Category: Uncategorized

Almost 28 years ago, I met a girl that would one day become my wife. I didn’t know that then, but I am thankful every day that it happened. When I met her, I also met a family that would become my family. I met a younger sister that I would learn would have my back even when Alicia and I would inevitably spend some time apart. As most young relationships are; we were on again off again a couple of times before we decided to make it forever. Now Ashley is my sister and I am so blessed to have her.

I also met a mother that I “think” liked me from Day 1. I don’t know what I did for that to happen but if it wouldn’t have, I may not be typing this particular piece today. As a young lad, you learn quickly that if the mother doesn’t like you, it will be an uphill climb. As a second mother, Mrs. Charlotte has been so good to me. We kept in touch during those “times apart” and our relationship has always been great. There are people who don’t get along with their mother-in-law. I can’t relate to those people. I am probably second among her favorite son-in-law’s but I still think she likes me. I hit the jackpot with the mother-in-law sweepstakes.

I also met a father who may not have liked me as much as Mrs. Charlotte did in the beginning. And I can’t really blame him for that. I know that I am not going to like my daughter’s boyfriends either. It could have been that I was a city boy. Or it could have been that the first movie I brought to the house was a horror movie, “The Crow”. Or it may have just been that I was showing an interest in his daughter. And he was never mean to me; I just knew that I was going to have to prove my worth to him to be accepted.

So I started way back then trying to show him that I was a good guy that was going to treat his daughter right. But most of the work I did on the good side was offset by some of the things that got on his nerves. I would call way too late at night or try to call in the morning before school; just to talk for a minute. I kept bringing horror movies. And I was clearly not much help as a farm hand back in those days. Alicia had to teach me that getting muddy and swimming in a cow trough would not give me some rare disease. But I think I got there to some degree.

Mr. Lee was a dairy farmer at the time Alicia and I started dating. He was at work when I got to her house in the evening and I only saw him for a little bit while we ate supper. He was usually tired or getting ready to go back to work again. One thing that was apparent early on was that he worked a lot. It didn’t matter what day it was or what time it was; if work needed to be done, he was there doing it. Except on Sundays. He went to church and took his naps on Sundays and we left him alone.

That was another thing I learned early on. Mr. Lee was a fervent Man of God and he devoted a lot of time to singing in the choir and was in church every time a service was to be had. We were expected to be there too. And I am thankful that the woman I would marry had that background. I had that background too and we have had to lean on our faith many times during our marriage. That faith was built in us by both of our parents.

Mr. Lee gave to his church throughout all the years that I knew him. He was a committed choir member, and even spent his little bit of spare time working on the building and the grounds. If an air conditioner needed fixing, he was there. If a door needed replacing, he was there. If floors needed work, he was there. Even two weeks ago, he was leading the choir as the interim choir director. He was devoted to God and his church; and I always admired that about him.

As the years passed, he left the dairy business and moved over to the poultry business with his family. He still worked day and night. I remember us waiting on him for supper or planning trips around when he was free. Up until a few years ago, I never knew what kind of work went into managing a chicken house. But I certainly learned a lot about it later on in life.

He loved fish. From the time I remember going to Alicia’s house when we were teenagers, he had always had a salt water aquarium. He would spend much of his free time managing that tank; feeding fish, changing water, looking for new fish. He would spend off days in Tallahassee at aquarium shops just looking and learning. And he would also spend a lot of time eating oysters. That was his go to in Tallahassee!

The one aquarium grew to multiple and he even built his own koi pond in the yard. He started out with a pond that he built himself. And when he and Mrs. Charlotte moved into his old childhood home, he had some professionals come and build a beautiful in ground pond with lights, waterfalls, and rock walls. Man, he loved that pond. And we did too.

Like me, he loved the Atlanta Braves and the Georgia Bulldogs too. I took him to his first Georgia game in 2014 when Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb, and Sony Michel rushed for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 45-21 route. Gurley also had a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The atmosphere was electric and I will always remember that game with him.

When Bailey was born, we saw a new side of Mr. Lee. He became “Granddaddy” and his love for her, and all the grandkids that followed, was such a sight to see. He would let them push him way farther than we were ever able to. He let them get away with so much more but it was beautiful. He was such a great Granddaddy.

We had some great times over the years. We took trips, spent holidays together, and watched sports. But as close as we had always been, all of that changed and we got even closer in 2020. When COVID hit the US, I started working from home and the school had gone virtual, so Alicia didn’t have to report for work at the campus. We looked at our options for the short term. We both had parents that were compromised in some way and didn’t need to be exposed to the virus. We also had very little info on the virus and we were scared.

Mr. Lee and Mrs. Charlotte opened their home to us and we moved in with them from February until October in 2020. We all took turns going to the grocery store, cooking, and cleaning. Though, make no mistake about it; Mrs. Charlotte carried the lion’s share of that work as she always does. We just tried to help out where we could. You never get as close with someone as you do when you live with them. I lived with my parents for 18 years. I have lived with Alicia for 21 years. Those are close, close relationships. And I really got close with Mr. Lee during the time we lived with them.

I had my own 9-5 that I was working with my laptop. But being on the farm, the day doesn’t end at 5. I would head out with Mr. Lee in the afternoon and we would make rounds at the chicken houses. We would repair broken feed lines, check for water leaks, take inventory of feed bins, replace broken fans, check temperatures, and everything else that comes along with that line of work. I learned a ton during that time. I have always been a fairly light do-it-yourself guy and would lean on him or my dad to help with big projects. With the chicken houses, I learned a lot that I never thought I could do on my own. He even started to trust me with doing some of the odd jobs by myself.

My brother-in-law, Michael, lives on the farm and was already waist deep in all of that work. But when COVID hit, he and Ashley stayed quarantined because of her work and I had to pick up the slack. Then there were cows that needed to be moved from grazing to pasture. There were electric fences that had to be checked whenever it rained or the wind blew too much. There were fish to feed. There was always something to do and I think keeping busy helped me cope with my own fears about what was going on in the big world at the time.

I was also struggling with my dad’s diagnosis and being unable to spend much time with him. I had an ever present fear of him getting sick if I had been exposed by a farm worker or from groceries at Wal-Mart. During that time, Mr. Lee was there and talked with me about what I was going through and kept me busy to keep my mind from going to too many dark places. I will never forget that. We would just sit in the truck with the Braves game on in the background and we would talk about what was going on in the world, with my dad, and with our families. We talked to each other about things that we just didn’t talk about with other people. I felt safe to do that and I was honored that he felt the same.

While I haven’t blossomed into a full blown Farmer; I did my share of chopping wood, culling chickens, changing water out of koi ponds, checking on wells that weren’t working, answering alarms that needed attention, helping wrangle up cows that were to go to the sale, and clearing up downed fences to keep the cows in their pasture. I found out that there was another side of me that I didn’t know was there. I have been an office man for 24 years. But there is a little bit of a country fella in there too. I just had to dig for it and he had to teach me how to do it.

Our relationship grew as strong as ever over the last couple of years. Even though I was still trying to impress him like when we first met, he had truly become my second dad and a friend. He was there when I needed to complain, or vent, or tell a funny story too. He always had advice and was always receptive to what I had to say. I would never trade the time I was able to spend with him in his element.

When we lived with him; we had dinner together, we worked on things together, he shared ice cream with Georgia, he taught Bailey how to handle the Kubota, he shared fish pictures with Alicia so they could decide which ones to buy, and started a little goat farm (though that was not exactly my doings). We sat every night and talked about random things. We watched “Counting Cars”, “Dual Survival”, and “Dr. Pol”. I couldn’t get him to watch “The Office” but that was about the only thing we didn’t do together. And then, when he was headed to bed, he would turn to Georgia and say, “Be Cool.” That became a nightly thing. And I still say it to Georgia from time to time today. I would love to hear that again.

When we lost him on February 23, 2022; Mrs. Charlotte lost her husband, and Alicia and Ashley lost their father. I lost my buddy. I lost somebody that would complain about Braves losses with me. I lost somebody that understood the pain that came with 40 years of no National Championships. And I lost someone that knew what it was like to be outnumbered in a house full of girls.

When I watched the Braves win the World Series at my mom’s house in October, he was the first person that called during celebration. He said, “How about that?” and we both were so happy. We didn’t miss a game when I lived with him. Then, when Georgia won it all in January, he was again the first person to call me. We could not believe that we had experienced a Braves and Bulldogs Championship in the same season. It was the mountaintop for our sports allegiance. And we were invested together.

I don’t know how I will react when I watch my next game. I don’t know what emotions will come up when the Braves decide what they are going to do with Freddie Freeman. Mr. Lee was not ready to see a Braves team without their leader. He was worried about that just a few weeks ago when we were talking about the lockout. I also don’t know what it will feel like when I have an urgent need and he and my father are both gone. I just don’t know. I didn’t think I would have to know this soon after I lost my dad.

But what I do know is that Mr. Lee loved his family. He loved all of us. He said it on multiple occasions when we were all together over the last couple of years; whether camping or just having dinner. He remarked at how blessed he was to have his whole family sitting there together. I know what he was talking about now. I took it for granted while it was happening; but I get it.

He will be missed by many people. That was evident at his funeral. He was a strong community man and a proud member of his church. And he was a lot of things to our family; husband, father, father-in-law. But I think what he was most proud of in the last couple of years was his being “Granddaddy.”

