Star Search

Anyone else watch Star Search back in the 80's?  If not, it was a television show hosted by Ed McMahon where people competed against each other in areas like singing and dancing.  I guess you could say it was the 80's version of American Idol.

Anyways... the show popped into my head when I was thinking of a title for this post which started off with two purchases for my Japanese Celebrity PC:

2024 Topps A&G Framed Autographs #MA-SUD

Miki Sudo is a half-Japanese professional eater who is most famous for her streak of eleven consecutive wins at the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.  Star Search never featured any eating competitions back when I watched it, but I wish they had.

Next up is Patti Yasutake:

2011 Rittenhouse Star Trek TNG Autographs #NNO

She was featured in a bunch of Star Trek The Next Generation episodes back in the early 90's.  She played the role of Nurse Ogawa on the Enterprise.  Sadly she passed away last August at the age of 70.

Back in March... I purchased both of these autographs off of eBay a few days apart from each other using a gift card I had laying around since the holidays.

Recently, I added another autograph of a Japanese celebrity to my collection:

2019 Topps Star Wars Masterwork Autographs #A-CS

This card was part of a second care package sent to me by Kenny over at Torren' Up Cards.  It features Kazuda Xiono, a pilot in the animated series Star Wars Resistance.  Like Sudo, Christopher Sean, the voice actor who signed this card, is also half-Japanese.

Like past Zippy Zappings, there's a lot of stuff to cover... so I'd better get going.

Here are a few more Star Wars cards (don't worry there are some baseball cards too):

2019 Topps Star Wars Masterwork The Dark Side #DS-10

The Seventh Sister is one of the Vader's Inquisitors.  She was featured in the animated series Star Wars Rebels.  I remember he wrote a post about her a few years ago where he mentioned that she was his favorite Star Wars character.

Not sure if she still is, but he sent me quite the collection of her cards:

There were also these interesting things that remind me of poker chips:

2016 Topps Star Wars Galaxy Connexions Series 3 #60

It took me a few minutes, but I found some information on these "chips" here and here.

Kenny topped off the Seventh Sister portion of his care package with this very generous signed photo:

Topps Authentics

Does anyone recognize the signature?  It's Sarah Michelle Gellar!  Although she's probably best known for her role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I remember her more for I Know What You Did Last Summer and Cruel Intentions.

I didn't even know SMG voiced the Seventh Sister until I read Kenny's post that featured this signed photo.  When I finally move into a house that has a proper man cave, this photo will be framed up and featured on one of the walls.

Okay, let's move along (in my best stormtrooper voice)...

2020 Topps Women of Star Wars Autograph Orange #A-DW (#'d 01/99)

Video game fans might recognize this face.  Cere Junda is a character from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order... which is a game I own on the PS4.  But that's not the reason Kenny sent it to me.  I'm pretty sure he sent it because he knows I collect the first card in a serial numbered run and this is the first non-sport card added to my Prime Number PC.

Moving away from Star Wars, but sticking with females...

It wouldn't be a Zippy Zapping without some cards featuring Japanese models.  This 9-pocket page features Yumi Sugimoto.  The card backs feature a gorgeous puzzle:

Kenny has sent me a bunch of her cards over the years... and even a pair of binders.  I have been using them to house all of the ladies he's sent me over the years.  I even went out and purchased more specialty pages for them on Amazon.

Here's one more Yumi:

Okay... I appreciate all of the sports fans who patiently scrolled through all of the non-sports stuff.  I told you he sent some baseball cards too.

Let's start with some Japanese baseball cards:

This 9-pocket page features some 2025 Calbee cards and a 2025 Topps NPB card.  The base cards in this year's Calbee set doesn't list the names in English, so I'm not sure who is who.  But I definitely recognize the name in the middle.  Munetaka Murakami is a power hitter in Japan that will likely make his way to the MLB eventually.  Unfortunately he's been dealing with injuries this season.

Here are some more NPB cards:

Yu Darvish is arguably the biggest name on this page.  Here's a closer look at the card:

2008 BBM #626

Darvish holds the MLB record for strikeouts by a Japanese-born pitcher.  I was hoping he'd also break Hideo Nomo's record for MLB wins by a Japanese-born player this year, but like Murakami he's been hindered by injuries this season.

