I am under no delusion that I am in my athletic prime. In fact, I haven’t been for about 20 years. But I like to think that I can still compete within my demographic. And just what is my demographic, you ask? I think I fit into the 40+, overweight, desk jockey, father of two category quite nicely. I’m hanging on as long as I can in Softball, Basketball and even Kickball. I gave up on Football, because it is certainly not an old man’s game, and I never picked up Soccer so I don’t have to worry about that. In South Georgia, we can’t keep ice in our sweet tea from melting in the time it takes to finish a full glass, so Hockey was never an option for me.
I wrote about trying to keep my basketball career alive for another season just a few weeks ago. Our team is the oldest team in the league, collectively. We have 5 players at 40 or older. Technically, CJ is only 39 but he will be 40 in another month or so. Robby and I are in the early stages of our 40’s, Darrel has moved into the latter stages of the 40’s (sorry Darrel) and the Uncle Drew (Gary) of our team is 50. We have a couple of guys in their 20’s and one that is 16 but the rest are at least mid 30’s and older. When I wrote that piece a few weeks ago, we were just enjoying a little bit of success in the league and taking advantage of the chance to run up and down the court like we were kids again.
Well, we made it to the playoffs; where the season culminates in a win or go home scenario. We won in the 1st round of the playoffs last week and we advance to the Final 4 for the first time in our 4 seasons. We aren’t what you would call overnight sensations. We have slowly built a contender out of a rag tag group of friends who spend most of their time playing softball together. We started in the league 3 years ago and we didn’t win a single game. Two years ago, we won a couple. We didn’t do much better last year but we played better as a team. We were sitting at 6-3, our best season yet, heading into the final night of the playoffs.
I have played some form of organized basketball off and on for about 30 years. I started in R.A.’s (Royal Ambassadors) at the church and have skipped around from city leagues to competitive leagues to the recreational league we are in now. I never ran AAU games or anything sporty like that but I have always been around the game. In all my years of being around basketball, nothing beats the win or go home playoff game. That can be said about most sports but basketball has always been my favorite. That is why the NCAA Tournament is so exciting! That and copious amounts of money on teams like Rhode Island pulling upsets over Duke.
Playoff games in any sport will test the mettle of a man (or woman). You can be the best athlete on the court but if you can’t handle pressure, you are going to destroy your team when it matters. When you’re under pressure, you feel it all over your body. Free throws can feel like half court shots; driving to the basket feels like trying to slice through a forest of pine trees; and a defensive press can feel like a pressure cooker. I really don’t get that same feeling in a softball tournament. Basketball has a way of ratcheting up my emotions and putting my senses into overload. And the scary part is that it is a feeling that I crave. I personally love that pressure. I love feeling my heart beat in my own chest when I take the court for the opening tip.
That is what I most admire about Michael Jordan in my adult life. As a teenager, I loved to see him fly above everyone else. I loved to see him hit a shot in someone’s face as the buzzer was sounding. But now when I go back and watch him, I appreciate the type of competitor he was. He had no fear. He had no butterflies. He didn’t have an insecure inner voice in those moments. He was just there to do one thing; beat you. Say what you will about the MJ/Lebron debate but I have seen a look in MJ’s eyes that I have never seen in any other basketball player. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson came close but nobody could make you feel beaten just by looking at you like MJ could.
So regardless of whether I score 38 with the flu or score my season average of well below that, I want to take the court like I can’t be beaten. I want the person guarding me to be frustrated because I am outthinking him. I want to gracefully walk a fine line of confidence and cockiness. If you strip everything away and are just left with the game itself, basketball is still a beautiful sport. And that is where we are. Our gym doesn’t have a corporate name, we don’t have fancy uniforms and the news isn’t going to be there to report the score and interview the players. We are lucky if we have 25 people there to watch. But when you are on the court, you have to block it all out anyway.