I am going to miss you, Granddaddy. I am going to miss everything about you. I am going to miss you being grumpy because everybody didn’t wait on you to eat. I am going to miss our brainstorming sessions of trying to figure out how to set-up the camper for the first time. I am going to miss looking at new fish that show up in a box on the front porch. I am going to miss the chicken houses. I am going to miss when you ask the girls to give you that hug when it’s time for us to go home. I am going to miss you telling Alicia to “Let nature take care of itself” every time she wants to save an animal. And I am going to miss your head shaking when the bullpen gives up a run.

Until we meet again Granddaddy, “Be Cool.”

J-Dub

December 13, 2018

Today is such a special day. The federal government doesn’t recognize it as a holiday at this time but a well worded petition on change.org has been considered by your humble blogger on more than one occasion. In fact, the last couple of times this anniversary has rolled around, I have come closer to pulling the trigger. I can promise you it wouldn’t be the strangest thing proposed. Have you ever actually browsed change.org? Are we really going to “Get the White house to construct a Death Star”? Or are we going to get enough people together to “Shut Down Rotten Tomatoes”? Oh I know, let’s “Abolish the usage of the word Ma’am”!

Back to the matter at hand, so much changed 27 years ago today that I think the United States, if not the World, should pause and give December 13 the recognition it no doubt deserves. I think it will be an uphill battle being jam packed right between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but even if it didn’t result in a day off, I think it needs to be printed on the calendar. I mean, if Groundhog Day and National Bosses Day are a thing, this would surely qualify as a “calendar event”. If you were alive (especially between the ages of 10-16) on that fateful day, I can pretty much guarantee that your life was affected in some form or fashion, directly or indirectly. And we are still feeling the ripples today.

On December 13, 1991, a Japanese Video Game Company by the name of Tecmo Co, LTD released an NES Video Cartridge titled “Tecmo Super Bowl.” This was the follow up to “TecmoBowl” that was released in 1987, but had some key differences that I believe changed the way sports video games were made and enjoyed by the consumer. We will discuss some of those momentarily but I’m going to need an open mind from my readers on this one. Because I know what some of you are thinking right now; “Really? This is where that was going?Don’t you talk about TSB all the time?” The answer to all of those questions is a resounding yes. And if you don’t like reading about Tecmo, I would guess you would have stopped reading my blog a year ago.

First off, let’s just talk about the cover of the game. If you aren’t well versed in the way Tecmo released some of their games back in the day, it was pretty standard for them to put a real life photo on the box. This was an attention grabber from the get go. Most NES games in the late 80’s featured some outlandish cartoon photo that was appealing to kids but didn’t quite capture the imagination of the young teenager.

Not only was the cover a big hit back then, but I would venture to guess that it is one of the most recreated of all time! Just look at some of the examples above. These are in fact recreated because the game gets updated every year by a group at TecmoBowl.org. You can buy a copy of whatever year you want for your PC or even the NES in some cases! That’s right; in 2018, you can play the greatest video game ever created with up to date rosters and player ratings! Unfortunately, there is no Bo Jackson on the current rosters though.

Which brings me to one of the major reasons this is the greatest video game of all time; rosters. 1991 was a wonderful time to be alive and a fan of the NFL. Some of the greatest players of my generation were in their prime and right there on the 13 inch TV I had in my bedroom. A 13 inch TV sounds abysmal by today’s standards but I was actually one of the lucky few that had a color TV with cable in my bedroom at that time.

Just check out this amazing list of talent:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are big name kickers as well but we won’t go into that. There was a “clock“ one time though that was keeping up with the players from Super Tecmo Bowl that were still in the league and the last player to retire was a kicker; Jeff Feagles. He was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1991 and he played until 2009. It even prompted a story on NBC NY titled, “The Official End of the Tecmo Super Bowl Era.” The last position player in the league from TSB was Junior Seau, RIP, who played 7 games in 2009 but did not finish out the season.

You will never convince any reasonable person that Bo Jackson wasn’t the greatest player to ever appear in 8 bits. I firmly believe it and the rest of America does too. All you have to do is surf YouTube for 5 minutes after you type in “Bo Jackson Tecmo”. Some of the runs you will see are beyond legendary. One of the greatest autograph pieces I have ever seen was the Bo Jackson signed Tecmo Bowl Photo. I would trade almost anything in my collection for that piece. Bo was a very popular athlete but I really believe that a chunk of his popularity can be attributed just to that video game. Bo’s career did not last long enough in the league because of his catastrophic hip injury but that one year on TSB encapsulated what a career of watching Bo might have been like.

Tecmo Super Bowl is simply iconic. Aside from Bo Jackson, you have the viral video clips of Christian Okoye breaking 80 tackles on a single run, recreated highlights from 2018 in the 8 bit style of TSB, the image of Lawrence Taylor straddling quarterbacks after a sack, and the unforgettable Joe Montana Touchdown sequence. There was the awesome music, the cheerleaders at halftime, the injured player screen with the daunting music, the 100 yard punts, 100 yard passes, and the 3,000 yard rushing season from QB Eagles. I could type all day about the little nuances of the game if I really had the time and if I could hold your attention. But I will digress and move on to the football card set I want to review for this piece.

I had to review a football set that would really tie in with the Tecmo Super Bowl theme and it really wasn’t difficult when I started thinking about the year. My favorite set in 1991 was Score. In fact, Score was a major hit for me in both Baseball and Football during the early 90’s because of some of the inserts we’ll cover. It is also a set that makes me think of Christmas because of how many of my gifts were centered on sports cards as a kid. Score was one of the main manufacturers that our Wal-Mart carried so I got a ton of it back in the day.

I remember the Nolan Ryan and Joe Montana triple exposure cards getting a lot of publicity. I really don’t remember too many people being excited about this Dean Biasucci double exposure.

I bought a box of Series 2 so it isn’t LOADED with all the stars but it has enough to make it worthwhile. I bought Series 2 for a specific reason, which will be revealed at the end. But this box did include 3 Super Bowl Champion Quarterbacks!

Bo and Barry were in Series 1 but I’ll take any box that produces a Herschel Walker and Rodney Hampton!

Jerry Rice headlines the wide receivers. A young Michael Irvin was coming off of a 20 catch rookie season but was about to explode!

Solid tight ends were hard to come by in the early 90’s in the sports card world but these 3 were very solid on the field.

Reggie White and Richard Dent! What more is there to say?

I was thrilled that LT was in Series 2 and Junior Seau was an added bonus!

Deion Sanders and Darrell Green were two of the fastest players in the league while Rod Woodson and Brian Jordan were two of the hardest hitters.

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Emmitt Smith in a #25 jersey. I wonder who #22 was that year in the Pro Bowl? And how about a Marcus Dupree Card? Remember him from the 30 for 30, “The Best That Never Was”?

The Hall of Fame Inserts were not as appreciated when I was a kid as they are now. Big Earl makes an appearance!

I had totally forgotten about this insert set until ripping this box. I loved these back in the day! David Fulcher may have been the best defender on TSB. I also have Joey Browner as one of the most underrated NFL players in history.

The sackmasters got their own insert called Sack Attack. All of these guys were studs but look at that top row!!

The artist cards were big back in ’91. These were the NFL Leaders in various categories. Some of these were obvious, like Thurman Thomas with the most all-purpose yards and Barry Sanders most rushing. But I was stumped by Steve DeBerg so I had to read the back. He lead the league in QB Rating, if you can believe that!

Dream Team was one of my absolute favorite inserts in the baseball set because they were black and white. I did like these too but not quite as much. This is one of my favorite André Rison cards though.

More Art Cards! These were the Team MVP’s and I pulled the whole set in the box I ripped. Another Rison for the PC and the addition of Bo is always welcome. These are some great cards!

Here are the highly touted rookies from the ’91 class. Russell Maryland was the #1 overall pick in the draft. Ricky Waters May have had the best career of these players but I remember each of them for various reasons. Todd Marinovich was the Todd Van Poppel of the group.

Here is the reason I bought Series 2! The Brett Favre RC is the most valuable card in the set, though not very valuable on a monetary scale. I often think about what would have happened if the Falcons had kept him. Is Favre why we are cursed? Is it like The Bambino and the Sox or the Goat and the Cubs? Is it Favre for the Falcons?

I really enjoyed revisiting 1991 Score and there were some things I had forgotten about over the years. The Favre RC is a good pull but the inserts like Team MVP, League Leaders, and Dream Team make this set what it is. The base design is very much “Early 90’s” but the inserts were so much fun back then. At $10 or less, the price is so reasonable on these boxes, you really can’t pass them up! The only knock I have about the set is one I could have with the whole era. But when you study this checklist, it seems to stick out more than normal. The sets that were broken up into Series 1 and 2 completely eliminated your chances of pulling certain stars like Bo Jackson AND Jerry Rice in the same box. I don’t understand how the Series’ were truly split up when it comes to the veterans but I like the opportunity to pull anybody in the league when I open these boxes. For that reason, I have to give 1991 Score a “4” on the Dub-O-Meter. What say you?

J-Dub

Scoring Scale

1.Let me be the sacrificial lamb so you don’t have to buy these cards.  Just read the post and thank me later.

