2009 Topps Magic Football Retail

I was on the hunt for Allen & Ginter but the closest my box store had was the Magic. I've been casually looking for this too so I bought a sample pack and here are the results.

#71 Selvin Young


M23 Steve Slaton Magic Card

They want me to rub the card with a coin...no thank you...finding sports statistics is what the internet was invented for. The answer is 6.


#150 Mike Hart

#15 Darren McFadden

#194 Brady Quinn Mini

I like these minis because they are larger than the tobacco card dimensions.

Here is what the reverse of the cards look like:

In a way I wish this had come out before Mayo because I probably would have gone with these to collect. But I'm having trouble justifying collecting two throw back Topps football sets within a year. Beautiful card nonetheless.

2009 Upper Deck Icons Retail

Here are some scans:

1986 Donruss Major League All-Stars

Tonight is the latest edition of the MLB All-Star game, and it's a special one for me because it's the first one in my lifetime held in the city of my favorite baseball team, St. Louis. I've never actually been to St. Louis in my life, however, and with more foresight and financial planning I probably should have made this week the time for my first trip to the Gateway.

On a completely different note, I received this pack from dayf of Cardboard Junkie fame, teased it, and caved in and decided to post it here as recommended. I used Blogger's "large" image setting because this set is jumbo-sized. Here it goes.

- Ozzie Smith Pop-Up (I already own this, but not the regular jumbo card, which is why I wasn't sure what to do with the pack. But hey, now I have a great excuse to actually pop this one up and display it in its intended 3D glory. Ozzie is clearly shown fielding his position during a day game, but the generic Metrodome backdrop makes any sunlight look bizarre and out of place.)

12 - George Brett (1986 cards are special for me, because it was the year I started buying packs at the ripe old age of 10. I always had a strong dislike for Brett, probably stemming from my family's Yankee-loving roots and the whole pine tar thing.)

21 - Nolan Ryan (Great looking card here. I've always liked these jumbo cards and had a decent stack of them when I was a kid, but they are difficult to store.)

Big props to The Sporting News for providing the statistics. Perhaps Leaf-Donruss did not have their own All-Star stats department.

58 - Sparky Anderson (Ouch... a bad blurry photo. The first manager to win titles in both leagues deserves better. This is an '86 Donruss card, but the set commemorates the 1985 All-Star Game in which the managers of the 1984 World Series participate. Hopefully you're not confused at this point.)

22/23/24 - Hank Aaron Puzzle (This isn't as jumbo as it looks - it's a regular sized card, but Blogger is being wacky and I'm being lazy. If you could get any section of puzzle pieces from this Hank Aaron set, this is probably the best one to get. The majority of the pieces are probably little fluffy clouds and pieces of Aaron's shoelaces or elbows.)

Here's to hoping the National League ends the streak tonight!

1984 Topps Michael Jackson

While there was no way I was going to pay $10 for a single pack of these, I did spend about $3 on eBay. If you've read my personal (non-baseball card) blog or happen to follow me on Facebook, you know it is no secret that I am a MiJac fan and have been for many, many years. When he passed away, I knew I'd be buying a pack to post here.

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The packs come with three cards, three stickers, and a piece of "Michael" gum:

Notice even the gum is wrapped in these packs. No way Jacko was going to let the breakdown of gum over time ruin his cards.

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The first card is a shot from "Say, Say, Say" even though the text on the back refers to his "Beat It" video. Go figure.

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Next, we see Mr. Jackson decked out in his "Beat It" garb, and the text on the back discusses the awards the video won.

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Here is Michael hanging out, just being Michael. This is actually one of the better poses I've seen.

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The first sticker looks like something from "P.Y.T." or who knows what. My guess is there are/were girls swooning over it.

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A sticker in the "Say, Say, Say" imagery. I'm not sure how many people could get away with some of these outfits. Really, I'm not even sure he did...

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Finally, the last sticker is Michael in a "pensive pose."

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Like his music and entertainment or not, there is no denying the impact Michael Jackson had on the world - pop or otherwise. May he rest in peace.

1996 Pacfic Pure NFL Gridiron

The junk wax was out in force at the flea market today. One of the more interesting dealers had a wide assortment of 80s-90s wax scattered about on a large table without any noticeable rhyme or reason.

All packs were 6 for $1...

That is less than 17 cents a pack...

Packs were purchased...

Packs will be posted...

Starting...now.

1996 Pacific Pure NFL Gridiron.

This product is, well, a little strange. First of all, the cards are oversized. They're 5"x7" and they come 2 per pack. I collected pretty heavily in 1996, and I have absolutely no recollection of this set. The insert odds are phrased...well, you just need to read them for yourself:


Yes...about that. Here are the pulls (I have no idea what the checklist looks like for this set, but I'm hoping for a Randall Cunningham):

Jim Kelly. He was some good.

Wesley Walls Gridiron Gems. Ahh, I hit the daunting 27:37 odds of pulling a Gridiron Gem.

Thoughts:
-I can't imagine that this product was flew off the shelves.
-Who the heck was/is Wesley Walls?
-I like ellipses.

1978 Donruss Boxcar Elvis

Back in June, Jhongy posted a pack of these. I didn't realize that until I started typing in the label for this one. So, in the name of building our virtual collection on here, I opted to post these anyway. And, the last card in the pack is worth the wait...

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I cannot believe there was a duplicate in a pack of six cards...

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And I present the "cou de crayon" (for those that watch cartoons):

2008 Press Pass VIP NASCAR

Oh yeah, I'm a huge NASCAR fan! However, not many packs of NASCAR cards show up in the Cleveland area, so I'm pretty clueless with the card end of it. And if I did this correctly, this should be posted to coincide with the start of today's race. Yay technology!

#22 Jamie McMurray

#70 Denny Hamlin After Party subset (why does Press Pass always do these weird subsets?)

#AA 12/25 Matt Kenseth All Access insert (cool insert, mainly cause of the back:

cool card!

#84 Reed Sorenson Behind the Scenes subset (another pretty cool card)

#19 Bobby Labonte (what a great racer)

Not bad, in my opinion. Wish I could buy more regularly...