deftone20@bellsouth.net

Basketball Cards – The Forgotten Hobby

I believe that basketball cards are a vastly underrated sector of the hobby. As one of the original “big four” sports, it seems to have the smallest following and generates very little buzz in the community. That’s not to say that there isn’t a passionate group of fans that are engaged but the truth is that it’s just not close to Baseball, Football and Hockey. I love basketball and have personally collected basketball cards since the late 80’s but even my collection pales in comparison to Baseball and Football. My hockey collection is almost non-existent thanks to my location in the country. I don’t know the exact reason it lags behind the other sports but it’s clearly not on the same level.Yet, as I sifted through my basketball cards last night, the same great memories I have with baseball and football came rushing back to me. I was taken back to when I spent all of my lawn mowing money grabbing ’89 Hoops at the local Wal-Mart and desperately hoping for the David Robinson rookie. I remembered those Saturdays spent betting basketball cards on actual pick up basketball games. I found names that may not be everyday names now but were huge gets back then flashed before my eyes. I found that memorable Hoops Shawn Kemp Rookie card that I loved so much. Kemp was one of the fiercest dunkers of my generation! I stumbled across the Sean Elliott RC card and I remembered how smooth his jumper was and trying to emulate it in my backyard. And then I found the iconic names! Basketball is still a great sport to watch and there are lots of superstars that litter the league but the game was on a totally different level when I started collecting in the late 80’s.

The Bigs

We’ll save the icon section for the end but there are some huge names to be found in the stack of bigs I have. These four were some of my favorites. Hakeem (Akeem) “The Dream” Olajuwon was an absolute beast that was as smooth a big man as there was. His “Dream Shake” was a thing of beauty. Patrick Ewing was probably the most popular big man of the group during that time thanks in part to the market he played in. He was on some very good Knick teams but they always came up a tad short in the Championship department. One player that did not come up short in that department was “The Admiral”, David Robinson. He was another big man who played the game like a stretch forward. He had a smooth jumper and could bang down low as well. The final on the Mount Rushmore of Dub Centers was the least smooth. He was to smooth, what was rain is to dry. BUT, don’t bring any weak offense towards Dikembe Mutombo because he would send that mess packing. He was a Hawk for many years and was always a fan favorite. Stadium Club made a BEAUTIFUL basketball card!

The Forwards

Some big names here too but I have my own favorites again. I liked the Fab Four in college but I was actually pulling for UNC because Eric Montross was one of my favorite players. I was, however, devastated that it happened the way it did for Webber. I am probably in a bit of the minority but I really liked Chris Webber. I often wonder what would have happened with the Magic if they had kept him but it’s hard to argue with Penny Hardaway’s production. The Mailman was another personal favorite but he came up short in the championship series’ as well during his career. The “Round Mound of Rebound”, Charles Barkley, played on one of the best teams in the 90’s to take on the Bulls in a championship….Still lost. Finally, I mentioned Shawn Kemp above. Always loved Shawn Kemp!

The Guards

I had some obvious favorites in this group and then maybe a surprise or two. Allen Iverson was the most entertaining player to watch for a stretch of time in the 90’s. The guy could do almost anything, except practice. One of the purest shooters of my generation was Reggie Miller and he stepped up huge in the spotlight many times but could never get over the championship hump either. You may sense a trend with the championships here but it’s important to remember that the Bulls were alive and well during the 90’s. Drexler did get a championship but it was with the Rockets during a year that Michael Jordan was off playing baseball. They beat my Orlando Magic, who we’ll discuss a little more below. Finally, Tim Hardaway was the creator of the “Killer Crossover” and was so much fun to watch. I loved that Golden State team that had Hardaway, Richmond, Mullin and Webber. Now, Tim Jr. plays for my beloved Hawks and he is blossoming into a young star as well.

The Orlando Magic

The Magic were an expansion team that was formed during my early collection years. They slowly built their team through the draft. Their first pick in 1989 was one of my favorite players, Nick Anderson. They followed up in 1990 with the shooter from Georgia Tech, “3-D” Dennis Scott. Then Shaq Diesel came in 1992 with the number 1 overall pick. The Magic won the #1 overall pick again in 1993, despite having very low odds in the lottery. They did a draft and trade of Chris Webber for Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. At the time of the move, I was disappointed because I could only imagine that Webber and Shaq down low would be the perfect compliment to Scott and Anderson on the wings. But then Penny Hardaway showed me that he may have been the best all around point guard in the league. They eventually made it to the NBA finals in 1995, only to fall to the Rockets with Olajuwon, Drexler, Kenny Smith, Robert Horry and Sam Cassell. In hindsight, that Rockets team was absolutely loaded!

The Charlotte Hornets

Another expansion team from my youth, they also had a solid stretch of picks in the early 90’s. They drafted Larry Johnson in ’91 and Alonzo Mourning in ’92 and they went on to form one of the most formidable front courts in the league. Mourning was an offensive and defensive force and Johnson was a ball of muscle that could shoot and rebound. Mourning would eventually be inducted to the Hall of Fame but that honor has thus far eluded “Grand-mama” for reasons I don’t quite understand yet. Whether you collected cards or not, if you were a basketball fan, odds were high that you were the proud owner of some Hornets Starter gear in the early 90’s.

The Yugoslavians

I was a big fan of both Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic. Draz could shoot the lights out and Divac was a gentle giant. I did not know their connections at the time I was watching them play but later saw the 30 for 30, “Once Brothers”. If you’ve never seen it, I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. It is probably my favorite 30 for 30 episodes but is without a doubt in my top 3. Vlade had a very nice run with the Lakers in the early 90’s while Petrovic struggled to find his home until a move to the New Jersey Nets. Most of you are familiar with the story of Petrovic’s fatal car crash that cut his career short. Again, go watch “Once Brothers”. You’ll thank me for it.

The Star That Faded Too Soon

Speaking of tragic deaths that cut a career short, none were more tragic to me than that of Reggie Lewis. Reggie was well on his way to absolute stardom when he tragically lost his life on the basketball court. He was selected as an All-Star in 1992 and was coming off of back to back 20+ PPG seasons. He had averaged 17.6 over his first 6 seasons with the Celtics. In the first round of the playoffs against Charlotte, on April 29, 1993, Lewis collapsed on the court and was taken to the hospital. He would not return that series. Later, on July 27, 1993, Lewis was practicing at Brandeis University, where he suffered sudden cardiac death, at only 27 years old. I remember seeing the headline on ESPN while I was at a church camp that summer. It was devastating news and one of my first looks at a young healthy person losing their life. I absolutely LOVED that Skybox Set!

The Icons

Last, but certainly not least, we have the Icons of my generation. Some of the above players deserve consideration but these 4 were the cream of the crop for me. Michael Jordan is the greatest player to ever step on the court, I don’t care what you have to say about LeBron. Magic was the greatest point guard to ever play the game and is probably the 2nd best all around player of all time. Larry Bird is the greatest shooter of all time and played with as much effort and grit as anyone before or after his time. Finally, as a Hawk and UGA fan, “The Human Highlight Film”, Dominique Wilkins is my favorite basketball player of all time. Dunk Champion, Scoring Champion, All-Time First Teamer and absolute stud on the court, Nique still resides in Atlanta and is one of the play by play analysts for the Hawks. I had the good fortune of meeting him at Atlanta Motor Speedway one year for a photo and autograph. It was a great moment for me!So as you can see, basketball collecting definitely belongs on the big stage. There is a largely untapped market out there that is begging to be hobby-fied (new made up word). There are some really fine products on the market today as well but not the quantity that’s available in other sports. I buy some from time to time but a big part of collecting to me is sharing and trading with other collectors. I just haven’t found enough yet to go head first into the sport. I’m ready though!

