland and #22 right after the Yankees traded him back.  However... he only wore #22 a minute amount of games in 1989.

1992 Donruss Elite Legends #NNO

He worked out a deal with Ron Hassey to acquire #24 (the number he wore in New York) which is the number he wore with the A's from 1989 to 1993, 1994 to 1995, and in 1998.

Charles Woodson wore #24 for the Oakland Raiders.

1998 Bowman Chrome Interstate Refractor #181

He was such a fun player to watch... that I liked him immediately after entering the NFL.  But I became an even bigger fan when he signed with the Green Bay Packers in 2006.

2000 Crown Royale Game Worn Jersey #6

Not sure why he ended up wearing #21 for the Green & Gold.  But when he returned to Oakland in 2013, he went back to #24.

Another one of my all-time favorite athletes is Kobe Bryant.  You won't see any of his early cards featured in this post though, because he wore #8 the first half of his career from 1996-97 to 2005-06.  But he switched to #24 in 2006-07:

2006-07 Finest Green Refractor #25

I acquired most of these Kobe cards during the late 2000's when they were still affordable and I was still opening basketball products.

2007-08 Bowman Draft Picks & Stars Triple Relics #BR-KB

2007-08 Fleer Feel the Game #FG-KB

2007-08 Stadium Club Beam Team Relics #BTR-KB

This one isn't valuable, but it does feature a fantastic action shot of him:

2007-08 Topps #24

Don't worry... there's more baseball coming up.  Just two more Kobe relics:

2008-09 Topps T-51 Murad Relics #T51R-KB

2008-09 Topps Treasury Relics #TTR-KB

Okay... let's transition back to baseball and another all-time favorite player of mine:

2009 Allen & Ginter Mini Printing Plate #105

Kurt Suzuki wore #24 for the Oakland A's in 2008.

2009 Topps Heritage Clubhouse Collection Relics #CC-KS

I'm not sure why he opted to switch to #8 in 2009, but that's the number he wore the majority of his tenure in Oakland.

I've always thought it was cool that Kurt and Kobe both wore #8 and #24.

Okay... one final jersey card of Kobe:

2009-10 Crown Royale King on the Court Materials #10

Okay... transitioning from the hardcourt to the gridiron, we go from The Black Mamba to Beast Mode:

2012 Topps Prolific Playmakers Autograph #PPA-ML

Marshawn Lynch started his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills where he wore #23.  However he was traded mid-season to the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 and wore #24.  That's the number he wore in high school and his freshman year at CAL.

If you're a baseball fan who patiently stuck around, here's a few more baseball cards:

2012 Topps Retired Number Patch #RN-RH

2013 Topps Five Star Autographs #FSBA-RH

2015 Gypsy Queen Autographed Relics #AR-RH

2016 Topps Tribute Ageless Accolades Autograph #AA-RH

2017 Topps Definitive Autographed Relic #DCAR-RH

I'm not sure when it happened, but sometime around 2013 or 2014... Topps started inserting a ton of Henderson on-card autographs into their products.  This flooded the market and allowed collectors like me to start adding them to my collection for $50 or less.

2017 Topps Five Star Heart of a Champion Autograph #FSHC-RH

The Hobby Boom of 2020 changed the way people collected... and drove Rickey's autograph prices through the roof.  I haven't bought a single one since.

Switching sports... here's a San Jose Sharks legend:

2019-20 UD Chronology Canvas Autographs #CA-WI

Doug Wilson only played two seasons in San Jose, but he spent sixteen seasons in the NHL.  He wore #24 the entire time.  After he retired, he would return to the organization in 2003 as their general manager where he built a perennial playoff team.

Let's wrap things up with one last Rickey:

2020 Topps 1985 Topps Baseball Relics #85R-RH

Well there you have it... twenty-four cards of seven guys who wore #24.

Now I know there are a bunch of legends like Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Miguel Cabrera, Rick Barry, and a bunch of others that I left out of this post.  But I wanted to narrow it down to guys I really, really liked to root for... and collect.

Not a fan of my selections?  Create your own list of 24 cards showing of #24.

Happy New Year and sayonara!