In honor of our big night, I felt it was only appropriate to break a great box of Junk Wax Basketball. This was one of my favorite sets back in the day, partly because of Shaquille O’Neal, but also because of the great design and high quality of the card. My LCS picked up a few boxes of 1992-93 Fleer Ultra for the nostalgic section and I scooped this up for $14.95. That is a price you can’t beat for some top quality NBA cards from the early 90’s. The very best NBA players played in the league when I was a kid, I am convinced of that! The Bulls were unstoppable, Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson were leading the Phoenix Suns to the Finals and the league was home to other players named Magic, Bird, Olajuwan, Dominique, Grand-Ma-Ma, Shaq, Isiah, Tim Hardaway, Reggie Miller, and so many more.
1992-93 was the inaugural release for Fleer Ultra in basketball. They were enjoying success in other sports and their introduction into the NBA was a welcome addition for me. One of the most famous Shaq RC’s remains the 92-93 Ultra version. That was the main motivation in buying the box but I found out that along with Shaq, this was easily the best draft class of my childhood.
When you are ripping anything in Series 2 for basketball, you can’t be real picky with the non-rookies. I did find some quality players though. The guards had names like Mark Jackson, Steve Kerr, Danny Ainge and Avery Johnson, who all became coaches in the league. Kids today will never know how fun Rex Chapman and Rod Strickland were to watch. And Dale Ellis could shoot the lights out!
The forwards were headlined by Charles Barkley. He had spent his career in Philadelphia up until this point but was about to find himself in the NBA Finals against MJ. I was always a fan of Xavier McDaniel too. He was a very good player at the forward position. Chuck Person has found himself in a little bit of trouble as an Auburn assistant but The Rifleman could fill up a stat sheet back in the day.
There wasn’t a lot happening with the Center position in Series 2. I did include Stanley Roberts because he was Shaw’s teammate at LSU and he had pretty high expectations attached to him at one point as well.
Here is a very awesome 20 card subset called, “NBA Jam Session”. This broke down the 20 best dunks in the NBA. There are some huge names here with MJ, The Admiral, Hakeem, Shawn Kemp, Karl Malone, and Charles Barkley. This is a great subset.
The inserts were slim. It I did pull some big names!
Here are the average rookies from the class. These guys had pretty serviceable careers. Weatherspoon was a stud for a few years while Oliver Miller and Richard Dumas helped Barkley get to the Finals.
Here is where the big rookies come in. Latrell Sprewell had his issues during his career but he was Uber talented and was an amazing player to watch.
Big Game Robert Horry would become known for the ice water in his veins when a big shot was needed. He went on to win multiple championships and played major roles on those teams.
Christian Laettner didn’t have the career that some expected when he was an All-American at Duke. He went on to play 13 seasons and averaged 13+ points in 8 of those. He topped 18 per game 3 times.
Here is an awesome Hall of Famer, Alonzo Mouring. “Zo” has an unbelievable list of accomplishments that include NBA Champion, 7x All-Star, 2x Defensive Player of the Year, 2X Blocks Leader and the recipient of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. Zo is a true legend!
A player who didn’t really pan out in the pros but was my absolute favorite when he came out of USC was Harold Miner. It is fitting they “Baby Jordan” was featured on this card with the real Jordan. I could write an entire post about the former Dunk Champion but I’ll save that for another day.
Here is the Card I came for. This is Shaq’s best rookie card and I pulled 2 of them! We all know the career that Shaq would have and the only thing I ever complain about is that he didn’t get a championship ring with Penny, Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott. That Magic team was something else. They just never put it together. This made the $14.95 price tag well worth it.
As for our playoff appearance, it turned out just like Shaq’s with Orlando. We won our semi-final matchup by 6 points and advanced to the Finals. We ran into a very tough team that had 2 good inside players and a shooter that could fill it up like Chuck Person did. We played tough and left it all on the court but it just wasn’t enough. It may have been that we had to switch from our blue jerseys to the white but I’m not superstitious or anything…..cough, cough. Regardless of that final score, it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time on the basketball court and I’m really proud of the guys. I can’t wait til next year!
With the possible exception of Fleer Metal Universe, this may be the best basketball set of the 90’s. It earns an easy “5” on the Dub-O-Meter. The photos are great, the card design and quality is top notch and the checklist is pretty unbelievable. The only knock at all is that the cards can stick together in certain parts of the box, which is the normal issue with early 90’s cards with UV Coating. But these cards are really beautiful cards, just as Ultra was known for. The price is just right on a box like this and seeing these players take me right back to the days I played in the backyard and hit buzzer beaters just like MJ!
