Love/Hate Relationship

A large majority of the posts on this blog feature sports teams and players that I love to root for.  Today's post focuses on the opposite end of the spectrum.  I'm going to rank my least liked sports franchises of all-time while sharing a card featuring a player on that team that I actually admire and/or rooted for.

But before I begin, I want to give credit to two bloggers for inspiring this Blog Bat-Around post:  Joe @ The Shlabotnik Report and Mike @ Not Another Baseball Card Blog.  The blogosphere could use more interesting Blog Bat-Around ideas like this one.

Let's get started...

Honorary Mention #1:  Larry Bird

1993-94 Finest Refractor #2

Had I written this post twenty years ago, the Boston Celtics would have cracked the Top 5.  However my interested in professional basketball has tapered off since the early 2010's, so they're now just an honorable mention.

The one Celtic that immediately popped into my head for this post was Larry Bird.  He's one of those legends that I truly respect and admire.  I couldn't stand him while he was in the league, but these days I have no problem adding his cards to my basketball collection.

Honorable Mention #2:  Gordie Howe

1968-69 O-Pee-Chee #29

Back in the 90's, I hated the Detroit Red Wings.  They were essentially the New York Yankees of hockey and one of my buddies was a huge fan.  The Red Wings have plenty of legends and fan favorites worthy of collecting, but if I was going to go out of my way to collect one, it probably would be Mr. Hockey.

Chris over at Diamond Cuts & Wax Stains sent me that vintage Howe over a decade ago.  It's one of the most attractive hockey cards in my collection.

I couldn't write about Gordie without showing off his SLU:

1995 Kenner SLU Timeless Legends

Back in 1996, he was signing at a local card show for only $5, so I went out and purchased this SLU for him to sign.

Moving along, here are my five least favorite sports franchises...

#5:  Barry Bonds

2002 Topps Autographs #TA10

I've always had a love/hate relationship with the Giants.  Being born and raised in the Bay Area, the city of San Francisco will always be special to me.  The memories of attending their games at Candlestick Park with my brother are something I cherish as much as the A's games we attended at the Coliseum.

In fact, down inside... I don't really hate the San Francisco Giants.  It's the fans.  Giants fans outnumber A's fans and when they win, the team climbs these rankings.  Thankfully, they have been struggling lately... so they've fallen down to #5.

As for Barry... he has a love/hate relationship with baseball fans himself.  Personally, I loved watching him play.  And these days... I enjoy collecting his cards too.

#4:  Dallas Cowboys

1992 Beach Sports Autographs #AC1

This is another case of me disliking the fans more than the actual team.  I couldn't really think of any Dallas Cowboys that I would go out of my way to collect, so I went with this autograph of Michael Irvin that I pulled out of a pack back in 1992.  I'm not 100% certain, but I think this is the first autograph I ever pulled out of a pack.

#3:  Jackie Robinson

1956 Topps #30

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants will always be in my Top 5 list of least favorite sports teams.  But neither creep into the Top 2, because those teams are practically untouchable.  Right now the Dodgers are higher than the Giants, because they're better.  Much better.  Fifteen years ago, the rankings were flip-flopped.

Over the years, I've collected a bunch of different Dodgers:  Fernando, Nomo, Kershaw, Freeman, and Ohtani.  But my favorite Dodgers card sitting in my collection is my favorite card of all-time.  Jackie's 1956 Topps card.

#2:  Lou Gehrig

2004 Topps Clubhouse Collection Relics #CL-LG2

I really, really, really dislike the New York Yankees.  But I loved watching Pride of the Yankees when I was a little kid.  It converted me into a Lou Gehrig fan.

This particular bat card was the highlight from a group break I joined over at Cardboard Collections.  I'm normally not into joining group breaks, but when I looked over the product checklists and noticed that the Yankees were still available... I immediately sent Colbey my money.

#1:  Jerry Rice

1986 McDonald's #NNO 

The San Francisco 49ers are arguably the most popular Bay Area sports team and it feels like they're always good.  And there's never been a shortage of family members, friends, and colleagues reminding me about their 80's and 90's dynasty.  To make matters worse... both of my favorite teams are their rivals.  Damn... I can't stand the 49ers.

That being said... I truly admire Jerry Rice and his career accomplishments.  This particular card is special to me, because I received it in a trade with my buddy Mike.  If you're new to this blog, Mike was a longtime hobby friend who passed away in 2023.  Ironically... he was a huge fan of the #1 and #2 teams in this post.

Well that wraps up this post.  Thank you Joe and Mike for kicking off this blog bat-around!  The Blogfather (Night Owl) himself was the first to respond to Mike.  I sure hope a few others join in on the fun.

Until then...

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #182b: Saving the Best for Last

One flea market vendor has single handedly made 2025 my greatest year in regards to flea market finds.  Here's a breakdown of my purchases from him earlier in the year:

March:  1982 Sports Illustrated mini posters

April:  1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee set & 1984-85 Star Court Kings basketball set

June:  1974 Laughlin Old Time Black Stars set, 1984 Slurpee cups, & 1978 Olde Cards Halsey Hall Recalls set

July:  1982 Donruss baseball set, 1983 Donruss baseball set, 1983 Fleer baseball set, & 1983 Topps baseball set

After July, he didn't set up anymore.  Another flea market vendor bought out the remainder of his inventory and the deals disappeared.