J-Dub

Retro Review – 1986 Donruss

Today is really a special day for me. I have stated before that I am a Donruss man. I know, Panini is a little different now and they don’t have an MLB license and they do points in their sets and they produced the abomination that is ’90 Donruss. I know all of that. But I am a Donruss man. I’ve loved the product since I started collecting in late ’88 and I still buy it today. I really like the ’17 design and just bought a box of it to break sometime in the near future. I love that they have jumped into Football now and I love the new Optic product. My first big rookie card was the ’89 Donruss Ken Griffey Jr. The first big chase card I went after was Donruss Elite. There’s a lot about Donruss that I love. But one of my favorite things about Donruss is the 1986 card design.I don’t know why this design specifically jumps out at me other than it’s really retro and reminds me of the great 80’s. Maybe it’s because of the “Max Headroom” feel it has to it. Maybe it’s because it had the famous Jose Canseco rookie that I loved so much as a kid. Maybe it’s because it’s always been one of the pricier Donruss boxes and not one I could just pick up at the local flea market for $5. It’s a set that predates when I started collecting but I’ve always been drawn to it. And even with all of that being said, until today, I had never opened one single pack of it. I have a lot of singles that I’ve picked up from various places but you just don’t see ’86 Donruss packs laying around often and the box has always been a tad high for me to justify the expense. The boxes today range from $35-$50 depending on the seller. So I finally had enough of “wishing” I had an ’86 Donruss box to break. I just broke down and bought one, chalking it up to a severe case of nostalgia-itis. Then, after it came in, I sat on it…..for almost 3 weeks. I looked at the box everyday and thought, “nah, I’ll do it tomorrow.” I guess I just didn’t want it to be over so quickly. Besides, I had been waiting a long long time to finally break one of these boxes. But today, after all of that delay and anticipation, I did it. I declared today ’86 Donruss Saturday! The ’86 set has a checklist of 660 cards, which includes 26 painted Diamond Kings, as has been the standard for many years. The wax box consists of 36 packs with 15 cards and 1 Hank Aaron puzzle card. As with other 80’s-90’s Donruss sets, one of the features was a large puzzle that you could put together with 60 puzzle pieces. 1986 was strong with my hometown Braves’ Hank Aaron. The set also produced some strong rookies, including Canseco, Fred McGriff, Andres Gallaraga, Cecil Fielder, Paul O’Neill and Darren Daulton. It’s truly a set with the perfect blend of both young superstars and stars on their way out. Young superstars include Ryne Sandberg, Tony Gwynn, Ozzie Smith, Roger Clemens, Darryl Strawberry and Dale Murphy. Some of the older stars in the set are Don Sutton, Vida Blue, Rod Carew, Dave Winfield, George Brett and Mike Schmidt. The checklist is really loaded with a wide variety.The box did not come without some drawbacks. While I am a Donruss fanboy, I am also fair in both my praise and criticism. The Diamond Kings checklist leaves a bit to be desired. The best player I pulled in my box was Orel Hershiser. The checklist includes such names as Rick Mahler, Mike Davis and Bill Doran. Those may have been household names in ’86 but they didn’t have any staying power. Also, while the cards were in overall great condition for a 30 year old box, the cut of the cards was somewhat weak. More than any other boxes I’ve broke in the recent months, the length of these cards were very inconsistent. When you stack these cards, the cut issue is rather obvious. But, all in all, the condition of the cards and packs was much better than I anticipated. I pulled what seems like 90% of the set together with my first box. That figure may be off one way or the other but that’s my best guess after collating rather unscientifically. I did pull McGriff, Gallaraga, Dykstra, Daulton and Fielder rookies, among many second year stars as well. However, I fell short of my overall goal of pulling Canseco, McGriff and Gallaraga. Unfortunately, I pulled neither Canseco or O’Neill. Perhaps I’ll have better luck with my 2nd box (Dub Score Spoiler Alert). I enjoyed many of the names and the trip back to my early baseball days. Nolan Ryan popped up a couple of times. The Twinkies duo of Viola and Hrbek continue to haunt me as they were ever present with others from that dastardly team like Gladden, Gaetti and Jack Morris. My Braves were poorly represented with the only notable player being Dale Murphy. But the big names of the late 80’s were there and this was a very nice timeframe between their rookie years and their established years of 88-89. Like I said, it really is a great mix of young and veteran stars. 1986 was also a very nice year in the history of jerseys. The Braves were in the nice blues that I loved in the 80’s in most photos while the Astros had their classic orange and yellow combo. The Expos were sporting their nicest uni (in my opinion) with the classic red, white and blue and the Pirates were rocking the old pillbox hats! The set used a very good balance of action and posed shots as well. As was classic 80’s, there was also a ton of porn stache’s, Jheri curl and mullets. The set really has it all. And the packs were classic wax with no bubblegum to powder up the cards. No UV coating and no bubble gum powder helped these cards stay in pretty fine condition. There wasn’t much of a nostalgic scent to the cards as there is with many of the 80’s Topps sets but I’ll sacrifice the scent for the lack of powder.The box was everything I had hoped and more. The only negative was that I didn’t pull a Canseco. But the fact that I pulled almost every other star made up for that. I’ve busted several ’89 boxes and haven’t pulled a Jr. and been much more dissapointed with the results. I’ll go back to the well for a second box soon. I’d like to complete the set and try once more to pull the Canseco. Because of my background, this set is really cool even 30 years later. It has a Michael Jackson video/Knight Rider/Saturday Morning Cartoon feel to it that will keep me coming back for more. When you bust a mid to late 80’s box, you go into it knowing that, at best, you may pull some moderate value rookie ($5-$10) so it’s not about dollar value. It’s about the value of taking a step back to some vivid moment in your childhood when you first saw the ’86 Ozzie Smith. For me, that’s a huge part of what collecting is about. At this point in my life, I’ve pulled 1 of 1’s, nice autographs, printing plates, etc. That can definitely be exciting. But nothing gives me a sense of comfort and makes the stress of the real world fall away like a retro box of baseball cards from when I was a little squirt playing video games 24/7. This box gave me that feeling 100%. So to me, that is a very good return value. The price is also fairly reasonable these days and the quality of the product holds up in my opinion. I’ll have to go with a Dub Score of 5, even though this one was destined for one from the start. The next box is going to be more difficult to grade high. I’ve got an ’89 Topps box ready for breaking in my next retro review. 1989 was a great year but the set didn’t exactly light the world on fire. Until then, Keep Collecting!

Dub Score – 5

Dub’s Snubs

I started thinking about this when I got that ’86 Donruss box a couple of weeks ago. You know, the one that I still haven’t opened. It’s really bothering me but I just haven’t had the time I think should be allotted to meticulously go through those packs. It’s sort of a big deal for me because I’ve always wanted to rip a box but for whatever reason, just never have been able to get it done. I guess I still can’t get it done even though the box is sitting right in front of me. Anywho, two of the big rookies in the set are Jose Canseco and Fred McGriff. For totally different reasons, they have one major thing in common; neither are in the Hall of Fame. I have to thank Matt Sammon at @waxandgumstains for making me think so hard about Fred McGriff and the Hall. But I really don’t understand why he isn’t. I get why Jose isn’t, even though he was one of the most dominant hitters of the late 80’s-early 90’s and one of my all time faves. The Crime Dog doesn’t have those kind of numbers but he also doesn’t have that kind of baggage.