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?
In 1985, I was 8 years old and in the 3rd grade. We played outside from dusk til dawn, our parents never worried about it and we weren’t really getting exposed to all of the garbage I have to worry about with my kids today. I did stay up late one night and sneak in the last 15 minutes of Friday the 13th as a kid and saw a little more than what I was allowed to see but that was about it. I remember getting scared when I saw David Banner transform into the Hulk and I thought it was one of the scariest things I’d ever seen. My kids laugh at those 80’s special effects today.
Bailey (11) and I watched “Silver Bullet” a few weeks ago (released in ’85) and at the end, she said, “I thought this was going to be scary.” I remember seeing that movie for the first time and being terrified! I guess I’ll show her “Maximum Overdrive” and “Night of the Living Dead” next and see what she thinks about those. In fairness, when I take into account that “The Walking Dead” is one of the most popular television shows in history and it is uber gory, it makes sense. She doesn’t watch that show because I don’t think she is quite old enough but it is far more disturbing than anything mainstream that came out during the 80’s.
That’s part of why I remember my time as a kid fondly. Who knows, maybe my kids will look back on there childhood the same way. But when I look back at being a kid, I realize that I didn’t have a whole lot to worry about. I’m not saying it was a utopian society by any means but there really isn’t much of a comparison to what the kids of today have to face. I grew up watching Transformers and He-Man fight for mankind. My kids have YouTube and all the craziness that lives there! You can upload almost anything there these days. There is a Peppa Pig video floating around where the pig goes on a murderous rampage. Yeah, I love horror movies but I don’t want to mix them with my kid’s cartoons.
In the 80’s, about the worst thing we could see on TV as kids was going to be a “Saved by the Bell” episode about taking pills to stay awake and study. Do you remember when Jesse was “So excited! So excited! So excited!”? I will admit though that I watched “Tom and Jerry” a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty brutal by today’s standards. Jerry chased Tom around with a meat cleaver and hammer, which felt out of place in our modern society. I don’t know if Disney would get away with that one today but I’m sure Nickelodeon would slip it in to their rotation. Who knows; maybe all of it is relative to what you are used to?
Whatever the case, pop culture was at a peak in 1985 if you ask my opinion, and if you click on the blog link, you did. Television was rocking shows like; “Mr. Belvadere”, “Growing Pains”, “Cheers”, “The Cosby Show”, “Night Court”, “Family Ties”, “Different Strokes” and “The Facts of Life.” How many catch phrases, character ideas and plot stories do we still get from these masterpieces? The sitcoms of today seem tired and boring compared to these. Maybe that is why we see such a difference in what is on TV vs. today as I mentioned with “The Walking Dead” above. Once it has already been done, you have to go a little further and create something new. Maybe that is why society as a whole has pushed so far beyond the boundaries we once had. I don’t know, it’s just a thought.
Movies were pretty classic in 1985 as well; and it only cost $2.75 to go see them in the theater! I wrote about my favorite 
I will never “move on” from opining about the 80’s and 90’s. The cold hard truth is that I miss everything that made those years fun; VHS tapes, cassettes, posters on the wall, Corey Haim films, drooling over Kelly Kapowski, watching MTV to see the latest video from my favorite band, tuning in to ESPN to see gosh darn sports highlights and not poker tournaments, playing Nintendo when there were only 2 buttons you had to master in order to win a football game. I miss eating whatever I wanted to without having to worry about cholesterol or calorie counts. I remember when bread was a part of the food pyramid and it always contained gluten!
Yes, things were simpler back then but what is wrong with that? What is wrong with sitting down and watching a movie about vehicles coming to life and terrorizing people and it not feeling hokey? What is wrong with believing that blood coming from Ric Flair’s head is real because Dusty Rhodes hit him with a tire iron? When our headphone batteries went dead, we had no choice but to go outside. We couldn’t text or FaceTime every minute of the day so we had to form personalities and then learn how to cope with people who did or didn’t like us because of that personality. WHY HASN’T ANYONE INVENTED THAT TIME MACHINE YET DR. BROWN???
