Time certainly does fly by. We can call that a cliché or whatever, but the older I get, the more I realize it to be the absolute truth. I still can’t believe it when I realize I am only 2 months away from being 42 years old. It isn’t because I think that I am somehow supposed to defy time and stay the same age forever. It is just hard to wrap my head around being on this earth for 15,330 days. I’ve reached the age where instead of wondering what I will be when I grow up, the question becomes whether I will live another “X” number of years to match those that I have already lived. If I were to double my life from today, I would be almost 84 years old!
That doesn’t mean I have actually figured out what I want to be when I grow up, because I don’t know that I will ever either figure that out or actually grow up. Growing up and growing old are two different things I want to do those exclusive of each other, if at all possible. That is why this blog is so important to me at this stage of my life. It forces me to stay in touch with a younger version of myself. It forces me to remember why I am where I am today and some of the ways I’ve gotten here. It also forces me to take stock in where I am going and whether or not I want to keep going in that direction.
Is it surprising to you that these seemingly random sports card reviews actually help me take a mental inventory of who I am, where I have been, and where I am going? I say with 100% confidence that I would be writing these whether you were reading them right now or not. I am super thankful that you are; but some of my most important pieces were read by 10 people while some of the most random were read by 1,000. Writing is as much to me about self-motivation, nostalgia, and future growth as it is about what I actually think about 1989 Donruss and Nolan Ryan. I learn from myself when I write; it’s just not learning about cards for me as much as it is learning about how my brain works.
When I sit down to write, it is sort of like turning on the TV in my brain and watching old home movies from growing up. I visualize what I was doing when I focus on the subject I’m writing about. I try to recreate the full experience, even though my mind has slowly started to blur what may have actually happened. I still have the strong concrete pillars and foundation of my childhood; but the paint on the shutters are peeling and the carpet is starting to fray in the high traffic areas. And this blog is the only way I can occasionally spruce things up a bit. The blog is the toolbox that I have laying around the house that I have to pull out when screws need to be tightened and pictures need to be re-hung.
So really, that is why I write these sometimes pointless pieces. It is therapeutic, invigorating, and often just the right cure for what’s ailing me. And the older I get, the more ailments I have. You may sometimes think that my giveaways and constant sharing is all about traffic counts or exposure; and sometimes that is part of it. But the traffic and exposure part is what has put me in touch with likeminded people who share the same stories and many of the same memories along our walk through life. And while there are moments in my life that I will never actually get back, I am not eager to let go of the memories either. I need those memories; regardless of how important or trivial they can sometimes be. So it is important to write about them in an effort to create a dialog with a stranger that may have experienced the same moment as me 25 years ago, some 500 miles away.
I have to try and treat these moments all with the same amount of respect. A memory I have from high school graduation might just have the same amount of importance as a toy that I got from a cereal box when I was 10. Just this past Halloween, I found a box of Boo Berry at the grocery store and right there in the store aisle, I pictured myself sitting on the old shag carpet in front of our console TV, watching Saturday morning cartoons. It was one tiny memory that, for one fleeting second, made me forget about the bills I had to pay or the cholesterol pill I had to take or the calls from work I had to return. And that is what life has become at the age of 42; balancing a day to day life of responsibilities with occasional fleeting seconds of happy-go-lucky nonchalance. Well, it’s obviously more than that, but that is life to me at its most basic; living in the now but never forgetting my past.
That is also what cards do for me at this age. They help me remember when my biggest worry was whether or not I was going to get my neighbor to trade me one of those 1990 Kevin Maas Upper Deck Rookies, and how much it was going to cost me. Sports Cards are an immediate window into the past for me; whether a junk wax set or something newly released. And for the latter, no set has done that for me in baseball this year, quite like 2018 Topps Gallery. I do love Archives and Heritage but Gallery really made an impression on me, pun possibly intended. I picked up some last weekend when I went down to visit my parents and I didn’t realize how much of an impact the set was going to have on me.
First, I have always enjoyed Topps Gallery, but I guess the mood I was in was perfect for the rip this time around. The set itself is a beautiful, artist rendered collection of cards that has a checklist infused with current and former players. Just like 2017, its first year back on the market in a decade, it is a Wal-Mart Exclusive, which carries its own set of pro’s and con’s that I’ll save for a deeper dive into the industry as a whole one day. The border design is mostly a whitish-gray with printed brush strokes around the edges. All of the images are painted by various artists and have a super professional look to them. These are really like classy miniature works of art.
Hobby boxes have 5 cards per pack and 20 packs per box. Blasters have 4 cards per pack, 7 packs per box, plus 1 additional pack with 4 Artist Proof Parallels. Finally, Fat Packs have 12 cards per pack.
Cards 1-150 are considered the base set with the usual influx of variations to be found. They include:
Short prints are found in the checklist from 151-200 and they include a mix of current and legendary players. There are also autographs and inserts to cover, which we will later.
There aren’t many “horizontal” cards but this Mattingly makes me wish there were more!
This Victor Robles is a cool photo with the glasses on the hat to give it a blue tint.
This Big Mac is an Artist Proof. I know I’ve seen this picture before!
The other half of the Bash Brothers is here as well. My Uncle Speedy pulled an autographed version of this card last week!
There are current players in the set, trust me. But I can easily get lost in these veteran player cards! Such a great image here!
There was no chance I would leave Bo out! If he gets pulled, he gets featured on this blog!
I’m not sure why some of the cards feature a colorful background other than artist choice I suppose. But this Ortiz is pretty sweet!
It’s always nice to add a new Chipper to the collection as well. I’d love to have the autographed version of this one!
Here is the first of your MLB Rookies of the Year. Ohtani was the American League representative.
And here is the National League ROY, Ronald Acuña. What a season this guy had!
This Hammerin’ Hank is one of the SP’s in the set. Classic photo!
Another SP is Jackie Robinson. One day, I’ll add some originals of Jackie but for now, this will have to do.
These are the Fat Pack Exclusives.
I’m not completely sold on the Heritage Inserts but I do love this Albies.
Another insert is the Hall of Fame cards. Nice to have a Jackson in the Halos uniform.