2.There is worse but there is much better – not worth the effort though.

3.Middle of the road – I wouldn’t talk you into buying these but I certainly wouldn’t talk you out of them.

4.You should probably go out and buy a box and enjoy the rip – I did!  It has some downside but worth the ride.

5.Stop reading and find a box to buy and get to Breaking!  What are you waiting on?

 

I spent most of my childhood (and teen years) spending nights on the weekend with friends or vice versa. When the summertime rolled around, I was basically a hobo and moved from one locale to the next; only stopping at the house long enough to host a guest of my own. Each friends house featured a different perk that made it fun and unique. Some of my favorite memories come from those nights of staying up until the break of dawn, living up every moment we had.

Anytime my cousin Coop stayed over at my house, or we stayed at the lake or his house, the night was typically about video games. Coop was one of the first of my friends/family that had a Nintendo. Up until that point, my only video game experiences had been Atari and a Tandy Computer. The Nintendo changed our lives and we played every game you can imagine. We started out with Mario and then moved to some action games like Contra and Ninja Gaiden. Then we had sports battles like RBI Baseball, Double Dribble, Hoops, Baseball Stars, NES Play Action Football and Black Bass. Then Tecmo came along and we dedicated all our time to Tecmo Super Bowl, Tecmo Basketball and Tecmo Baseball.

There are two vivid memories I have with Coop and those late night video game marathons. The first was RBI Baseball where Coop had a great shot at taking me down with a late inning base hit. He sent his baserunner around third and he would get hosed by one of my outfielders, ending the game. In a fit of exacerbation, Coop tossed the controller into the air and it took down a shelf above the couch, at 3 am, waking my mom. In a similar late game TSB collapse, Reggie White sacked Jim Kelly, stripping him of the football. White recovered the fumble and streaked to the end zone only to be hawked down by Thurman Thomas inside the 5, where he would fumble the ball right back to the Bills, ending the upset bid. That moment was caught on cassette tape, recording Coop’s screams of “Go Reggie!” that quickly morphed into “No Reggie!” More on the cassette recordings in a minute.

Then there was my buddy Munt. We would normally play basketball in his driveway, dubbed “The Parramore Pavilion”, as long as our legs could go. We would have 3 point contests, play trick shot HORSE and argue over whether Miles really made that memorable layup or not, which he didn’t. He also had a pool table that we would play made up games on all night. We had a game called “nick it” where we would fire the ball off the rail and try to make it bounce all over the table and eventually land in a pocket. We played regular pool too but that got boring. Munt’s house was also where the world famous gummy peaches and jalapeño cheese dip snack originated. We used to love vinegar and salt chips with Frito Lay cheese dip. One night I was dared to dip a gummy peach in the cheese and I didn’t back down from dares in those days. I think I ate a whole pack of gummy peaches and cheese dip that night.

I also stayed at my friend Josh’s a lot as an early teen. I would say from when I was about 12-14, I spent a ton of time at his house. We had a lot of good times but I specifically remember playing “Bloody Mary” there for the first time. I was scared out of my mind doing that gag but I was determined not to chicken out. It was raining and lightning was flashing in the bathroom. I just knew that when I said that name for the 3rd time, I would see this horrible face in the mirror looking back at me. I actually did but it was my own face.

I stayed at my friend David’s a lot when I was 15 or so. We did a lot of sports at his house. We would play an indoor mini golf game that he had and set up the holes all over his house, using pets and furniture as obstacles. We also played a lot of home run derby with just about anything we could find. One of our best creations was using a tennis racket to hit ping pong balls over a stone wall in his front yard. We could make those ping pong balls do a lot with our pitching and most of the time it was pretty unpredictable. We also went through several sleeves of ping pong balls because anytime the edge of the racket made contact with the ball, it would be dented beyond repair or bust altogether. That was a really fun game!

Speaking of ping pong, my cousins Corey, Dusty and Jared had a table and when I spent the night there, we would play tournaments against each other until the wee hours of the morning. There are a couple of memories that stick out with this one. The ping pong table was set up in the dining room and when it was in full action, you didn’t even have enough room to walk completely around the table. The walls on both sides of the table were not far from the edge and we used to scratch and mark up the wall multiple times in a game. Also, think about the sound of a ping pong game. You have the paddle and ball making noise, the ball hitting the table and our paddles occasionally smacking the wall. Oh yeah, we laughed and smack talked each other the whole time too. We played until 3 and 4 in the morning and we never woke their mom up; at least to my knowledge.

This brings me to my buddy Brewer and the stay overs we had. Our gatherings were always about horror movies. I was working at the video store by this time and we rented every movie in the horror section during those days. We watched Video Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Silver Bullet, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw, Night of the Living Dead, Return of the Living Dead 1 and 2, Puppet Master, Ghoulies, and any other 80’s-90’s thriller you can think of. We actually stayed at several friends houses together over the years and we took the horror movies every where we went. I specifically remember watching Evil Dead and Dead Alive one night back to back at one friends house and being too freaked out to sleep.

We used to record ourselves all the time as well. We were actually way ahead of our time and we may have been the originators of the first ever podcast had we known what we were doing. It started out as cassette recordings of us playing video games or doing commentary on movies. This evolved into a makeshift talk show where we just made up guests and pretended to interview them. All of this would eventually culminate in a video series called “The Hover Hour”, which was a sit down talk show in which I would imitate one of our shop teachers and interview students from our high school, whom would all be played by Brewer. He would wear different outfits we would find around the house and really committed to these impressions. Sometimes we had a camera man and sometimes we would just set the recorder up on a piece of furniture. I’m telling you, we were pretty innovative for a couple of dumb teenagers. I wish I could put my hands on one of those old tapes.

There was something else that I did at every one of the houses above; open, trade and sort baseball cards. Everybody in this story collected cards and we all would compare our binders at these overnight gatherings. I remember Braves collections with Coop, Hubie Brooks with Munt, ’89 Bowman with Josh, Twins and 90’s Donruss with David, 80’s cards with Corey and Jared and football cards with Brewer. I have so many weird memories that are still vivid but are so random. I remember Coop having a Terry Pendleton Plaque with a card in it, listening to “Nothing Compares 2 U” while sorting my Jose Canseco pages with Corey and getting Brewer’s dad to sign one of my Desert Storm cards that pictured the tank that he worked on.

But the memory I will probably have until the day I die is the time David pulled the André Dawson Elite Series Card. I’ve told the story here more than once so I won’t bore you with the details again. But I’ve yet to pull an Elite of my own and I’m still trying, some 26 years later. I tried ’91 Donruss here and came up empty. Whenever I find ’91 or ’92, I buy it up and just rip packs looking for Elite. I no longer even sort the cards in the box because I have enough of them at this point, I could probably build a house out of them. But I continue to rip and search for that elusive Elite Card. It’s really the one major chase I have that I can’t really control. If I want to try and build a set, I can usually buy enough wax boxes to make it happen. I finally pulled the Griffey Jr. Upper Deck. I pulled a Pro Line Autograph last year. It’s the one remaining card that I just can’t seem to find in a box.

There’s really no actual clear odds on the Elite either as you can rip through entire cases and come up empty. It has to be the rarest card numbered to 10,000 ever created! Of course, you can find singles on eBay at very reasonable prices these days but I’m chasing that high of pulling one. Charlie at the LCS sent me a Facebook message last week saying somebody dropped in with a bunch of unopened wax that he bought. He had a box of ’92 Donruss Series 1 and 2 and he was holding it for me. Not only was the Elite a major chase that year but there are 5,000 signed Cal Ripken Jr’s to be found in that set as well!

So here I am, a 41 year old father of two, chasing a dream I had as a 15 year old kid that stayed up all night recording his cousin on a boom box playing Bayou Billy on Nintendo. For the record, I’m listening to my “Classics” playlist while I rip these two boxes and the music enhances the trip down memory lane. I have such gems as “Mama I’m Coming Home”, “November Rain”, “Who Made Who” and “Livin On A Prayer” blasting in my headphones and I’m focused.

The first thing I notice about ’92 is the new foil packaging. This was the first year they switched from wax to foil, in an effort to be a little more “premium”. Donruss also went to a white border for the first time in many years, ’84 I believe. These looked more like classic baseball cards than the previous two issues, which I liked in certain ways but always felt they were a little psychedelic. This was also a year in which Diamond Kings got a full makeover from the older looking fun sketches to a new, more distinguished look with gold foil and a little thicker stock. Each box had 36 packs so let’s see what ripping 72 foil wrappers can uncover!

The pitchers featured some big names from the 90’s. Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz would all go on to have Hall of Fame careers with my Bravos and Schilling and Clemens would make big names for themselves in Boston. Two of the biggest K Machines are found in Nolan Ryan and Doc Gooden.

As usual, the list of catchers is thin but these guys were damn good. This was at the very beginning of Pudge Rodriguez’s career and the very end of Pudge Fisk’s.

This is where the studs can be found! The infielders in 1992 may have been the best collection of active players in my lifetime. Look at these names; Ozzie Smith, Ryne Sandberg, Frank Thomas, Donnie Baseball, Cal Ripken,Wade Boggs, Will The Thrill, Big Mac, Crime Dog and The Big Cat! The infield was absolutely loaded!

