$10 Box Break - 1993 Studio

What I enjoy about one of my local card stores is the shelf of $10 boxes.  Unlike the other local card stores which greet you with $70 boxes of 2010 Topps Update Hobby.  No, seriously, click on the link to see the price.  Seriously, I went with cash in hand to that store yesterday, saw that when I opened the door and was unable to find one thing at a marginally reasonable price worth purchasing.

At the other local card store yesterday, I went over to the shelf of $10 boxes and found new boxes for sale.  Usually, there is a selection of junk era wax that I am often familiar with.  Late 80' or early 90's Topps, same for Donruss and Fleer, some occasional Stadium Club or Leaf.  Yesterday, I did find some new boxes, including a box of 1993 Studio, along with another box I've put away for a rainy day.  The Studio called to me, look quite sharp with strong images on all over the box.  Plus, it is from an era where I actually remember most of the players, unlike with today's sets where at times I am familiar with no more than half the pack. 

Without further ado, let's discuss what was actually in the box. 



Collation - With a set size of 220 cards and 432 cards in a box, I expect to complete one set.  And I did.  It was quite a great feeling, cards on the floor, being sorted.  When I reached Joe Oliver, he was sorted in the wrong pile, nearly leading me to believe I had 219 cards for a set.  Of course, with Joe Oliver found, the rest of the sorting commenced and the set was completed.  This is one of the very complete sets I currently have.  There are some complete Sportsflic sets from a trip to the highly disappointing Tuesday show in Parsippany and the 1982 Donruss factory set I bought in the 1980s, which in my youth, I took out the puzzle and completed one, very bored night. 

In terms of duplicates, the distribution was fairly good.  The Barry Larkin pictured above was the most prevalent card in the box, with four (4) of them inside the box.  I also managed to pick up duplicates of most Hall of Famers and soon to be Hall of Famers.  I even noted that George Brett was always stuck to Mike Piazza when found in the box or that Griffey, Bonds and Ripken came out of the same pack twice.  1990s collation at its finest.



Style and Selection - The player selection was pretty fantastic, with the set containing a large number of stars and few, if any missing players from the era.  I was a little disappointed by the lack of Kevin Appier and David Cone, but basically any other player of note in the 1990s was in the set. 

The cards also look great.  The cards with the darker backgrounds really pop, with very strong photography.  Given that it is Studio, the pictures are all posed headshots, but they are well done and not once during the box did I miss the action shots of today. 



Inserts - We cannot discuss sports cards without inserts today.  Back during my original collecting days, all we had to look forward to were errors and corrected errors.  But since we now live in the lottery era of sports cards, we need to discuss the inserts.  There were six inserts in the box, one Frank Thomas Collection (boring as it is just a picture of Frank and a discussion of his love of his family), two Superstars on Canvas, including the Bonds shown above and Joe Carter (debasing the term 'Superstar') and three Heritage cards. 

The Heritage card of Roger Clemens was the best card in the box.  The classic flannel uniform, the strong sepia-toned photography, the nod to the era of Smokey Joe Wood, all things I thought were great about this card.  The other Heritage cards in the box were nice, but without the classic uniforms, it felt a little disappointing after seeing the Clemens. 

Downside - The downside of these cards was the gloss turning into a glue.  It's possible the cards were once stored in a high temperature area, leading to many of the cards sticking together when pulled from the pack.  The damage when pulled apart was limited to the back, with a fair number of cards suffering from white speckling and a few cards, like one of my Greg Maddux cards having a white line across the black reverse.

Overall, I really enjoyed opening this box, as I was able to complete an entire set, enjoyed seeing the players of my youth again and really enjoyed the design of the cards.  Though I learned the valuable lesson of not paying a high price for older, glossy cards as peeling apart cards led to damaging the backs of many cards, acceptable in a $10 box, not a $100 box. 

Candy Cards and Foil Board

Coming home from work, I checked the mailbox and found packages...packages for me.  Below are the highlights of today's mailbox filling. 



