1992 Topps

 

Greetings. It's been awhile for me on this site. I guess that means I have something special.

Well, sort of ...

Can you believe a pack of 1992 Topps baseball has never been opened on this site? It's true. A pack of '92 Topps "gold winners" was opened a few years back, but never the regular Topps set from that year.

I'm here to correct that particular wrong.

I found a few packs of these at the quickly improving flea market in my town. Per usual, I didn't buy all of them, just five. It's not like Jose Canseco was the top card in any of the see-through packs. Because then I could've made a bundle.

 

I'll open the first pack here and the rest of them on my blog later tonight. This is probably the best one.

 

#19 - Jamie Quirk

Quirk's final Topps card, although he'd last into 1993 Fleer. I was pulling his card way back in the '70s.

 

 #106 - Mike Boddicker

World Series hero in 1983. Another player near the end of his career by the time '92 Topps came out.

 

#625 - Kevin McReynolds

McReynolds was already a member of the Royals when this card came out. He was part of the deal for Bret Saberhagen.

 

#754 - Charlie Hayes

The man who caught the last out that clinched the World Series for the Yankees in 1996, ending an 18-year championship drought for the Bombers.

 

Notice the wide variety of card numbers in this pack. 1992 was the last Topps flagship set to be issued in one shot, rather than be broken up into two series as we know it today.

 

#485 - Chris Sabo

Spuds! Captivating card. Take a chance, Topps, and release that all-horizontal set.

 

#553 - Edgar Martinez

Our first Hall of Famer in the pack. This is the card whose back is showing at the front of the pack. When I opened the cards, I flipped them so they were all facing forward, so Edgar isn't the final card.

 

The infamous one-per-pack scratch-off game card that yielded special Topps Gold cards if you won. Trouble was, everyone won because you could see the winning numbers by shining a light on game card. Did I do that? Come on man, there were like 25 different card sets to buy and I had a full-time job. But I'm not above breaking out the flashlight now.

 

#24 - Randy Myers

Nasty Boy on the downside of that World Series high.

#551 - Top Prospects, Shortstops

Back when I was pulling Jamie Quirk cards in 1977, this card would've been a big deal. But Jones had appeared on so many cards by himself in 1991, Chipper and Friends will get you a quarter.

 

 

#68 - Marvin Freeman

Freeman is rather active on Twitter.

 

 

 

 #537 - Mark Leiter

Mark Leiter gets the rookie cup, his brother, Al, got the "Future Star," as well as the "Rated Rookie." I bet there are family arguments about which is a bigger deal still.

 

#654 - Allen Watson

Ugh, these pre-rookie things. At least Allen Watson looks like a ballplayer here rather than someone trapped inside an Olan Mills studio.

 

 

 

#141 - Jim Leyland

 

Damn, I love manager cards. And you know there's a cigarette somewhere just outside of the frame.

 

 

The manager card backs also super-sized the stadium shots that appear on most of the player cards.

 

#149 - Brian Bohanon

Bohanon's rookie card. If you care.

#209 - Lloyd McClendon

Would be misidentified by Topps 14 years later as a white manager.

 

 

 #156 - Manny Ramirez

Only the "most valuable" card in the set. Nice way to finish.

1992 Topps is a set I should complete someday. This gets me a bit closer. More thoughts on the set at Night Owl Cards.

See you in another four years!