1988 O-Pee-Chee Baseball

I bought this one just for the gum.
Sweet George Brett beauty of a card!
This made me cry a little. The gum was stuck pretty well, so there was sure to be a little bit of card stuck to my yummy Canadian gum!
Mmm. It was soo worth it.

Here's what I got:

#1 Chris James
#19 Juan Samuel
#60 Rickey Henderson
#130 Buddy Bell
#195 Dan Quisenberry
#240 Lee Smith
#312 George Brett

What it cost me: $ .40
Beckett max worth: $1.50
Insert odds I beat: N/A
Most valuable card: #312 George Brett @ $.75

1992 Pro Set Football Series 1

Pro Set football was always a lot of fun. I pulled 9 player cards, 3 coaches, 1 ProBowl, 2 '91 Replays and a Newsreel card.

Here's a good shot of Jerry taking a nap. Jerry Glanville was famous for often leaving tickets at will-call for the late Elvis Presley. He's now the head coach of the Portland State University Vikings, just up the street from me.

This card documents the owners rejecting the use of instant replay for the 1992 season by a vote of 17-11!

Here's what I got:

#48 Week 12 Replay
#63 NFC Championship Replay
#75 Gary Clark
#99 Keith McKeller
#117 Jerry Glanville [coach]
#118 Neal Anderson
#119 Trace Armstrong
#126 Mike Ditka [coach]
#131 Tim Krumrie
#284 James Joseph
#294 Anthony Thompson
#310 Courtney Hall
#342 Sam Wyche [coach]
#344 Owners Reject Instant Replay
#393 Neil Smith [pro bowl]

What it cost me: $ .50
Beckett max worth: $1.20
Insert odds I beat: N/A
Most valuable card: #126 Mike Ditka [coach] @ $.25, #75 Gary Clark @ $.25

1984 Fleer Baseball

I have to post just one pack before I go to bed because I'm really happy about this one. Darryl Strawberry's rookie cards were always on the top of my most wanted list when I was at the peak of my childhood collecting.. but I think they used to cost like $60 back in the early 90's.. so I never saw one. Today, I buy 2 1984 Fleer packs and I pulled one! Awesome! Made my day.

Here's what I got:

#89 Dan Petry
#141 Bob Shirley
#216 Bob Tellmann
#229 Ray Knight
#247 John Candelaria
#255 Lee Mazzilli
#262 Don Robinson
#428 Mike Smithson [rookie]
#447 Rickey Henderson
#450 Bill Kreuger [rookie]
#534 Chris Bando
#590 Dave Kingman
#599 Darryl Strawberry [rookie]
#612 Steve Henderson
#620 Bob Stoddard
#657 Pirates & Mets Checklist / Chuck Tanner Mgr.
Atlanta Braves Stickers & Stats

What it cost me: $ 3.00
Beckett max worth: $10.70
Insert odds I beat: N/A
Most valuable card: #599 Darryl Strawberry [rookie] @ $5.00

This Rickey Henderson is pretty sweet too.. considering he will be the next inductee into Cooperstown.

Sweet Holiday Joy!

Alright, so I came across some Christmas money today, so I naturally wanted to blow it all on packs! I've been wanting to check out this place up in SE Portland. This guy had packs everywhere! New and old. But the place was beyond unkempt.. I had to step onto a pile of loose commons on the floor to get to some of these packs. Here's what I picked up:

1981 Fleer Baseball X3
1984 Fleer Baseball X2
1986 Sportflics Baseball X2
1988 O-Pee-Chee Baseball X2
1989 Star Minor League Baseball Series 2 X2
1990 Score Series 1 Football X4
1990-91 Clemson University Collegiate Collection X2
1991 Pro Set Series 2 Football X2
1991-92 Fleer Basketball FatPack
1992 Fleer Performer Collection 7-Eleven / Citgo Baseball X2
1992 Pro Set Series 1 Football X2
1992-93 Stadium Club Series 1 Basketball
1993-94 Skybox Premium Series 2 Basketball
1993-94 Stadium Club Series 2 Basketball
1994-95 NBA Hoops Series 1 Basketball
1994-95 Topps Basketball Cello
1996 Skybox USA Texaco Basketball
1996 Upper Deck USA Deluxe Gold Edition Basketball
2001 Victory Baseball
2002 Fleer Ultra WNBA Basketball
2002 Upper Deck Honor Roll Baseball
2003 Donruss Champions Baseball
2003 Upper Deck 40 Man Baseball
2003 Upper Deck Standing O Baseball
2005-06 HIT Basketball
2005-06 NBA Hoops Basketball
2006 Upper Deck Update Baseball
2006-07 Topps Chrome Basketball
2006-07 Topps Full Court Basketball
2008 Upper Deck Artifacts X3
2008 Donruss Americana 2
2008 Donruss Threads Baseball

I won't be able to document every one of these rips on this blog but I'll be sure and post the best and most entertaining moments. If anyone happens to want to know what I got outa any specific packs, just ask and I'll post it on here.