I managed to get another Orval Overall card.  After posting some of my recent Orval Overall purchases on Net54 message board, I received an offer to pick up the above E90-1 Orval Overall, which is another American Caramel card from 1910.  From what I have read, the Overall in this set is quite difficult to get in any condition and was quite excited to add this card.  The card itself is beautiful and crease-free with a strong image, though it has one minor flaw.  If you look closely at the lower right hand corner of the card, you can see that some card magician decided to make some small alteration to the card in an attempt to "improve" the corners.  Doing so took what would have been a very valuable card and made it a very affordable card.

A great number of people are offended by trimmed or altered cards, refusing to purchase them.  I, on the other hand, look forward to a nicely butchered card.  Some of the best looking cards in my collection had a run-in with the old paper cutter, cutting the overall price by about 90% in some cases.  So, an unfortunate trim in a past life led to a very fortunate addition to my collection, which I am quite pleased with.  




The other great mailday show up with the autographed J.R. Richard card below.  Combining foil board and a signature on a sticker, I don't think you could intentionally make two cards less similar than the two I posted today.  I likely overpaid for the card, as unlike other bidders, I was unaware that J.R. Richard was still alive. 

My earliest memories of J.R. come from a 1981 MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia.  It was about six years old when I bought this as a child and remember reading the book from cover to cover.  As you might know, there were codes for all times a player missed time and J.R. Richard had a rare one, indicating he had a stroke.  As an Astro who wore the orange sunrise shirts while throwing strikeouts like candy, he is a player I would have been a fan of, but for the whole stroke thing.  Following up on wikipedia, I did learn that he had some hard times, but turned his life around, which is a lot better than the whole dead thing. 

Two Terrible Mail Days

Perhaps the greatest part of purchasing cards is getting fun packages in the mail.  Every day, I come home from work, excited about what might be there waiting for me.  The last two days have been quite the opposite, filling my postal box with disappointment and grief, though with a little good fortune.

Yesterday, the misfortune was a combination of faults and flaws.  Arriving home, I find two packages in my mail box and by mail box, I mean that little locked box in an apartment building that is kept indoors and safe from any harm.  So, I take out the packages and find a little white envelope and a package from Britain.  The little white envelope contained a Donruss pop-up card of Mike Scott.  Any time I can purchase a Mike Scott card I don't have for $0.01 and $0.50 shipping, it should be a great acquisition.  Of course, when you own seven of them and don't realize it, the package disappoints, stings a little even, as you realize for $0.51 all you have done is up your feedback and someone else's feedback on eBay.

The package from Britain was exciting.  About three weeks ago, I won a Southampton soccer jersey on eBay.  The buyer shipped a package to me and a few days later, let me know there was an error and he was fairly certain he sent me the wrong jersey, but the right jersey was going out that day and I could keep the package.  The seller was more than generous and I would have been quite alright waiting for the package to arrive and confirming there was a problem prior to rectifying, but the seller went out of his way to fix.  So, of course, the wrong package arrives and I was optimistic that it might be something interesting or usable.  Sadly, it was little more than a AFC Bournemouth jersey in medium.  Since it has been about half a life time since I could wear a medium in public, I have a spare AFC Bournemouth jersey I can never use.

Flash forward to today.  I get home very late and find a package inside my mailbox.  By inside, I mean somehow the mailman defied the laws of physics by not appearing the bend the package, but managing to get the package, with stiff cardboard to fit the diagonal of the mailbox, despite actually being slightly larger than the mailbox.  Perplexed, I tried pulling the package, but was met with the stiff resistance of cold (actually room temperature), unforgiving steel.  With some persistence, I was able to remove the package from the mailbox, but not without bending the package slightly and shearing the edge off one side of the package.

Getting upstairs, I take a few pictures of the package, in case I need to complain to the post office that our physics-bending letter carrier is aiding and abetting in the destruction of the U.S. Mail. 

The package itself was the results of my first Sportlots purchase.  I found a few dealers on Labor Day who had an extensive collection of rarer and offbeat Mike Scott cards I didn't own and placed a fairly sizable order.  I was super excited about the order and quite scared, as I knew some of the larger cards were in this particular order.