The outfield wasn’t that far behind the infield. There were veterans like Kirby Puckett, Tony Gwynn, Eric Davis and Jose Canseco and then there were young stars like Ken Griffey Jr., Ron Gant, Dave Justice and Juan Gonzalez. These guys hit a lot of home runs in the 90’s!

These legends were classified as Designated Hitters so they get their own section.

How about some rookies? These were the guys who made some noise during their careers. Thome was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame! While Pat Mahomes may not have had a star studded career, his son has a good shot.

Here are the “Award Winners” from 1991. Bagwell and Knoblauch won their respective Rookie of the Year awards.

The All-Stars are some pretty recognizable names but I was a little surprised to see Ivan Calderon in the mix. I do remember him having an MVP card in one Donruss set but don’t remember his All Star appearance in the early 90’s.

The highlights of ’91 included Otis Nixon and Rickey Henderson’s stolen base records, Nolan Ryan’s 308 wins and the 3 man no-hitter for Atlanta.

Although these aren’t rookie cards, these are all players on my “Dated Rookies” checklist for autographs. These guys had so much promise in ’91-’92 but they just didn’t pan out. A couple of these players have sons that are youngsters in the league now.

Here are the new and improved Diamond Kings for ’92 with Will Clark being the star of the group. The others I pulled weren’t necessarily at the top of the checklist for ’92. But I still love ’92 DK!

Remember the introduction of the Marlins logo in this set? There was a Rockies card too but I didn’t pull that one.

Once again, there was no Elite Card to be found. The Chase continues and I’ll keep searching because I refuse to give up at this point. 1992 was a big improvement for Donruss in my opinion. The switch to foil wrappers, white borders and foil stamped Diamond Kings made it feel more grown up to me, which was perfect for a 15 year old. The number of legendary players that were active in 1992 is really unbelievable and it’s a shame this checklist had to be right in the thick of the junk wax era. I can’t find much wrong with this set other than a little bit of a weak rookie class. Besides Thome, nobody else is a Hall of Famer and really only a few had good, if only serviceable, careers. But that’s the only knock I have with ’92 Donruss. What say you??

J-Dub

Scoring Scale

1.Let me be the sacrificial lamb so you don’t have to buy these cards.  Just read the post and thank me later.

2.There is worse but there is much better – not worth the effort though.

3.Middle of the road – I wouldn’t talk you into buying these but I certainly wouldn’t talk you out of them.

4.You should probably go out and buy a box and enjoy the rip – I did!  It has some downside but worth the ride.

5.Stop reading and find a box to buy and get to Breaking!  What are you waiting on?

You already know that I’m the guy that is going to tell you that everything in the 80’s and early 90’s was better than today. The music, the movies, toys, everything. Wrestling is no exception. As a 12 year old kid, there was nothing that could hold my attention on the television more than some sweet WCW action with Tony Schiavone. I watched all the weekend shows and mimicked all the wrestlers on the trampoline with my cousins. You could never convince the teenage Dub that wrestling was kayfabe. It was my guiltiest pleasure on TV and that is certainly not a rib.

I’ll admit that I stole the term “rib” from a recent podcast that I have become consumed by. When I was in Dallas a few weeks ago, Eric Norton turned me on to “Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard.” I downloaded a couple of episodes to try them out and I was immediately taken back to the sweet wrestling days of my youth. Bruce Prichard, who was “Brother Love”, joins the host of the show, Conrad Thompson, to cover different wrestlers and wrestling events in an interview style that is very entertaining. One of their go to terms is “a rib”, which means joke, a put on, falsehood, you get it. If you loved wrestling as a kid, you better be listening to this weekly gem!

While I did grow to love WWE (WWF to me), I was always a Jim Crockett guy first. The NWA/WCW was a southern thing while WWF was more of a nationwide phenomenon. We enjoyed wrasslin more than wrestling and trust me, there’s a difference. I remember seeing a couple of events at the Civic Center in Albany as a kid. My favorite wrestlers at the time were the Road Warriors, Hawk and Animal. They always battled The Midnight Express, managed by Jim Cornette and his tennis racket.

All of this got me thinking about my many years of watching wrestling and how much better it was then than it is now. And you probably know by now that I enjoy a good list from time to time. So I originally decided to list my Top 5 favorite wrestlers of all time. That’s not an easy task when you think back over 30 years of watching wrestling. I then decided that if I was going to rank wrestlers, I should also rank a few managers/valets. And finally, if I’m ranking wrestlers and managers, why not rank some of the eye candy from the earlier days. They were sort of managers, sort of valets, then they wrestled some;but they were always a pleasure to look at. I’ll go from 5 to 1 but I promise this wasn’t easy.

Wrestlers

5. Mick Foley/Mankind/Dude Love/ Cactus Jack – I really liked all of the incarnations of Mick Foley but Mankind was probably my favorite. He had Sock-o and his “Have a nice day!” was always creepy and got stuck in my head. Foley really abused his body over the years and some of his most memorable matches for me came later in his career. I remember one specific match with Terry Funk that had them wrestling all over the arena; landing on tacks, breaking tables, climbing fences. As solid a #5 as you’ll ever find.

4. Junkyard Dog – JYD was one of the first wrestling action figures I ever owned. I remember having him and Hulk to go with the toy wrestling ring. He was also one of the heroes on the 80’s WWF cartoon that I watched frequently. Dog was famous for his head butt but it wasn’t an ordinary head butt. He would charge around on all fours when his opponent was on the ground and head butt them to keep them flopping around on the mat. They really don’t make wrestling gimmicks like they used to.

3. Undertaker – Taker is really the only recent wrestler on my list. Foley is not too far in the past but Taker was active very recently. My love for horror movies and wrestling made Undertaker a natural favorite of mine. I loved the gimmicks in the cemetery and the coffin matches and buried alive stunts. His “sit up” was also the stuff of legends and I recently found out on the wrestling podcast that it was patterned after the sit-up by Michael Myers in Halloween. Just one more thing to like about Taker.

2. Ric Flair – I know after you saw 5-3 you were probably wondering, “didn’t he say he was a Crockett guy?” Well, the top 2 bring that home. Everybody loves Ric Flair now but I loved The Nature Boy in 1989 when it was more cool to not like him. For my money, nobody beat him on the microphone. He was so entertaining and such a showman (and flopper) in the ring. He was also the owner of the very best robes in the sport, hands down. Ric Flair was the man and there is no denying that!

1. Dusty Rhodes – As much as I liked Flair, and still “Woooo” to this day, my all time favorite wrestler was Dusty Rhodes. And I’m not talking about the Polka Dot Dusty Rhodes of the WWF. I’m talking about “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. I can still see those Ray-Ban sunglasses as he tells Tony Chiavone what’s about to happen to the Four Horsemen. I really loved me some Dusty Rhodes and he would have been on my short list of “athletes I have to meet before I die” if he were still with us. The American Dream was the cream of the crop for me!

Managers/Valets

5. Ted DiBiase – I hated The Million Dollar Man as a wrestler but I enjoyed him when he was managing Psycho Sid and NWO. I didn’t like him because he was the ultimate heel but he was very entertaining and did his job very well. Sometimes the more you despise a heel, the more you need them around.

4. Captain Lou Albano – Captain Lou was fun to watch. He was more visible in the mainstream by the time I started watching wrestling but he was still making managerial appearances in the ring. He was also starring in Cyndi Lauper videos and the WWF cartoon so he was very visible. I could never figure out the rubber band fetish though.

3. Jim Cornette – If you want a better example of what I said above when discussing DiBiase, here it is. I absolutely could not stand Jim Cornette! But here he is on my list at #3. He made me hate The Midnight Express and I so wanted Hawk or Animal to smash him with his own tennis racket. But again, that’s part of the allure of wrestling. There are baby faces and there are heels. It doesn’t work if you don’t have both. And Jim Cornette was the ultimate heel manager!

2. Paul Bearer – If Undertaker made the list, you knew that Paul Bearer would be here. I could actually include Brother Love here too for his time with Taker. But Bearer was the ultimate creepy mortician that made me relish every Undertaker promo that came on. I would go around mocking his high pitched voice and try to make all those faces he made. What a cool manager!

1. Miss Elizabeth – I’m just going to let the photo speak for itself. She also deserves the #1 spot in the next category too!

The Ladies

5. Stephanie McMahon – I find myself in the minority when I bring up Steph to other wrestling fans as one of my favorites. She played the ultimate heel in the late 90’s with Triple H and from what I do see today, she is still pretty good at that. I don’t care what you say though, I like Stephanie McMahon a lot!

4. Sable – Between the evening gown matches and bikini contests, what’s not to love about Sable? Although I don’t think she would ever beat Luna Vachon in a legitimate match. Who could really?

3. Trish Stratus – There was a time when Trish would be #1 on this list but at this point, she’s settled in at #3. She was a bit of a heel so I had my ups and downs with her but there was no denying her “talent.” Not a fan of the Val Venis days though.

2. Beulah McGillicutty – It’s not often that you’ll find a name like Beulah McGillicutty on one of my lists but this one is an exception. She didn’t do a ton in WWE and was more known for her work in ECW but she was top notch. An absolute knockout!