Of course, there is something else I miss about the 80’s; simple but awesome sports cards. By 1989, we had about 6 options to choose from if you included Sportsflics and the companies put everything they had into that annual set they released. You could even buy a collectors kit from the Sears Catalog and 80’s cards were considered “hard-to-find”. While the current year cards weren’t hard to find because they were in every convenience store in America, I do remember the previous year’s sets being difficult. That is why ’87 Topps was so hot in 1989! We spent the whole year trying to collect the entire set through packs and now, you have about a week before the next product releases.
I know there is a good and bad side to those days but the bad only came later when we realized how much we were missing. If I ever find a way to go back to the 80’s, I am staying there so the Junk Wax Era will never really be the Junk Wax Era anyway. That Mark McGwire RC will always be valuable and Donruss will always have logos. As you can see, I really don’t ask for much. Just take me back to a time when video games were 16 bits, TV shows had to be recorded with VCR’s and baseball cards were made to be collected. Is that really too much?
I feel like I’ve gotten heated for some reason. Let me pull back the reigns and focus on something from that will relax me. Here is a prime example of an excellent baseball card set from the 80’s. The 1985 Topps set is a beauty and is loaded with superstars and some heavy hitting rookies. The packs still had gum, the cards still had borders and information on the back, and the big hits were simply the best players. This set was right before they started getting a little crazier with the designs as ’86 and ’87 would attest. This was a true baseball card, all the way around.
They certainly don’t make packs like they used to!
What better card to show off the design than this sweet Gary Pettis? The backs of the 85 Topps has a real holiday feel with the green and red.
The catchers are always a little slim in these rips but here are 3 good ones. Always love Tony Pena in his Pirates uni!
The infielders are a little more stacked with Chicken Man, Ryno, The Wizard and Donnie Baseball. I was a fan of Sweet Lou during the 80’s as well thanks to RBI Baseball.
The outfield was loaded with studs. The first thing I notice about this selection is the uniforms. Rock has the sweet Expos, Hendu has the old school Mariners and Willie McGee had the baby blue St. Louis jersey. Teams should still be wearing these jerseys! I’d also like to know how Jorge Bell became George Bell.
This was before Dennis was Oil Can and before Tommy John was a surgery. The Brewers had 2 Hall of Famers in their rotation and Eck and Dave Stewart were about to embark on a World Series run together in Oakland. Good times!
There were some sweet manager cards in 85 Topps. Bobby Cox would soon be an Atlanta Brave but not before Chuck Tanner took his shot. Pete Rose was one of the last player/managers and we all know how that worked out. LaRussa was about to join Eck and Stewart in Oakland.
The Record Breakers included Juan Samuel with the most steals by a rookie. He wound up winning ROY in 1984. While he had a serviceable career with 3 All-Star appearances, he never caught fire in the hobby.
Here are some of the All-Stars from 1984. Again, some of the uniforms jump right off the page. That Padres uniform is one from the 80’s I could probably do without but please bring back the Expos, Cards and Astros uniforms.
There were a lot of Father/Son inserts in 1985. Another couple of Boone’s were on their way into the league too. There were also a couple of future Fathers of major leaguers in this set; Ken Griffey Sr. and Jose Cruz.
This is the only Darryl Strawberry I pulled but it’s pretty sweet. I also love the Dunston but it has pretty severe gum damage. Look at that beautiful jersey on Floyd Bannister!
The rookie class was pitcher heavy with Rocket, Doc, Saberhagen, Key and Gubicza. All of these guys had nice careers and a few of them had great careers. The Eric Davis is one of my favorite RC’s from this year. Alvin Davis is one of the more underrated superstars from the 80’s.
Here are some of the players from the U.S. National Team. I missed out on Will Clark.
But I didn’t miss out on the stud of the set! This card was three bills when I was in high school and one of the most sought after 80’s cards in the entire hobby. I only pulled 1 but it is the first one I’ve ever pulled from a pack. This made the box well worth it!