In a fortunate turn of events, seller SoCalSpt did a tremendous job packing the entire order and nary a card was harmed, despite the best efforts of my mailman.  In addition to a fair number of Canadian cards, I was able to get a Donruss Super Diamond King which is around a 5" by 7" card filled with George Perez artwork.  I also picked up the below cards as well



The 1991 Topps card is actually a Topps Micro, despite my scanner insisting it is a normal sized card.  The disc was one of the giant Sportflics discs and is even cooler in hand. 

What I thought was most interesting was the 1990 Donruss Learning Series card.  The front of the card features the Learning Series logo, as well as a different picture than found on the standard Donruss card.  However, the back is exactly the same, save the card number.  Thanks to Baseball Card Pedia, I was able to learn these were supplied as learning aids to schools, though I cannot exactly figure out what is learned from these cards, other than you need to buy more cards.  But that's what happens when you mix private business and public education. 

Fortunately, thanks to some great care by a seller, mailday, perilously close to being ruined was saved and filled my day with the joy of new cards for my collection. 

2012 Topps WWE Blaster: A Rare, Timely Break

It's admission time, boys and girls.  You see, I am a wrestling fan.  A very big wrestling fan.  One of those fans who grew up in the 1980s, watching not only the WWF with classic stars like the Iron Sheik and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, but also the NWA with the Four Horsemen and Dusty Rhodes and WCCW with the Freebirds and the Von Erichs. 

Like all hobbies, my love of wrestling waxes and wanes, but currently, I am a die-hard wrestling fan.  I'm the fan who goes to independent wrestling shows from New York to Pennsylvania.  I am the fan who when Daniel Bryan was released from the WWE, went to the EVOLVE show in Rahway, NJ to see him one last time on the independent circuit.  I am the fan who orders every Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show from California, because without question, they are the best promotion in America today with all of the top independent wrestling stars you have never heard.  And most importantly, I am the wrestling fan who went to Wal-Mart after not finding WWE cards at Target both on the way to and on the way home from work and purchased the last blaster in the store. 

Base Cards

The base cards are critical to the success of any set.  With WWE sets, the base cards rarely disappoint.  Wrestling lends itself to action shots and Topps really knows how to get these shots to pop.  Looking at the Chris Jericho base card, you can almost see him pulling his opponent's legs off as the image almost appears to start coming off the card.  The remainder of the set is also great, with the action shots really taking center stage in the set.  The backs are written by Mick Foley and quite interesting, even on the occasional card where I have never heard of the person.  Scott Stanford, I'm looking your way.  The one disappointment is that I did not pull cards of either of my two favorite wrestlers in the main set, Daniel Bryan and Antonio Cesaro. 

Inserts

The best decision Topps made was to include one Relic insert in each blaster box.  In a hobby box, you are only guaranteed two hits, one relic and either a second relic or potential autograph.  Not being an autograph fan and not wanting to pay my LCS $60 or so for a hobby box, the blaster was easily the right choice for me. 


As you can see, I ended up with one of the better relics in the set with Sheamus.   While not a big Sheamus fan, it is far better to get a Sheamus relic, who is popular and a champion, than say a Hunico or Hornswoggle relic, which is a real kick in the pants.  I would have far preferred a Daniel Bryan or CM Punk relic, I cannot complain.



The remaining insert sets are also well done.  The Howard Finkel Hall of Fame card makes up for only getting two Hall of Fame inserts in the box.  I also ended up with two Blue border inserts and did quite well there as well, getting the Kelly Kelly seen above and a Sheamus.

In all, this was one of the best boxes of new product that I have opened.  It would be better if the relic card was packaged in something other than a clear wrapper and I would have preferred more old-time wrestlers in the set.  However, if these are the biggest complaints you have about a product, you have done quite well.  Well enough to me looking forward to buying another blaster in order to complete the base set. 