1. Lita – I fell in love with Lita the first time I saw her and I really didn’t care about her being a heel one bit. Even at her heeliest, I wanted her to win. Maybe I just wanted her on the screen, I don’t really remember. Lita will be hard to unseat as my favorite. The hair, the rocker look, the flips…..a wrestling 10!

The podcast led me to YouTube to watch some old promos. I eventually landed on WWE TV and have been rewatching all the old Wrestlemania’s, even though I know how most of them end. I am not really clamoring to watch Monday Night Raw in 2018 because I know it won’t be as good as Dusty vs The Four Horsemen from the 80’s or The Rock vs Stone Cold of the late 90’s. But I have definitely been reliving some of the old glory days of a past time that was a big part of my youth. So naturally, I had to seek out an old box of wrestling cards from my youth.

That box was the stunning 1991 WCW set. I was 14 years old in 1991 and I watched every match that came on TV back then. It was a great time to be a wrestling fan. The cards themselves are, surprisingly, of very good quality for a non “Big 4” trading card. The stock is pretty good, the gloss is not too much but not too dull and the border just screams WCW in 1991. The box holds 36 packs of 15 cards and one puzzle card. Let’s see what was waiting inside!

The fronts of the cards were very nice but the backs could have been better. I’m sure they were going for gold but it almost looks mustardy. I do like the info on the backs though.

Jim Ross had a bigger wrestling career but Tony Schiavone was the voice of wrestling in my youth!

Missy Hyatt could have easily slid into the top 5 in the valet or ladies section but that means I’d have to take someone out. Maybe DiBiasi.

Michael “P.S.” Hayes and The Fabulous Freebirds!

Geez, I did not like Paul Heyman…..

Butch Reed and Ron Simmons were absolute BEASTS! Teddy Long on the other hand…..

I really loved the Steiner Brothers before Scott Steiner became “Big Poppa Pump” or whatever he called himself. Rick was very entertaining and was almost a poor mans Mick Foley.

Barry Windham was a heel that I couldn’t stand. As a member of The Four Horsemen, he made me want to tag into the match myself!

Sid was just plain scary. I would not have wanted to bump into him in a dark alley. Or a well lit church for that matter.

The dirtiest wrestler of all-time; Arn Anderson! He was ruthless in the ring and was the heart and soul of The Four Horsemen for many years. He kinda looked like a country singer too.

Here they are as a group!

How about Luger? He had the perfect wrestler body, very similar to that of the Ultimate Warrior.

I could’ve put Sting in my Top 6 if I had extended it one more spot. I loved him back during these days but the days where he was dressed like “The Crow” and carried a baseball bat weren’t as fun. He was a stud though!

And here he is! The Nature Boy himself! I know he was a hell and I know he was a part of The Four Horsemen. But damn, Flair was an icon even then! Wrestling was entertainment and there was no one more entertaining in 1991.

As an added bonus, I had to grab one of these Merlin WWF packs when I saw it too. These are a little more rare than most of the wrestling cards out there and are about $10 per pack shipped. These are some great looking cards though. This set is also the home of the Undertaker RC. I may be seeking out more of these!

No Undertaker in this pack but look who I did find! Miss Elizabeth in all her glory!

And then the opposite of Liz, the ever brutal Sensational Sherri. Tremendous heel!

Here are the other 6 I pulled with one being the incomparable Virgil. And who doesn’t remember good ole Irwin R. Schyster? I really like the design of these cards!

I’ll have to give 1991 WCW cards a 4 on the Dub-O-Meter. The design is good, stock is good, the photography is solid. But the collation is really bad. The set is not very big so when you get a box of 540, there are A TON of dupes. It felt like there were dupes in each pack! The price, $39, was a little higher than I think it should be. But those are really the only issues and it still comes in at a solid 4. I need to open more of the Merlin cards but they feel like a 5 to me at the moment. What say you about these old wrestling cards?

J-Dub

Scoring Scale

1.Let me be the sacrificial lamb so you don’t have to buy these cards.  Just read the post and thank me later.

2.There is worse but there is much better – not worth the effort though.

3.Middle of the road – I wouldn’t talk you into buying these but I certainly wouldn’t talk you out of them.

4.You should probably go out and buy a box and enjoy the rip – I did!  It has some downside but worth the ride.

5.Stop reading and find a box to buy and get to Breaking!  What are you waiting on?

The year was 1991 and I had in my head that I could play any sport out there. I wasn’t elite at anything but I was competent at all of it. I could throw, hit, shoot, dribble, tackle….you name it. Again, not unstoppable by any means but I was never nervous about stepping on to a field with strangers because I knew I could compete. We even had a volleyball league at our rec department when I was a little older and I enjoyed that. Full disclosure; one thing I have never been able to do is run fast, which is contradictory for the poster athlete of this set. And before your mind goes there, I haven’t always been fat so that’s not the primary reason I’m slow! At 14, I hadn’t quite figured out which sport I was going to try as my main sport. While I knew it wasn’t Track & Field, I was playing little league baseball, youth football and church league basketball at that time with varying degrees of success.You see, while I was able to play all of these sports, I had some deficiency in each of them as well (besides being slow). In baseball, I was very good with the glove and was an accurate, but not overpowering hurler. I could also make contact with the best of them. What I couldn’t do was hit for power or throw 70 mph. In football, I could be elusive for a slow guy; I could catch a football and could even read blocks at that level. However, I couldn’t overcome my lack of size and was flattened on occasion. I was always one of the smaller kids among my peers. In basketball, I have always been a good ball handler, accurate shooter and deceptive passer. But the one thing I couldn’t do, now or then, was jump very high. That takes me out of the basketball equation altogether. I was barely touching the rim in high school and was in the best shape of my life! Again, size may have played in to that. You may be muttering in your head something about hockey. Well, South Georgia is not known for ice staying frozen for more than about 5 minutes, so there’s that.I watched all of these sports on TV and would emulate my favorite athletes to the best of my ability. In 1991, it was a lot easier to take in sporting events because they were on less often. That sound’s like an antithetical statement but its true. It doesn’t mean I was watching MORE sports, it just means I was watching games closer. I had 2 teams that I could watch play baseball regularly and that was the Cubs and Braves. As a youngster, I gravitated toward Shawon Dunston because he was smooth. Basketball was on TV even less often but did hit NBC on Sundays. I loved Bird and Magic and would try to shoot and pass like them. Football was one game on Sunday afternoon (Falcons) and Monday Night Football. Scott Case was my guy with the Falcons. I remember recording some games and watching them make plays over and over. If there is one thing that size couldn’t stop me from doing, it was me trying to be the smartest player on the field.The point of all of this is that I was a multi sport guy at heart. I’m just not a multi sport guy from a physiological standpoint. So as a card collector who got his full time start in 1989, imagine my initial reaction to the release of 1991 Classic Draft Picks. For me, it was my first experience with multi sport. It may be the first set of its kind but I don’t know that for sure. I know it was the first classic multi sport set, although they continued through the better part of the 90’s. When this set released, I had to get my hands on these cards. I wanted all of these different athletes available in one single pack. But not only was it multi sport, it also featured many athletes that weren’t showing up in regular sets yet. It was really a cool concept and was pulled off well in ’91. Unfortunately, 26 years later, the cards didn’t age well.The set was 230 cards and featured draft picks from each of the four major sports that year. However, there was one glaring omission from the hockey portion of the set which I’ll cover shortly. The box came with 36 packs and 12 cards per, giving you the perfect opportunity to build the base set with one box, which I did with this one. The card design was pretty basic with a gray marble border and centered, but often poorly lit, photos. The backs of the cards were very plain with a lot of blank space. And then there was the UV coating. Why did card companies do this?? You will not pull any 9’s or 10’s out of this box but even if you did, I don’t think you’d have a card worthy of the fireproof.There were also a small amount of inserts featuring some of the top prospects in each sport. The set also featured unique Raghib “Rocket” Ismail cards due to his popularity. He was actually drafted #100 overall in the NFL but don’t let that fool you. There is a reason this set focused on him to a large degree. A box also gave collectors a shot at 1 of 50,000 autographed cards. That may seem like a lot of autographs to be floating around but remember production in the early 90’s is projected at a bazillion. I would guess that it’s the equivalent of pulling an auto numbered to 99 today but maybe I’m off. Did that stop me from crossing my fingers? You better believe it didn’t!I latched on to this set for one major player, Larry Johnson. Unless you were around in the early 90’s, you may not realize just how big Larry Johnson was in the sport of basketball. He was definitely talented on the court but he also made waves in commercials and cartoons. Surely you remember “Grand ma-ma”! The Running Rebels of UNLV were well represented in this set with Anderson Hunt, Greg Anthony and George Ackles also present. The Rebels were amazing to watch! Johnson had a series within the base numbered cards that detailed a one on one matchup that he had with Billy Owens, the other big NBA prospect in the set. Owens was drafted 3rd overall and had a fairly productive career averaging double figures in scoring his first 9 seasons and for his overall career. He didn’t match the superstar status of LJ though.A few other names from basketball that were featured were Dikembe Mutombo, Rick Fox, Dale Davis and Stanley Roberts. Roberts was a 7’0, 285 lb. center at LSU that was actually the starter when Shaq was a freshman. There is a report that Stanley took Shaq to school while he was there too. They would later team up at Orlando with Shaq being the big guy on campus this time around. I always liked Stanley Roberts so I had to include him in this photo.In football, the set had a heavy Rocket Ismail feel, as mentioned above. The Rocket was a wide receiver and return man at Notre Dame. He was a highlight waiting to happen in college and almost won the 1991 National Championship with a 91 yard punt return for a touchdown that was called back for clipping. They lost 10-9 to Colorado. He finished 2nd in the Heisman voting and was widely considered the automatic #1 draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the ’91 Draft. Instead of heading to the NFL, he chose to sign with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. He was still drafted by the LA Raiders at pick 100 but did not play for them until 1993. He signed a record $18.2 million for four years to play in the CFL. That’s 1991 money folks! Doug Flutie was considered a marquee player and made $1 million per season. In his rookie season, the Argonauts won the Grey Cup and he was named MVP of the game, returning a kickoff 87 yards for a TD. The next year, the Argonauts struggled; Rocket became disenfranchised and signed with the Raiders. It took him six seasons before he had a 1,000 yard receiving season and he only had two in total. He was an electrifying player but took an odd career track which likely hurt his legacy as a football player. Imagine if Rocket in his prime joined up with Aikman, Emmitt and Irvin!Instead, the Cowboys chose Russell Maryland from Miami as the #1 pick. He is listed here with other standouts from the football portion of the set. One of the underrated draft picks found here is none other than Brett Favre. Ricky Watters, Ed McCaffrey and Ricky Ervins had solid NFL careers but McGwire, Marinovich and Ismail received more publicity. For those of you who were not born yet or were living under a rock, Dan McGwire was the football playing brother of Mark. Ervins had a very decent but short 5 year career in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with Washington his rookie season.Baseball was loaded with players who went on to have good careers but one name was above all else that year. That name was Brien Taylor. Scott Boras said in 2006, “Brien Taylor, still to this day, is the best high school pitcher I’ve seen in my life. In high school, he amassed a 29-6 record with a 1.25 ERA and 213 K’s in 88 IP. He was throwing 99 mph in high school! Unfortunately for Yankee fans, and collectors worldwide, it didn’t translate to the majors. After a few years of struggling with mechanics, Taylor declined an invite to an instructional league and went home during the offseason. While home, he got in a fight and injured his throwing shoulder. He would then have surgery, miss a full season and come back the following year throwing almost 10 mph slower. He never appeared in a major league game. A few players who did appear in games and played pretty well are also pictured. Cliff Floyd spent some time here in Albany playing for our local minor league squad, The Albany Polecats.Finally, we have the hockey highlights. As you can see from Card #1 in the set, Eric Lindros is pictured. But strangely, he is not in the base set. He was in the Hockey Classics base set that year but was left out here for some reason. I thought initially it may have been some sort of contract issue but he was card #1 in the all hockey set. I openly admit that I am not a hockey guy. But I do know the names pictured. Peter Forsberg was a bonafide star and was elected into the 2014 Hockey Hall of Fame. And who could forget Ziggy Palffy? There were other names that were vaguely familiar but I just don’t know enough about the sport to talk about it. I will try to get better gang.

