As a part of the Halloween theme for the month of October, we’ve covered Urban Legends and Movie Monsters so far. I’m going to break up the scary for this post and focus on the sweet part of Halloween; the candy! As a kid, I wasn’t nearly as excited about dressing up as I was about loading up my plastic pumpkin with candy that I could munch on for days. Today, when I take my girls on their Trick or Treat excursion, I usually wind up swiping some of the good stuff as we are walking around the neighborhood. I’m a sucker for Laffy Taffy, Air Heads, and SweeTarts! My oldest daughter knows that now and she usually keeps her bag close to her through the trip. I’ve still got G’s bag though!
When I was a kid, we still had some of the same candy that they have now. They still get Reese Cups, Snickers, Baby Ruth, and Now and Laters. But we also had some unique candy from the 80’s that isn’t really around anymore. We also had to watch out for the “razor in the candy” routine that wound up being part Urban Legend part Truth. There are news stories that float around each Halloween about some candy scare but I can’t think of anyone in my old neighborhood that scared me when it came to candy consumption. I lived in a small town and everybody knew everybody, but the stories were still used as stern warnings to be careful what you ate. I think it’s still sound advice to check the candy closely, don’t get me wrong, but I think the better advice is to Trick or Treat somewhere you trust.
One of the most famous Halloween candies of all time is also one that I have never liked. Candy Corn is just not a good candy. The orange and yellow colors are festive enough but the flavor leaves a bit to be desired. It started as a candy called “Chicken Feed” in the late 1800’s and that feels like a more appropriate name today. This candy is made up of corn syrup, sugar, wax, marshmallows, and fondant and I’ve never been able to properly identify the taste. I understand that I’ve probably already lost half of my readership with this hot take because some people will swear by Candy Corn. If you are one of those people, it’s nothing personal, I just think your taste buds might be out of whack.
Another classic that can still be found is the Chick-O-Stick. This candy is much better than Candy Corn to me and it has the added benefit of peanut butter and coconut as ingredients. I appreciate this candy more as an adult than I did as a kid. The major downside to this candy is that it gets stuck in your teeth EVERY TIME you eat it. The upside is that you get to eat that peanut butter the next day, even when the original Chick-O-Stick is long gone. I know, that’s gross….
Another Halloween staple is the peanut butter taffy found in the seasonal orange and brown wrappers. This is another candy I appreciate more as an adult. I gave this candy to my dad when I found it in my bucket as a kid and as a dad myself, I understand why he liked it. These are also referred to as “Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses” and I wasn’t a big fan of the “Mary Jane” Taffy as a kid either. This candy has an evil twin that was a white candy with a little peanut butter center. That was a terrible variation!
Sixlets were a multi holiday candy. I found these in the Easter Basket and the Christmas Stocking each year as well. This candy is a nice chocolate coated cocoa ball that came in colors similar to M&M’s. For you card collectors, this candy was originally made by Leaf as well. I think these were better in the 80’s than they are now but I’m sure that can be said about most candies. As time has passed, they have sapped everything of the really good ingredients because people are lactose intolerant, allergic to gluten, or they have some strange aversion to good tasting food. A lot of times, it feels like the chocolate we are eating has been heavily sedated.
Bottle Caps was the classic “hit or miss” candy from the 80’s. The Cherry Coke and Grape flavors were off the charts good and the Orange was ok if it was all that was left. But the Coke and Root Beer flavors were about as bad of a candy flavor as you could create. Ugh, I have the flavor in my mouth just thinking about it and I need to go brush my teeth. There are just some flavors I don’t need in my candy and “cola” is one of them. I probably just offended another batch of readers.
These are still around in certain places like Cracker Barrel and other old Country Stores. Bailey has made me buy these in the past and she thinks the liquid inside them is really good. It helps that they are sour. But she won’t ever believe me when I tell her that we used to eat the wax bottles when we were done drinking the juice. I even showed her one time and I instantly regretted it. I chewed it for a little while as if it were a piece of gum. But the flavor was similar to the 34 year old piece of gum I recently tried from my 1984 Topps rip. if good candy has gotten worse, imagine what they have done to the stuff that already tasted bad!