Smokey The Bear

I think fire prevention is a cause almost all of us can get behind, given the destructive force and our love of our own material goods.  But how does one convey the importance of fire prevention to large groups of people.  With a talking, anthropomorphic bear wearing a forest ranger hat.  That is how we pass along fire prevention.

But how do you get Smokey the Bear, everyone's favorite talking, anthropomorphic bear into the homes of people, especially children, who have yet to be conditioned to be afraid of fire's awe-inspiring power and force?  Well, in the 1980s, it seems one of the preferred vehicles for our friend was baseball cards.  Not just any baseball cards, but baseball cards featuring some of the second-best players of the day.

Until the other day, I too, was blissfully unaware that in the 1980s, there were series of baseball cards featuring Smokey the Bear.  Smokey the Bear and established baseball players.  When running some eBay searches for Mike Scott cards I might not already own, I found this gem, with an unhappy Mike Scott and a poor man in a bear suit.  (Note to readers, Smokey the Bear is fake, like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.  If I have ruined this for you, I would apologize, but really you should know better by now.)  Not wasting an opportunity for a chance at greatness, I submitted a best offer, which was accepted, allowing the card to be sent on its way. 

After a few days of waiting, the card arrived.  At first, I could not figure out what would come in these two, paperback book-sized pieces of cardboard.  But once I opened one side, I saw that the Mike Scott and Smokey the Bear card was in fact giant-sized and safely kept in the cardboard in a cloth and plastic protector, likely designed for photographs.  I was overjoyed by the cards arrival and was able to resist the temptation to remove the card from its protection to see the reverse, knowing that by doing so, I keep the card safe for generations to come and gaze upon the magnificence of Smokey the Bear and Mike Scott.

For set and team collectors, I've put a checklist of the entire 26 card set below, as each team had one designated representative who was forced to pose awkwardly with a man in a bear suit. 

American League

Baltimore Orioles - Larry Sheets

Boston Red Sox - Oil Can Boyd

California Angels - John Candelaria

Chicago White Sox - Harold Baines

Cleveland Indians - Joe Carter

Detroit Tigers - Jack Morris

Kansas City Royals - Buddy Biancalana

Milwaukee Brewers - Jim Gantner

Minnesota Twins - Kirby Puckett

New York Yankees - Mike Pagliarulo

Oakland Athletics - Jose Canseco

Seattle Mariners - Mike Moore

Texas Rangers - Charlie Hough

Toronto Blue Jays - Tom Henke

National League

Atlanta Braves - Dale Murphy

Chicago Cubs - Jody Davis

Cincinnati Reds - Bill Gullickson

Houston Astros - Mike Scott

Los Angeles Dodgers - Steve Sax 

Montreal Expos - Mike Fitzgerald

New York Mets - Roger McDowell

Philadelphia Phillies - Steve Bedrosian

Pittsburgh Pirates - Johnny Ray

San Diego Padres - Steve Garvey

San Francisco Giants - Mike Krukow

St. Louis Cardinals - Ozzie Smith

2012 Goodwin Champions

Until this year, I was only vaguely acquainted with Goodwin Champions.  I reckon in past years, I would see the cards at my local retail store and not be impressed by the base card or insert odds. Or I wouldn't look at the checklist or would still feel vaguely turned off by Allen & Ginter, which for some reason, never resonates with me, like it does for most collectors.


This year, I was at the East Coast National in White Plains and caved.  I didn't cave for an entire box, but just one pack, to see what all of the fuss was about.  Admitted, I enjoy opening packs, but seldom, if ever, convince myself I need a box of product to open, since rare is the set that calls to me or speaks to my card collecting desires which comes in pack format.

So, with a pack of Goodwin Champions in hand, my desire to buy unopened cards sated, I was able to begin the long walk back to the train station.  Of course, with cards to open, I was unable to wait much beyond the entrance foyer to crack open the pack.  Opening them, I found five cards, black bordered, with all sorts of strange images inside.  Famous people wearing all sorts of odd clothing with almost nothing to do with sports.  And a player selection that seemed odd, like Prince Amukamara and Jack Morris. 