This Score is a product of nostalgia and pulling a Mark McGwire Team USA card. If I hadn’t pulled it, I’m afraid I would’ve landed on a 3. This is not the best design Topps had in the 80’s but it was not the worst either. The box is a little pricey if you don’t wind up pulling some of the studs. Even with McGwire, I missed out on Puckett and Strawberry. But this set has a strong rookie class and there are several stars who were still very early in their careers here. I kinda like the green and red backs and definitely enjoyed the #1 Pick inserts. You can run the risk of pulling some gum damaged stars because they didn’t discriminate on the cards they put in the back of the pack. But overall, this is a classic set from the 80’s and has good value for retro collectors.
But I, like most collectors my age, can trace my love for cardboard back to a much simpler time. I’m talking about a time when Diamond Kings, Dream Teams and basic Rated Rookies were the hits we were all chasing. My zest for the hobby was born when I was just a kid, around 11 years old. And sure, there are some collectors who started as adults, but most of us picked up our first cards when we only cared about the picture on the card and not whether the serial number matched the jersey number making it a 
The hobby has changed A LOT since the days I spent making trades on the playground at Mitchell Middle. The industry has exploded with new innovations and it is about much more than just cards in 2018. In fact, most collectors consider it a bust if they open a pack and they get “just cards”. But every now and then, you just have to slow down and strip away all the cracked ice and purple prizm and just enjoy the cards for what they are. You have to always reserve a place in your soul for the reason you’re a part of this crazy circus to begin with. You have to remember your collecting roots or you will get completely swept away by the latest and greatest Target exclusive that can only be found at triple markup online.
There are a few things that I always think about when I am sorting through junk wax sets. There are things that are just burned into my memory from the beginning of my journey through the land of wax that can always help me center myself when I feel like I’m losing my grip on self control. I don’t know why they’ve stuck with me for 30 years but I know they are always there. They can be triggered by the sight of a border design or the mention of a name that has faded from my daily memory but still means so much. I owe my entire hobby life to those memories because I still chase the high that I got from opening packs as a kid. As minor as they seem today, they certainly serve a purpose in my life today.
I think about the 1990 Fleer Mark McGwire that I opened on Halloween night. My “GaGa” bought me a pack of cards instead of giving me some terrible candy corn and I always remember sitting in the living room floor, with my costume still on, ripping that pack to reveal Big Mac in his throwing motion. I can’t explain why it is such a vivid memory; I can just feel that moment when I’m looking through ’90 Fleer. And it feels so good, like all of my worries and cares are gone for a moment. I know this probably sounds a bit dramatic for some of you but it’s 100% legitimate.
I think about the time I traded a short stack of hot prospects like Kevin Maas, John Olerud and Phil Plantier for a Ken Griffey Jr. autograph that I knew couldn’t be real but also couldn’t pass up on the 1% chance that it was. Of course, it wasn’t real but I still have it in the exact same protector that it came in through the trade. I remember sitting in my friends room, looking at the card, thinking that there was no way he’d actually trade it. But also thinking that there was no way it was actually real. What 14 year old could really pass up a Ken Griffey Jr. “autograph”, real or not??
I remember looking up 1989 Score in my first Beckett. I had a unique way of opening those packs back then. The number on the back of Score was at the top of the card so I would slide the front card up just enough to see the number and find it in the price guide. I wanted to see the $2-$3 in the magazine before actually seeing the Gary Sheffield RC. It was much like the way I try to reveal hits today, with seeing small parts of the card before the big reveal. I don’t know why it’s always Score in my memory other than the fact that it was a vertical back and easy to keep the player info hidden.
I especially remember when errors were mistakes made by the companies. They tried to catch these mistakes and get them corrected before the market was flooded with goof ups. There was the Dale Murphy ’89 Upper Deck Reverse Negative, ’90 Donruss Juan Gonzalez reverse negative, the infamous ’89 Fleer Billy Ripken and the entire 1990 Pro Set Football debacle. Mistakes were made in printing due to the sheer volume of cards they were pumping out in some cases but it was so fun to pull one of those and think that you had something rather rare and unique for the time. Of course, now companies make intentional errors to harken back to the good ole days but it’s really not the same.