Masterpiece is an insert set that includes Black and White Images. These are ok but not my favorite cards.
Here is a Green Parallel numbered to 99. These are nice with a little added color.
The Blue Parallels are also numbered to 99. Eddie Murray is such an underrated player by today’s collectors.
Orange is the lowest numbered parallel I pulled. This Correa is numbered to 25.
Gallery includes box toppers, which can be found in the form of “Original” pieces. No such luck with this one but still a cool piece.
This is the base autograph. It looks just like the base card but with the added autograph sticker, and is not numbered.
This Green Parallel is numbered to 99!
And finally, The Big Hit! I mean, The Big Hurt! This bad boy is numbered 4/5 and is one of the sweetest baseball pulls of the year for me. This is an unbelievable addition to my collection!
So there you have 2018 Topps Gallery. I love the set but I’m afraid future boxes are going to be hard to find. My local Wal-Marts are already out and they don’t usually restock exclusives. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and certainly keep an eye out at other Wal-Marts. These can be found online but they are marked up on the secondary market, as usual. I like the various options you have and the exclusives that are found in each offering. The designs are the best of any set for me in 2018, excluding designs they have recycled from previous years. I found good value in the boxes I opened and this is certainly a base set I can get behind. I give it a “5” on the Dub-O-Meter and will definitely be on the lookout for more!
J-Dub
Scoring Scale
1.Let me be the sacrificial lamb so you don’t have to buy these cards. Just read the post and thank me later.
2.There is worse but there is much better – not worth the effort though.
3.Middle of the road – I wouldn’t talk you into buying these but I certainly wouldn’t talk you out of them.
4.You should probably go out and buy a box and enjoy the rip – I did! It has some downside but worth the ride.
5.Stop reading and find a box to buy and get to Breaking! What are you waiting on?
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 
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 
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?
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.
My rookie team is pictured here and most of these kids were in classes with me from the time this photo was taken until we graduated. We grew up in a small town where everyone knew everyone and our childhood friends have become lifelong friends. I graduated with Jason Lee, BJ Harris, Dwan Williams, Beau Clark, and Corey Shiver (my cuz). Johnny Saxon, Bubba McDonald, Jason Johnson, and Chuck Turner were a year behind me. The only one that moved that I know of was Michael Sangster and his dad was one of our coaches. Unfortunately, Michael passed away a few years ago at a young age and now has a scholarship named after him.
When I write one of these pieces about a time period from my youth, I always go back and research the year a little to refresh myself on what was going on in the world. 1983 was quite a noteworthy year. There was good and bad and there were some things that came along that year that we didn’t know would be quite so iconic until they had a chance to play out in society. I was in the first grade so I really didn’t remember some of these things being around yet but it is a reminder to me that I have lived through some of the best of times when it comes to pop culture.
How about this for starters? 1983 was the year the Super Mario Brothers were introduced to the world. While Mario and Luigi would go on to be iconic throughout the world over the next 35 years, the video game industry was at the beginning of a crash that would last from 1983-1985. Atari was the first console I owned and its popularity, along with games like Pac Man and Space Invaders, caused a lot of copycats to jump in the market. I remember having the Tandy as well, with Downland and Bedlam. Coleco and Sears also had consoles they were releasing. The sale of home computers that would play games as well just overwhelmed the economy and the video game industry died in its early 1980’s incarnation. Thankfully, Nintendo saved all of us and brought about the worldwide fame of Mario and Luigi a couple of years after they were first introduced.
The first mobile phones were also introduced in 1983. As you can imagine, these were ridiculous looking telephones by today’s standards but they were the very beginning of what has taken over our lives in 2018. What would we do without our cell phones? We rarely even make calls on them anymore but we use them for internet reasons, email, text messages, weather reports, game scores, watching TV and movies, listening to music, and dozens of other things. They can even control the climate in our homes from 400 miles away or give us a live video feed of our living room when we are out of town. We have all of that innovation from 1983 while at the same time shrinking the size of the phone from a volume of the World Book Encyclopedia down to as small as a large keychain. I remember when Zack Morris was the only teen to have a cell phone in 1989 and now my 11 year old has one because we think it is necessary.
Here is one for you old school readers. Swatch released its first watch in 1983. Do you remember just how popular those watches were? I remember all of the different designs with the jelly wraps you could put on the face of them. I am no watch connoisseur but I will admit that I didn’t know these watches were still around until my wife and I took a cruise a couple of years ago and there was a Swatch Kiosk in Cozumel. These watches looked super nice too! They have come a long way from the crazy 80’s face designs that I remember. Side note – I can’t get that Ivan Lendl Swatch ad out of my head.
To review this great rookie class, I picked up a box of 1983 Fleer. I think Topps is the best set from that year but the Fleer box can be found for about half the price of Topps. I’ll rip Topps one day but it will have to be in the offseason when sets like Spectra and Optic aren’t littered throughout my LCS, taking up all my attention and dollars. This was Fleer’s third release since obtaining rights to produce cards in 1981 and it shows how much they had improved since that maiden voyage. They would break through the glass ceiling in 1984 with that fresh new design but I think ’83 was a pretty good upgrade from ’82.
For 1983, they used a border that varies anywhere from a brownish to grayish color, depending on the light and the condition of the card. The fronts of the cards used mostly posed shots, with some exceptions like this classic Kent Tekulve, and the player name was on the bottom right while the team logo was on the bottom left. The backs of the cards were the standard offsetting shades of color with full stats. The new addition to 1983 was the second photo on the back that Fleer proudly advertised on the outside of the box. They also placed the player background information at the bottom of the card in the early 80’s with a “Did You Know” section if the career wasn’t too long.
I may be in the minority but 80’s Fleer is more nostalgic to me than any other set. It isn’t because I owned a ton of Fleer because we were heavy Donruss in my region. I only had a few Fleer cards but they always seemed to be big names. I enjoy ripping Fleer and this really tiny part of my collecting soul wishes they were still around. I know that they would be just like all the rest with their own attempt at Inception/Origins but I’m a collector that likes variety. Let’s see what this 35 year old box can produce!