So that’s what brought me here. What players should be in the Hall that I collected growing up? Moreover, what about the players that didn’t have any glaring steroid allegations? I decided to avoid the whole steroid issue (almost) in this review because I didn’t want to beat a dead horse. Some of these players may have even had some weird link to some of the issues but they aren’t Clemens or McGwire or Sosa. These are players that, by and large, did it the right way on the field. They are also players that might eventually get in through some veterans committee waiver but they aren’t in yet and I think they should be. I’ve also tried to put them in order from least to most deserving. This is not a comprehensive list by any means but it is based on the thoughts of yours truly. And again, this list is restricted to a time period in which I collected these guys heavily.#5 Alan Trammell – I first remember Alan Trammell from RBI Baseball from 1987. The Tigers were stacked and Trammell hit .343 with 28 bombs and 105 RBI that year. He was also a middle infielder, which was my spot on the field too. Those numbers are really staggering for a short stop from the mid 80’s. He also had 21 stolen bases and he won silver slugger during that season. I know, you don’t get into the Hall for one season so here is more support: 20 seasons, 6x All-Star, ’84 World Series Champ and MVP, 4x Gold Glover and 3x Silver Slugger. He had 7 seasons batting over .300 and 13 double digit steals seasons. Perhaps one of the most impressive stats is that he only had 3 seasons with more than 60 K’s and none more than 71. He averaged 8 less K’s per season than Cal, hit 10 points higher in his career and won 2 more Gold Gloves. Now, I’m not arguing that he is actually Ripken but he had a worthy career. Unfortunately, none of his numbers jump out as threshold numbers. .285 avg, 2365 hits and 185 HR. But if you ask me, he belongs in the Hall!#4 Don Mattingly – “Donnie Baseball” did not have a career as lengthy as Trammell but he did but up numbers. He finished his career as a .307 hitter with 2153 hits. He also outclubbed Trammell in HR’s with 222. He had 1,000+ RBI and only averaged 40 K’s per season. He was also a 6x All-Star, 9x Gold Glover, 3x Silver Slugger, AL MVP (’85), AL Batting Champ (’84) and AL RBI Champ (’85). He was the captain of the Yankees from ’91-’95 and had his #23 retired. The only thing he didn’t do was win a World Series. He was an absolute stud during his heyday but ran into injuries along the way and just didn’t finish with any of those magic numbers either. But the Hall is not just about numbers. The dude was nicknamed Donnie Baseball for crying out loud!#3 Larry Walker – Mattingly and Trammell’s numbers sort of pale in comparison to #3 on our list. Larry Walker hit .313 for his career and almost hit more home runs than the other two combined, 383. He struck out a little more but he hit .350+ in 4 out of 5 seasons from 1997-2001. Add in 230 steals and 150 RF assists, good for 17th all-time, and you have yourself a 5 tool player! Over 17 seasons, he was a 6x All-Star, won 7x Gold Gloves, 3x Silver Sluggers, led the NL in HR in 97, was the MLB batting champion 3x and won NL MVP in ’97. Seriously, you’re telling me that this guy doesn’t belong in the Hall?#2 Gary Sheffield – Now, a controversial pick. Yes, he has been linked to PED’s but not in the same capacity as the big guys from the day. Yes, he was a bit of a hothead and character issue guy but he helped ball clubs win. He played for 22 seasons and was a 9x All-Star, 5x Silver Slugger, a World Series Champ and an NL Batting Champ in 92. There are no Gold Gloves on the resume but he did top 500 HR (509) and hit .292 over his career. He came up shy of 3,000 hits by only 311 and had 1676 RBI. As a power hitter in a strikeout era, he also only K’d an average of 74 times per season. He never struck out more than 83 times in a season. Recently inducted Jeff Bagwell struck out 100+ times in 10 of 15 seasons. Again, not comparing the two players as a whole, just giving a reference. Sheffield has his issues but he was always a very intimidating force at the plate. His stats are worthy but he just has too much baggage at this point. #1 Fred McGriff – First and foremost, I’m a Braves fan and Crime Dog was a tremendous player on those teams from 93-97, eventually winning that WS ring in ’95. He hit 130 of his career 493 HR’s during that 5 year stretch and hit for a .297 average as a Bravo. He finished his career 10 hits shy of 2500 and 7 HR shy of 500. Over 19 seasons, he was a 5x All-Star, All-Star MVP (94), a 3x Silver Slugger and 2x HR Champ. He also never found himself in the news for any dubious reasons, was not linked to PED scandals and was by all accounts a consummate teammate and professional. He is one of my all time favorite 1B, along with Frank Thomas. This guy is the prime example of what the Hall of Fame stands for in my opinion. And as if all of that weren’t enough already, he also gave Tom Emansky his full endorsement on his hitting instruction videos. Case closed in my book!No-Brainer – Pete Rose – I really didn’t want to have to do this but can we get Pete in the Hall already? He obviously had a character flaw with his betting on baseball. I’m not going to completely ignore that fact. But what he did in the diamond is unparalleled. 4,256 hits?? 17x All-Star, 3x World Series Champ, Rookie of the Year, NL MVP, Clemente Award Winner, 2x Gold Glover, Silver Slugger, All Century Team. 3,000 hits is a benchmark stat for HOF and Rose had 3,215 singles!! It’s time people! Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame!

I’m sure everyone has their list that differs. There are tons of metrics that people use. But sometimes we make things more difficult than they have to be. The eye test is important to me and these guys all pass it. Of course, everyone can’t get in and there will always be fringe players but these guys excelled at the game and had long, decorated careers that should be honored and admired. What about you? Who’s in your top 5?

J-Dub

I’m A Dork!

I have no problem with the self depracating column that is before you. Odds are, we are a lot alike but you may not embrace the terminology I use. But I am a dork, nerd, dweeb, geek, whatever you want to call it. And I’m not talking about in a hipster kind of way. I mean it in the pretty basic immature kind of way. I have my likes and they are generally juvenile. I have things that get my attention and they usually are the same things that got my attention when I was a young lad. I am 40 years old and I haven’t grown up. And I don’t plan on it.I’m married, have two kids, own a home and have a stable job of 19 years. That’s as far as I’m taking this adulthood thing. Those things do come first and I will be a responsible functioning adult in those arenas. But that’s it. I usually don’t do dinner where I have to tuck my shirt in or wear a button down. As a matter of fact, I’m going to say that 100% of the time my shirt is tucked in is at work and church. Other functions make up less than 1% of those times so I’m rounding it on up to 100. Now, if you’re ordering a pizza and we are going to eat off of paper plates, watch a game and just talk with no preset expectations, just tell me when and where. I’ll probably show up wearing my RBI Baseball t shirt.One thing you learn about me the first time you meet me is that I am not ashamed. You can take me or leave me and the Earth will continue to rotate around the sun. I haven’t always been that way and I don’t mean that in a flippant. I have been around this rock for a long enough time to understand that people come and go but real friends are the ones who accept you for who you are and vice versa. It took a while to figure that out. I used to want everyone to like me. I wanted to be someone that people automatically wanted to call if they were about to go out on the town. I met a lot of fake people that way too. There are a lot of people that will use that type of desire to be liked or “vulnerability” for their gain and throw you aside when it’s convenient. So there is part of my message today. Be you no matter what. Some people will like you and some people will be turned off but you’ve weeded out some of the riff raff without even trying when you stay real. And as Curly in “City Slickers” would say, that’s my one thing. Be you and let me be me. We may get along or we may not but we don’t have to get in each other’s way either.Well, this took a more serious tone than I anticipated so I’m getting back to the dork stuff. The above is a good preface to explain why I have no shame in who I am at this stage in my life. So I’m walking around the mall on this Sunday afternoon while the Mrs’ looks at every shoe available for purchase and I find myself taking in all the sights. I’m not looking at Patagonia or North Face stuff because I don’t suppose I’m a “brand guy.” I’m looking at the retro t-shirts, not because they are hip but because I actually love Ric Flair and Top Gun! I’m checking out the new Funko Pop items at BAM. I’m looking through old “coming of age” comedies at FYE. I found Deftones “White Pony” on vinyl and it excites me because we I still listen to records when they are available. I’m not going to Men’s Wearhouse even though I have a professional type job. I’m going to Spencer Gifts because I think the shirts are funny and I need to update my black light for the 91 Topps project I’m working on.If I could freeze time from 1988-1993, I would do it in a second. That would probably be my first wish if I ever found one of those genies in a bottle. Second wish would probably be the abolishment of all the new tech items that led to the closure of video and record stores. The third wish would no doubt be “3 more wishes”. But back to 88-93, it wasn’t just a simpler time because I didn’t have many responsibilities. I was just simpler all the way around. If I wanted baseball cards, I hit Wal Mart or Piggly Wiggly. There was no hobby and retail to get bogged down in. The packs were $1 or less too so a reasonable summer job kept cards on the table if you know what I mean. If I wanted to watch a movie, I had to go to the video store and walk the aisles, which would undoubtedly lead to additional rental possibilities. As convenient as Netflix is, the convenience makes the decision too hard! If I have to drop $2.50 on a movie, I’m going with what I know I want to watch, not just some film that looks like it might be interesting and I can turn it off if I want. Yes, I suffered through many a horrible movie in the video days but I still joke about them with my brother and friends. I could play summer ball at the rec field and go get ice cream in a mini batting helmet at Dairy Queen after. When I beat Zelda, I could go trade it at school for Mario 3 with Joe or BJ. When I was hungry, I could pop pizza rolls in the oven and not worry about caloric intake. I could stay up watching tv until 2 am on a weeknight and not feel like I’d been hit by a Mack truck when I had to get up for school. I had to be vibrant in the morning because I had homework to do on the bus after all. My work day would consist of a lawn to be mowed or watching my little brother. Just absolute simpler times! I am Exhibit A of why “Stranger Things” was such a huge breakout in 2016. It’s a time period piece for me as much as it’s a sci-fi thriller. See my Ghostbusters shirt?? That was my heyday! I have a hard time letting go of the old days. If I had a positive interaction with someone in school and I haven’t seen them in 25 years, I’ll go right back to that memory when I see them again. Nothing that’s happened in between those years matters. In my mind, we’re back at the Legion pool on the super slide or trading 90 Donruss in Mr. Spivey’s class or camping out at Lake Okitiayakani and planning a big scare for the tent next to us. That’s what I hang on to. I sometimes just feel like a stranger in a different time. All the partying on the river and gathering for poker and marathoners of the world have passed me by. (And tubing on the creek is different than partying on the river in this case.) Especially when you’re doing it with some of your closest friends. But, each person is different. Motivations are all unique but give me a pizza or cheeseburger, a copy of Night of the Living Dead, a couple of packs of ’90 Fleer and a Nintendo controller and I’ll stay out of your way and be as content as a koala in a eucalyptus forest.So maybe you’re not a dork like me. Maybe you like those Junior League functions where you get to dress up and impress other people with your big society living. Maybe you like sitting back with a cup of coffee and chatting about MSNBC with your colleagues. Maybe you’re not happy unless you’re forcing your veins out of your forehead while you try to flip that 5 gallon bucket of concrete over your head. Hey, it takes all kinds to make this world go round. And I accept that about you just like I’m asking you to accept everything about me. I’m just not impressed, much like you’re probably not impressed with my extensive knowledge of National Lampoon’s Vacation or my uncanny impersonation of Magnum PI!This isn’t an attack on anyone or their interests. It’s quite the opposite. This is a proclamation of who I am. This is me finally understanding and drawing my line in the sand. I’ve lived with the desire to be liked by all for far too long. As a friend of mine said one time, “I just may not be your cup of tea.” But now more than ever, I’m totally fine with that. I have friends across all walks of life and that’s because we all have some common interests. I’m just different with what makes me happy. I am me! I am a total, unashamed, take me or leave me dork!J-Dub