Here is a candy I loved for a while. The outside of the candy was like a piece of taffy and the inside was a tart gooey type filling that “bonked you out” when you ate it. At least that is what commercials like this would have you believe. I soured on Bonkers eventually, pun intended, but for a while, it was one of my favorites! They ultimately disappeared altogether and were nothing more than an 80’s fad. They could still be lurking somewhere in some corner of the world but I haven’t seen any in a long time.
One of my all-time favorite Halloween candies was the Mr. Bones candy from the 80’s. They still make some variations of it but you could put the old ones together and form a full skeleton. They were made out of a SweeTart style candy and they came in a coffin so they were perfect for Halloween. This is another candy that the card collectors may recognize as it was made by Fleer. There are two versions of this candy. There is the dollar store version and then there is the real deal. The difference is easy to tell!
I’ll close with this “Skull Crusher” candy. I remember this candy because it made me sick one year. I remember throwing up the red goo and never wanting to see this again. But there it was when I was looking at old retro candies and I immediately went back to that fateful night. I’m sure it wasn’t the actual “Skull Crusher” and was more of a result of mass sugar ingestion that made me sick but it was the one that sent me over the edge. I’m kinda queasy looking at the picture to be honest.
Besides candy, I always got some sports cards from close family members that knew I collected. I specifically remember the night my GaGa gave me the pack of ’90 Fleer and I pulled the Mark McGwire that went straight into my binder. I’ll never really understand why I still remember that card so vividly but it’s one that is burned into my memory. Of course, cards have changed a bit since that pack of 1990 Fleer and no one in our neighborhood gives them out anymore. Personally, I stopped giving out candy and goodies when my oldest daughter was born because we started going door to door instead of staying at the house. But if I were still giving out candy, I’d find a way to incorporate cards again.
I recently went to my LCS with my treat basket and scored the new release, 2018 Panini Phoenix. This was one of my favorite releases last year so I hope this year it’s more like the “Mr. Bones” candy and not the “Skull Crusher”. Phoenix has a really nice card stock (similar to Prizm and Optic), a chromium base, and multiple colors throughout the set. It’s kind of like Prizm with color in the base design. You can read Ryan Cracknell’s breakdown HERE for all of the particulars but I’ll cover a box break and give my thoughts on the 2018 product. Each box has 12 packs with 5 cards per. There is one hot pack of “Color Burst” parallels that we will save for last. Also, each box produces 2 autographs and 1 memorabilia card, on average.
The base set is 200 cards with veterans making up the first half and rookies on the back end. The rookies are only found about 1 per pack so building the set through box breaks would be a costly and timely endeavor. Let’s crack into this box like we would our plastic pumpkin at the end of the night. We know there are some sweets and some sours to be found but the only way to find out is to dump it out on the table and sort. Wish me luck and hope that no one gave me candy cigarettes in this haul!
This Patrick Mahomes II is a base version. There is still a lot of flash here!
This is a base version and Pink Parallel numbered to 199.
The Red Parallel numbered to 299 is probably my least favorite of the parallels. It’s not very vibrant. But hey, it’s Tom Brady!
The Purple Parallel is a good looking card. These are numbered to 149.
Jerick McKinnon didn’t get his season off the ground thanks to an injury in the preseason. The 49ers have had a rough year. This is the Yellow Parallel numbered to 75.
This Bradley Chubb is the base rookie version. Again, you can still see how the Prizm provides a lot of colors, even for the base.
The Red is numbered to 299 in the rookie checklist as well.
Roquan is rocking the Pink Parallel numbered to 199.
This Terrell Edmunds is the Purple numbered to 149.