Fleer was very clear on the box about their improvements for 1983. They also made sure the retailers knew that the two extra packs meant an extra .60 cents profit. In 1983, I’m sure that was decent retail profit.
This is really one of my favorite things about ’83 Fleer! These stickers are absolutely beautiful and scream 1980’s! This sort of retro look is why I like some of the new inserts that incorporate these color schemes. That Rangers logo is killer!!
There was a huge crop of “record book” pitchers on the mound in 1983. These are the names that we all remember as kids. The group is headlined by Nolan Ryan but guys like Rollie Fingers, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Goose Gossage, Gaylord Perry, and Vida Blue are true LEGENDS!
Here are 3 stud relievers. Eckersley was converting to the pen around this time but Lee Smith and Bruce Sutter were established closers.
There was a better selection of catchers than usual in this set. Benedict was the Bravos backstop but Ozzie Virgil would soon be there too. Gary Carter was arguably the best catcher of the 80’s. And if you’ve read many of my Retro Reviews, you know I love Pena in the Pirates uniform.
Here is another huge group of guys that some collectors have only “heard of”. Most collectors have some of those top two rows in their collection, including a nice second year shortstop named Cal Ripken Jr. How many young collectors knew Johnny Bench played 3B? And if only we had been able to see the future, we could have warned Bill Buckner about the ’86 Series and then warned Ron Gant about ’91!
I can’t help it but I was constantly in awe of some of the names I was pulling. I’ve opened ’83 product before but it’s easy to remember Ripken, Murphy, and Rickey. However, pulling a young Kirk Gibson, a younger Mookie Wilson, a studly Jim Rice, and the DH Don Baylor made me remember that the checklist was truly loaded!
A staple in Fleer during the 80’s was the “Superstar Special”. These commemorated certain events and league leaders from the previous season.
One of the features Fleer advertised on the box in ’83 was the “Exclusive Double Header” cards. These were two regular sized cards that made a jumbo card. I’d call this innovative for 1983.
Here is a group of players that wound up coaching or in the television booth.
Some of the rookies from 1983 are memorable players. I loved Willie McGee as a kid and Ron Kittle was a HUGE prospect. I watched all of these guys during the 80’s. Howard Johnson was probably the most valuable by the latter 80’s.
And here is what we came for. This Wade Boggs is one of the big rookies from the early 80’s. Chicken Man went on to have a Hall of Fame career and his rookies remain relatively valuable considering prices of the era. I will always remember him more with the Red Sox than his days with the Yankees and Rays. I know he went on to win Championships with NY but he will always be a Red Sock to me.
Ryne Sandberg broke into the league as a Third Baseman but would make his mark as a Second Baseman over his 16 year career. He hit a solid .285 with 282 home runs and 1,061 RBI. He also added 344 SB to his resume. His best numbers in a season included a .314 AVG in 1984, 40 HR in 1990, 100 RBI in 1990-1991, and 54 SB in 1985. He was the ROY in 1982, MVP in 1984, and a 10x All-Star! Full disclosure – I pulled Boggs and Gwynn but missed on Sandberg. I did have this in my collection though.
Arguably the greatest hitter of the modern era, Tony Gwynn finished his career with a .338 average, leading the league 8 times over his 20 year career. He hit .289 in 1982 over a 54 game cup of coffee but would never again hit below .309 over the next 19 seasons. He was an All-Star 15 times!! It’s also worth mentioning that the Padres logo in the bottom left corner was awesome!
Baseball cards in 1983 we’re a work in progress. With Fleer and Donruss joining the fray in 1981, they were still very young in the hobby. 1983 Fleer was a tremendous improvement from 1981 but they hadn’t quite hit their peak either. The design is solid but the light Brown is not my favorite border color. The backs are a little bland too compared to other releases. But it really isn’t too bad in the grand scheme of things. The checklist makes up for any design flaws as 1983 was a tremendous year for rookies. Based on the combination of reasonable price, so-so design, and awesome checklist, I’ll give the set a “4” on the Dub-O-Meter. Design keeps it from being a 5 and Boggs, Gwynn, and Sandberg keep it from being a 3.
I think that we are all losing a bit of our originality at this point. By and large, most things in pop culture today are things we have already experienced, right? I’m really looking forward to the Halloween movie release in October; but why? It isn’t because it is going to be a “new take” on horror. It isn’t because I haven’t seen Michael Myers walk the streets of Haddonfield and hide in the shadows on Halloween night 50 times before. I do expect it to have its differences but they even brought back Jamie Lee Curtis again. I am looking forward to it and will watch it because I love Halloween; the holiday and the franchise. But it isn’t a groundbreaking film in 2018.
Halloween isn’t alone. There is a lot of buzz surrounding “Suspiria”, the reboot of the cult classic by Dario Argento (1977) that still sits at a stellar 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. There have been numerous recent re-imaginings of Predator, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and now, even Candyman. I saw Magnum P.I. commercials over the weekend while I was watching college football and I’m pretty sure I saw Murphy Brown come up on Sunday. Roseanne came back last year, Full House has been on Netflix for the past couple of years, and Double Dare has been on my TV at home more in the last month than it was when I was 15. Call them what you want; reboots, revivals, re-imaginings, whatever. The fact is, we are almost solely relying on the entertainment that was popular yesterday for our pleasure today.
Some of you might be saying right now, “wait a minute, aren’t you the RETRO GUY?” Why yes, I am! I love all things 80’s and 90’s and I have no problem with holding on to the good old days. I just prefer the originals over the reboots. I am sure I will love Halloween but I probably won’t be searching for the 20 year anniversary DVD when I am 61. Sidebar – Do you think we will still have DVD’s in 2038? Or will we have gone full circle and be searching Amazon for BetaMax again? Because let’s be honest, if you are really going to enjoy the classics, you have to have some integrity issues with the picture quality. I remember barely being able to see most of the original Halloween film when I first saw it in the 80’s because the lighting was so dark. I was adjusting brightness and tracking and anything else I could think off but it was just made dark.
