Can't Remember My First

Forty years ago... I ripped into my first packs of baseball cards.  Don't even bother asking me the first card I pulled from my first pack, because I have no idea.  I couldn't even tell you the brand, but if I had to guess... I'd go with Topps or Donruss.

I remember trading both of those brands on my porch with my neighbors back in the day.  One of the hottest cards on the block was the 1981 Donruss Al Hrabosky which I've written about before.  Back then... I think the only cards more popular on the porch were cards of Rickey Henderson and Fernando Valenzuela.

Over the years, I've discovered tons of other awesome 1981 baseball cards.  One of them is this Mike Schmidt I picked up for $4.29 last year... right before the lockdown.  

1981 Topps #540

I don't think any of my friends owned this card.  If they did... it wasn't part of their trade stack... because even the 9 year old version of me would have loved this card.  Just look at Schmidt glaring or even yelling at someone.

Plus he was coming off of his first MVP season when collectors were first pulling this card.  I'm kind of glad I didn't own this card back then, because I might have been lured into being a Phillies fan.

Anyways... this card is dedicated to Elliptical Man who recently removed me from his will because I chose Ichiro Suzuki as my favorite player with the last name starting in the letter "S", instead of Schmitty.

Since this is sort of a Throwback Thursday post... I figured I'd share two more cards related to 1981:

2013 Topps Supreme Stylings Orange Autograph #SS-MK

Munenori Kawasaki was born on June 3, 1981... exactly 40 years ago.  Happy birthday Kawa!

If you're not familiar with this guy, do yourself a favor and click here.

2009 Donruss Americana Movie Posters Materials #41

And that week... Billboard's #1 song was Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes.

Never heard it?  Click here.  Great song and fond memories.  What about you...

Any fond memories from 1981?

Happy Thursday and sayonara! 

Stop, Stare, and Appreciate

A while back I started to clean up my saved eBay searches by deleting things I already purchased and items I no longer wanted.  One of the sets on the list that was spared from the chopping block is the 2010 Topps Chicle baseball card set.

According to BaseballCardPedia, the set is based on the 1935 National Chicle football set... which is one of the most famous and popular sets among football card collectors.  The Bronko Nagurski in that set has been called the gridiron version of the famous T206 Honus Wagner.

This set could also have been inspired by the 1934-36 National Chicle Diamond Stars cards too though.  All three of these sets utilize paintings instead of photographs... which might turn off some collectors.  Personally... if they're done in a certain way... I actually really enjoy painted sets.  This is one of them.

I've been targeting this set for years.  I'm not exactly sure when I created the saved search for the 329 card set... but I'm guessing it was sometime in 2013.  That's the year I finally added the regular version Jackie Robinson card to my collection:

2010 Chicle #235

Just stare at that card for five seconds and soak in its beauty.  If this card looks familiar, then you probably remember seeing it on Night Owl's blog header back in the day:

Eight years later, this Jackie Robinson is still one of my favorites in the collection.  Here's scan of the card back:

As much as I enjoy looking at career statistics, I'm okay with Topps using short biographies in the spirit of the original 1935 National Chicle cards.  Outside of the company logos at the bottom and trademark information, the main difference between the two sets in regards to design is the inclusion of information about the artist.

As you'll see by the end of this post...  Brian Kong is one of my favorite artists involved with this set.  However before I begin showcasing my favorite cards in the set, let me wrap up my thoughts on why it took so long to acquire the set.

There's really only one reason I didn't grab this set years ago.  Price.  I've seen this set listed numerous times over the years, but either the BIN price was too high or my last second bids weren't high enough.

Then a few weeks ago, someone listed a complete set and I ended up being the only bidder.  The final price?  $37.23 ($30 + $4.45 shipping + $2.78 tax). 

As I mentioned earlier, the complete set consists of 329 cards.  The first 275 cards make up the short set, however Topps decided to make the final 54 cards short prints (1:4 packs) which were broken down into three subsets:  Retired Stars Revisited, Vintage Veterans, and Rookie Renditions.

The Retired Stars Revisited cards featured retired players wearing modern era uniforms.  This did not go over well with some collectors.  Here... see for yourself:

2010 Topps Chicle #276

I'm not a fan of seeing Babe Ruth wearing eye black and batting gloves, but not all of the cards in this subset were bad (in my opinion).  I actually like Jackie's other card in the set:

2010 Topps Chicle #285

The Vintage Veterans took current players (at the time) and placed them in throwback uniforms:

2010 Topps Chicle #302

These days it's not uncommon for MLB teams to wear throwbacks on special occasions, so I think these were a little more accepted.

The final short printed subset is the Rookie Renditions:

2010 Topps Chicle #324

This is where they paired up a rookie with an iconic rookie card featuring someone within the same franchise.  Matt Carson's rookie card is made to look like Rickey Henderson's 1980 Topps card.