Which brings me to the modern set that I want to review here in this post. 2018 Topps Big League just released last week and is supposed to be a basic, stripped down collection of baseball cards. They are aimed at kids in the hobby but should also pick up a following from the old school collectors who are looking for something devoid of the hubbub that can come with shiny parallels, retail exclusives and refractor autographs. This is a modern day set with a throwback feel to the vintage or junk wax era. There are hits to be found, as well as some of those intentional errors, but the backbone of the set is the 3 x 5 piece of cardboard with a player image on the front.
With this configuration, Topps has made a solid effort to bring the hobby to the kids while inserting some value in the set as well. Other sets have tried to do this but have fell short because of a total lack of excitement in the checklist and a zero percent chance of pulling something that has value. I was a kid once and I still wanted to find cards that were worth something. I didn’t want a card with eye black that I could peel off and wear like one of the many gimmicks Triple Play has introduced over the years. If I were a kid today, I’d want a card of Ozzie Albies that didn’t include some pennant that you pull off and stick over his head. I’m hoping that Topps Big League has hit on something with this new entry but it’s hard not to be skeptical after all the recent attempts to bridge the gap between kid collectors and product value.
In what may seem like a minor issue, I really like the packaging. It reminds me of Gypsy Queen and Heritage but it’s still foil.
The base design is clean. I prefer a border to the full bleed of the flagship product. I like full bleed for Stadium Club because the photos are so great. But I think traditional cards should have a border.
I like how the bat extends beyond the border in some of the photos. This Cody Bellinger is a good example.
There is a solid mixture of horizontal photos in the set like this Dansby Swanson.
There are three player stat leader cards at the beginning of the 300’s in the checklist.
There are some sweet veterans to be found in the latter part of the checklist. These players include Nolan Ryan, Hank Aaron, Jeff Bagwell, Ted Williams, John Smoltz and others.
There is a section of cards that is dedicated to “Ballpark Landmarks”. These are pretty unique and cool.
The base checklist closes out with the RC’s and they are all here. I pulled Acuna, Ohtani, Gleyber, Andujar and others.
The gold parallels are found 1 per pack. There is a gold parallel for every card in the base checklist.
Players Weekend Image Variations are found 1:3 packs so they are not scarce but they are sharp looking.
Ministers of Mash is a 10 card insert featuring the games best hitters.
One of my favorite inserts, the sketch card, makes its way into Big League as well with this set called Star Caricatures. If I am not mistaken, Mike James is responsible for some of these beauties!
This Pedro Martinez is the Rainbow Foil numbered to 100. These are found 1:30 packs.
I pulled one Black and White Parallel numbered to 50. These are found 1:60 packs so this is definitely considered a hit!
If you like baseball cards, you’ll like this set. But you’re really going to have to like baseball cards. You can’t be in search of funky color parallels or autographs if you want to enjoy this box. I think the design is simple but effective, the cost is excellent for a hobby box, there are some true chase cards that aren’t guaranteed in each box and the checklist has all the names you’ll want to find. The set will be great for kids but isn’t childish either. The sketch cards are real art and not cheap and cartoony. The Ballpark Landmarks are cool and give you a look at stadiums you may not otherwise see. And if you pull an autograph here, which is possible, it is truly an above average hit. I expect the set to evolve and progress in the future but this is a very solid first effort. What say you?
The closure of Toys R Us has sort of affected me in a way I can’t explain. I’m not depressed or anything but riding by that empty store is just a very weird feeling. Their slogan was, “I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys R Us kid!” What are we supposed to do now that they are closed? Does that mean we have to grow up? I still went in the store quite a bit because I have kids of my own and there was a feeling that you just couldn’t get at other stores, at least locally. Other stores have toy sections but let’s be real; nothing compared to Toys R US, or even Kay-Bee for that matter, which is also gone now.
While I understand that the closure of this store was part of natural selection as we all continue our move to an online world, it is hard to lose something that was a big part of your past and not feel some sort of way. Another quote that hits a nostalgic person right in the feels is attributed to Buddha, who said, “You can only lose what you cling to.” That’s what “we” do. We cling to the tiny fabrics that make up the tapestry of our lives and each one means something to us. If you start pulling threads out of the overall work, things have a tendency to start to fray.
Sam Goody
Big “B” Drugs
Piggy Wiggly
Arcades
Video Stores
Upper Deck
The packs were pretty sweet – tamper proof foil like the years before but blue this season with pinstripes.