Here is an Orange Parallel, which I didn’t pull in the veteran checklist. I’m expecting good things out of Sutton in the 2nd half of the season. Orange is numbered to 99.
Here is another Yellow, Ronnie Harrison. The rookie from Alabama got into a little trouble over the weekend in London but is expected to be a key piece to the Jags defense over the next few years. Yellow is numbered to 75.
These are the best looking cards in the set. Each box includes a pack of “Color Burst” cards. The veterans and rookies both have unique looks. This is a striking card!
Here is the rookie version of the “Color Burst”. These look good as well but I prefer the veteran design.
The first insert of the set is this “Adrenaline Rush” Odell Beckham Jr.
Another insert is the “Agility” card. This Zeke is pretty sweet!
I have only pulled one “MVP” in two boxes so far. Nick Foles defied all the odds last year to win MVP of the Super Bowl versus Tom Brady and the Pats.
This is one of my favorite cards from my rip. It’s the “Unmatched” insert and it’s a numbered Eric Dickerson. This is such a sweet looking card. The Purple is numbered to 75.
“QB Vision” is a nice looking insert. Of course, the checklist is all QB’s and there are a lot of stars to be had. I pulled Brady and Mahomes as well.
The memorabilia card is a player I have pulled a ton of this year. I don’t know if Mike White will eventually pan out but if he does, I’ll have a head start on the Super PC! This is numbered to 100.
The first autograph in the box was this Jaylen Samuels, rookie running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is the Orange version numbered to 199, though it differs from the Orange color found in the base Parallels.
The big hit in the box was this awesome Sony Michel, numbered to 199. Not only is he a rookie off to a great start, aside from an injury, but he is also one of the most beloved Georgia Dawgs in modern history. He ranks #3 on the All-Time rushing list in Athens, behind only Herschel Walker and Nick Chubb.
Phoenix is one of my favorite sets over the last two years. It’s not quite Classics in my rankings but it’s close. The card stock, Prizm base, checklist, and box configuration are all positives. I wish it was about $15 cheaper but it’s definitely not one of the high end boxes you’ll find. And the cards don’t have a low tier feel either so it’s an ok value. If you see a blaster or can pick up a box at the shop, I’d recommend it with a Dub Score of “4”. It’s not a “5” because of the price and the fact that in 2 boxes, I’ve pulled 2 Mike White memorabilia cards, along with a points card. I know that’s a personal reason that isn’t very objective but it plays into my recommendations. What say you about 2018 Panini Phoenix?
J-Dub
All this horror movie watching and planning has me thinking about which monsters I’d least like to face at the end of a dark hallway. It’s also got me thinking about Jamie Lee Curtis but that’s not what this post is about. While I’ve watched some movies and wondered why the main antagonist was feared in the first place, I’ve also watched movies where the mere thought of the creature being real was horrifying. I was never really afraid of Chucky or “The Ghoulies”, but the crazed, zombie-like, virus infected, sprinters in “28 Days Later” make me constantly think about hiding places and quickest escape routes of my home. As a kid, they were all pretty scary but as an adult, it’s easy to draw the line between fantasy and reality. But for the sake of this post, let’s pretend that they are all real. And if they are all real, which ones are contenders and which ones are pretenders?