He also sent me a unique Darvish card:

Based on the following note, it looks like Darvish sent this to Kenny in place of a signature:

He also received a letter from Yuta Watanabe:

According to Watanabe this card is autographed:

But it's actually a facsimile signature of the NBA player.  That's okay though... because it ends up being a cool collectible with a story.

Arguably the most famous Japanese athlete in the world is this guy:

I'm not exactly sure what these two items are, but they are from the Tokyo Series and were packaged together in cellophane:

They're much larger and thicker than your standard trading card.  I tried to use one of those Ultra Pro pages that holds two 5x7 cards, but they kept sliding out.  Not sure how I'll store these, but for the time being they'll be housed in a box of oversized cards in my office.

UPDATE:  According to Kenny, these are mini-shikishis, which are traditional Japanese art boards.  They can be displayed on walls or used with stands.

Rounding out Kenny's care package is one more autograph:

2009 J League Autograph #SG99 (#'d 15/20)

This is my very first autograph of a Japanese soccer player.  I wasn't familiar with Naoshi Nakamura, but according to Wikipedia page he was a midfielder in the J League who once played on the national team.

Oops.  I almost forgot.  Kenny also tossed in this unopened pack of cards:

2022 Bandai Gundam

Not exactly sure what this is, but it looks like some kind of gaming card.  It's labeled as "Not for Sale", so maybe it's a promo or something.

Holy moly!  This was quite the care package.  I spent over four hours scanning, researching, and writing this post... but it's all worth it when you can add some star studded items like these to your collection.

Thank you Kenny!  I had a lot fun organizing the contents.  But in the process... I have worked up quite the appetite.  As soon as I'm done formatting, revising, and publishing this post... I'm gonna make a run for the border and grab me some tacos and a bean burrito.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Card of the Year

Anyone else remember P-town Tom's annual Card of the Year contest?  It's been five years since he last held it, so no judgement if you don't.

Anyways... it happened to pop into my head when I was scanning this card last week:

2025 Topps First Pitch #FP2-3

I realize we're only seven months into 2025, but I don't envision Topps, Panini, Leaf, or any other card manufacturer producing anything else this year that would bump Rickey.  This card is not only my favorite card this year, it's one of my favorite cards... period.

I'm sure some of you are scratching your heads as to why I think this card is so cool.  Well... it has nothing to do with the rarity, design, or overall value... which are things I might usually take into consideration.  Nope.  It's all about the sentimentality.

It captures my second favorite baseball player throwing out the first pitch at the final A's game at the Oakland Coliseum.  That in itself makes this card awesome.

But the sentimental part is that I was in attendance and watched him throw it out:

Over my lifetime, I've had the opportunity to watch Rickey in person on dozens of occasions.  Unfortunately back in December, he passed away a few days before his 66th birthday.

As a fan of the A's and the Man of Steal, 2024 ended up being a rough year.  But at least I have the memory of being at that game.  And this First Pitch insert will keep that memory fresh in my mind, along with this card:

2024 Topps Now #761

Speaking of First Pitch inserts, I have been sitting on two 9-pocket pages worth of them since May.  Check out these beauties:

These eighteen cards were part of the care package I received from Kenny over at Torren' Up Cards earlier in the year.  I had been saving them, because I knew I would eventually add the Rickey Henderson to my collection and wanted to share them all together.

Here's a peek at their backs:

Thank you Kenny for sending me all of these First Pitch inserts.

By the way... if you enjoy seeing Zippy Zappings, he sent me another care package last week.  The plan is to open it up today and publish a post either this weekend or next week.

I'd also like to thank Jim over at cards as i see them.  He's the one who let me know that Rickey was going to part of this First Pitch set.

As for the rest of you, thank you for checking out this post... and allowing me to get all "sentimental" with you.

Today's question of the day is...

Do you have any 2025 Card of the Year candidates?

If so, share them down below.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #176: Cards & Stuff

The third Saturday of the month means another trip to the Branham High School Flea Market.  On Saturday, I walked around... but this post isn't about that trip.  It's a recap from my purchases on June 21st.

