Branson on Stage

I was driving and on the way I stopped by Heart of Texas Country Museum in Brady. This small free museum have a gift shop where I found a pack of these. This set was produced in 1992 consisting of 99 cards. Let's see who in past country music graced on this set.

8 - Danny Davis - I got two of his cards in the pack. Leader of Nashville Brass performing til he was 80 in 2005. He passed away in 2008.

34 - Janie Fricke - success in the 80s where she won CMA female vocalist of the year.

11 - Jimmie Rodgers - known for his hits Honeycomb and Bo Didley

10 - Debby Campbell - daughter of the late Glen Campbell

9 - Dick Curless - one of his suits is on display at the Heart of Texas Country Museum. Passed away in 1995

7 - Wayne Francis - ventriloquist performer who can act and play music at same time

6 - Roy Clark - well known for hosting TV show Hee-Haw

20 - Mark Jones - son of Grandpa Jones

19 - Moffatts - talk about being kids in the spotlight. Canadian country band would get away from country and venture into pop rock. They split up and got back together for farewell tour. They released a single this year.

This might be better than Panini attempt at country music cards.

2017 Panini NFL Player of the Day Promo Pack

When I stopped in a my LCS Don's here in Anchorage Alaska last week he was giving away old promo packs with any purchase.  I picked the 2017 NFL Player of the Day pack.  Only two cards per pack. 

 Not a bad two players to pull.

2018 Panini Donruss Optic Baseball Hobby Pack

 I had a little birthday cash burning a hole in my wallet so I headed down to Don's Sportcards here in Anchorage to look for some cards and maybe a couple packs.  While there I had Don's grandson pick a couple packs of Optic for me.  Nick's been a grea pack picker for me over the years and this pack was no different.  Let's have a look.

 Only 4 cards per pack so this won't take long.  My only base card, meaning not a Rated Rookie or Diamond King was this Strasburg.

 Rizzo Diamond King

Williw Calhoun nickname variation rated rookie.

 And Bam!  A Miguel Andujar Blue Rated Rookie on card auto numbered to 75!  Not to shabby of a pack.

2018 Topps Big League Hobby Pack

Picked this pack up with the Allen and Ginter pack I featured earlier.  It's been awhile since Topps has released a totally new brand of cards and the reviews have been mixed.  I personally welcome the addition of a new lower end, but not lowest end, product.  From the sell sheets it looked like this product was geared more toward kids, but the price point is solidly more flagship than opening day. And since this is a new brand set lets have a look.  Overall the design is simple and reminds me of a cross between 2010 Topps and Topps Stickers.  There's not a lick of foil anywhere on the card.  I like the new Big League logo, I like the big team logo and I like the color coordinated team color borders.  Overall I like what I see.

The banks are packed full of information, but sadly only 5 years of stats.  The card number is a little small, but I do love the trivia.

Alright let's have a look at the rest of the pack.

I also thought a card company should do a full landscaped set.  Still hasn't happened, but I think it would a great looking set with the right photo selection.

That hair!

The gold parallels are one per pack and it just so happens that my gold parallel is the same as one of my base cards.

And much to my surprise is this Sean Doolittle auto.  Especially since I don't think the box guarantees any hits.

1982 Donruss

 

When I saw a chance to snag an unopened pack of 36 year old cards, I had to take it. When I first started collecting cards in the '80s, the 1982 Donruss set was one of the more affordable "older" packs of cards that you could find. That changed a bit when people got excited about that Ripken guy.

I rarely do this, but I thought I'd show off the back of the wrapper as well. Check the Dubble Bubble ad on the back... or is that Super Bubble?!

40 - George Hendrick - We start things off right with a Cardinal. This is a great looking jacket.

291 - Chet Lemon - Lemon is waiting for an opportunity in his high socks.

102 - Dave Engle - It's weird to see the Twins wearing the baby blue uniform. Many teams in the '80s went through a baby blue phase.

353 - Garth Iorg

383 - Terry Crowley - This was the debut of the classic Donruss card back, as the fledgling brand went with something nearly unreadable in its debut year. This design would be largely unchanged, aside from colors, through 1991.

569 - Dave LaRoche - Adam LaRoche's father.

55 - Joe Simpson - Simpson is best known as a Braves broadcaster, but he began his broadcasting career with the Mariners after he retired from playing.

306 - John Mayberry - Was this a home run or a pop up?

117 - LaMarr Hoyt - I think at this point the White Sox were best known for their goofy uniforms than anything else.

206 - Moose Haas - Moose was on the pennant winning Brewers team in 1982, but did not fare well in the World Series.

78 - Paul Molitor - Another Brewer. This one is a Hall of Famer, of course.

65 - Joe Sambito - Look at that orange rainbow.

53 - Doug Corbett - Tobacco can clearly visible here. Does anyone have a PC of chew guys?

41 - Bob Knepper - This looks like an outdoor photo, so I assume this wasn't in the Astrodome. Knepper is wearing a home jersey, though. Spring training? All-Star Game?

28 - Rollie Fingers - We conclude with yet another Brewer, and another Hall of Famer.

25/26/27 - Babe Ruth Puzzle - But wait, there's more! This was also the debut year of the Donruss puzzle cards. In 1982, they were extra thick compared to later years. This would be a fun one to put together just because of how substantial the pieces are.