Mail Day Review – Cuyler Smith Trading Cards Series 2

I’ve been waiting on this mail day for a solid year so it’s a pretty big one. When I first heard about Cuyler Smith’s Trading Card Series 1 in 2016, I was too late for the party and almost all of the cards were sold out. All of the specific cards I wanted were sold out. The prize of the 1st series to me was the “George Costanza – Assistant to The Traveling Secretary” card with the 1987 Topps design. I know Mr. Wright, I’ve seen that design enough too but for this particular card, no border would have done it better justice. But alas, it was sold out so I’m banished to EBay to get that one if I ever want it and it’s not for sale often and it’s never cheap, as evidenced by the last sale in February 8 at $219.95. Three have sold in 2017 with the lowest being $185. That’s my luck!You see, to understand the whole picture, I need to give you a little bit of information on the cards themselves. Cuyler Smith is an artist from California by way of Texas. I’ve never met him or spoken to him outside of passing comments on Twitter so my bio on him is based on what I’ve read. After moving to California, Smith obtained a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in animation and MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in illustration. And his work shows it. His interest in film and animation took him to Cali and now his fine art degrees are paying homage to film and animation. The Trading Card Series’ are all about athletes from film and Tv. The checklist includes such big names as Daniel Larusso, Crash Davis, Bobby Boucher, Kenny Powers, Al Bundy and Ty Webb. And those names don’t even begin to scratch the surface. Rocky, Teen Wolf, Mighty Ducks, Caddyshack, Varsity Blues and Friday Night Lights are all covered too.So Smith presented Series 1 in early 2016 and it was largely sold out in the first month or so. The pieces are all standard trading card size and are also signed and numbered by the artist. I don’t know the exact print run on Series 1 but all of the cards I got today are numbered out of 90 except for one that is numbered out of 45. So yeah, absolute short prints here. Series 2 was just released in February and I pounced on the single I wanted and then splurged for a pack. The singles are around $15 and the pack of 5 is $85 and includes either an “Air Bud” numbered to 45 (only available in packs) or an Artist Proof from a Sold Out Previous Edition. They are available at www.nineteeneightyeight.com and www.cuylersmith.com and by all accounts appear to be headed for sold out again so I’m glad I jumped when I did. Does the $219 Costanza make a little more sense now?Now, on to my mailday. Don’t judge the condition by the photo as this particular card holder was taped by itself to cardboard for shipping and that is what you are seeing. The cards were in mint condition and shipped very meticulously. The single that I had to have as a 40 year old who sat in front of the Tv a ton from 10-15, was AC Slater from Saved By The Bell. Don’t pretend for one second that you didn’t want to emulate at least one of the characters from Saved By The Bell growing up. Maybe it was Screech, doesn’t matter. This show is an iconic 90’s masterpiece and AC Slater was Sports on that show. Football, Basketball and Wrestling, it didn’t matter. AC was all world. So I had to get that one out of the way even though I was buying a pack. If I scored one in the pack too, just call it Christmas in March!After marveling over the Slater for a moment, I turned my attention to the pack of 5 cards. The pack itself is also signed which is 1) a very nice touch but 2) screams “DON’T BREAK THIS SEAL!” But I didn’t sit on my hands for the last 2 weeks to only look at an unopened pack. After all, there was the slimmest of chances that a Costanza Artist Proof was lurking in that pack. I know, I probably have a better chance of pulling the Babe Ruth card from those retail repacks at Wal Mart. But hey, isn’t that what ripping packs is all about?So Card 1 was the limited edition Air Bud card. It is numbered 43/45. As mentioned above, nothing I received is numbered higher than 90. As you can tell from the photo of the card, it lists the name, team name and number, which in this case is K9. The back of each card includes a quote from the subject, “Woof” for Buddy, and a little peek at highlights and background. The back of the cards have an older Topps set feel to them and it’s really a nice card stock. The cards are also very well centered, unlike my photos.Card 2 was Fulton Reed, the massive defenseman from The Mighty Ducks films. The card is numbered 90/90 and speaks of his time on Team USA as a member of The Bash Brothers with Dean Portman. It also includes the Hendrix logo and his position on the front, staying true to sport card design. If you’ve ever read my piece on The Video Superstore, you’ll know that this film was right in my wheelhouse, along with others that are covered in the set. Nostalgia from all angles!Card 3 was Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) from “Back to School” and is also numbered 90/90. This was another classic from the video store days. This film was later in Dangerfield’s career but he still had the pizazz to woo the Hidden Valley Ranch spokeswoman from back in the day, Sally Kellerman. He was also the master of “The Triple Lundy” and has one of the better card quotes, “With the shape I’m in, you could donate my body to science fiction.” The card includes a diving logo on the front and a background of the high dives from GLU.Card 4 is a classic! Hamilton “Ham” Porter from the Sandlot, numbered 89/90. Of course you see the photo but was there any question what his quote would be? It’s what he is famous for and I have owned shirts over the years that shout it! “You’re killing me Smalls!” His character made the film for me back in the day and I couldn’t have been happier with my Sandlot pull! It even had the year in the top left corner, “1962.”Even though I love the Ham card, I saved the best for last. Card #5 is none other than Rocky Balboa himself! A beautiful card with a blue border and red, white and blue stripes, which every knows was Balboa’s signature colors when he defended his dear friend Apollo Creed’s (and the mighty USofA’s) honor in his bout with Ivan Drago, who is also included in the set by the way. I now have a Trading Card that features Rocky Balboa, who was also Rambo, Cobra and Lincoln Hawk! This one was numbered 90/90 and the quote is a great one; “Going in one more round when you don’t think you can – that’s what makes all the difference in your life.”

This card pack has made a big difference in my life as a collector and I could not be happier with the card selection, design, packaging and most importantly, the artwork in this set. This has been an amazing “non-traditional” trading card few weeks for me. First, I got my first set of “Welcome to The Show.” If you haven’t made that purchase yet, I don’t know what you’re waiting for. I’ve already ordered my second set. Then I finally added some Cuyler Smith Trading Cards to my collection. I’m about to get my second pack of that as well! Unfortunately, time may be out on some of these cards but go look for yourself on the links I’ve provided above. He’s also on twitter under the handle @cuylersmith. His twitter feed will lead you to the link to purchase these amazing cards. If you’re intrigued like I was last year, don’t make the mistake I made and wait too long to get on the site. These will go fast! Score is obvious in this one!