Here is my point, my thesis statement, five paragraphs too late. If you like retro, find the original and enjoy it. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a VHS tape, but if you plan on getting excited about the potential for a Candyman reboot, go watch the one that was released in 1992 and appreciate it for what it was in the early 90’s. Part of being original is appreciating things that are originals. Do you remember how New Coke flamed out and they had to go back to the “Classic” recipe? That was the original and that is what is still popular today. Companies mess around with packaging all the time but they always label it, “New Look, Same Great Taste”, because that is what needs to stay the same. The taste, figuratively and literally speaking, is what we always remember.
That brings me to originality in wax. And let me be clear on one major part of this discussion. “Wax” encompasses cards that were presented to us in wax wrappers. We are not buying “wax” at the LCS that is labeled 2018. We are not picking up “wax” at Target unless we are buying one of those repacks with some actual wax in it. I have been guilty of this before as well so I am not singling anyone out but I think we should start making the clear distinction between “wax” and the current product. Wax is, by its very name, specific to the era where we bought cardboard packaged in wax wrappers. Score threw us off a little when they introduced the little plastic bags and Upper Deck floored us with the foil but they are at least in the same era. That has actually been on my mind a lot lately and I wanted to go ahead and walk up the hill I am willing to die on.
Some of my favorite sets today are Heritage, Archives, and Classics. And some of my favorite inserts are the retro designs like the 1988 Donruss in football and the 1983 Topps in baseball this year. But you can actually go out and buy the real thing much cheaper than you are buying the current re-imagining. Sure, there is no Todd Gurley in 1988 Donruss and we won’t find Mike Trout in 1983 Topps, but we will find their 80’s counterparts, or originals, if you will. There are players like Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, and Thurman Thomas that are found in many of the 80’s-90’s sets while players like Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr., and Jose Canseco are the cream of the crop for those 80’s wax packs.
I have found myself drowning in 2018 product because something gets released every week and I can’t seem to keep up. I love the rips on Periscope but we are seeing the same things over and over, just slightly repackaged. There is just too much to sort through and it can really drive you mad if you are still trying to collect with an old school mindset like I do. I have about 30 partially filled 500 count boxes in my closet with anything from Unparalleled, Chronicles, Origins, Certified, Chrome, Platinum, Bowman, Optic, Elements, and the list goes on. It has become maddening. I can feel myself losing some of my own originality because I am constantly bombarded with a new design concept but the checklist never changes.
This is Wax! There is a special feel and even a special smell that is only found in wax packs. There is no substitute.
One of the aspects of baseball cards that no longer exists in the current product; learning about baseball history.
For the most part, unique batting stances have faded. There are definitely some left but think about the batting stances from the 80’s and 90’s that are so unforgettable.
Major League Baseball has upped their game on jersey quality. Even Spring Training threads are top notch today.
I can’t remember the last time I saw a baseball helmet with no flaps! Was Olerud the last player? These were even better in the mini version with Dairy Queen Ice Cream in them.
Steve Jeltz could have made this list as well. Maybe it’s a product of global warming but we certainly don’t have enough warm up windbreakers in the game in 2018.
And without the windbreaker, we are also deprived of the windbreaker under the jersey look!
Back to the batting helmets, when was the last time you saw a player wear their cap under the helmet? I remember doing this in Little League and not even knowing it was possible to wear without the cap.
“Back in my day”, nickname cards were special inserts. These were actual player nicknames and they were showcased on their base cards.
These guys were good enough at their craft that they didn’t need contacts to play the game. No player represents the glasses era any better than Kent Tekulve. And I’m pretty sure that Kelly Paris and Ken Phelps are the same person.
I won’t say that this is completely gone from the game but you really don’t see eyeblack like you used to!
We had a Mike Trout in the 80’s too! He may have been medically enhanced but he was so fun to watch. Imagine what sort of stardom this guy would’ve experienced long term if things would’ve work out differently.
You want superstars? Dollars to doughnuts, there are not as many bona fide star players in the league as their used to be. This isn’t even all of the players that make the ’89 superstar list!
Card companies tinker around with box bottoms from time to time but these were common place in the 80’s. These made even the boxes collectible.
Error cards in the 80’s weren’t intentional either. Card companies made legitimate mistakes and then they reprinted cards trying to cover them up, indirectly creating a secondary market for the cards that were printed in error. These are the two famous errors from 89 Fleer, with Billy Ripken being arguably the most famous error ever.
Finally, though these are more readily available, I’ll bet a box of ’89 Bowman that Ken Griffey Jr. finished his career with better stats than any rookie from 2017-2018 will amass in their career. That includes Judge, Ohtani, Acuña, and others. That’s not a knock on those guys, but why wouldn’t you want a Hall of Fame rookie in your collection when it could be had for such a reasonable price?
I didn’t think about that burger again until McDonald’s reintroduced it in 2015. Life is funny like that. Even when you really enjoy something, if you go long enough without it, you start to find other things to take its place and it eventually fades from your memory. You could never forget about the Big Mac because it’s always there. Even if you aren’t ordering it, you see it out of your peripheral and you think, yep, the Ole Big Mac. That’s sort of what happened with Saved By the Bell. Yeah, I know; I loved that show a little too much. But it’s still on in syndication at weird hours of the day so I can get my DVR to record some episodes and quench my Kapowski thirst anytime. The same can’t be said for “Hey Dude”. I loved that show too but it doesn’t show up in any current DVR searches. So SBTB will always rule because it’s nostalgia we can still enjoy.
Music is a little different because we can download just about anything from iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. But there are still groups that get lost in the shuffle because “Metallica”, “Journey”, and “Pearl Jam” are still touring somewhere. What about “Oasis”? Remember how great they were? Or the original “Everclear” group? “Counting Crows” is still touring but they aren’t releasing new music per se. Their last release was 2014 and if you go to their show, you are still going to hear “
But here is the point. Not being relevant today doesn’t mean that you weren’t big time back then. There are plenty of things that were awesome in the 80’s and 90’s and would still be awesome today if given their proper amount of respect. McDonalds thought enough of the Triple Cheese to bring it back. Whether you know or remember the “Counting Crows” or not, you can still go see them in Hartford CT on 8/15! “USA High” is not “Saved By the Bell” and Elena Lyons is not Tiffani Amber-Theissen but it doesn’t mean she isn’t worthy of our time and admiration! Sometimes we get too hung up on the mainstream and we forget that there can be greatness hiding just behind the headlines. We just aren’t used to looking beyond the spotlight.
