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***UPDATED 12/29/12*** My Sabo collection... unveiled! Consider yourself warned! ...LOTS of pics!
onefasttalon
Posts: 1,208 ✭✭✭
I’d say it’s time for an update!!!!
I’ve wanted to update this thread for a while now, just haven’t had the time/patience, but here we go!
It’s been nearly five years since the original post… my most notable addition since, the birth of my son! He’s approaching 5 years-old already! I did win a small battle with my wife, my son’s first name is Chris Sabo’s middle name.
I’ve also had a chance to FINALLY meet Chris!... not once, but twice! It took a little over 22 years of collecting his cards to finally get a chance to meet him, but mission accomplished! Also since the OP, I have received mult items from many MANY board members too!.. A big THANKS again to those folks!
I started collecting Sabo material in 1988 when I was 12. The first time I saw him play, it was in-person at Riverfront… he went 4-4 and I was hooked forever. I don’t remember the FIRST Sabo card I picked up, but it was likely an ’89 Topps card. I still remember the days of buying a wax box from the local comic book store, and walking it across the street to the Mall. Inside that Mall was a Sears that had a (back then cutting edge) ‘Nintendo’ on display… we’d spend an hour playing Nintendo and busting that wax on a regular basis. I’m sure it drove the employees nuts that we (kids) were hanging out playing that gaming system for hours w/ never a hope of buying anything.
I have parted with just a few pieces over the years, and in all of those cases it was to help out another deserving collector reach their goals.
My Sabo collection (to date) exceeds 40,000-45,000 cards… seriously.
WARNING: What you are about to see might frighten you! Be forewarned, I will not be held accountable for loud outbursts of “WHY?!?!” while observing this material. It will deff provide you with small-talk material for years to come!
This is my most recent addition. My wife got me an eGraph for Christmas this year (’12)! The auto is personalized, framed, and came with short personalized VM. If you’re not familiar with eGraphs (I wasn’t before receiving this) you should check them out!
You can check out the actual egraph and listen to the VM - HERE!
Here’s a present-day broad overview of MOST of the raw cards from my collection.
Just about every card is stored in a slider box, varying from 10-to-350 count boxes.
I have 3,200 count Monster boxes for each year, 2 for a couple of the years. I have a box just for special editions/auto’s and 8 boxes full of ‘over-flow’ too. There’s even a 5,000 count box max’d out with just 3 different cards.
I call this my ‘Master Box.’ It contains the highest grade (raw if not slabbed) of each of all the different Chris Sabo cards. THIS case is on my ‘in case the house is on fire and I have to grab something on my way out’ list. This case is priceless to me and should probably be in a fire-proof safe of some sort, or in a safety deposit box somewhere. There are 339 different items on this case… 242 of them are graded. Most of what’s not graded will never be because PSA won’t recognize them.
Can you guess what this is?
…here they are spread out on a 8-foot pool table:
…toss these guys in, and what do you have?
Well… THOSE are my duplicate PSA 10’s… so far. Yep, every single shown is a PSA 10 and are my duplicates.
I have a few non-PSA 10 extras too:
Presently, I have 663 slabbed Sabo’s… and a few more on my to-be-graded pile.
663
These have been the topic of many conversations… my ’89 Topps. To date I have over 6,500 of this one card alone. Of this card, I have a BGS 9.5, 9.0, 8.5, (8) PSA 10’s, and (3) PSA 9’s.
I love it when people hear that I collect Chris Sabo, and ask “Do you have any of his rookies?” I just reply with “A few,” and laugh a little on the inside.
As mentioned above, I finally got a chance to meet Chris. My first encounter was a brief hand shake in Cincy on the day of his induction into the Reds HOF… that story is detailed – Here .
Also, I had a much more extensive meeting on Sat April 30th, 2011… that was detailed - Here. I met him at a Moeller show in Cincy, and had a few rare pieces signed. My wife gave me a hard time as I acted like a shakin’ 12-year old girl at a Beiber concert the first time I went through the line to have my cards signed. I was a little more controlled when we re-approached him the second time to get pictures and have a nice conversation.
Here’s my Auto’d bat. It’s cracked in the handle and shows a lot of use. I have no idea if it was GU’d or a batting practice special…. for all I care, it WAS game used… in the ’90 WS when he knocked a few over the while sweeping away those A’s!
Sabo’s has two bobbles… I have just one of the old, and a pair of the newest one. I had to obtain the older one second hand, but picked up the two newer ones at the stadium (w/ my wife) on Reds HOF day. I’m still amazed at how much the older one sells for on Ebay today.
I LOVE this piece, it’s a very VERY rare ’88 Topps Test cloth. This one came via another board member. It’s not even him!... but look close:
He has just two pack-inserted certified Auto’s. An ’05 Topps Fan Favorites and an ugly turd #’d /66 from Tri-Star in ’08.