Dub Score – 5

Nostalgia Night – Baseball

I have really been tied up with work, the kids and a brutal sinus infection that won’t seem to go away. I haven’t been able to get to the ’86 Donruss box yet and it’s kind of driving me nuts. I want to have the time to sit and go through the whole box. I’ve never even bought a pack of that product but have some singles and have always loved them. Opening that box is going to be a new experience for me, which is rare when talking about opening an 80’s box of baseball cards. But that set has always eluded me. I’m going to get to it very soon and will have plenty to say about it when I do. While I haven’t had a couple of hours to spare, I have had time to rifle through some of my old boxes while looking for the non-sport packs I just traded with Scott Berger, which was a saweet deal! In going through those boxes, I decided to try a new (maybe weekly) post called “Nostalgia Night”. I have boxes of baseball, football and basketball cards that are loaded with 80’s-90’s stars. I was weighing how many cards, what players, etc when I decided to just pick 10 cards that jumped out at me and start with those. The first edition will be baseball but I will mix it up frequently in order to stay fresh. Well, see how it goes. Maybe this thing has legs or maybe it’s a dud. Only one way to find out.1987 Topps Eric Davis – There isn’t much that can be said about 87 Topps that hasn’t already been said. Topps themselves are living off of those bad boys much like an early 2000’s Bama fan was doing with Bear Bryant’s legacy. Topps has tried to incorporate some type of 87 variation in tons of products and for the most part has been successful. There’s just something about that wood grain that takes us all back. Station Wagons, Bedroom Walls and Baseball Cards all shared that design in 87. Eric Davis is sort of the antithesis of 87 Topps. He hasn’t gotten much exposure since his playing days and I think that’s a shame. In his prime, he was a five tool player if there ever was one. We throw around that word now but he was legit. He’s just not remembered by many baseball fans of our generation. 87 was his best year and his stats proved that he was capable of doing it all. He hit .293 with 37 home runs, 100 RBI and 50 stolen bases. You may be thinking that 50 is a lot of stolen bases. But it was actually 30 less than his 86 season when he swiped 80. So yeah, power, average, speed and he also had the glove as is evidenced by 3 gold gloves. I loved me some Eric Davis back in the day and still do today. 1988 Donruss George Brett – 88 Donruss gets hammered as the set that sent the card industry head long into the Junk Wax Era. There were tons and tons of this product made and pushed out to the public. I envision the future as robots still churning through boxes of 88 Donruss. When Biff Tannen was dropping off the sports almanac with his younger self, he also said “Don’t buy any 88 Donruss, trust me.” Even though a ton of it was printed, 1988 had a solid selection of stars and rookies. Some of the older players were wrapping up and players like Tom Glavine and Craig Biggio were just getting started. George Brett was close to the end of a stellar career. I knew Brett as a tough player that was a difficult out. He finished his career with a +.300 batting average and is one of only four players to ever hit over .300 with 3,000 hits and 300 homeruns. The others? Stan Musial, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. That’s some damn elite company there. Even towards the end of his career in 88, he churned out a .306 average with 100+ RBI. He’s also responsible for one of the most memorable moments in baseball history with the Pine Tar Incident. I don’t have to rehash that whole thing if you’re already reading a blog about 80’s baseball cards. Let’s just say that I was only 6 when it happened but I have seen it probably a million times in my life.1989 Topps Sandy Alomar Jr. – The first Jr. I was a huge fan of. I loved pulling Alomar rookie cards in ’89. His career never lived up to the hype surrounding him in the late 80’s but he was better than average during his career. He made 6 all-star appearances, a couple of World Series appearances and won Rookie of the Year and a Gold Glove in 90 as well. While he spent the most productive years of his career (10 seasons) with the Cleveland Indians, his 89 Future Star featured him in his San Diego uni. He and Carlos Baerga were traded from SD to Cleveland and both were part of a mid 90’s Indians resurgence. As for 89 Topps, it should not be a secret by now that I have a love hate relationship with the card company. But from 89-91, I loved the sets they put out. It’s really hard for me to even rank those three years because they all have their high points. 90 was the first complete set I owned so it has a special place in my memory. I’m neck deep in 91 Topps here in 2017, chasing variations and glow backs that I didn’t even know existed back then. And 89 is one of the purest card designs in my collection. No neon colors, no throwback attempts, no computer graphics. Just a plain basic card with a lot of class.1989 Upper Deck Will Clark – Much like 87 Topps, there’s not much I can say about 89 Upper Deck that you don’t already know. It was the premier set for the company and broke the mold for baseball card features in a time when innovation was needed. A Groundbreaking set to say the least. Most famously known for card #1, Ken Griffey Jr, there are several popular, well known cards offered up in the set. It was loaded with stars as wells as bums. One of the stars in 89 was Will Clark, or as I like to refer to him thanks to Donruss, William Nuschler Clark Jr. I really called him Nuschler on RBI and when we were playing in the yard because I was so amused at that middle name. Another career +.300 hitter, 89 was also his best individual season. He hit .333 with23 bombs, 111 RBI and scored a league leading 104 runs. Two great water cooler trivia questions for your friends. First, in 89, Will finished 2nd in the MVP voting. Who did he finish behind? Kevin Mitchell, his SF teammates. The other – Will hit a home run in his first major league at bat off of what pitcher? Nolan Ryan. Not many players can say that!1990 Donruss Juan Gonzalez – if you want Juan’s comprehensive backstory, listen to Episode 52 of Wax Ecstatic’s podcast on ITunes or Audio Boom. He does a great job with a players background and career in those podcasts. As for my memory of Gonzalez, I remember he was an absolute masher. His rookie card in 91 made him look like a slim and trim speedster when in fact, he was about to grow into a mammoth of a home run hitter. There are some allegations as to whether it was all legit but that’s neither here nor there for this conversation. He was high on my collection list in 1990 and I had high hopes for a massive career. He did finish his 17 year career with 400+ home runs and 2 AL MVP Awards but he’s been swept under the rug over the last 15 years. As for 90 Donruss, yeech. Really very few positives about the set. But this particular card was known for its reverse negative error in which Juan could be found hitting left handed. I had both at one time but now only have 2 non error versions.1990 Fleer Dale Murphy – Like 89 Topps, the Fleer set of 1990 was a classy, clean baseball card. White border, no frills, just baseball. I remember getting a few packs of Fleer at Halloween from my grandmother and I chucked my candy out of the way and went straight to ripping. My hit that night was Mark McGwire. That was 27 years ago and I still remember it so vividly. That’s a microcosm of what collecting cards is to me. They can take me back to such a specific place and time and I can have that sense of nostalgia wash over me. Back to the card, Dale Murphy is a legend in Atlanta, even though he went on and played for the hated Phillies after wrapping up his career with the Braves. He was the lone bright spot in a stretch of horrendous baseball history for my home team. I remember going to games as a kid and being one of a handful of fans there to take in the struggling Bravos. But Murph was one of my heroes. I’m still dissapointed he hasn’t made it into the Hall of Fame. His overall career numbers don’t seem to hit any of the benchmark metrics for induction but he’s always been more than that to me. He was a 2 time MVP on a lousy team and played his butt off every day. As it stands, he and Roger Maria are the only 2 time MLB MVP’s not in the Hall of Fame. For shame! He also got traded right before the Braves magical run of 14 consecutive division championships. Bad timing.1990 Kmart Jose Canseco – Speaking of Hall of Fame, I don’t suspect Jose is going to get in anytime soon thanks to his post career look behind the curtain. You could almost commend him for his honesty if you weren’t pretty sure there was a motive behind it. The KMart baseball cards are certainly not Hall of Fame worthy thenselves. But those derogatory assessments aside, Jose Canseco was my #1 focus in the late 80’s. I was Oakland on RBI 3, I wanted all of his cards, I carved a wooden plaque in his honor in 8th grade shop class and I dressed up as him in 7th grade for an autobiographical presentation. So yeah, Jose is a big part of my love for the hobby. If it were up to me, he’d be front and center in the Hall, regardless of his enhancements. This dude was a masher, had blazing speed for a big man and hit for a pretty solid average for most of his career. He was the first 40/40 club member and still only one of four. Of course, those players have something else in common. They are Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano. Again, I don’t care! You’ll never prove to me that 80% of the league wasn’t doing the same thing. And Jose was still better than all of them! If not for Ron Gant, I might be a Jose super collector at this point. But that place in my collecting heart goes to #5.1990 Upper Deck Tom Glavine – If Dale Murphy was the Atlanta Braves in the 80’s, the same could be said for Tom Glavine in the 90’s if not for John Smoltz and Chipper Jones. See, the 90’s Braves were quite a bit better than the 80’s version so there was more star power to share the spotlight. One of those stars, a real superstar, was Tommy Glavine. A former hockey player that decided to focus on baseball, he rolled up 10 all star selections, 2 Cy Young awards and a World Series ring in 1995. Not only did he win that long awaited ring in 95, he was voted the MVP of the 95 World Series. He finished his career with a 305-203 career record, leading the NL five times in wins. He could also swing the bat, as evidenced by his 4 silver slugger awards. I could write an entire post on Glavine’s achievements! Tommy was a stud on the mound and always gave us Braves fans an optimistic feeling when he took the ball. Like Glavine, 90 Upper Deck was also a star among the card world. They were still ahead of the rest of the league when it came to design and features and would claim one more year on top before Stadium Club joined the party in 91.1991 Fleer Bo Jackson – I can’t help but chuckle when I see 91 Fleer. What were they thinking? What could have possibly given them the idea that a bright yellow card was going to be a big hit? Where in baseball card history has such a thing been successful? Did they not pay attention to Donruss in 90? These are just plain awful cards in my opinion. They have nostalgic value but even in 91, I remember thinking they were God awful. Someone that wasn’t God awful was Bo Jackson. In 91, he was coming off his official induction into the Book of Legends (thanks to Super Tecmo Bowl) and also a strong baseball campaign in 90 with a .272 average and 28 bombs. But if you thought 91 was a bad year for Fleer, it was really no comparison to the awful year Bo had. He injured his hip early in 1991 in a football playoff game, ending a promising career in that sport. He would then be cut by the Royals, with who he appears on the 91 Fleer. He would return late in the season with the Chicago White Sox but his otherworldly mythical persona would fade with the hip injury. He will still go down as one of the top 3 athletes I’ve ever watched play. Bo is still a legend in many circles and he’ll always have a place in my collection.1992 Fleer Ken Griffey Jr. – The mere mention of the word legend stirs memories of one of the greatest to ever take the field. He may actually be THE greatest of my 40 years on this earth. The Kid took the league and hobby by storm in 1989 thanks in large part to Upper Deck. Ken Griffey Jr. drove Upper Deck’s success but I can’t help but give them credit for driving some of his early success in the hobby as well. His smile was electric and belonged on a baseball card. Some 89 sets didn’t even include him in the base but UD made him #1, a risky move that paid off in a huge way! As for this particular card, it’s probably my favorite of the entire 92 Fleer set. I’ve mentioned before that I loved the artwork subsets of the early 90’s and this card stood out among them to me. Colorful and regal, it’s one of my favorite non rookie cards of all time. In the mid 90’s, I was considered a Ken Griffey Jr. super collector but when me and the hobby went our separate ways in the late 90’s, I lost touch for a while. When I came back, I never really focused on one player again, except for ole Ronnie Gant. Now, Ryan Sawyer is the Jr. super collector and he has quite a collection! I still collect The Kid but I’ll never own as many as I could have if I had stuck with the hobby during my 18-25 age.