The set as a whole had a ton of names that were familiar and many of the players were highly touted and never made it. Harvey Williams, and RB from LSU and Scott Stahoviak come to mind. There is a ton of nostalgia to sift through if you collected these cards at one time. The price point is nostalgia friendly too as I had this box purchased and shipped for $9. There are some issues though. This was printed as a “premium” set and used a similar UV coating to Topps Stadium Club and the cards were all stuck together. They did not come apart as easily as TSC either so a stack of the cards were damaged. Also, they have that bad aroma that comes with UV coating that has been hermetically sealed for a quarter century. The cards don’t carry much value but it was fun to remember the players and the design from that set. I had a lot of these cards floating around my collection back then but don’t ever remember having a Favre.

If you are a young collector that likes hits, this is probably not a set I would recommend you try. There are just too many issues with the cards and return on investment is non-existent. But if you are a 40 year old dweeb like me that likes to harken back to the days of his youth, I wouldn’t stop you from springing the $9 to take the ride. But be warned; it did get old at about pack 24.  The set gets an unfortunate score on the Dub-O-Meter of 2.  I almost gave it a 3 just for nostalgia reasons but I couldn’t justify it.

J-Dub

Scoring Scale

1. Let me be the sacrificial lamb so you don’t have to buy these cards.  Just read the post and thank me later.

2. There is worse but there is much better – not worth the effort though.

3. Middle of the road – I wouldn’t talk you into buying these but I certainly wouldn’t talk you out of them.

4. You should probably go out and buy a box and enjoy the rip – I did!  It has some downside but worth the ride.

5. Stop reading and find a box to buy and get to Breaking!  What are you waiting on?

One of my favorite people to chat with about the hobby is Ryan (@basecardhero).  We have DM chat sessions sometimes that are probably like a couple of teen girls on the telephone reading Tiger Beat circa 1992.  That’s probably extreme but yeah, we have some entertaining banter.  We talk about hobby happenings, things we like and don’t like and what we are currently working on as it relates to sets or players.  I enjoy those conversations because we are a lot alike from a collecting standpoint.  Trust me, there is a lot to talk about when we chat.  The pic below is one he sent me of the cards he is sorting now.  My little collector brain almost exploded.  Our last conversation sparked an idea for this blog post. We were talking about the pains of hearing about “Zeke and Dak” and how the hype has made them less collectible in our eyes.  The conversation turned to hot prospects and Rookies of our youth and how we would’ve never tired of hearing about Ken Griffey Jr.  That led us to his 1989 Upper Deck Rookie Card.  More about that in a minute.I’ve been collecting a long time.  I started at around 11 and with a few hiccups along the way for growing up and experiencing new things; I am going on 30 years of lusting after cardboard.  I’ve picked up a lot of pieces along the way that have made me proud of my collection and I’ve talked about those in pretty good detail over the last couple of weeks in my “What’s In The Fireproof” series.  I also touched a little on things that are missing from my collection that I hope to add.  Robert Ballis (@RBallis) made a tremendously kind donation to that list with the addition of the Frank Thomas Autographed White Sox jersey a couple of weeks ago.  I am still searching for a way to somewhat even the score with Mr. Ballis.But the items I listed that I want for my collection are “wants” and are a matter of making purchases or trades.  Sometimes those items can be added with unmatched kindness like that shown by Robert.   There are other things that I list on my “Collecting Bucket List” that aren’t just pieces that are added.  The bucket list is filled with items that I am going to have to work for as a collector to add.  They are items that aren’t going to pop up on eBay and I click “buy”.  You can actually do that for almost anything but I’m working on a budget here.  I use a bucket list to outline “accomplishments” and not necessarily treasure items that are in my collection.  Although when the accomplishments are completed, they no doubt yield treasures.  Does that make any sense?Bottom line is I have a “wants” list and a “bucket list” and the bucket list is what I want to talk about today.  I WANT a UGA bloodline bulldog for the family and one day, maybe I’ll own one.  And that will be a glorious day much like the day I received the Thomas Jersey.  But on my BUCKET LIST, is traveling to Santa Monica and singing along to Everclear on the pier as the sun goes down.  When that gets accomplished, I know I can look back on my life and know that I met some goals.  Do you see the difference?  They are both great, but both very different.  So, enough half-ass explaining what I am trying to say and on to the actual bucket list.