Fast forward to last Saturday.  I stumbled across the vendor who bought the collection.  He had some really cool stuff including vintage hall of famers, 80's oddballs, and even a 1983 O-Pee-Chee baseball set.  Unfortunately his prices were high, so I continued on my merry way.

After I purchased the vintage hockey binder and walking down the final row of the flea market, I made a beeline towards my car passing through a couple of rows.  I was probably only 100ft. from my car when I saw Bill, the guy who had sold me all of those cool oddballs and sets.

He was hanging out with his buddy and only had one item on his friend's table:

I couldn't believe my eyes.  After saying hello and exchanging pleasantries... I asked how much he wanted for the box of sets.

Purchase #4:  Collection of 80's Traded & Update Sets  $120

He asked if I'd give him $120 and I told him if they were complete, we had a deal.  I immediately opened up the 1984 Fleer Update set:

I quickly flipped through it while we talked about his upcoming move to Arkansas and the two big cards were in there:

1984 Fleer Update #U-93

1984 Fleer Update #U-27

I carefully put everything back into the box and moved on to the 1982 Topps Traded.  But before we check that out, here's a look at the entire set laid out on my office floor:

I ended up sleeving every card, put the key rookies and hall of famers in Card Saver II's, and stored all of it in a 400ct. box:

I never, ever, ever imagined a situation where I would own this set, but now I do.

Next up was the 1982 Topps Traded:

1982 Topps Traded Set

The box was slightly damaged, but the key card isn't too bad:

1982 Topps Traded #98T

The Ripken has a printing dot near his elbow and if you look close enough there's some edge issues.  But thankfully this wasn't one of the cards with a damaged corner.

As soon as I saw the Ripken, I slid everything back into the box.  Here's a photo of the complete set:

If you look carefully, you'll notice that six or seven cards have damaged corners.  For $120... that's something I could live with.

As I began to pull out the six twenty dollar bills out of my wallet, he asked me if I would be willing to pay $150 instead.  I knew in my heart that this was a great price too.  But I was down to around $140, so I asked if he'd be willing to accept the price based on a coin flip.  If he won, I'd have to go down to 7-11, pull out some cash, and give him $150.  I he lost, he'd accept the original offer.

He laughed and said it was a deal.  I flipped the coin, he called "tails", and I handed over the $120.

When I got home, I took a closer look at the remaining six sets...

1981 Topps Traded Set

This set's biggest issues were centering and some printing defects, but luckily I already have a copy for my Topps Traded binder.  It'll be paired with my 1981 Topps set.

Here's a look at the two key rookie cards:

1981 Topps Traded #816

1981 Topps Traded #850

1983 Topps Traded Set

This set is probably best known for having one of Darryl Strawberry's first cards:

1983 Topps Traded #108T

It might not be a super valuable set, but like the 1982 Topps Traded set, I needed it for my binder project.

1984 Topps Traded Set

This set was sealed and I already had a copy for the binder, so I didn't bother opening it up.  Like the 1981 Traded set, I will pair this one with the flagship set.

1985 Topps Traded Set

I was surprised to see that I needed this set, because I used to own it when I was a kid.  This is probably the cheapest set in the lot.  Here are the two cards I deemed scan worthy:

1985 Topps Traded #24T

1985 Topps Traded #49T

And rounding out the lot were the 1985 and 1986 Fleer Update sets...

1985 Fleer Update Set

Like the Topps Traded, the two cards I thought were the coolest were the Vince Coleman rookie card and Rickey with his new team:

1985 Fleer Update #U-28

1985 Fleer Update #U-51

1986 Fleer Update Set

This set contains Barry's first Fleer card, but Canseco had a card in the flagship set.  Only this time around he didn't have to share his card with Eric Plunk:

1986 Fleer Update #U-14

1986 Fleer Update #U-20

Both of these sets were new additions to my collection.  I owned 1986 Fleer Update set when I was a kid, but I must have broken it up when I sold my collection in the early aughts.  At this point, I don't have any plans to create an 80's Fleer Update binder, but if I ever do... I only need the 1988 and 1989 sets.

As for my Topps Traded binder project, this purchase got me three steps closer to completing my run.  The only set I need is the 1987 Topps Traded which is readily available.  I actually thought I had it sitting in my collection, but when I inventoried everything a few years ago I couldn't find it.

Anyways... this wraps up my big flea market find from last weekend.  It cost me most of the money I brought, but it was well worth it.

The down side is the gentleman who has sold me all of the cool sets is moving to Arkansas, so I won't be buying anymore stuff off of him.  But the stuff he sold me this year has definitely made a huge impact on my collection.

Thank you Bill!  Enjoy your retirement.

As for everyone else, thanks for taking the time to read this post.  There's no flea market this weekend, but I'm planning to go to De Anza in two weeks.

Until then...

Happy Thursday and sayonara!