1995 Pinnacle want list

#261 Juan Guzman. That's it.

eBay Fun

So after a long absence from eBay, I discovered I had 7 or 8 bucks still sitting in my paypal account. So I had to spend it! It's like free money not tied to the family budget! I searched for cheap singles which fell into my price range.. anything that caught my eye. I ended up with this nice Freddy Garcia auto from Topps' trading places set, which I always liked. One player on two different teams on one card! And the autograph.. well since I've only opened cheap packs all year and haven't bought any singles til now.. I have nearly zero autos in my collection. Hopefully Freddy can pull himself together and continue his great career and get signed after screwing the Phillies. This one cost me about $5.

After that I had a couple bucks left and I found this beauty. The Red Sox have possibly become my favorite team right now.. so Clemens and Dice-K on one card is cool. Flags on cards always get me too. But to top it off, anything having to do with the World Baseball Classic is fine with me! (I'm really excited about the 2009 tournement, even though I probably wont get a chance to see any of it.) (Go Puerto Rico!)

1992 Baseball Enquirer

So this one's a real oddball. I got this out of a cheap retail box of 30 packs for like $15 bucks. Lots of fun, old stuff like '87, '88, and '89 Topps, 1990 Topps Stickers, and then '05, '06, and '07 Topps and Upper Deck base packs, Opening Day, First Pitch, and Update packs. And then there was this one.. never heard of them before, nothing on Beckett about these, they're probably quite worthless but still interesting.

These cards feature cartoon drawings of star players without the player's name or team anywhere on the cards. On the back is a very tongue in cheek interview with the mystery player.. and you're supposed to guess who it is. All these interviews have the same corny sense of humor so I'm guessing they're fake interviews. Here's an example:


Now, most of these players are immediately recognizable at first glance, and the team colors are way obvious. But if that's not enough, the interview should do it. Lol, wow, I forgot all about Dave's high voice not matching what you would expect him to sound like. I remember him talking on TV and taking a double take every time.

Here's what I got:

#1 Bo Jackson,
#9 John Smoltz,
#13 (Don't know. Looks like a Met who wrote an open letter to his teamates?),
#21 Dave Stewart,
#29 Ozzie Smith,
#37 Lenny Dykstra,
#45 Kirk Gibson,
#49 (Don't Know. Another Met who's pitching is suffering because of his hard partying?),
#53 Dan Gladden,
#57 (Don't know. Possibly a Phillies pitcher who throws lots of wild pitches?)

I'm back.. I think.

OK, so I might try this pack bustin' blog again, but I don't think I'll try keeping up with 1 pack a day and all that.. it was too much and made me want to stop. I'll just do it whenever I feel like it.

1996 Pinnacle Summit Football pack 2

I pulled my most valuable card of the year so far here!

Here's what I got:

#4 Jerome Bettis
#14 Jeff Hostetler
#22 Rodney Thomas
#24 Brian Blades
#39 Fred Barnett
#50 Jim Harbaugh
#56 Adrian Murrell
#63 Brett Favre
#65 Charlie Garner
#73 Trent Dilfer
#96 Kordell Stewart
#170 Kevin Hardy [rookie]
#PSTT15 Jerry Rice [Turf Team Foil insert, 456/500]

Pack Stats:

What it cost me: $ 1.00
Beckett NM/MT worth: $25.65
Insert odds I beat: N/A
Most valuable card: #PSTT15 Jerry Rice [Turf Team Foils insert, 456/500] @ $20.00

2004 Playoff Honors Baseball pack 2

Okay, now why would they make an insert set called "Prime Signatures" and make the card look like the autographed sticker fell off the front of the card?! I pulled this Jim Rice insert thinking I was the unluckiest guy in the world, to pull an autograph that wasn't signed. Turns out it's supposed to be like that with the big blank space on the bottom. #@!*%!!
Here's what I got:

#44 Brendan Harris
#86 Chris Burke
#152 Jim Thome
#176 Shigetoshi Hasegawa
#PS-26 Jim Rice [insert, 320/2500]

Pack Stats:

What it cost me: $ 1.40
Beckett NM/MT worth: $4.80
Insert odds I beat: N/A
Most valuable card: #PS-26 Jim Rice [insert, 320/2500] @ $3.00

1995 UC3 Premier Edition Baseball

I would have thought these cleverly named 3D cards' kind would have died out in the 80's but I guess they stuck around for a while.