• I want to pull a 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey, Jr. from an actual unopened pack.  I know what you’re thinking; that’s not that big of a deal.  Let me tell you where I am coming from on this.  I have bought pack lots and boxes off of eBay for as long as eBay’s been around and it’s never happened.  The thing about ’89 Upper Deck is that even though they advertised “tamper proof” packs and more “advanced collating”, there a still a boatload of collectors that can tell you right where the Jr. is in most boxes.  And many more can open a couple of packs and figure it out.  I am not one of those people but I’m sure the boxes I have bought before have been picked over to a large extent and the Jr. has been removed.  It’s also an extremely large set, even by 80’s standards, with a checklist of 800 cards.  I didn’t get to buy many packs in ’89 because they were “so expensive” and they really weren’t available at my Wal-Mart.  I have 2 Jr’s in my collection but those were both obtained through buying the sets at reasonable prices.  I want that thrill of pulling one in a pack and it continues to elude me.
• Let me increase the intensity just a hair with this one.  I want to own the complete 1984 USFL Topps Premier Edition.  Of course, these are available on eBay but again, the budget issue.  I can’t spend that kind of money on a box of sports cards as long as I have kids in the house.  I don’t know if I could sleep at night.  That doesn’t mean I don’t look at it quite often on the various auction sites where it’s found.  I keep thinking that one day I’ll stumble on to one at one of the many vintage or antique shops I visit in my travels.  In the meantime, I pick up singles when I can find them.  If not put together over time, then one day I’ll have enough disposable income to spend on the set.  When I get to that point, I will be satisfied with my economic standing in life.  Again, that’s an accomplishment.  The ’84 USFL Set provides the first football cards for a plethora of NFL legends.  Among them are Reggie White, Steve Young, Jim Kelly and Herschel Walker.  There are also very serviceable NFL’ers like JoJo Townsell, Ricky Sanders, Anthony Carter, Doug Williams and Mike Rozier.  The list is much more extensive but I have to move on.
• While we are on 1984, we might as well discuss the NFL version of ’84 Topps.  This is a set I want to put together through singles and packs when I can find them.  This set is even more prestigious than the USFL version and remains one of the most sought after football sets since 1981.  This set includes the rookies of John Elway, Dan Marino, Howie Long and Eric Dickerson.  Along with those star rookies, the “veterans” in the set include Walter Payton, Franco Harris, Ozzie Newsome, Jack Lambert and Joe Montana.  The set is loaded and the price for a box reflects it.  The packs will run you $40 and the dad gum empty box costs almost $100!  This one is going to take some time one card at a time but anything is possible.
• Continuing the theme with sets I want to build, I want to put together a pre-1980 set of any sport.  I have looked at a few that I like but I’ve just never started the process.  I know that it’s going to take some time and I usually occupy myself with 80’s sets but I want to tackle this one eventually.  I like the 1975 baseball set and (@waxtopia) just brought that one back to the forefront for me.  But otherwise, I also like ’73 and ’79 baseball.  I would love to put together the 1972-73 Basketball set but that is a long shot.  As for football, 1973 is probably my favorite design but if I’m going to do it, I might as well try for ’76 when Sweetness was a rookie.  This one is a solid goal for me but I don’t know when I’ll get around to starting it.
• Finally, the king of all bucket list items; 1986 Fleer Basketball.  Most collectors know that basketball left the card market after the ’81-’82 Topps set and would make a triumphant return in 1986 with Fleer.  If only I had known in 1986 just how important this set would be.  It was essentially a majority rookie set because it was the first basketball card for half the league.  Everyone knows about Michael Jordan’s rookie card in the set and I have that on my wants list.  But also included in the “RC” category are James Worthy, Chris Mullin, Isaiah Thomas, Clyde Drexler, Dominique Wilkins, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley.  Let that sink in for a minute.  A large portion of the leagues very best players throughout the 80’s and 90’s have rookie cards in the 1986 Fleer set.  Singles are tough to get and are expensive, even for semi-stars.  The other issue with Fleer is counterfeits.  There are tons of Jordan’s but there are others that can trip you up on your way to a complete set when buy one or two at a time.  I will admit that this probably has a slim chance of success but it’s on the bucket list for a reason.  It is the ultimate goal for me as a card collector.

Another “item” I want to add that is a cross-over to my bucket list is a Jackie Robinson baseball card.  I don’t really care what condition or what year but I will add an authentic, non-reprint Jackie one day.  You know exactly where it’s going to go when I get it too!  What are some of your goals as a collector?  What are some of the sets or pack pulls that have eluded you over time?  Technology and access to cards has made the bucket list much smaller than it used to be but there are still lofty goals that each of us have circled that we want to meet.  For me, the ultimate culmination of this crazy life would be me sitting at the end of the Santa Monica pier with Mrs. Dub, singing “We could live beside the ocean” all while thumbing through my set of 1986-87 Fleer basketball cards.  If things go the way I have them planned in my mind, that dream will one day become reality.

J-Dub

I’m turning the clock way back on this retro review.  I’m going all the way back to when I was 4 years old and the year the first DeLorean rolled off the production line.   Yes, we are taking a trip back to 1981 and we are going to look at a box of Donruss Baseball.  While 1981 was not all good with Bob Marley passing away and the first recognized cases of AIDS were diagnosed, there were much happier events going on as well.  Donkey Kong was released and was a smash hit!  I remember having chicken pox on Christmas Day when I was a kid but I had a handheld Donkey Kong game that helped keep my spirits up!  MTV also aired its first music video as the station was launched.  Videos on MTV are now ancient as it has become a lewd reality channel but believe me young kids, it used to play music videos 24 hours a day!Major League Baseball also went on strike in 1981 from June 12th to August 9th.  The All-Star game was actually played on the 9th and the regular season resumed on the 10th.  The strike of ’81 was caused by issues involving free agency and the owner’s expectation of compensation for losing a player.  The players called the strike but were provoked by the owners from all accounts I find.  An interesting tidbit from the strike was that reporters simulated the delayed All-Star game with a Strat-O-Matic and ran the scoreboard inside the stadium to mark the games progress.   The Strat-O-Matic used is now a fixture in the Hall of Fame.   The strike ended with the creation of a form of “Restricted Free Agency” and compensation to the owners that included picks from a pool of unprotected players from other teams when they lost a star to free agency.While I was only 4 at the time, I do like to share a personal story from the timeframe I’m covering in the review.  For that, I am going to go to an event in the general area, actually from 1980.  It was a fairly traumatic event for me and my parents and part of the reason they waited 6 years before having another kid.  I was 3 at the time and playing around an old race car that my dad and granddaddy had, called The Silver Bullet.  It was indeed a silver bullet as it was in a cylindrical shape and you sat in the “bullet” to drive it.  It was quite an odd site but I remember it to this day.   I couldn’t even find a photo to show except for the above and it only resembles it.   It’s not exact but it will give you an idea.   The car was not pulled on a trailer to the track but had a trailer tow bar assembly that hooked to the front two wheels and then connected to the truck.  When not in use, the tow bar laid back over the hood of the car.  It was pretty much like the image below but a little bigger.Being the adventurous toddler I was, I attempted to scale that tow bar as it was standing up in the air.   It did not end well. The tow bar toppled over and I fell to the ground.  The back of my head hit the ground and the tow bar landed on the top of my head.  It essentially smashed my skull and busted my head open.  I remember bits and pieces of the incident.  I remember my granddaddy or dad yelling, “Get the truck!”   I remember parts of the ride to the hospital and getting a shot after regaining consciousness post surgery.   It was truly a “near fatal” accident as the hitch hit my head only a couple of inches above my eye sockets, which would’ve been crushed.  I had tons of stitches, nightmares for a couple of years and bad headaches throughout my youth because of it.   I also wasn’t able to really play football because of headaches when I took a big hit.  But I didn’t learn my lesson because I busted the stitches right back open while leaving the hospital.  My grandmother asked me what happened and I said, “I hit my head like this” while actually banging my head again.   I have never claimed to be the brightest bulb in the box!On to 1981 Donruss and more happy times.   I had not begun collecting at this point but I make it a habit to go back and buy cards from my childhood because the cards themselves take me back to those days and I find myself being a kid again.  I would not have thought about the head incident if I hadn’t been thinking about 1981 but all of the memories aren’t bad ones like that.   That one is more of a badge of honor these days because everybody has a good “the day I almost died” story.   Well, 1981 was the year Donruss was born.  It would later die a little, as did most collectors inside, in 1990 but that is a story for another day.  In 1981, Donruss was a raw newcomer to the hobby.   Fleer won a major court victory over Topps in 1980, which resulted in Topps losing its exclusivity in the sport.  Thanks to that huge win, Fleer and Donruss joined the party the following year.In ’81, Donruss included a slab of gum in packs just like Topps.  Let me tell you – the gum was relentless on the cards.  I trashed every gum faced card in the box because the gum had become one with the card.  Thank God that only lasted one year as Donruss switched over to puzzle pieces in ’82 that formed a large version of a Diamond King card.  Diamond King was introduced in 1982 as well.  The ’81 set was put together very quickly because of the short time between the court case and the beginning of the baseball season so they didn’t get to iron out any kinks until 1982.  When looking at the cards, it is no doubt a first year product.   Leaf, Upper Deck and Stadium Club did so much better when they came on the scene but they had more time to plan and photography was so much better by then.  The set is loaded with errors after a quick check on the Trading Card Database.  I don’t know if I’m ready to tackle a set yet while I’m still working through ’91 Topps.As for the design, the card was pretty standard with a white outer border, a large color border and then an interior thin black border.  The color border was either a color from the uniform or an alternate color for the team.  The Donruss Logo and ’81 was in the top left corner of the card while the team name was in the bottom right in block banner type letters.  The players name and position was bottom center with the players name being bold.  The names were below the color border.   The backs of the cards were quite busy.  Printed at the top of the card was “FIRST EDITION COLLECTOR SERIES” with the Donruss logo and a pair of crossed bats and balls underneath.  A wavy banner flowed out of the crossed bats.   Below that was the player’s vital statistics.   Then, the majority of the back of the card was made up of Career Highlights, in text, identified by year.  Finally, the player stats (1980 and Lifetime) was all the way at the bottom of the card.  The back was white with the banner being a pinkish color and the card stock was very thin.

Most of the photos used in the set were posed or staged photos.  There are a few action shots but even those appear to be from a practice or lightly attended spring training game.  There are some neat shots but the posed photos scream early 80’s!   Although the rookie class in ’81 Donruss was slim, the full checklist was strong.   The set included Ozzie Smith, Mike Schmidt, Willie Stargell, Joe Morgan, Rod Carew, Johnny Bench, Gary Carter, George Brett, Rickey Henderson, Pete Rose and many other stars.  The slim rookie class only included Tim Raines, Mookie Wilson and Danny Ainge (Yes, that Danny Ainge) as chase cards.  Raines was recently inducted to the Hall of Fame so I was definitely looking to add a couple of his cards in this rip.

With our description in the books, let’s take a look at the hits from the box.  The set is devoid of any inserts other than a card with Rod Carew and George Brett called “Best Hitters”, George Brett and Mike Schmidt MVP’s and Steve Stone and Steve Carlton Cy Young’s.  Let’s see the magic!