The same can be said for Baseball Players from my youth. We all remember Ken Griffey Jr., Bo Jackson, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and Nolan Ryan. And we absolutely should because they were dominant players. Some are in the Hall of Fame, ESPN makes a “30 for 30” about some of them every year and some of are still visible around the league. But what about the rest of the 80’s/90’s baseball? We had more than 20 stars at any given time throughout the 80’s but we tend to only celebrate the elite of the elite. Some of the other players just don’t get remembered by collectors today because they aren’t in the Hall or they don’t have a statue outside of their stadium or they didn’t do anything crazy enough to warrant a tell-all book. But between the white lines, they were absolutely star players.
Gerald Perry
George Bell
Jesse Barfield
Glenn Davis
Tom Henke
Ramon Martinez
Bret Saberhagen
Ruben Sierra
Tim Wallach
Lou Whitaker
What are your thoughts on this list of players? I’m convinced that these will be some of the guys we look to 50 years from now when we are naming top players from the 80’s. Young collectors may not know these names all that well but when we start looking at the 80’s as somewhat of a vintage era, these players will deserve to be in the discussion. I think these guys deserve to be in any collections that include top players from their generations. Sometimes you have to look a little past the glitz and glam of the “Hall of Fame label” to find some great collectible players. Sometimes we overlook greatness because of the elite around them. You have to admit, while we all loved Phoebe Cates in “Fast Times”, Jennifer Jason Leigh was pretty hot too!
I wrote about trying to keep my basketball career alive for another season just a few weeks ago. Our team is the oldest team in the league, collectively. We have 5 players at 40 or older. Technically, CJ is only 39 but he will be 40 in another month or so. Robby and I are in the early stages of our 40’s, Darrel has moved into the latter stages of the 40’s (sorry Darrel) and the Uncle Drew (Gary) of our team is 50. We have a couple of guys in their 20’s and one that is 16 but the rest are at least mid 30’s and older. When I wrote that piece a few weeks ago, we were just enjoying a little bit of success in the league and taking advantage of the chance to run up and down the court like we were kids again.
Well, we made it to the playoffs; where the season culminates in a win or go home scenario. We won in the 1st round of the playoffs last week and we advance to the Final 4 for the first time in our 4 seasons. We aren’t what you would call overnight sensations. We have slowly built a contender out of a rag tag group of friends who spend most of their time playing softball together. We started in the league 3 years ago and we didn’t win a single game. Two years ago, we won a couple. We didn’t do much better last year but we played better as a team. We were sitting at 6-3, our best season yet, heading into the final night of the playoffs.
I have played some form of organized basketball off and on for about 30 years. I started in R.A.’s (Royal Ambassadors) at the church and have skipped around from city leagues to competitive leagues to the recreational league we are in now. I never ran AAU games or anything sporty like that but I have always been around the game. In all my years of being around basketball, nothing beats the win or go home playoff game. That can be said about most sports but basketball has always been my favorite. That is why the NCAA Tournament is so exciting! That and copious amounts of money on teams like Rhode Island pulling upsets over Duke.
Playoff games in any sport will test the mettle of a man (or woman). You can be the best athlete on the court but if you can’t handle pressure, you are going to destroy your team when it matters. When you’re under pressure, you feel it all over your body. Free throws can feel like half court shots; driving to the basket feels like trying to slice through a forest of pine trees; and a defensive press can feel like a pressure cooker. I really don’t get that same feeling in a softball tournament. Basketball has a way of ratcheting up my emotions and putting my senses into overload. And the scary part is that it is a feeling that I crave. I personally love that pressure. I love feeling my heart beat in my own chest when I take the court for the opening tip.
That is what I most admire about Michael Jordan in my adult life. As a teenager, I loved to see him fly above everyone else. I loved to see him hit a shot in someone’s face as the buzzer was sounding. But now when I go back and watch him, I appreciate the type of competitor he was. He had no fear. He had no butterflies. He didn’t have an insecure inner voice in those moments. He was just there to do one thing; beat you. Say what you will about the MJ/Lebron debate but I have seen a look in MJ’s eyes that I have never seen in any other basketball player. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson came close but nobody could make you feel beaten just by looking at you like MJ could.
So regardless of whether I score 38 with the flu or score my season average of well below that, I want to take the court like I can’t be beaten. I want the person guarding me to be frustrated because I am outthinking him. I want to gracefully walk a fine line of confidence and cockiness. If you strip everything away and are just left with the game itself, basketball is still a beautiful sport. And that is where we are. Our gym doesn’t have a corporate name, we don’t have fancy uniforms and the news isn’t going to be there to report the score and interview the players. We are lucky if we have 25 people there to watch. But when you are on the court, you have to block it all out anyway.
In honor of our big night, I felt it was only appropriate to break a great box of Junk Wax Basketball. This was one of my favorite sets back in the day, partly because of Shaquille O’Neal, but also because of the great design and high quality of the card. My LCS picked up a few boxes of 1992-93 Fleer Ultra for the nostalgic section and I scooped this up for $14.95. That is a price you can’t beat for some top quality NBA cards from the early 90’s. The very best NBA players played in the league when I was a kid, I am convinced of that! The Bulls were unstoppable, Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson were leading the Phoenix Suns to the Finals and the league was home to other players named Magic, Bird, Olajuwan, Dominique, Grand-Ma-Ma, Shaq, Isiah, Tim Hardaway, Reggie Miller, and so many more.
When you are ripping anything in Series 2 for basketball, you can’t be real picky with the non-rookies. I did find some quality players though. The guards had names like Mark Jackson, Steve Kerr, Danny Ainge and Avery Johnson, who all became coaches in the league. Kids today will never know how fun Rex Chapman and Rod Strickland were to watch. And Dale Ellis could shoot the lights out!
The forwards were headlined by Charles Barkley. He had spent his career in Philadelphia up until this point but was about to find himself in the NBA Finals against MJ. I was always a fan of Xavier McDaniel too. He was a very good player at the forward position. Chuck Person has found himself in a little bit of trouble as an Auburn assistant but The Rifleman could fill up a stat sheet back in the day.