Speaking of ’03 Topps Fan Favorites, it marked Chris’s return to cards again…. Needless to say, I was pleased!
Yes, SOME of his cards ARE worth more than a nickel!
…of the ’91 Desert Shield, I have a BGS 9.5, (2) PSA 10’s, & (5) PSA 9’s…. and a BCCG 10.
…of the ’93 Finest Refractor, I have (2) PSA 10’s and (2) PSA 9’s… and a few others.
Let’s talk Aqueous Test. At one point in time, one of the toughest cards to find!... today, I now have 6 of them. The BGS 8.5 was my first… PSA was NOT grading them at the time I picked it up. The two raw on the bottom will be sent to PSA as soon as I can get a bigger stack put together.
Chris returned to a Topps set in ’05 with Rookie Cup. Here’s the ‘rainbow’ if you will. All the parallels are here including the Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Gray (#’d to 5), and (2 of the 4) 1/1 printing plates! Also, the 1/1 GOLD Chrome Rookie Reprint Refractor:
This set had a TON of inserts/parallels and refractors. There was a Rookie Reprint Chrome Refractor #’d to /15… I have 8 of’em. #’s 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, & 15 !!!
Another Holy Grail for me was the ’05 Topps Rookie Cup Relic #’d to /3. I scored this one on Ebay raw a few years back. I had it graded just to preserve it.
Just a few months ago, another (expired) redemption card came up. I bought it even though it’s expired… why not? It was cheap, but NEEDED to be in my collection. I talked to Topps to see if the card was still around, and was all-but-assured it wouldn’t be. They said if I sent in the redemption card I’d get something back in return, but it would likely be something else. I’d rather have the unredeemed card personally.
… and how can you NOT have a collection of un-opened wax, racks, and cellos with your favorite player showing on top????
This is one of my favorite pieces, it was the first Auto’d piece I bought. Purchased this back in ’88 at a show in Cincinnati:
I have amassed quite a few signed pieces for Chris… here are my signed baseballs :
A buddy of mine was lucky enough to meet Chris in Florida during Spring Training (back in 2005)… he had Chris sign this one for me:
Auto’s?... did I say AUTO’S????
Misc. other Auto’d stuff and random magazines/digests/misc whatnots:
How’s this for obscure?!?!
Here’s a hideous hat… seriously, it’s awful:
I bought this hat on Ebay several years ago… it was advertised as an authentic Chris Sabo hat, autographed. Imagine my disgust with this turd showed up. It’s friggin corduroy! I decided to keep it for laughs… the auto on it is real.
“Hey Chris, it’s SI on the phone… they want you on their cover.”
On the right… a cheesy plaque… on the left…. Well… uhh… well, I have no words, I got nothing.
Remember these?
Did you notice the reverse negative in the lower right?
How about this odd-ball screw-up:
We’re not done with late ‘80s early-‘90s crap:
I can’t remember the year, but these sheets rarely come up completely intact and in great shape:
This was some sort of invite from CBS to meet Chris the day of his Reds HOF induction. I picked it up on eBay simply to because I had to have it.
Needlesstosay, there are a LOT of other items I could show you yet… but I think we’ll quit while we’re still ahead (or awake.) I’m not sure I have the patience or time to do a 365 days of Sabo thread, but I’ll gladly continue sharing my new finds!
Please feel free to share your thoughts!
I’ve wanted to update this thread for a while now, just haven’t had the time/patience, but here we go!
It’s been nearly five years since the original post… my most notable addition since, the birth of my son! He’s approaching 5 years-old already! I did win a small battle with my wife, my son’s first name is Chris Sabo’s middle name.
I’ve also had a chance to FINALLY meet Chris!... not once, but twice! It took a little over 22 years of collecting his cards to finally get a chance to meet him, but mission accomplished! Also since the OP, I have received mult items from many MANY board members too!.. A big THANKS again to those folks!
I started collecting Sabo material in 1988 when I was 12. The first time I saw him play, it was in-person at Riverfront… he went 4-4 and I was hooked forever. I don’t remember the FIRST Sabo card I picked up, but it was likely an ’89 Topps card. I still remember the days of buying a wax box from the local comic book store, and walking it across the street to the Mall. Inside that Mall was a Sears that had a (back then cutting edge) ‘Nintendo’ on display… we’d spend an hour playing Nintendo and busting that wax on a regular basis. I’m sure it drove the employees nuts that we (kids) were hanging out playing that gaming system for hours w/ never a hope of buying anything.
I have parted with just a few pieces over the years, and in all of those cases it was to help out another deserving collector reach their goals.
My Sabo collection (to date) exceeds 40,000-45,000 cards… seriously.
WARNING: What you are about to see might frighten you! Be forewarned, I will not be held accountable for loud outbursts of “WHY?!?!” while observing this material. It will deff provide you with small-talk material for years to come!