Here's what I got:

#25 Rafael Palmeiro
#39 Mike Piazza
#67 Dave Justice
#70 Matt Williams
#124 Ken Griffey Jr. [in-depth]
Pack Stats:

What it cost me: $ 1.75
Beckett NM/MT worth: $3.10
Insert odds I beat: none
Most valuable card: #39 Mike Piazza @ $1.25

2001 Royal Rookies Baseball

"1 Autograph in Every Pack!". I haven't pulled any autographs for my collection yet so here goes. I bought 3 packs. I'll open the first today. Peter Bauer.. this guy had a losing minor league record with an ERA of 4.65. He got pushed around by 4 organizations and never made it to the majors. But hey, it's my first AUTOGRAPH!!

Here's what I got:

#15 Randel Meadows
#18 Peter Bauer [autograph, 2822 of 5950]
#41 Jamie Brown, Colby Lewis [flipcard]
#A4 Todd Helton [amazing todd helton insert]
#BOS1 Luke Prokopec [boys of summer insert]
#B6 Darron Cox [barnstormers insert]

Pack Stats:

What it cost me: $ 1.75
Beckett NM/MT worth: $3.80
Insert odds I beat: N/A
Most valuable card: #18 Peter Bauer [autograph, 2822 of 5950] @ $2.00

Favorite Card of the Month [January]

2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces #20 Ty Cobb

Favorite Card of the Week [1.25.08-1.31.08]

I seem to like this little trend of throwing politicians into the baseball card mix.. I don't know why. Maybe because anything in trading card format is cool to me. I'm even looking forward to the 2008 Topps set which has a Campaign '08 insert set. Fun.

2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Football

I think it's great that Topps finds a way to reissue classic cards like this to make such a great set of cards.


Here's what I got:

#29 Gary Larsen
#52 Karl Mecklenburg
#61 Mark Clayton
#70 Ozzie Newsome
#78 Roosevelt Grier
#85 Y.A. Tittle

Pack Stats:

What it cost me: $ 5.00
Beckett NM/MT worth: $6.75
Insert odds I beat: none
Most valuable card: #85 Y.A. Tittle @ $1.50

1999 Skybox Thunder

Holey crap.. these cards have short little raps on the back of each card.. they're so cheezy I'm embaressed for the players!

Here's some examples:

A-Rod's:
"A-Rod, You're in the House.. And You Ain't Creepin' Like No Mouse. You're Comin' Full Force With Speed, Power, and Unrelentin' Skillz."

FER-REALZ!

Here's some more:

Daryle Ward's
"You've Been Strikin' a Pose With the 'Stros, And We Like What We See, 'Bro. How 'Bout Some More of That, Yo."

Rey Ordonez's
"Man, Your Skillz on Defense are Intense, You'd Be a Better Infielder With Your Bare Hands Than Most Are With a Glove, Much Love."

Here's what I got:

#4 Daryle Ward
#25 Chuck Knoblauch
#35 Shane Andrews
#66 Matt Clement
#119 Bobby Smith
#176 Dean Palmer
#199 Rey Ordonez
#276 Alex Rodriguez

Pack Stats:

What it cost me: $ 1.29
Beckett NM/MT worth: $3.10
Insert odds I beat: none
Most valuable card: # 276 Alex Rodriguez @ $1.50

2007-08 Topps Trademark Moves

I'm not too impressed with this set so far.. kinda boring.

Here's what I got:

#10 Tim Duncan
#20 Vince Carter
#21 Kevin Garnett
#26 Gilbert Arenas
#47 Magic Johnson

Pack Stats:

What it cost me: $ 2.99
Beckett NM/MT worth: N/A
Insert odds I beat: N/A
Most valuable card: N/A

1997-98 Skybox Metal Universe Championship Preview

I love this Rasheed Wallace card! I saw him put in a lot of playing time for the Trail Blazers when he was here in Portland. I enjoyed watching him play, as long as the bastard kept his cool and didn't ruin the game for everyone. He led the league in ejections for at least one year, probably more. I also love the Crater Lake National Park scenic foil background in this card.. since I think it's the greatest place I've ever been, and it's right here in Oregon.