So that does it for the first edition of Nostalgia Night. What do you think? Does this thing have legs or is it like the 91 Fleer, one and done?

J-Dub

Mail Day Review – Welcome To The Show

I am a card collector. I collect all sorts of cards, not just sports cards. I have a big box in storage that holds a ton of old 80’s entertainment cards like Alf, Batman, Garbage Pail Kids, Benchwarmer and many, many more. If it’s a “trading card”, I probably collect it on some level. So when I recently tuned in to Beckett Radio’s podcast and they had Mike James on talking about his new set, “Welcome to The Show”, naturally I was intrigued. I then heard him on That Sports Card Show’s podcast and it was enough of a sign for me to go and check out this set. A little disclaimer before we get started. Some of the images in the cards may not be for people who are squeamish with body piercings, sword swallowing and tattoos.Mike James is a professional artist who has worked with many card sets in the past and is no stranger to trading cards. He is also no stranger to sideshow’s as he was a performer in the group dubbed “The Lamest Sideshow on Earth”. In this new set, Welcome to The Show, James combines his art work with his experience as a sideshow act and brings some of the most famous names in the business to life on a trading card. I have never seen a true sideshow act in person but I have always been interested in the bizarre, so to speak. Whether it be a reality show or something scripted like American Horror Story, my interest is always piqued when checking them out. The set itself consists of 20 base cards and an autographed version of each. The set you purchase includes all of the base cards and one random autograph from the set. He also has the entire autographed set available for purchase on his Facebook page, Mike James-Artist and the group page, Welcome to The Show. The set of 20 base cards and one random autograph is only $20, plus $5 shipping, so the investment is very small at this time. After seeing the cards and hearing some of the back stories of putting the set together in the above mentioned podcasts, I’d bet that now is the only time you’ll ever be able to get this set for $20. When it hits the secondary market, this could be a very hot item because of its quality and uniqueness.The cards are standard sized 3.5”x2.5” and are printed very well on what appears to be a semi-glossy card stock. The fronts of the cards have a yellow and black border with the “Welcome to The Show” logo across the top. The name of the performer is printed in the center bottom portion of the card with the photo taking center stage, no pun intended. The backgrounds of the cards are red and present a very appealing visual look with the black, yellow and red. The backs of the cards provide a very detailed look at the performer, including some of the Guinness World Record highlights, how long they have been performing and the acts they are famous for. I enjoyed reading the backs of the cards as much as I enjoyed going through the set. Not many card sets can tout that these days.The random autograph I pulled was “The Space Cowboy”. The autograph is on-card, which is very sought after in today’s card market. Mike stated on the podcast that he sent these cards all over the world to get signed by the performers. Unless you buy the set, good luck getting many of the autographs that are available here. I don’t think I’ll be seeing The Space Cowboy at a card show anytime soon. That’s part of what makes the set so unique. These aren’t items you are going to pick up at your local card shop or waiting outside of the player parking lot after a game.The artwork on the cards is unbelievable and fit the genre so perfectly. I have researched some of Mike’s other work and he seems to be able to capture the subject and genre very well in each of his sets. These sets have included Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek and The Walking Dead. Each of the cards in these sets has been given a look to match their respective namesakes. I don’t really know how to put in words what I am trying to convey but when you see Star Trek and Walking Dead, you have two totally different visual aspects. Mike nails them both on those card sets, much like he did with this one. When I look at the artwork on these cards, it’s exactly what I envision when thinking about a sideshow. The set includes many of the big names in the sideshow business. They may not be names that you’ll immediately recognize but when you read the backs of the cards, you get a sense of their importance to the genre. One performer included that many will recognize is “The Lizardman”. If you’ve never seen him or heard of him, you’ve been living under a rock. I had also heard of “Bobo’s Loco Carneval”, “The Great Orbax”, “Jim Rose” and “Doc Haze”. I’m sure I’m familiar with several others’ work but I just got the set and haven’t got my research done completely. A few of my personal favorites of the set so far are Titano Oddfellow, Lassi and Anastasia IV. I liked all of the cards in the set but these jumped out at me in my first pass through. Anastasia IV is a total smokeshow that can pull a 2.5 ton hearse with the locks of her hair. Her husband, Hannibal, is also included in the set and they are members of “The Circus of Horrors” so admire her from a distance!I’m not going to list every performer in the set or their bio’s because I don’t want to spoil the fun for you. But I will mention that Mike has his very own trading card depicting his sideshow character, Mnsr. Stinky Pants. That must be really cool but also sort of strange, drawing yourself portraying a character. I’m giving this set a perfect score of 5 on the Dub-O-Meter! If you collect cards, find interest in rarer/odd sets or just generally like amazing artwork, go buy this set before they are gone and you are left sifting through EBay for a set. I bought the set to check it out, knowing that I would open it to take in the full visual and design concept. I will be buying another set to leave sealed for my PC. Of course, I’d love to get my hands on an Anastasia IV, Lassi or Lizardman autograph but that may or may not be able to happen right away. I have a feeling they won’t be easy to find. This is a beautifully designed set and I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in it. Check it out!

Dub Score – 5

Let’s Make A Deal!