Michael Myers – There is no better place to start than with Michael Myers. This is a contender without a doubt. He’s not the quickest on this list but he’s ultra stealthy and can hide just as well as he can seek. The mask has always been my favorite among horror villains and he’s always felt the fairly realistic, until he was killed 4-5 times. Contender
Jason Voorhees – He’s definitely one of my favorites and is worthy of any list made for Halloween Monsters. He’s a little quicker than Myers but he’s also a behemoth that doesn’t really on silent kills. He is in your face and you generally know he’s coming before he actually gets you. Aside from that side trip he took to New York that one time, you can usually avoid him if you stay out of the woods and don’t engage in illicit activities. But if you do like the outdoors, you’d better work on your agility when running through the forest; or you’ll wind up on the end of some rusty tool shed implement. Contender
Freddy Krueger – Being totally honest; Freddy has never been scary to me. The premise of being killed in your dreams and it carrying over to real life is frightening but Freddy has always been a little too hokey and jokey for me. The tongue in the phone is a cool visual but we aren’t using many rotary house phones in 2018. His worst kill to me was Johnny Depp in the first movie but most of them are just kinda silly. The overgrown head that is eating people, smashing a TV on somebody’s head, haunting a junk yard? That’s a pass for me. I enjoy the movies but as for being a monster that frightens me? Pretender
Leatherface – Ok, this may be the scariest of them all for me. Because as far as I know, Leatherface is in fact real and keeps to himself in his creepy house out in the middle of nowhere, waiting on some poor passerby to break down. There have been versions of Leatherface that were more goofy than scary, but overall he is a legitimate badass psycho that I can only hope I never bump into. The concept is terrifying because it is the closest to a reality as any of the above killers. Besides Leatherface himself, the entire family is scary as hell! Contender
Zombies – This is a tough one. There are really two main types of zombies that are portrayed in films. One is the original, raised from the dead, clumsy walker that is trying to find “brains”. They lumber along and as Barbara said in the original movie, “we could walk right past them and they’d never be able to get us.” Those are not as scary as the other version. A horde would be difficult but even then, I think you could just avoid them altogether without too much of an issue.
Werewolf – Like with zombies, there are multiple variations to werewolves as well. But for the most part, they are all faster than I am and they have sharp teeth and claws. I can’t imagine a scenario in which I would be able to take one of these creatures down by myself. I don’t have silver bullets laying around and they don’t seem to be affected by bats or knives. So I’d say my chances of survival are between slim and none. Contender
Vampire – There are only two vampires that have ever been frightening to me. They were in “Fright Night” and “The Lost Boys”. Those vampires were downright scary! But my overwhelming feeling on vampires has always been iffy. On one hand, they can certainly kill me if we get down to the brass tax but there is always a chance that I would turn into one myself. And that’s somewhat of a glass half full/half empty conundrum. I may get some argument on this one but for now; Pretender.
There are plenty more we could debate; like Pinhead, Puppets, Ghosts, Apparitions, etc. But I think we hit the high spots. The good news is that “most” of these things are not real and we’ll never have to find out if we can survive their attacks or not. I’ll let you decide which ones are real and which ones are not. But one thing that I know is real, and related to monsters, is the 1994 Coca-Cola “Monsters of the Gridiron” 30 Card Collector Set. You can thank 
One of my all-time favorite Falcons is Jesse Tuggle. He played his college ball at Valdosta State, where my wife and many of my friends went to college. He then became the best linebacker Atlanta has ever seen! We have certainly had some lean times throughout our franchise history but even when we struggled in the 90’s, Tuggle was so much fun to watch! I included the back of the card for this first one to give you an idea of how the nicknames come into play. I’m sure Zibby would love Jessie “Tarantula” Tuggle!
Cornelius Bennett would’ve been better served being called a werewolf with this card. But the “Big Bear” moniker made sense when I read the back. I don’t really think of a bear as a monster but Bennett surely was. This is one of my favorite cards in the set.
Eric Turner was a stud safety in the 90’s. And this card is perfect for the Cleveland Browns! There are actually a lot of fans in Cleveland who dress like this on Sundays.
This is the biggest superstar in the bunch but what is this costume? It’s not a monster, that’s for sure. Emmitt Smith was no doubt a Contender but this “Lone Star Sheriff” getup is a major Pretender.
This was a pretty cool costume for Pat Swilling. This was during the time of “Sub-Zero” from Mortal Combat and he had a block head that reminded me of something you’d see on He-Man. I really liked Pat Swilling but the fact that he played at both Ga Tech and New Orleans never sat well with me.