There wasn’t a lot happening with the Center position in Series 2. I did include Stanley Roberts because he was Shaw’s teammate at LSU and he had pretty high expectations attached to him at one point as well.
Here is a very awesome 20 card subset called, “NBA Jam Session”. This broke down the 20 best dunks in the NBA. There are some huge names here with MJ, The Admiral, Hakeem, Shawn Kemp, Karl Malone, and Charles Barkley. This is a great subset.
The inserts were slim. It I did pull some big names!
Here are the average rookies from the class. These guys had pretty serviceable careers. Weatherspoon was a stud for a few years while Oliver Miller and Richard Dumas helped Barkley get to the Finals.
Here is where the big rookies come in. Latrell Sprewell had his issues during his career but he was Uber talented and was an amazing player to watch.
Big Game Robert Horry would become known for the ice water in his veins when a big shot was needed. He went on to win multiple championships and played major roles on those teams.
Christian Laettner didn’t have the career that some expected when he was an All-American at Duke. He went on to play 13 seasons and averaged 13+ points in 8 of those. He topped 18 per game 3 times.
Here is an awesome Hall of Famer, Alonzo Mouring. “Zo” has an unbelievable list of accomplishments that include NBA Champion, 7x All-Star, 2x Defensive Player of the Year, 2X Blocks Leader and the recipient of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. Zo is a true legend!
A player who didn’t really pan out in the pros but was my absolute favorite when he came out of USC was Harold Miner. It is fitting they “Baby Jordan” was featured on this card with the real Jordan. I could write an entire post about the former Dunk Champion but I’ll save that for another day.
Here is the Card I came for. This is Shaq’s best rookie card and I pulled 2 of them! We all know the career that Shaq would have and the only thing I ever complain about is that he didn’t get a championship ring with Penny, Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott. That Magic team was something else. They just never put it together. This made the $14.95 price tag well worth it.
As for our playoff appearance, it turned out just like Shaq’s with Orlando. We won our semi-final matchup by 6 points and advanced to the Finals. We ran into a very tough team that had 2 good inside players and a shooter that could fill it up like Chuck Person did. We played tough and left it all on the court but it just wasn’t enough. It may have been that we had to switch from our blue jerseys to the white but I’m not superstitious or anything…..cough, cough. Regardless of that final score, it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time on the basketball court and I’m really proud of the guys. I can’t wait til next year!
With the possible exception of Fleer Metal Universe, this may be the best basketball set of the 90’s. It earns an easy “5” on the Dub-O-Meter. The photos are great, the card design and quality is top notch and the checklist is pretty unbelievable. The only knock at all is that the cards can stick together in certain parts of the box, which is the normal issue with early 90’s cards with UV Coating. But these cards are really beautiful cards, just as Ultra was known for. The price is just right on a box like this and seeing these players take me right back to the days I played in the backyard and hit buzzer beaters just like MJ!
In 1985, I was 8 years old and in the 3rd grade. We played outside from dusk til dawn, our parents never worried about it and we weren’t really getting exposed to all of the garbage I have to worry about with my kids today. I did stay up late one night and sneak in the last 15 minutes of Friday the 13th as a kid and saw a little more than what I was allowed to see but that was about it. I remember getting scared when I saw David Banner transform into the Hulk and I thought it was one of the scariest things I’d ever seen. My kids laugh at those 80’s special effects today.
Bailey (11) and I watched “Silver Bullet” a few weeks ago (released in ’85) and at the end, she said, “I thought this was going to be scary.” I remember seeing that movie for the first time and being terrified! I guess I’ll show her “Maximum Overdrive” and “Night of the Living Dead” next and see what she thinks about those. In fairness, when I take into account that “The Walking Dead” is one of the most popular television shows in history and it is uber gory, it makes sense. She doesn’t watch that show because I don’t think she is quite old enough but it is far more disturbing than anything mainstream that came out during the 80’s.
That’s part of why I remember my time as a kid fondly. Who knows, maybe my kids will look back on there childhood the same way. But when I look back at being a kid, I realize that I didn’t have a whole lot to worry about. I’m not saying it was a utopian society by any means but there really isn’t much of a comparison to what the kids of today have to face. I grew up watching Transformers and He-Man fight for mankind. My kids have YouTube and all the craziness that lives there! You can upload almost anything there these days. There is a Peppa Pig video floating around where the pig goes on a murderous rampage. Yeah, I love horror movies but I don’t want to mix them with my kid’s cartoons.
In the 80’s, about the worst thing we could see on TV as kids was going to be a “Saved by the Bell” episode about taking pills to stay awake and study. Do you remember when Jesse was “So excited! So excited! So excited!”? I will admit though that I watched “Tom and Jerry” a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty brutal by today’s standards. Jerry chased Tom around with a meat cleaver and hammer, which felt out of place in our modern society. I don’t know if Disney would get away with that one today but I’m sure Nickelodeon would slip it in to their rotation. Who knows; maybe all of it is relative to what you are used to?
Whatever the case, pop culture was at a peak in 1985 if you ask my opinion, and if you click on the blog link, you did. Television was rocking shows like; “Mr. Belvadere”, “Growing Pains”, “Cheers”, “The Cosby Show”, “Night Court”, “Family Ties”, “Different Strokes” and “The Facts of Life.” How many catch phrases, character ideas and plot stories do we still get from these masterpieces? The sitcoms of today seem tired and boring compared to these. Maybe that is why we see such a difference in what is on TV vs. today as I mentioned with “The Walking Dead” above. Once it has already been done, you have to go a little further and create something new. Maybe that is why society as a whole has pushed so far beyond the boundaries we once had. I don’t know, it’s just a thought.
Movies were pretty classic in 1985 as well; and it only cost $2.75 to go see them in the theater! I wrote about my favorite 
I will never “move on” from opining about the 80’s and 90’s. The cold hard truth is that I miss everything that made those years fun; VHS tapes, cassettes, posters on the wall, Corey Haim films, drooling over Kelly Kapowski, watching MTV to see the latest video from my favorite band, tuning in to ESPN to see gosh darn sports highlights and not poker tournaments, playing Nintendo when there were only 2 buttons you had to master in order to win a football game. I miss eating whatever I wanted to without having to worry about cholesterol or calorie counts. I remember when bread was a part of the food pyramid and it always contained gluten!