This is my most recent addition. My wife got me an eGraph for Christmas this year (’12)! The auto is personalized, framed, and came with short personalized VM. If you’re not familiar with eGraphs (I wasn’t before receiving this) you should check them out!
You can check out the actual egraph and listen to the VM - HERE!
Here’s a present-day broad overview of MOST of the raw cards from my collection.
Just about every card is stored in a slider box, varying from 10-to-350 count boxes.
I have 3,200 count Monster boxes for each year, 2 for a couple of the years. I have a box just for special editions/auto’s and 8 boxes full of ‘over-flow’ too. There’s even a 5,000 count box max’d out with just 3 different cards.
I call this my ‘Master Box.’ It contains the highest grade (raw if not slabbed) of each of all the different Chris Sabo cards. THIS case is on my ‘in case the house is on fire and I have to grab something on my way out’ list. This case is priceless to me and should probably be in a fire-proof safe of some sort, or in a safety deposit box somewhere. There are 339 different items on this case… 242 of them are graded. Most of what’s not graded will never be because PSA won’t recognize them.
Can you guess what this is?
…here they are spread out on a 8-foot pool table:
…toss these guys in, and what do you have?
Well… THOSE are my duplicate PSA 10’s… so far. Yep, every single shown is a PSA 10 and are my duplicates.
I have a few non-PSA 10 extras too:
Presently, I have 663 slabbed Sabo’s… and a few more on my to-be-graded pile.
663
These have been the topic of many conversations… my ’89 Topps. To date I have over 6,500 of this one card alone. Of this card, I have a BGS 9.5, 9.0, 8.5, (8) PSA 10’s, and (3) PSA 9’s.
I love it when people hear that I collect Chris Sabo, and ask “Do you have any of his rookies?” I just reply with “A few,” and laugh a little on the inside.
As mentioned above, I finally got a chance to meet Chris. My first encounter was a brief hand shake in Cincy on the day of his induction into the Reds HOF… that story is detailed – Here .
Also, I had a much more extensive meeting on Sat April 30th, 2011… that was detailed - Here. I met him at a Moeller show in Cincy, and had a few rare pieces signed. My wife gave me a hard time as I acted like a shakin’ 12-year old girl at a Beiber concert the first time I went through the line to have my cards signed. I was a little more controlled when we re-approached him the second time to get pictures and have a nice conversation.
Here’s my Auto’d bat. It’s cracked in the handle and shows a lot of use. I have no idea if it was GU’d or a batting practice special…. for all I care, it WAS game used… in the ’90 WS when he knocked a few over the while sweeping away those A’s!
Sabo’s has two bobbles… I have just one of the old, and a pair of the newest one. I had to obtain the older one second hand, but picked up the two newer ones at the stadium (w/ my wife) on Reds HOF day. I’m still amazed at how much the older one sells for on Ebay today.
I LOVE this piece, it’s a very VERY rare ’88 Topps Test cloth. This one came via another board member. It’s not even him!... but look close:
He has just two pack-inserted certified Auto’s. An ’05 Topps Fan Favorites and an ugly turd #’d /66 from Tri-Star in ’08.
Speaking of ’03 Topps Fan Favorites, it marked Chris’s return to cards again…. Needless to say, I was pleased!
Yes, SOME of his cards ARE worth more than a nickel!
…of the ’91 Desert Shield, I have a BGS 9.5, (2) PSA 10’s, & (5) PSA 9’s…. and a BCCG 10.
…of the ’93 Finest Refractor, I have (2) PSA 10’s and (2) PSA 9’s… and a few others.
Let’s talk Aqueous Test. At one point in time, one of the toughest cards to find!... today, I now have 6 of them. The BGS 8.5 was my first… PSA was NOT grading them at the time I picked it up. The two raw on the bottom will be sent to PSA as soon as I can get a bigger stack put together.
Chris returned to a Topps set in ’05 with Rookie Cup. Here’s the ‘rainbow’ if you will. All the parallels are here including the Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Gray (#’d to 5), and (2 of the 4) 1/1 printing plates! Also, the 1/1 GOLD Chrome Rookie Reprint Refractor:
This set had a TON of inserts/parallels and refractors. There was a Rookie Reprint Chrome Refractor #’d to /15… I have 8 of’em. #’s 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, & 15 !!!
Another Holy Grail for me was the ’05 Topps Rookie Cup Relic #’d to /3. I scored this one on Ebay raw a few years back. I had it graded just to preserve it.
Just a few months ago, another (expired) redemption card came up. I bought it even though it’s expired… why not? It was cheap, but NEEDED to be in my collection. I talked to Topps to see if the card was still around, and was all-but-assured it wouldn’t be. They said if I sent in the redemption card I’d get something back in return, but it would likely be something else. I’d rather have the unredeemed card personally.