There's a bunch of random stuff, so let's get to it...

Normally I usually hit up the regular card guy that sets up on the end of the parking lot, but he had a crowd of people around him.  So I skipped him and continued down the row.

Purchase #1:  A Roman Coin  $3

Inquisitive Minds: Coins of the Roman Empire

That's where I found this item on a table.  I'm guessing this was a family doing some summer cleaning, because they were very organized and had everything labeled with price tags.  I'm not really in the market for blenders or tools, but I have always wanted to own a Roman coin.  I'll definitely conduct the dig at some point... and share the results in a future post.

Purchase #2:  Lego Brickheadz  $5

I met a guy who is part of the Lego Ambassador Network, who receives free sets from Lego to review.  He ran out of space to display all of the sets, so he brought the excess stuff out to Branham.  His prices were really good, but I resisted the urge and bought the cheapest thing he had: a bag of Brickheads:

Lego #75317

I actually already own this set, but haven't built it.  Now that I own it, I probably will just give away the new set to my co-workers kids.

Lego #40630

The Mandalorian and Grogu will be displayed at home.  As for Frodo and Gollum, I'll take them into my classroom in a few weeks.

Purchase #3:  70's & 80's Vinyl  $10

Not sure if the vinyl market is starting to cool off, but I've been able to find some good deals on albums from my childhood.  This guy had a bunch of them for $5 each, but I asked him if he'd take $10 for three and he accepted.

Here's what I grabbed:

Men at Work: Business As Usual (1981)

This album has some classics.  I memorized Down Under and Who Can It Be Now... which eventually became my go-to karaoke song.  Be Good Johnny was another favorite.

Pat Benatar:  Get Nervous (1982)

Pat Benatar is one of my favorite female artists... right up there with Stevie Nicks.  This was the first Benatar tape I ever owned and it contains my favorite song of hers:  Shadows of the Night.  I'm very happy to add the album to my collection.

Steve Miller Band:  Greatest Hits 1974-78

Grew up listening to my brother's copy of this album (which I inherited a few years ago).  It contains a ton of classics.  I added this to my stack, because the cover was in such good condition and the price was right.

Purchase #4a:  Dollar Cards  $2

When I walked back down the first aisle, everyone who was hanging around the card guy cleared out.  I stood around and chatted with him, while digging through his boxes.

Here are a pair of dollar cards I grabbed:

1996-97 Finest Bronze Refractor #162

I will never pass up 90's refractors of stars for a buck.  Oakley was part of those star studded New York Knicks teams of the early 90's.  The only downside to this card is the obvious "greening" that plagues 90's refractors.

2003 UD Authentics #102 (#'d 594/999)

The other card I grabbed was this numbered rookie card of Godzilla.  I was out of the hobby in 2003, but was still watching baseball.  Gotta imagine this card was a nice pull back in the day.

Purchase #4b:  Cheap Bin Cards  $1

The vendor also had cheap bin.  He had all three of these cards marked at 50¢, but gave them to me for a buck:

These are the kind of cards I'd prefer to find in dime or quarter bins, but this guy has given me some good deals over the years.  I figured I should buy more than a pair of dollar cards.

Purchase #5:  Baseball Masks  $7

1990 MLB All-Star Masks: Hot Rookies

This book contains four masks that can be punched out and put together.  I should have done a little more research, but I saw the word "rookies" and Ken Griffey Jr.'s face and wanted it.

It ended up being manufactured in 1990, so it's not a rookie item.  Then again... even if it was... I doubt many collectors would care about these masks.

Purchase #6:  New Movies  $2

I've started stock piling new VHS tapes and DVD's of movies I love or ones I think I'd love.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

This is one of my all-time favorite movies.  I could watch it once every few years and not get bored with it.  I still own copies of my original VHS tape and DVD.  Now I have a sealed copy too.

The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)

I've never seen this movie, but I do own a collection of sports related VHS tapes.  This one has been added to it.

Well that wraps up another trip to the Branham Flea Market.  Like I mentioned earlier in the post, I just went again this past weekend.  I promise it won't take me a month to complete my write-up post this time around.

Until then...

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!