Yes, things were simpler back then but what is wrong with that? What is wrong with sitting down and watching a movie about vehicles coming to life and terrorizing people and it not feeling hokey? What is wrong with believing that blood coming from Ric Flair’s head is real because Dusty Rhodes hit him with a tire iron? When our headphone batteries went dead, we had no choice but to go outside. We couldn’t text or FaceTime every minute of the day so we had to form personalities and then learn how to cope with people who did or didn’t like us because of that personality. WHY HASN’T ANYONE INVENTED THAT TIME MACHINE YET DR. BROWN???
Of course, there is something else I miss about the 80’s; simple but awesome sports cards. By 1989, we had about 6 options to choose from if you included Sportsflics and the companies put everything they had into that annual set they released. You could even buy a collectors kit from the Sears Catalog and 80’s cards were considered “hard-to-find”. While the current year cards weren’t hard to find because they were in every convenience store in America, I do remember the previous year’s sets being difficult. That is why ’87 Topps was so hot in 1989! We spent the whole year trying to collect the entire set through packs and now, you have about a week before the next product releases.
I know there is a good and bad side to those days but the bad only came later when we realized how much we were missing. If I ever find a way to go back to the 80’s, I am staying there so the Junk Wax Era will never really be the Junk Wax Era anyway. That Mark McGwire RC will always be valuable and Donruss will always have logos. As you can see, I really don’t ask for much. Just take me back to a time when video games were 16 bits, TV shows had to be recorded with VCR’s and baseball cards were made to be collected. Is that really too much?
I feel like I’ve gotten heated for some reason. Let me pull back the reigns and focus on something from that will relax me. Here is a prime example of an excellent baseball card set from the 80’s. The 1985 Topps set is a beauty and is loaded with superstars and some heavy hitting rookies. The packs still had gum, the cards still had borders and information on the back, and the big hits were simply the best players. This set was right before they started getting a little crazier with the designs as ’86 and ’87 would attest. This was a true baseball card, all the way around.
They certainly don’t make packs like they used to!
What better card to show off the design than this sweet Gary Pettis? The backs of the 85 Topps has a real holiday feel with the green and red.
The catchers are always a little slim in these rips but here are 3 good ones. Always love Tony Pena in his Pirates uni!
The infielders are a little more stacked with Chicken Man, Ryno, The Wizard and Donnie Baseball. I was a fan of Sweet Lou during the 80’s as well thanks to RBI Baseball.
The outfield was loaded with studs. The first thing I notice about this selection is the uniforms. Rock has the sweet Expos, Hendu has the old school Mariners and Willie McGee had the baby blue St. Louis jersey. Teams should still be wearing these jerseys! I’d also like to know how Jorge Bell became George Bell.
This was before Dennis was Oil Can and before Tommy John was a surgery. The Brewers had 2 Hall of Famers in their rotation and Eck and Dave Stewart were about to embark on a World Series run together in Oakland. Good times!
There were some sweet manager cards in 85 Topps. Bobby Cox would soon be an Atlanta Brave but not before Chuck Tanner took his shot. Pete Rose was one of the last player/managers and we all know how that worked out. LaRussa was about to join Eck and Stewart in Oakland.
The Record Breakers included Juan Samuel with the most steals by a rookie. He wound up winning ROY in 1984. While he had a serviceable career with 3 All-Star appearances, he never caught fire in the hobby.
Here are some of the All-Stars from 1984. Again, some of the uniforms jump right off the page. That Padres uniform is one from the 80’s I could probably do without but please bring back the Expos, Cards and Astros uniforms.
There were a lot of Father/Son inserts in 1985. Another couple of Boone’s were on their way into the league too. There were also a couple of future Fathers of major leaguers in this set; Ken Griffey Sr. and Jose Cruz.
This is the only Darryl Strawberry I pulled but it’s pretty sweet. I also love the Dunston but it has pretty severe gum damage. Look at that beautiful jersey on Floyd Bannister!
The rookie class was pitcher heavy with Rocket, Doc, Saberhagen, Key and Gubicza. All of these guys had nice careers and a few of them had great careers. The Eric Davis is one of my favorite RC’s from this year. Alvin Davis is one of the more underrated superstars from the 80’s.
Here are some of the players from the U.S. National Team. I missed out on Will Clark.
But I didn’t miss out on the stud of the set! This card was three bills when I was in high school and one of the most sought after 80’s cards in the entire hobby. I only pulled 1 but it is the first one I’ve ever pulled from a pack. This made the box well worth it!
This Score is a product of nostalgia and pulling a Mark McGwire Team USA card. If I hadn’t pulled it, I’m afraid I would’ve landed on a 3. This is not the best design Topps had in the 80’s but it was not the worst either. The box is a little pricey if you don’t wind up pulling some of the studs. Even with McGwire, I missed out on Puckett and Strawberry. But this set has a strong rookie class and there are several stars who were still very early in their careers here. I kinda like the green and red backs and definitely enjoyed the #1 Pick inserts. You can run the risk of pulling some gum damaged stars because they didn’t discriminate on the cards they put in the back of the pack. But overall, this is a classic set from the 80’s and has good value for retro collectors.
But I, like most collectors my age, can trace my love for cardboard back to a much simpler time. I’m talking about a time when Diamond Kings, Dream Teams and basic Rated Rookies were the hits we were all chasing. My zest for the hobby was born when I was just a kid, around 11 years old. And sure, there are some collectors who started as adults, but most of us picked up our first cards when we only cared about the picture on the card and not whether the serial number matched the jersey number making it a 
The hobby has changed A LOT since the days I spent making trades on the playground at Mitchell Middle. The industry has exploded with new innovations and it is about much more than just cards in 2018. In fact, most collectors consider it a bust if they open a pack and they get “just cards”. But every now and then, you just have to slow down and strip away all the cracked ice and purple prizm and just enjoy the cards for what they are. You have to always reserve a place in your soul for the reason you’re a part of this crazy circus to begin with. You have to remember your collecting roots or you will get completely swept away by the latest and greatest Target exclusive that can only be found at triple markup online.