A staple of Upper Deck was the hologram stickers. These were full size team logos.
Here is the design of 1991 Upper Deck. As you will recall, 1989 had the base line on the right side of the card. 1990 had the base line across the top. This year had the base line running down the left side of the card. Upper Deck always had some unique photos too, like this Bert Blyleven.
There was only one notable catcher but it was one of my favorite ’91 Upper Deck cards when I was a kid. This Sandy Alomar Jr. was so colorful and I loved the photo.
The infield was stacked with young players and grizzled veterans. There were 2 future Bravos here with Fred McGriff and Andres Galarraga. Big Cat is rocking the Expos uni, which is always great. Paul Molitor was such an underrated player. By this point in his career (13 seasons), he had a career .299 average, was averaging double digit home runs and had multiple 40+ stolen base seasons. You can throw Alvin Davis in that underrated category as well.
The outfield is pretty loaded up too. Deion Sanders and Dave Justice were key cogs in the Braves outfield and lineup during the great run of the 90’s. And because this was the high series box, I landed a Bo Jackson in both Kansas City and Chicago. While I didn’t pull a Ken Griffey Jr., he did appear on this card of Ken Sr. And I will always see Kirby in that Twins uni but will never get used to seeing Strawberry in Dodger Blue.
The pitchers were pretty legendary in this set. Randy Johnson was getting started on a Hall of Fame career while Nolan Ryan was wrapping his up. This card of Nolan features a pretty iconic image of the Express. Maddux would soon discover that chicks dig the long ball so this bunt might have been one of his last. And the Braves got their fill of Scott Erickson, Jack Morris and Doug Drabek in the playoffs that year.
These cards are very memorable from the early 90’s junk wax era. Everyone remembers the Rickey Henderson and Lou Brock card, along with the 1917 White Sox throwback.
I only pulled two of the artist checklist. One was a sweet Chris Sabo while the other was a ho-hum Roberto Kelly.
These are some of the rookies and prospects that stood out in 1991. I didn’t pull a Chipper but I did snag a Mo Vaughn and Eric Karros. Steve Decker was a huge prospect for the Giants in ’91 but he didn’t pan out.
I didn’t pull an Aaron autograph but I did load up on the Baseball Heroes cards. Those 70’s Milwaukee uniforms were hot!
These cards deserve their own segment and comment. The first was the Hank Aaron hologram. I searched for this card like a 1/1 Trout back in 1991. This is a sweet insert!
I was a huge fan of Jose Canseco in 1991 so I was blown away by this card of his twin brother, Ozzie. At the time, I had no idea that Ozzie was playing so I thought it was an amazing card.
Though I didn’t pull the Chipper RC, I did pull what was considered THE ROOKIE CARD of the set in 1991. This Todd Van Poppel was on the cover of Beckett and highly sought after in the hobby. I actually think this card is better than any I have pulled so far in 2018 Topps Inception.
This was one of those “retirement cards” from the junk wax era. This was as hot as Gregg Jefferies’ 1989 Future Stars for a while. This would have been a huge box in 1991.
The first of two Hall of Fame RC’s is this Jeff Bagwell. Bags was a hot rookie and he turned out to have a stellar career. I pulled 5 of these in the box!
The other Hall of Fame RC I pulled was this awesome Frank Thomas. Though he and Bagwell both had cards in 1990, this was their first Upper Deck cards. This is a very special card for me and one that I will slide right into my current PC.
1991 Upper Deck is a classic set from the junk wax era and had some great individual cards that are memorable. The Ozzie Canseco, Todd Van Poppel and Kevin Maas cards were so hot when this set came out. Some other players turned out to be the long term guys like Chipper, Bagwell and Big Frank but this set really covered the spectrum of hot rookies and solid veterans. The design was typical Upper Deck and the only change from year to year was the base line on the card. Boxes can be found relatively cheap now with this one costing me $12.95 and regardless of the odds, there is a chance to pull a Hank Aaron autograph if you are extremely lucky. I really like this set better than 1990 but not as good as 1989. I’d give it an overall “4” on the Dub-O-Meter and would lean closer to a “5” than a “3” on the scale. What do you think about 1991 Upper Deck?