Again, this isn’t much of a monster but it fits for Marshall Faulk. This dude was a serious baller and he hadn’t even become a member of the “Greatest Show on Turf” by this time. I was a fan of Edgerrin James but I always wondered how things would’ve turned out if Peyton Manning and Marshall Faulk had played several years together.
I don’t even know what to think of this one. I loved Derrick Thomas but “Attack Cat” leaves a lot to be desired. You can certainly feel the mid 90’s cheesiness with this one. I actually enjoy mid 90’s cheesiness but this one is a miss.
I just had to include this one because……I mean, look at that!
John Randle was a nightmare without a doubt. The face paint, the motor, everything about him made him a scary dude on the field. He was certainly a “Runaway Train!
Much like “Cobra” Coleman, Ronnie Lott tries on reptile scales for his card. This one was pretty decent though. Ronnie Lott was a safety that would absolutely “strike you” if you entered into his territory. He usually didn’t give you a warning though like a real rattler will. I can’t tell if this one is photoshopped or if Lott is somehow coiled in that outfit.
Well, QB Eagles was definitely a “Rocket Man”! He was fast, stealthy, and could sometimes fly! Remember 
Junior Seau was an amazing linebacker that had the misfortune of playing on a team with Stan Humphries as the QB. Can you imagine Seau with some of these Phillip Rivers teams? Seau was an awesome talent and a man the game misses.
I loved this Tom Rathman card! Rathman was a bit of a “Psycho” on the field and he had no regard for human life as a fullback. Interesting stat: did you know he caught 73 passes one season? I think that is incredible when you think of pass catching backs in today’s game. He was not built like Darren Sproles or Alvin Kamara but when he caught a pass, he made people pay!
So I included this one because it was easily the silliest costume of the set. Cortez Kennedy was a very good defensive lineman but this “Tez Rex” persona made him feel more like a character at a kids birthday party. Can’t you see going to a T-Rex Arcade/Restaurant like Chuck E. Cheese and seeing Cortez come out and dance while your kid blew the candles out on their cake?
This set doesn’t really meet the guidelines to receive an official grade on the Dub-O-Meter scale. It is a fun set and can still be found pretty cheap today. I actually paid $4.99 for this one, unopened. It’s not something that you will find on a collector list looking for BGS 10’s and you won’t find somebody who is trying to find the white whale of the set because there aren’t any SP’s or anything. It’s just an old school oddball set that is fun to sift through from time to time. I’m glad Rick brought this one up because it had totally slipped my mind and there were some cards in the set I didn’t remember. Did you have this set as a kid?
As it relates to sports cards, I was battling my own “Urban Legends” in the early to mid 90’s. In 1990, Upper Deck launched “Find the Reggie”, which sent collectors on a seemingly impossible venture to find 1 of 2,500 autographed Reggie Jackson cards. Remember, 1990 was prime “Junk Wax Era” and they were printing millions, of not billions, of cards. Upper Deck ran with that theme over the next few years, using a big name player each time. Donruss joined in the fun in 1991 with their ever popular “Elite” cards that were numbered to 10,000. Fleer Ultra gave us a shot at Tony Gwynn in 1992 but again, it was total needle in a haystack type stuff. I call these my Urban Legends because I met people who claimed to have pulled these cards but I had never pulled one myself. So I carried a healthy amount of skepticism of their actual existence. Much like the ghost at Centennial Hall, all I had was second hand accounts.
In 1995, Classics hit us with a “Guaranteed” Auto in every box! This wasn’t exactly the first time it had been done but it’s one of the first major chases I remember where I knew I was getting something, whether a dud or a star. The box had 36 packs with 10 cards per pack and actually has a pretty good autograph checklist. There are names like Willie McGinest, Tim Brown, Ty Law, Eric Allen, Steve McNair, and more. The mid 90’s was a pretty exciting time in football as some NFL Legends were closing the books on their careers and some of the 2000’s Legends were just beginning theirs. So while I won’t be able to prove or debunk an Urban Legend with this review, I do hope to snag a cool autograph for the collection.