There are a few things that I always think about when I am sorting through junk wax sets. There are things that are just burned into my memory from the beginning of my journey through the land of wax that can always help me center myself when I feel like I’m losing my grip on self control. I don’t know why they’ve stuck with me for 30 years but I know they are always there. They can be triggered by the sight of a border design or the mention of a name that has faded from my daily memory but still means so much. I owe my entire hobby life to those memories because I still chase the high that I got from opening packs as a kid. As minor as they seem today, they certainly serve a purpose in my life today.
I think about the 1990 Fleer Mark McGwire that I opened on Halloween night. My “GaGa” bought me a pack of cards instead of giving me some terrible candy corn and I always remember sitting in the living room floor, with my costume still on, ripping that pack to reveal Big Mac in his throwing motion. I can’t explain why it is such a vivid memory; I can just feel that moment when I’m looking through ’90 Fleer. And it feels so good, like all of my worries and cares are gone for a moment. I know this probably sounds a bit dramatic for some of you but it’s 100% legitimate.
I think about the time I traded a short stack of hot prospects like Kevin Maas, John Olerud and Phil Plantier for a Ken Griffey Jr. autograph that I knew couldn’t be real but also couldn’t pass up on the 1% chance that it was. Of course, it wasn’t real but I still have it in the exact same protector that it came in through the trade. I remember sitting in my friends room, looking at the card, thinking that there was no way he’d actually trade it. But also thinking that there was no way it was actually real. What 14 year old could really pass up a Ken Griffey Jr. “autograph”, real or not??
I remember looking up 1989 Score in my first Beckett. I had a unique way of opening those packs back then. The number on the back of Score was at the top of the card so I would slide the front card up just enough to see the number and find it in the price guide. I wanted to see the $2-$3 in the magazine before actually seeing the Gary Sheffield RC. It was much like the way I try to reveal hits today, with seeing small parts of the card before the big reveal. I don’t know why it’s always Score in my memory other than the fact that it was a vertical back and easy to keep the player info hidden.
I especially remember when errors were mistakes made by the companies. They tried to catch these mistakes and get them corrected before the market was flooded with goof ups. There was the Dale Murphy ’89 Upper Deck Reverse Negative, ’90 Donruss Juan Gonzalez reverse negative, the infamous ’89 Fleer Billy Ripken and the entire 1990 Pro Set Football debacle. Mistakes were made in printing due to the sheer volume of cards they were pumping out in some cases but it was so fun to pull one of those and think that you had something rather rare and unique for the time. Of course, now companies make intentional errors to harken back to the good ole days but it’s really not the same.
Which brings me to the modern set that I want to review here in this post. 2018 Topps Big League just released last week and is supposed to be a basic, stripped down collection of baseball cards. They are aimed at kids in the hobby but should also pick up a following from the old school collectors who are looking for something devoid of the hubbub that can come with shiny parallels, retail exclusives and refractor autographs. This is a modern day set with a throwback feel to the vintage or junk wax era. There are hits to be found, as well as some of those intentional errors, but the backbone of the set is the 3 x 5 piece of cardboard with a player image on the front.
With this configuration, Topps has made a solid effort to bring the hobby to the kids while inserting some value in the set as well. Other sets have tried to do this but have fell short because of a total lack of excitement in the checklist and a zero percent chance of pulling something that has value. I was a kid once and I still wanted to find cards that were worth something. I didn’t want a card with eye black that I could peel off and wear like one of the many gimmicks Triple Play has introduced over the years. If I were a kid today, I’d want a card of Ozzie Albies that didn’t include some pennant that you pull off and stick over his head. I’m hoping that Topps Big League has hit on something with this new entry but it’s hard not to be skeptical after all the recent attempts to bridge the gap between kid collectors and product value.
In what may seem like a minor issue, I really like the packaging. It reminds me of Gypsy Queen and Heritage but it’s still foil.
The base design is clean. I prefer a border to the full bleed of the flagship product. I like full bleed for Stadium Club because the photos are so great. But I think traditional cards should have a border.
I like how the bat extends beyond the border in some of the photos. This Cody Bellinger is a good example.
There is a solid mixture of horizontal photos in the set like this Dansby Swanson.
There are three player stat leader cards at the beginning of the 300’s in the checklist.
There are some sweet veterans to be found in the latter part of the checklist. These players include Nolan Ryan, Hank Aaron, Jeff Bagwell, Ted Williams, John Smoltz and others.
There is a section of cards that is dedicated to “Ballpark Landmarks”. These are pretty unique and cool.
The base checklist closes out with the RC’s and they are all here. I pulled Acuna, Ohtani, Gleyber, Andujar and others.
The gold parallels are found 1 per pack. There is a gold parallel for every card in the base checklist.
Players Weekend Image Variations are found 1:3 packs so they are not scarce but they are sharp looking.
Ministers of Mash is a 10 card insert featuring the games best hitters.
One of my favorite inserts, the sketch card, makes its way into Big League as well with this set called Star Caricatures. If I am not mistaken, Mike James is responsible for some of these beauties!
This Pedro Martinez is the Rainbow Foil numbered to 100. These are found 1:30 packs.
I pulled one Black and White Parallel numbered to 50. These are found 1:60 packs so this is definitely considered a hit!
If you like baseball cards, you’ll like this set. But you’re really going to have to like baseball cards. You can’t be in search of funky color parallels or autographs if you want to enjoy this box. I think the design is simple but effective, the cost is excellent for a hobby box, there are some true chase cards that aren’t guaranteed in each box and the checklist has all the names you’ll want to find. The set will be great for kids but isn’t childish either. The sketch cards are real art and not cheap and cartoony. The Ballpark Landmarks are cool and give you a look at stadiums you may not otherwise see. And if you pull an autograph here, which is possible, it is truly an above average hit. I expect the set to evolve and progress in the future but this is a very solid first effort. What say you?