Hockey Patches and Hobby Boxes...Well, Hobby Box

So, I went to one of the many local card shows yesterday.  Card shows have three great advantages: low overhead, motivated sellers desiring to make back their show costs and in person cards.  My usual plan is a quick lap around the show looking for pre-war cards, so I can find the 12 at the show and decide which ones I might want, then see if there is anything that piques my interest.

Yesterday was strikeout on the vintage front, aside from the mislabeled Philadelphia Athletics picture you see below from the antique store.  I did find a vendor selling $2 autograph and relic cards.  I gravitated toward the hockey cards and found about 1,000 hockey cards for sale.  The vast majority of the cards were autographed cards.  Autographs on their own are not my first choice and I flipped through these cards half-heartedly.  Eventually, I found a small section of relic cards. 



Amongst the relics, I found the above cards which I purchased, which you probably already knew given the fresh scans.  The Ozolinsh was a no-brainer for me, given that almost all of my favorite players are offensive-minded defensemen.  Ozolinsh was an especially offensive-minded defenseman and one of the better players in the EA NHL games in the 1990s.  Add in the two colors and that was $2 well spent.  I also picked up the Forsberg, since I hate buying cards alone and saw this was one was limited to 250 cards and the patch wasn't white.  Also, the only other card in the stack which was of interest was a Curtis Joseph card, and to be honest, I wasn't 100% sure which team he was playing for in the card.  (Given further research, it was the Phoenix Coyotes.) 



As for the hobby box, I talked myself into a hobby box of 2012 Topps WWE, given my success at the card store and my inability to complete the base set.  Since returning to collecting cards, this would be the second recent hobby box I've purchased (the other box was an ITG Decades 80s box I bought last month at a show). 

In terms of enjoyment, I was glad I purchased the box.  I managed to finish one base set and really enjoyed opening that many packs.  The collation on the box itself was good, but overall on the product seems to be problematic.  The cards come out in a fairly standard pattern.  Not Upper Deck in the early 1990s consistent, but I opened one pack, found 5 base cards I hadn't previously obtained and this happened two other times, which finished the set for me.  Interestingly, I also pulled the same two blue border cards I found in my blaster, which leads me to believe the collation is very mechanical across all sets, base and insert.  Actually, within the entire box was a complete set, which is good collation, but I would prefer the chance to get some cards I need in each pack with a more random sort of the cards available.  

As for the inserts, I didn't light it up, but had no expectation of doing so.  The Miz relic is fairly good, as it has two colors and some texture.  The Wrestlemania mat relic is a great idea in theory, but makes no sense as to why you just placed wrestlers from the card on the card as well.  Does a picture of Cody Rhodes or John Cena change the nature of the card?  Not really, though it does marginally change the sale price.

Given that it was probably a slightly below to below average box to the product, I enjoyed the break.  I clearly wouldn't make my money back if I tried to sell everything, but I did get cards I actually wanted to keep.  The base design is sharp and enjoyable and most of the insert sets are interesting or compelling.  Even the collation on the box was good.  I suspect opening a whole box will slake my thrist for shiny wrappers for quite some time and leaves me with the dilemma of what to do about 2012 Topps WWE Heritage.  Actually, I will probably buy the set and the one, must-own insert, because I think it will cost me the same as an entire box.  Nonetheless, I secretly suspect there is more box busting in the future.

A Most #1derful Pull: A Local Card Store Story

After much searching, I think I may have found a local card store I like.  I left work on time today and headed over to Attack of the Baseball Cards in Union.  Braving the horrors of driving Route 22 in rush hour, I arrived at the store ready to buy cards and given most of the card stores in the area, be disappointed.  I ended up buying cards, but was not disappointed.



Looking through the cases, I found the above card, a T206 Kaiser Wilhelm Hands At Chest.  Even though I already had a Wilhelm Hands at Chest (actually, I have all of the Dodgers in the set), the card was in the price range where I buy the T206 regardless of previous ownership.  As to the Kaiser himself, Wilhelm might be the worst player to ever have two cards in a set.  Aside from 1908, where Wilhelm had a sparkling 1.87 ERA, Wilhelm was generally a below average pitcher in his career, including going 3-23 in 1905, leading to two years in the minor leagues.  Given his pitching skill, it might have made sense to call him Kaiser even without the matching last name, as his stats belied the withered arm of his namesake. 

This card alone would have been worth the trip to the card store by itself.  However, from there the trip gets even better.  Seeing a hobby box of 2012 Topps WWE cards in a pristine, undisturbed state, I decide to purchase four packs to try and fill in some of the holes in my base set.  In this respect, the cards were a bust, as I started the day needing 13 base cards and ended the day needing 13 base cards.  Fortunately, there are more than just base cards in packs, like the "Wonderful" card below.



I've never pulled an autograph from a pack of cards before, nor have I pulled a card where the odds were 1:111.  On average, there are about two Hall of Famer autographs per case or one every five boxes.  Given the checklist of stars, pulling an Orndorff alone would be the second best pull I could ask for, just below Tully Blanchard and just above Harley Race.  However, look at that signature.  Orndorff actually signs his name "Mr. #1derful".  I've never seen a cooler or more impressive signature in my life.  It works.  If I sign something like that, I'm a jerk and probably a word even worse than that.  However, if you are the master of the piledriver and worked Hulk Hogan, that is above awesome.  Pulling that in the first pack was great.  In the second pack, I pulled one of the other two box hits as well.



The gold cards come one per box and while Rosa Mendes is not the most famous of WWE superstars, I still did beat the odds on the four packs I bought.  The gold bordering looks a lot better in person and really shines.  Even without considering the great pulls, I really enjoyed the store, as it was clean, well-organized and the owner failed to either patronize me or blame me for his ills.  In fact, the owner was actually helpful, which might be a first in a card store.  In all, it was a #1derful experience. 

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.