A Classic Rookie!

I bought this set at a card show for 20 dollars sometime in the 90s. My Dad, my brother and I used to go to the Philly card show together in King of Prussia PA. That's one of the few shows that still runs 3 times a year. It usually has some good signers and about 200-250 tables or so. Some deals to be had usually or at least some nice cards to look at that are overpriced, either way a good time!

The classic rookie I am talking about is none other then Barry Bonds 1986 Topps Traded...

This guy's career will go down in history. When he was skinny he had already amassed 3 MVP's by 1993.. then he bulked up a bit and won 4 more from 2001 to 2004. He did never win a world series though. Got really close but the Angels won Game 6 and 7 to knock the Giants out.

This last hall of fame voting he received 44% of the vote. I personally don't think he will get the required votes in the 10 years he will be eligible. I think down the line eventually probably after he passes away the veterans committee will put him in. His top 3 similar players according to baseball reference are Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. Pretty legendary company to be among.

Love him or Hate him Barry Bonds was always interesting!

Thanks for reading!

Silver Signatures!

I always enjoyed opening Collector's Choice. Not very expensive, good looking photography and the ever fun gold and silver parallels! The gold's were roughly one per box (I never hit a big name) but the silvers were one per pack, so occasionally I'd get lucky.

Two of the biggest names out there! Griffey and Thomas! Always thrilled to get those 2 guys in the same box.

How about Villanova! That's the only team in my bracket still alive (picked them to win it all!) but very excited they made the final four! Should be a couple of good games in Houston.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend, thanks for reading!

A Whole lot of Hurt!

I recently completed a Frank Thomas for Frank Thomas swap. I sent out a whole bunch of my doubles and he sent me back a whole bunch of his! Worked great! I am now up to 755 unique Frank Thomas cards! I know he has a ton out there but I only started this a couple years ago (and its hard for me to afford those high-end autos).

Robert sent me a whole bunch of cool inserts and base I didn't have. I just scanned a nice cross-section.

 

I really like the Triple Play inset on the bottom right. Those are nice looking cards with the nicknames big and bold. Pinnacle Aficionado is a very underrated set. The foil and the thickness of those cards make them really stand out. 

Probably my favorite card of the whole package was the Excellence insert on the bottom right. They are really sharp looking cards in person. The Avant card at the top is a framed card which is nice too.

Thanks for the trade and thanks for reading!

A Rookie Card I Pulled!

Everyone* (may not be for everyone) loves pulling a vintage rookie out of a pack. Now-a-days it seems like cards have rookies in 15 products or more and in multiple years! Who can keep track of how many rookie autos one guy has. I believe I pulled this card on my 13th Birthday. I was born in 1985 so my Dad bought me a few rack packs of 1985 Topps. At the time the McGwire, Clemens and Puckett were all relatively worth the same according to Beckett. This was right before McGwire's home run craze.

I was lucky enough to pull the Puckett!

Not centered great and clearly not perfect but it's awesome to me! Can't say I have opened many packs 1985 or before and actually pulled a keeper card!

Thanks for reading!

Want List Ninja!

I recently received cards from Mr. Mark Hoyle. He took a nice chunk out of my Phillies Team sets want lists!

Nothing like some 70s vintage cards! One day I will get all of these cards! Thanks for the package!

My 2nd Greatest Pull of All Time!

Thanks for all the comments on the previous post. I attempted (I googled it while sitting here) to find out the odds on pulling an Elite out of 1993 Donruss and nothing concrete popped up. Yes it was awesome and yes it was surprise. This card while slightly easier to pull still was just as fun. I believe this after a pilgrimage (mom driving my brother and I) to Toy Trains and Sports Cards (no idea if that store is still there). We were each allowed to get one item or box. I settled on 1995 Score because I liked the one per pack gold cards. Figured I'd enjoy opening those no matter what else happened to be in the box.

Luckily enough I pulled this card 1 in 720 packs (according to google)..

1995 Signed Greatness Ryan Klesko! The next big thing for the Braves at First Base! I know I'm a Phillies fan but it was still awesome! On-card auto! (not that I cared when I was ten) This was a run around the house and tell everyone card! I believe it can be had on ebay now for about 5 dollars! That's a steal!

(btw these are scans from last week so the cards are still in good shape)

Thanks for reading!

My Greatest Pull of All Time!

Nothing will ever top this pull. Yes, I have pulled a Mike Trout wood mini 1/1 (still in the PC), a Yasiel Puig Red auto (traded for Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer), Bryce Harper Topps Chrome Black rookie auto and a few other notables... but nothing will ever top this beast!

The year was 1993. We were up in Massachusetts visiting my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin. Somehow my brother and I convinced Dad to buy us each a box of Baseball cards. I of course got the amazing box of 1993 Donruss. The collation was always was fantasticly bad but it was all good when in the 2nd to last pack I hit this monster!

Numbered out of 10,000!!! That means there's only ten thousand of them! That's it! Ridiculous! Book value of 130 dollars, I was rich!!!! 8 year old me had struck gold! (all kidding aside this card still sells for a decent amount) This was a lap around the house worthy. I did post it on some message board on AOL for sale and someone offered me (if i remember correctly) around 40 dollars. I decided to keep it, and thus my collecting nature began! I don't mind trading (as many of you know) but selling is harder for me, cause I would just turn around and use the money on other cards!

Thanks for letting me share that story an thanks for reading!