Trading is something that still exists today but was much more a part of my collecting when I was a kid. As an adult, I’ll occasionally make a trade with a friend and we’ll exchange cards through the mail. But that’s a little more difficult and risky than when you could sit down and hold a friend’s binder and physically make a deal. Due to that added risk and effort, there are some Do’s and Don’ts that I use when trading today to try and reduce the chances of getting burned. Everyone learns from their own mistakes and you may have some different or additional techniques that are helpful to you. This is not meant to discourage you from any of your techniques. I’m also not calling this the gospel of trading. This is what works for me. Finally, these may seem like normal common sense items but I have seen too many people get shafted because they were too eager to make a move.It’s usually best to get comfortable with a trade partner before sending a card off willy nilly in the hopes of getting one in return. I’m in a Facebook group that promotes the hobby and buying/selling/trading. I’m also active on Twitter with my personal and blog account. Social media is an excellent source for finding some of the cards that you’ve been looking for to add to a PC when you are trying to avoid EBay. I use EBay quite a bit as well but the trade is what we are focusing on today. As a general rule, I don’t entertain trade offers from someone new to the FB group or a fresh follower on Twitter unless their references check out. What I mean by that is you can check their timeline and with some mutual friends to see how active they are. If someone is a chronic retweeter or has 5 followers, I will likely not trade with them. It’s no offense to that person, I just don’t get enough material in the due diligence period for a trade or purchase.When you get comfortable with someone, it’s still usually a best practice to start slow with a fairly inexpensive card, like Mr. McNamara here. You know, baby steps. I recently pulled off a small trade with a twitter friend, @ShaneKatz73. He’s also a fellow blogger and I would recommend you check his work out at www.otwbbcards.wordpress.com. I was able to get comfortable with him quickly because for one, he has a blog of his own. This told me that he was pretty serious about the hobby and also that he was not necessarily hiding from the public. He also has a solid presence on Twitter in the card community. Even still, the trade we pulled off was mere pennies. But it went off without any issues and will lead to me seeking him out when I am in the market for something a little more valuable and I won’t worry whether that deal will be ok or not. If you pay attention to your feed, you can usually pick up on the people to trade with and those to stay away from.One thing about trading now that is much different from when I traded as a kid is value. As an adult collector, I have come to understand that value is relative. We still have Beckett and EBay to give us a taste of market value but I am sometimes willing to pay/trade a little more than market value for items I need for my PC. When I was a kid, all of my trades were based on needs but Beckett made it fair. At 14, you may have needed the ’89 Donruss Griffey but it was going to take more than the Sheffield ’89 Upper Deck to get it. You may have to throw in a Kevin Maas or Gregg Jefferies to complete the deal. Now, I might trade a $10 card for a $3 card if it’s something I need. We all develop this sense of value in our minds now based on what we collect. It differs from person to person so sometimes you can target PC items and make deals in that realm. The deal needs to make sense to both parties but it doesn’t always have to be equal in market value. I am not recommending that you go out and fleece anyone or allow yourself to be fleeced. I’m still not trading a $100 card for that same $3 card but value truly is in the eye of the beholder.Once the deal is done, make sure you acknowledge the deal with the trader and share your thoughts on how it went down. If it was a positive deal, let them know and let others know so they will have that reference for the future. If it was a negative deal, always try to work it out with the trader before going negative with any posts. Be clear with the trader about what didn’t meet your expectations and what would make it right. If the card was not as advertised, try to work something out to return the card. Many times, its buyer beware and you need to check everything up front. Unless the seller was misleading or did not follow through with a deal, you may have to play the hand you’ve been dealt. Of course, if the seller was misleading or failed to send an item and you can’t resolve it, negative feedback or a negative post may be in order, if for no other reason but to warn others. I am very careful with negative feedback because usually things can get worked out unless you are dealing with a real scammer. Then, that’s another story for another blog post.There are a couple of things that you don’t really have any control over. First and foremost is card condition. That is one of the major downfalls of not holding that binder in your hand when you devise your trade offer. Photos are good but if you are like me, you don’t really know until you are holding that slab of cardboard. You have to go into a deal knowing that unless it’s graded, it will likely have some issues, even if only minor. Secondly, you can’t control the US Postal Service. It’s good some days and atrocious others. You can pack your item with care in a top loader and then wrap in paper or plastic so it won’t come out. But let me say this. One of my #1 pet peeves with receiving cards in the mail is when someone tapes the top loader opening to keep the card from coming out. Please don’t do that. Find another way. Finally, you can use tracking in instances where real value is moving through the USPS system. This gives the buyer or trader a sense of comfort that a package truly is on the way and it protects your reputation if something goes wrong. Again, I usually reserve tracking for reasonably valued packages or packages where someone paid for shipping. If they pay for shipping, they get tracking!With all of this being said, it doesn’t mean that I have never been fleeced. There is one trade that will remain in my memory forever. For one, I still have the card that I traded for because it will always remind me. I actually look back on it now and it’s funny. But for a time there, I thought I had scored the biggest piece of my collection to date. I was 15 years old and Ken Griffey Jr. was my favorite player. I have mentioned before, When Subsets Were Cool, that I loved the 91 Score subsets. A friend of mine had an autographed 91 Score All-Star Ken Griffey Jr. I should’ve known something was up when it didn’t take too much to take it off of his hands. I also never considered where he would have gotten his autograph. This was 1993, before interleague play and TTM was prevalent. We live in Georgia and The Kid played with an American League team. And I knew my friend didn’t do a lot of traveling out of the state to baseball games. And furthermore, this was also before autographs were getting stuffed in every set made. But I was too star struck.I remember trading a couple of ’92 Bowman, which have turned out to be the class of the 90’s. I know a Chipper was in the stack but a Piazza might have been too. In return, I got this shiny Ken Griffey Jr. autographed card. My first autographed card! I know now that it isn’t real. I knew then that it probably wasn’t real but I couldn’t talk myself out of the deal. I still have the card in the exact same card holder as the day I traded for it. I’ll never get rid of it even thought I know it’s worthless. It has value to me. It is meaningful to me. It takes me back to the good ole days of my youth when baseball cards were my life. And that makes the trade worthwhile to me now.

Trading can be fun and easy. You just have to go into a trade with an open mind. A trade is meant to better each person’s collection. Much like fantasy football trades, you have to work at it a little bit and figure out what the other person really needs. You can’t just open the door and say I’ll give you A for B and expect that to be the end of it, unless it’s really minor items. And you have to accept that you only control one part of the transaction so do your best to live up to your expectations. It will go a long way in terms of developing future deals. Even though the days of trading in person are limited to card shows and close friends, trading is still a vital part of the hobby. Build your trader base and use it often to help each other reach goals. Whatever you do, be a positive force in the community. There have been too many members that have been out for themselves or out to make a quick buck. Be the person that you want to deal with when you make that next trade. You’ll thank yourself for it one day.