The Rookies – I actually pulled all 3 rookies to have in this set but I saved the Raines for last in this post.  You’re going to love it!

The “Inserts” – I pulled 3 of the 5 award winner cards and I pulled dupes of them.

The Catchers – This group is headlined by Johnny Bench and Gary Carter but I couldn’t leave my man Bruce Benedict out.  I still have an old photo of a tiny Dub at Fulton County Stadium with Bruuuuuce in the background.
The Infielders – This is a LEGIT group of infielders, except maybe Horner, who I had to include just like Benedict.  Just take a moment and look at these stud names!
The Outfielders – Again, a solid group led by Rickey and The Hawk.  I always liked Dave Parker too and he looks scary on this card.  Of course, Lonnie Smith makes an appearance.
The Pitchers – Take your time and look at these names.  These are some solid pitchers.  Koosman was on the Nolan Ryan rookie card.  Rollie is rocking the sweet stache.  And The Mad Hungarian, Al Hrabosky looks like a raving madman!

My Best Pulls – I told you the gum was relentless….just look at this.  I almost shed a tear.  Nolan Ryan, The Raines rookie and a Johnny Bench – Destroyed!!  I managed to pull a second Bench but these were the ONLY Ryan and Raines cards I pulled.  I would have LOVED to have had these in decent condition.  This almost ruined the entire box break for me.  I’m not joking….
It’s really hard for me to be fair with this score after seeing the Ryan and Raines cards in shambles.  Granted, the other pulls were very cool and 1981 was 36 years ago!  I have never opened a box this old and I pulled some great players on some of their earlier cards.  The condition of the cards overall was pretty rough.  The stock is very thin and tough to keep in good condition over this length of time.  The corners were dinged throughout the box.  But still, this is a vintage box of cards with some quality stars.  If the Raines and Ryan had been ok, I would’ve given this a better score but the risk of that happening when you buy a box makes it worthy of a ding in the point total. I have to go with a 3 on the Dub-O-Meter.  The price of the box is reasonable for such an old set but ’81 Donruss was truly a test run for the company.  You can find them around $50 and if you can avoid the gum issues, it’s well worth the rip.  It’s just risky. And because of that, I won’t stop you from checking it out but I’m not telling you to go buy it now either.  

J-Dub

Scoring Scale

1. Let me be the sacrificial lamb so you don’t have to buy these cards.  Just read the post and thank me later.

2. There is worse but there is much better – not worth the effort though.

3. Middle of the road – I wouldn’t talk you into buying these but I certainly wouldn’t talk you out of them.

4. You should probably go out and buy a box and enjoy the rip – I did!  It has some downside but worth the ride.

5. Stop reading and find a box to buy and get to Breaking!  What are you waiting on?

The year 1985 was a pretty solid year.  My 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Parker, might disagree but it was a ton of fun and there were some pretty historical events shaping the landscape at that time.  Here’s a small sample of the action from that year:

• Nintendo released the NES in October of that year and the video gaming industry would never be the same.

• Michael Jordan was named the NBA’s rookie of the year.

• Windows 1.0 was released, changing the way we would use computers for decades to come.

• Tech wizards created these shiny objects called “compact discs”.

• The song, “We Are the World” was recorded.  Who doesn’t remember that classic?

• Sly Stallone was a busy actor making Rocky IV and Rambo II.

• Coca-Cola introduced New Coke – ok, that’s not necessarily an endorsement of 1985.

• Back to The Future was released in theaters.I enjoy going back to the past as opposed to back to the future but that was a classic movie that is still a must watch when it’s on the tube.  Parts 1 and 2 were great films but the rest kind of lost me.  In fact, I like to think that the Sports Almanac in Part 2 had a section about cards in it that had a list of the hottest cards from the past.  I’m sure 1989 Upper Deck and 1990 Leaf were on the buy list while 1990 Donruss and 1991 Fleer were on the avoid list, but I digress.   In this post, we are going to go back to that great year and take a look at a baseball product that is very good in my opinion but is underrated because of the existence of 1985 Topps and the presence therein of the Mark McGwire rookie card.  Donruss also hit a home run in 1986 with Fred McGriff and Jose Canseco getting Rated Rookie status.   Because of these circumstances, 1985 Donruss is sometimes overlooked.I am here to try and set the record straight and bring back some good memories of this set.  When you take a closer peek at the set, some good things stand out to you.  First, the rookie class is very solid with the inclusion of Eric Davis, Shawon Dunston, Sid Bream (Braves Fans), Terry Pendleton, Dan Gladden, Orel Hershiser, Kirby Puckett and Roger Clemens.  Granted, some of these weren’t true rookies but they were 1st issue Donruss cards and remain in the top 5 most sought after (base set) cards of these players.  Diamond Kings continued to be a hot card subset in ’85 with great artistry from Dick Perez.   The design itself was pretty good with a nice black border and great subject coverage.It’s not all roses and candy for the set though.  The Rated Rookie class was slim with only Dunston and Danny Tartabull having solid careers.  The aforementioned nice looking black border is not so nice 32 years later.  There isn’t an issue with cards sticking together and there are no gum stains but there are typical nicks on an old card with such a bold border.  Even with these specific issues, 1985 as a whole included a great list of superstars like Tony Gwynn, George Brett, Dave Winfield, Ozzie Smith, Dale Murphy, Nolan Ryan, Ryne Sandberg and many, many more.The complete set was 653 player cards and 7 checklist cards.  The first 26 cards in the set were Diamond Kings and they included names like Ryno, Mattingly, Ripken Jr and Gwynn.  Cards 27-45 were the Rated Rookies for the year.  Then the base set ran from 46-653.  The seven checklists included one for Diamond Kings and then 6 for the base set.  The puzzle subject chosen for 1985 was Lou Gehrig.  I’m enjoying putting these puzzles together more than I thought as I am rummaging through these old boxes.  Finally, the box itself comes with 36 packs with 15 cards each, plus one puzzle piece.  There is a box bottom as well but it is one static bottom and did not come in any other variations.  The bottom has Dwight Gooden, Ryne Sandberg, Ron Kittle and the Gehrig puzzle.   I wonder what contest Kittle won to earn box bottom status with Gooden and Sandberg?

So, did I pull any of those great rookies?   Let’s take a look!

Diamond KingsThese were the two best Diamond Kings I pulled from the set.  I also pulled Frank Viola, Tony Pena and Dan Q but these two were the standouts.  I actually pulled 3 of the Ripkens.

The RookiesSolid box with Gooden, Davis and Hershiser but I missed out on Clemens and Puckett.  I really wanted the Puckett so I could send it to one of my Twins pals but no such luck.  Sid Bream is an Atlanta Braves legend and I pulled 2 of his RC’s so pleased with that.  I really like the Tartabull in the old M’s jersey.  And I only included Bielecki to show off that Bucs jersey!

The StarsLook at these stars!  The only one I really whiffed on that I wanted was Murph.  I was hoping for a nice Powder Blue Superstar.  But Straw, Rip, Gwynn, Donnie Baseball and The Hawk?  That’s a loaded group.  Anytime you can get your hands on younger cards of these guys, it makes ripping fun!

The LegendsThese guys were on the back end of their careers for the most part but had stellar careers!  A set that includes the superstars from earlier plus Reggie, Carew, Schmidt and Charlie Hustle?  I’ll take that all day.  And I was really surprised by the Oakland Joe Morgan.  Didn’t expect to see that one!

The InsertThis was the oddball card in the set.  “Two For The Title” with Winfield and Mattingly.  I’m not sure why there weren’t more of these included but this was a cool change up in the set.

The All Name TeamIf the Superstars and Legends didn’t sell you, take a look at these studs!  Rusty Kuntz, Razor Shines, John Wockenfuss and Kurt Bevacqua!  These are pure golden cardboard!  I’m a huge King of The Hill fan and I love the episode where Bevacqua plays for Thatherton’s softball team.  Peggy Hill vs Kurt Bevacqua was legendary!

Greatest PhotoThere we’re actually several contenders for this honor but nothing can beat Rollie and the Stache.  Not even Kent Tekulve in the Pirates Pill Box hat!This was a very fun box to rip for me.  I remember all of these players whether in their prime, just getting started or on their way out.  These are big names in the history of baseball and to have a chance to pull originals of these guys is very exciting.  The box itself is much cheaper than the Topps version and is a great second option for the collector on a budget.  The checklist is strong, the design is good and the set is not too difficult to build.  Another box should finish out what I’ve started with a couple of singles to boot.  I’ll give 85 Donruss a 4 on the Dub-O-Meter based on the fun it holds within it’s wax packs.  Speaking of, I was careful enough with the ripping to salvage over half the packs for my buddy @oriolesrise!  If you have the time and the money, give 85 Donruss a shot!

J-Dub

Scoring Scale

1. Let me be the sacrificial lamb so you don’t have to buy these cards.  Just read the post and thank me later.

2. There is worse but there is much better – not worth the effort though.

3. Middle of the road – I wouldn’t talk you into buying these but I certainly wouldn’t talk you out of them.

4. You should probably go out and buy a box and enjoy the rip – I did!  It has some downside but worth the ride.

5. Stop reading and find a box to buy and get to Breaking!  What are you waiting on?