Friday, July 05, 2013

2001 Topps American Pie

Greetings!

Hope everyone is having a great 4th of July weekend!  I had meant to scan this in real quick and post this on America's 237th birthday, but when the neighbors invite you to hang out, you need to do the neighborly thing and socialize.  Here's a fitting pack for this weekend's festivities...a pack of 2001 Topps American Pie!


This was apparently a one-off set consisting of 150 base cards of stars from the 1960's and 1970's.  The pack says "Baby Boomers Baseball Edition", but I see nothing that says there were other "Editions" out there (if someone else posts a different pack, I'll amend the post label).  Here's a link to the checklist and inserts.

I will admit that I paid the full 3 bucks at the local Target when the set was released (the infamous $1.49 / $1.59 sticker wasn't on the back).  Why?  Well, the pack was opened at the bottom.  Is it pack searching when you can clearly see what's in the package?  Here's what I got:


#36 - George Foster
#17 - Curt Flood

Not a lot to say about the card design.  Then again, the flagship is just green, so maybe Topps was going for the minimalist angle for it's 50th anniversary.  Here are the backs:



You've got a different picture on the back, with lifetime stats listed, but by decade.  It's an interesting idea for this type of set, but the cards I got didn't do it proper justice; Foster barely played in the '60s and Flood limped into the '70s.

So why did I willingly purchase an opened pack of a set I had no intention on completing?  Because I could see that the other card was thick, and this ain't Upper Deck or Panini:



#BBTC-22 - Rico Carty (Timeless Classics Relics)

I didn't have many hits in my collection at the time, so yeah, that's why I got it.  Notice the scuff mark next to the "e" in "Pie".  The glossy part of the card is torn off there, going all the way to the border.  I don't know if it came that way, or if a pack searcher got to this pack and damaged the card in the process of trying to open it, thus abandoning the pack.  I'm assuming the latter, because of how the pack is torn open at the bottom.  Here's the back of the card:


Wow, cards back then included .260 hitters in their batting leaders cards.

Anyway, that's the pack.  Now get back to your weekend activities.  Happy birthday America!  Thanks for reading!

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