Honestly... the short prints are the icing on the cake.  The heart and soul of this set are the regular cards.  Today I wanted to showcase my personal favorites.  In fact... since I've taken the time to scan so many cards... I might as well rank my Top 5, but before I do... here are some of the honorable mentions:

These first three were painted by Brian Kong, the same artist who painted the Jackie Robinson that kicked off this post.

Monty Sheldon is another artist whose work I really enjoyed in this set:

In fact my five favorite cards from this set feature the artwork of one of these two guys.  But that's not to say I didn't like the other artists.  Here are some of their highlights:

Painted by Jeff Zachowski

Painted by Chris Henderson

Painted by Jason Davies

Painted by Ken Branch

This Jonathan Sanchez with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background came close to making the Top 5, but you know the saying... "close only counts for horseshoes and hand grenades".  Here are my favorite five...

#5:  Warren Spahn by Monty Sheldon

2010 Topps Chicle #214

Normally... seeing only half of Spahn's left leg would bug me... but Sheldon shifts the focus on the rest of his body and makes it work.

#4:  Ichiro Suzuki by Brian Kong

2010 Topps Chicle #3

The horizontal lines in the background help give the illusion that Ichiro is running across this card.  Combine that with Kong's ability to nail down faces and this card is a beaut.

#3:  Curtis Granderson by Monty Sheldon

2010 Topps Chicle #110

As much as I dislike the New York Yankees... I just couldn't keep this card off of my list of favorites.  Sheldon hit a home run with the New York City skyline in the background.

In fact he actually went back to back with this card...

#2:  Roy Campanella by Monty Sheldon

2010 Topps Chicle #232

If this card doesn't deserve to be hung up in a museum... I honestly don't know what does.

#1:  Jackie Robinson by Brian Kong

2010 Topps Chicle #235

This was the obvious pick.  It's the card that made me fall in love with this set.

Overall... I'd recommend this set to any baseball fan who enjoys baseball cards featuring paintings.  Sure the subsets might not be your cup of tea, but that's just means you can save a few bucks by picking up a short set instead.

Now I'm not saying this set is perfect.  That Babe Ruth from earlier is definitely a head-scratcher.  Plus you're likely to find a some art styles you don't like.  For example I'm not a fan of the winking Wakefield:

2010 Topps Chicle #22

Plus... I can't look at the Tom Seaver card without seeing Beavis:

 

2010 Topps Chicle #248

But for every one of these cards there are ten to fifteen cards that I can stop, stare, and appreciate.  And that's my definition of a set worth waiting for.

That wraps up another Throwback Thursday.  Here are your questions of the day:

Are you a fan of baseball card sets that feature paintings?

Do you have a favorite all-painted baseball card set?

Personally... I prefer photographs over paintings, but don't mind an all-painted set every now and then.  My favorites would be the UD Masterpieces sets... and of course the 1956 Topps baseball card set.

Okay.  Enough of me blabbering.  This post has gone on long enough.  Happy Thursday and sayonara!

The Babe and some Snake Skinned Pants

One of the best things about the Junk Wax Era is that there are so many awesome cards floating around... collectors can always seem to find a hidden treasure to dig up.

1991 Topps Babe Ruth #7

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the vote that disqualifies Pete Rose from being considered for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, I wanted to share a small eleven card set that features a card of MLB's All-Time Hit King.

Back on October 6th, 1991... NBC aired Babe Ruth... a made-for-television movie based on Robert W. Creamer's book Babe: The Legend Comes to Life.

I'm not 100% sure if the set was produced before the movie aired to promote it or after, but it's a pretty cool oddball issue.  I'm also curious about how the set was distributed.  Was it sold on Shop-At-Home, handed out at card shows, or sent to card shops for promotional purposes?  If anyone knows... please leave the answer in the comment section down below.

In the meantime... here's a look at the set in its entirety:

If you enjoy reading card backs...

In addition to the Pete... Topps included another little nugget for baseball fans:

1991 Topps Babe Ruth #8

Topps has created numerous Carew cards since his retirement, but how many of them feature him in snake skinned pants?

I was also impressed at the length of effort Stephen Lang (the actor who played Mr. Ruth) went to for the movie.  I've never seen it, but now kind of want to just to see his swing.

By the way... did any of you watch this movie?  Was it any good?

2020 Topps Decades' Best Series 2 #DB58

COMC Image

As for Rose, last year Topps snuck him into their Decade's Best insert set... but to the best of my knowledge the movie card was one of his last official Topps cards produced... although it wasn't technically licensed by Major League Baseball.

Well that wraps up another Throwback Thursday.  Happy anniversary Pete!  If it's any consolation... I've forgiven you and hope to see you reinstated into baseball and eventually inducted into Cooperstown.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!