Here's what I got:

#2 Chris Mills
#4 Adonal Foyle
#21 Rasheed Wallace
#28 Terrell Brandon
#41 Kevin Garnett
#53 Rod Strickland
#78 Shawn Kemp
#13 Tim Thomas [future champions insert, die cut]

Pack Stats:

What it cost me: $ 2.50
Beckett NM/MT worth: $7.25
Insert odds I beat: 1:18 [future champions insert, die cut]
Most valuable card: Tim Thomas [future champions insert, die cut] @ $3.00

1996 Pinnacle Summit Football

This set is a "collector's set". Nice, thick, heavy card stock, brilliant rainbow foil borders for the base set (you can't tell from the scan) and cool "chase cards". I'm impressed. Looking forward to opening some more of these.. I've got 4 more.

Here's what I got:

#83 Flipper Anderson
#103 Terry Allen
#119 Rick Mirer
#129 Rodney Peete
#136 Kevin Smith
#140 Reggie White
#156 Daryl Gardener [rookie]
#159 Simeon Rice [rookie]
#160 Eric Moulds [rookie, ground zero parallel]
#173 Walt Harris [rookie]
#185 Neil O'Donnell [quarter horses]
#195 Mark Brunell [quarter horses]
#195 Mark Brunell [quarter horses]

...yes, you CAN pull doubles out of the same pack. Now I know.

Pack Stats:

What it cost me: $ 1.00
Beckett NM/MT worth: $10.00
Insert odds I beat: 1:5 [ground zero parallel]
Most valuable card:Eric Moulds [rookie, gound zero parallel] @ $6.00

2004 Playoff Honors Baseball

I grabbed a handful of these off of eBay for a good price. This set is full of fun serial numbered inserts. None out of this pack, but I have high hopes for the rest.

Here's what I got:

#34 Curt Schilling
#91 Morgan Ensberg
#120 Jose Vidro
#162 Phil Nevin
#177 Albert Pujols

Pack Stats:

What it cost me: $ 1.40
Beckett NM/MT worth: $3.80
Insert odds I beat: none
Most valuable card: Albert Pujols @ $2.00

2001 Topps Enduring Freedom

Here's a curveball. My first non-sports pack(s) for the blog! I told you I'd have some non-sports eventually.

This set documented the beginnings of our nation's war on terror. Way back over 6 whole years ago when terms like "United We Stand" and "Don't Tread on Me" meant something again to us again for a short while. American flags were proudly displayed everywhere.. now if you have a flag sticker on your car and you park downtown, your car gets keyed. *sigh*

I got 5 of these guys so lets rip...

Pack 1:

#10 New York's Finest
#16 Arafat Gives Blood for Americans
#26 Former Presidents Unite at the Day of Prayer
#44 U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta
#46 Bush Assures the Nation: "We Will Not Fail"
#51 F-15C Eagle - Fast, Maneuverable, Mighty
#89 USS Kitty Hawk Leaves Japanese Waters
#8 Old Glory [sticker puzzle back]

Pack 2:

#17 President Putin Addresses Russians
#21 Investigators Comb Pennsylvania Site
#40 Mayor Giuliani Gives the "Thumbs Up"
#50 F-16C Fighting Falcon Fires a Weapon
#59 Air Force Special Ops Fly Pave Hawk Choppers
#61 F-16s Deliver Fierce Firepower
#67 Army Special Ops - Troops at the Ready
#1 God Bless America [sticker puzzle back]

Pack 3:

#14 Chirac Leads France in a Moment of Silence
#22 Police Search Suspect's Home in Florida
#48 B-2 Spirit Bomber Prepares for Refueling
#61 F-16s Deliver Fierce Firepower
#73 USS Cole Returns to Action on the High Seas
#77 Britain's HMS Cornwell Heads to Oman
#82 Air Force F-16: Ready for Action
#4 Proud Brave and Strong [sticker puzzle back]

Pack 4:

#7 New York's Bravest Toil, Undaunted
#13 Ottowa Rallies to Honor America
#18 NATO Stands Tall Alongside America
#20 German Police Hunt for Clues in Hamburg
#35 Condoleeza Rice, National Security Advisor
#43 U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft
#87 KC-135: Fueling Station in the Sky
#2 USA Home of the Brave [sticker puzzle back]

Pack 5:

#28 The National Security Council Convenes
#31 Rangel, Schumer, Clinton Meet with Bush
#37 New York Governor George Pataki
#56 B-52 Bomber Flies a Low-Level Mission
#58 AC-130 Spectre - Versatile, Heavily Armed
#80 Navy F/A - 18 Hornets in Formation
#85 Marines Head Out for Overseas Duty
#7 Don't Tread on Me [sticker puzzle back]