Finishing looking at the cards in the pack, I was unimpressed, but decided to look at the checklist when I made it home. Well, the checklist does have some fantastically interesting players on the list, like Pud Galvin and Jim O'Rourke.  It also has two of my favorite hockey players of all time, Paul Coffey and Ron Francis.  Scanning further, I saw they had relic cards as well and knew I needed to obtain them for my collection.


Nothing says sports card relic like a Hall of Fame Defenseman in a polo shirt.  It reaches a certain height of absurdity which I find irresistible.  It did take three auctions and one request on the Blowout Cards forums to get the Paul Coffey relic at a reasonable price.  By reasonable, I mean $0.99 plus shipping.  There was one relic, which was multi-colored including Edmonton orange, which I would have went the extra dollar or two for, but the owner didn't want to sell, given his exceptionally low rate of return on the box.  The Ron Francis logo in resplendent Pittsburgh black was purchased for the same price in the first auction I found.

This did lead to a second pack of cards purchased at my LCS one day, when nothing else behind the counter struck me.  Other than my first, only and last Jelly Roll Morton card, nothing in the pack even stood out to me. All of this led to a series of wacky, yet fruitful decisions which led to a quite nice score in another arena, but that is for another day.

Admitted, the cards obtained to date and the astonishingly low prices for guaranteed box hits likely killed any interest I had in purchasing a substantial amount of this product.  I suspect that is how it will end up being for most new products as they come out, but that is probably a subject best left for another day.  

Until then, I will continue to look for another set to collect, as I am more likely to purchase an original Goodwin Champions than the modern versions, except for perhaps a Paul Coffey printing plate, because deep down inside, we all know you can never get enough rare versions of HOF defensemen in polo shirts.

Overall It Was a Good Day

I was able to cross a couple of Orval Overall cards off my list recently.  I managed to get the basics out of the way fairly quickly, the three T206s and the T205.  I also made a nice pick up at the National, which I'll share shortly as well.

Getting beyond this point was quite difficult, but to be expected.  The first card I made the plunge on is the E90-3 American Caramel Card.


In addition to cards provided in packages of cigarettes and loose tobacco, some cards were sold by candy companies as well.  The American Caramel company in Philadelphia sold some of the most iconic of these cards.  Included with candy, the cards were certainly aimed at children and offered in smaller sets, with most checking in around 30 cards.

The E90-3 shown above was a regional issue of 20 cards, only containing players from the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox.  The set contains a fairly decent number of Hall of Famers, such as Tinker, Evers, Chance, Mordecai Brown and Ed Walsh, as well as infamous Black Sox player Chick Gandil.  I am especially stricken by the image, with the strong blue background and Orval Overall in mid-throwing motion, with a certain photo like quality to the card.  I actually think the card is more aesthetically appealing than the T206 action poses, which appear more artful. 

So, after tracking the card for a week on eBay, I made the minimum bid on the card on the last day and took the auction down that afternoon.  After waiting everyday to come home to the mail, it finally arrived eight days after purchase, the same day as the below card. 


The pastel portrait you see above is from Sporting Life, a former competitor of the Sporting News in the early 1900s.  For some reason I have not figured out, many Sporting Life cards survived in high grade, which puts a cap on the prices.  Cards were issued in series and my understanding is the Overall is one of the tougher issues.  Although, there is another NM M116 Overall floating around on eBay that I looked at back and forth for quite some time, but really felt the price was way too high on the card. 

When this one hit my searches, I steeled myself to make a strong bid to bring it home.  I figured the card would go at a reasonable price for a card of this age and grade, as there were a fair number of these cards up for bid at once.  Waiting all week as the price slowly crept up was very difficult.  Finally, on Sunday, I tested the waters to see what the price would be and made my initial bid.  While it did take a second bid, I was so happy to take this card home, which arrived in three days, at the same time as the E90-3 Overall above. 

Given that this was one of my first forays outside my comfort zone, I am especially pleased with how everything turned out and to give these fine cards a home in my collection.