J-Dub

Memory Lane – 1991 Fleer Ultra Football

My last visit to “Middle Georgia Sports Cards” store in Warner Robins turned up a few early 90’s gems, in addition to my purchase of a box of 2016 Donruss Football. I’ll rip that one a little later and post on it. It was a pretty solid football product in 2016 and is not too easy to find these days so I had to grab it. Along with the box of ’92 Fleer Ultra Baseball I purchased and previously reviewed, I also picked up a box of ’91 Fleer Ultra Football off of the $5 table. A few things caught my eye with this one. First, the pink neon post it note called out to me like a siren in the night. A full box of any year and set for $5 requires a closer look. It doesn’t always require a purchase, but certainly a closer look. When I saw the year and sport, this one required a purchase. An NES cult classic was also released in 1991. That NES classic was Tecmo Super Bowl, or Super Tecmo Bowl if you prefer. Along with card collecting, this game is one of the few things that can still make me feel like I’m 14 years old. I know all of the players who played in the NFL that year. I know most of their stats and I certainly know almost all of their attributes on Tecmo. So the decision to purchase was an immediate yes.I’ll get this out of the way up front. If you are as big of a Tecmo fan as I am and you spent your teens playing season after season, go find this box on EBay and buy it, so long as it’s reasonable. Again, I got it at $5. If you can find it for $10 or less, don’t hesitate. You aren’t going to get rich but I promise you that the names will trigger quite a few memories for you. The only name that is surprisingly missing from the set is Bo Jackson. He did injure his hip in the playoffs of the 1990-91 season so he was not active in 1991 but he was a pro bowler in 1990 and it would have been nice had he been included. Aside from his absence, all of the other stars from the NFL and the game are included. There are also many stars on the game that weren’t actually considered stars in the collecting hobby in 1991. They are there too.The set itself is the first year for Fleer Ultra in Football. It consisted of a 300 card base set (280 veterans and 20 rookies) and a 10 card All-Star set. There isn’t much by way of inserts to get excited about. The All-Stars are not particularly sharp as they use a bland gold color border to mark the set. The base set design is a complete copy of the baseball set from ’91, from the silver top and bottom border to the thin card stock. While the card stock differed from what Topps had thrown at collectors for years, it was much like the 1990 Pro Set card that hasn’t been able to stand the test of time. I believe Score is the first card company to get the card stock right in Football in 1989 but that year was about all they got right. Of course, Upper Deck later joined the fray and outclassed the field, much like they did in baseball early on. There was also some fading in various aspects of the Ultra card. This would be due to the lack of UV coating that would come later in Fleer Ultra’s efforts. Although, no UV coating means that the cards aren’t sticking together in the packs 26 years later.A box contains 36 packs with 14 cards in each. I’m not too sure about the collation throughout each box but I did put the entire set together with one box break. The cards showcase good action shots of the players on the front and three photos on the back, a profile shot and two more action shots. Photography on NFL Trading Cards has always been on par or better than baseball to me. Maybe it’s because of the existence of NFL films or the proximity of the photographers to the field versus other sports but I’ve always enjoyed the photography on football cards. The photography was so good, it really put Ironhead Heyward’s size in perspective when you compared him to a defensive tackle! Overall, Ultra did a reasonable job on the product and provided the collector with an alternative to Pro Set, Topps and Score. They could have differentiated the product from baseball in some way but they seem to have used the exact same templates and it was a little boring by the time football season rolled around.The checklist is very strong. The set includes almost all of the star QB’s of my generation, with two exceptions – Jim Kelly and Bernie Kosar. Kelly and Kosar both only had Pro Set card’s in 1991, which may have been some sort of deal they had with the NFLPA or QB Club or something. I remember there being an issue with the licensing when Tecmo came out and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the two missing from this set are known as QB Bills and QB Browns on Tecmo that season as well. The third “QB” from the game is included in the set, Randall Cunningham. Along with Cunningham, you also have access to Montana, Aikman, Elway, Marino, Moon, Simms, Esiason and a back-up named Steve Young. There are plenty of other names that will be recognized but aren’t considered “Stars” per se, such as Steve DeBerg, Mark Rypien and Jim “Don’t Call Me Chris” Everett. The RB class is also well represented, with the exception of Bo. The set includes Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Herschel Walker, Icky Woods, Marcus Allen, Neal Anderson, Emmitt Smith and “The Nigerian Nightmare”, Christian Okoye. The WR’s include Andre Reed, Don Beebe, Mark Clayton, Michael Irvin, Tim Brown, Jerry Rice, Sterling Sharpe, Art Monk and one of my favorite Falcons of all time, Andre “Bad Moon” Rison. The defense is well represented as well with LT, Derrick Thomas, Howie Long, Bruce Smith, Rod Woodson, Deion Sanders, Mike Singletary, Reggie White, Charles Haley and Darrell Green. One notable absence from the defensive checklist is Ronnie Lott. Also missing is the most underrated Tecmo Bowl linebacker, Percy Snow. Finally, the rookie checklist is buoyed by Brett Favre and Ricky Watters but is otherwise light. There are a couple of major busts in the rookie class if you are into that sort of thing. Todd Marinovich is the most notable. If you are not a 90’s fan of football, this set may not be for you. But if you are close to my age, remember Tecmo Super Bowl and remember watching football in the late 80’s and 90’s, I don’t think you can go wrong with a box of ’91 Ultra provided the price is right. On quality alone, this set would not score very high on the Dub-o-meter but the checklist, price and nostalgic value make up for it and I can safely give it an overall score of 4. While I also gave ’92 Ultra Baseball a score of 4, it was for entirely different reasons. ’92 Ultra Baseball was a beautiful card with a slim checklist. ’91 Ultra Football is a blah card with a fantastic checklist. I wouldn’t spend more than $12 tracking a box down and I’d probably stick with one box and hope I put the set together with it. But I’m glad I bought this one. I spent $5, I put the entire set together and I reminisced of David Fulcher taking a Jim Harbaugh pick back to the house in a Super Bowl when I was 14. It was fun!

Dub Score – 4

Memory Lane – 1992 Fleer Ultra Baseball

When I go to the card shop or a show, I always keep my eye open for 80’s-90’s boxes that can be purchased at cheap prices. Most of the boxes in that era fit that description. And sometimes, there is a chase card that is in the set. The early 90’s Upper Deck boxes had autographs of various superstars such as Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan, Reggie Jackson, Joe Montana and others. The early 90’s Donruss boxes had the Elite Series, one of my favorites. Fleer Ultra inserted Tony Gwynn autos into series 1 in 1992. Unfortunately, the most recent box I found was a series 2 box. It was cheap and I like Fleer Ultra so I figured what the heck.As mentioned in my previous post, When Subsets Were Cool, I really like the All-Star Subset in this Fleer Ultra. They are really clean and classy looking for an early 90’s card. It is also full of Hall of Famers (or future Hall of Famers). So basically, a $10 ticket for a ride down memory lane and the chance to revisit some of my favorite players from the early 90’s was an easy decision. Series 2 is not as loaded as Series 1 but both series’ are 300 cards per, so a couple of boxes can put the set together without much problem. As a matter of fact, I am only a handful of cards short of the set with this one box ripped. I don’t know the normal number of inserts per box but I also pulled six All-Star cards and three All-Rookie Team cards in the box. And let me say, the All-Rookie team is pretty lame based on the three I pulled.The cards are as nice as I remember them. They contain very vibrant action photos, except for the card of Dickie Thon that looks like a minor league card. Ultra cut out most of the border that was on the majority of cards in the early 90’s and used a nice marble look where they did use a bottom border for the name and team. The back of the card had a nice color action shot as well as a standard headshot of the player. The knock on the back of the card is that they only included one year in the stats section. They saved the rest of the space for the Max Headroom look behind the action shots. As with other premium cards from the era like Stadium Club, some of the cards were stuck together in the pack but came apart with very little effort or damage in the process.The biggest stars available in Series 2 include Dave Winfield, Sammy Sosa, Eric Davis, Orel Hershiser, Larry Walker, Bobby Bonilla, Wade Boggs and of course, my old friend Hubie Brooks. As for the All-Rookie cards I got, they were Archi Cianfrocco, Chad Curtis and Donovan Osborne. See, I wasn’t joking. The All-Star pulls were much better. I pulled Mark McGwire, Roberto Alomar, Cal Ripken Jr., Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett and Frank Thomas. All-Stars indeed! Also, all American Leaguers, which may or may not be random. I don’t really know. And finally, I pulled the gem of the series (if it were still 1992), Pat Listach, 1992 AL Rookie of the Year. Alas, it isn’t 1992 anymore. All in all, a decent trip back in time. I saw some old classics like Dickie Thon and Hector Villanueva. I pulled several solid All-Stars in a beautiful subset. I almost put together the entire Series 2 set with one box. And I did it all for $10. On a “father of 2” budget, I’d call that money well spent and a nice Friday night at home. I also picked up a 1991 Fleer Ultra football box for $5 and it will be ripped next. My senses needed a little break from the scent and texture of the ’91 Topps cards and gum. I did get another box of those in the mail today so I’m anxious to compare the collation with the previous box I got. I guess the proper thing to do is to create a Dub Rating Scale for when I open these old boxes so maybe it will help you decide whether that $10 is worth it or not. Of course, none of this is scientific but I think that a standard 1-5, with 5 being the best makes the most sense. If it’s a 3 or better, I think it can count as a recommendation. Of course, temper your expectations with a 3 and get your cash out quickly for a 5. For ’92 Fleer Ultra, I will give it a 4. If not for the All-Star subset and good aesthetics, it could easily be a 3 because the checklist is a bit weak. Of course, if this was Series 1, it could also be a 5 so take that for what it’s worth. Bottom line – I would probably spend another $10 for a box to try and complete the series but I don’t think I’d spend $20.

Dub Score – 4

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