Much like Stadium Club, Classic offered a “Membership” program. This seems like a better club than the Stadium Club offer, which included a Glenn Robinson autograph, but the entry fee was pretty steep.
One look at the list of QB’s was a quick reminder that the league was pretty solid in 1995. Joe Montana had moved on to Kansas City and Warren Moon to Minnesota but QB Eagles, Dan Marino, John Elway, and Troy Aikman were still manning the helm for their original teams.
Running Back was pretty deep in ’95 as well! The Bus, Emmitt Smith, and Barry Sanders were the class of the league. The University of Georgia had 2 awesome backs in the league, Herschel and Hampton, giving credence to their RBU moniker. The Falcons had Heyward and Metcalf at one time but Metcalf was still in Cleveland at this point.
For real, the league was stacked in 1995. Jerry Rice, André Rison, Sterling Sharpe, Michael Irvin, Tim Brown, and André Reed?!? Mark Ingram’s dad, also Mark, was a receiver in NY and current UGA Standout DB JR Reed’s dad, Jake, played for the Vikings.
Tight Ends were used a little differently in the 90’s, being built more like blockers. But Ben Coates and Brent Jones were two that could rack up the receptions.
If you thought that the league was all offense, you’d be wrong. The defensive line was mean and nasty with these studs. Reggie White, Bruce Smith, Charles Haley, and Michael Strahan are some of the greatest of all time!
Linebacker was a little thin by today’s standards but there were still some solid players. One of the best was Willie McGinest. I was really hoping for his autograph in this box.
Safety’s in 1995 we’re still in the headhunter era. Eric Turner, Rod Woodson, Ronnie Lott, and Darren Woodson would strike you hard! Deion, Eric Allen and Aeneas Williams were ball hawks!
The rookie class was pretty dang solid in ’95 as well. I remember when Kordell Stewart was “Slash”, Kerry Collins was hyped, and Joey Galloway was a burner. Warren Sapp became a Hall of Famer while Ty Law and Steve McNair became fan favorites. The most hyped player in the draft was Ki-Jana Carter but he never panned out.
Each pack contained a “Silver” parallel that was made of a little thicker card stock. These were the big hits. I didn’t pull a base Marshall Faulk but I certainly was pleased with the Silver.
Numbered cards in 1995 were a lot different than they are right now. 4,000 was a lot but felt like a low numbered card.
I remember these “Game Breakers” as cutting edge technology that was always loaded in binders and top loaders. This Ki-Jana would have been huge back in the day!
Truly low numbered cards, even in 1995, were these “Printers Proof” cards numbered to 400. These weren’t huge pulls but I loved the red Falcons jerseys in 1995, so this Terance Mathis will fit nicely in the PC.
Speaking of PC, this Rodney Hampton was a shorter print version of the Printers Proof and was numbered to 175!
The autograph was not Willie McGinest but it is a running back and it’s numbered 45/1450. Terry Kirby was a running back in the league for 10 years with the Dolphins, 49er’s, Browns, and Raiders. He rushed for 2,875 yards, had 3,222 receiving yards and 43 total scores over his career so pretty solid. He is now the coach of the Weston Warriors and owner of the Ultimate Sports Institute in Florida.
1995 Classic Football is a pretty solid set during a stellar run for the league. Classic provided short prints (by 90’s standards), a huge superstar checklist, and even an autograph in each box. The checklist and the inserts available lead to a score of “5”. But the design and price tag, which is a little higher than most ’95 boxes, hover in the “3” or “4” range. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a huge fan of full bleed designs but this one isn’t the worst I’ve seen either. I’d rip this box again without hesitation and if it’s something that fits in your budget, I’d recommend you do the same. This was a really solid rip and worth a “4” on the Dub-O-Meter.