… and how can you NOT have a collection of un-opened wax, racks, and cellos with your favorite player showing on top????
This is one of my favorite pieces, it was the first Auto’d piece I bought. Purchased this back in ’88 at a show in Cincinnati:
I have amassed quite a few signed pieces for Chris… here are my signed baseballs :
A buddy of mine was lucky enough to meet Chris in Florida during Spring Training (back in 2005)… he had Chris sign this one for me:
Auto’s?... did I say AUTO’S????
Misc. other Auto’d stuff and random magazines/digests/misc whatnots:
How’s this for obscure?!?!
Here’s a hideous hat… seriously, it’s awful:
I bought this hat on Ebay several years ago… it was advertised as an authentic Chris Sabo hat, autographed. Imagine my disgust with this turd showed up. It’s friggin corduroy! I decided to keep it for laughs… the auto on it is real.
“Hey Chris, it’s SI on the phone… they want you on their cover.”
On the right… a cheesy plaque… on the left…. Well… uhh… well, I have no words, I got nothing.
Remember these?
Did you notice the reverse negative in the lower right?
How about this odd-ball screw-up:
We’re not done with late ‘80s early-‘90s crap:
I can’t remember the year, but these sheets rarely come up completely intact and in great shape:
This was some sort of invite from CBS to meet Chris the day of his Reds HOF induction. I picked it up on eBay simply to because I had to have it.
Needlesstosay, there are a LOT of other items I could show you yet… but I think we’ll quit while we’re still ahead (or awake.) I’m not sure I have the patience or time to do a 365 days of Sabo thread, but I’ll gladly continue sharing my new finds!
Please feel free to share your thoughts!
ALWAYS Looking for Chris Sabo cards!
0
Comments
man-love.
the ultimate superfan.
Sabo was the man!
Oh, and for all you "hatters" out there, he didn't know the bat was corked! It wasn't even his bat!
Thanks for sharing!
1994 Pro Line Live
TheDallasCowboyBackfieldProject
And i thought the several thousand of ungraded Carew cards i still have (and the former #1 Retired Master Set) i had was impressive----
That is absolutely amazing!!! I don't care who it is!! So just how much is that at $5 a card graded??
<< <i>2005 Topps Rookie Cup Chrome Rookie Reprint Refractor… all are #’d /15… I have 8 of’em. #’s 3, 4, 5, 7, 7, 8, 12, 13, & 15 !! >>
Do you really have two #7's, or was one supposed to be #6? I have heard of some cards where there were two of the same serial #.
... my bad... just 1 #7... a typo.
ALWAYS Looking for Chris Sabo cards!
looking for PELLE LINDBERGH's psa and 1960 fleer baseball psa 8 and up
sets in progress
R.I.P. Barstow 24 April 1999 - May 15 2009
Successful transactions with bouwob, lifeshouldbefun, SDSportsFan, Bkritz, tsalems1, kwtoz, johnny1976, Topps29, Calaban7, nascar20, bking, bedellsonics, Beck6, Dialj, Echocanyon, mdkuom, gosteelers, artimus.
Steve
Jake
<< <i>Insanity: A legal term defining behavior influenced by mental instability. It is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a deranged state of the mind or lack of understanding. When discussing mental illness in general terms, "Collecting Chris Sabo cards" is also considered a preferred descriptor.
>>
Haha - Insanity: What you'd be experiencing if you found out there is a collection that trumps yours. I'd imagine it's hardly possible...
CINCINNATI REDS
1976 - 1991 - Topps PSA 10
1983 & 1985 Fleer PSA 10
1985 Donruss PSA 10
Blue Ink Signed Topps Cards
Game-Used Bats/Jerseys
OPC PSA 10
MC & OC Cards
OTHER:
Eric Davis Anything
Votto, Willingham, Cantu, Doumit, Gomes
Baron Davis Game Used Jersey
2) I hope Chris doesn't know who you are, if he does, he probably has a TRO against you.
Great stuff.
shawn
Giovanni
Collecting at it's best,
Thanks for sharing
The available pool for the rest of the Reds fans must be microscopic.
luke
Thanks for sharing
Mike
Quest que cest
Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better
Run run run run run run run away
Collector of OPC 1980-1985
Just curious that none of your autographs say "Spuds"
I wonder if he ever actually liked the nickname?
Mike
Gotta love it. Thanks, Lee
Outstanding! So cool to finally get a look at your collection. Thanks for sharing.
Collector of Pittsburgh Pirates cards for a slightly less stupid reason.
My Pirates Collection
Player collectors truly are a rare breed, and you're one of the rarest!
I don't even know what to say.
CDsNuts, 1/9/15
Shane
congrats keep going!!!!!
thanks for sharing, i enjoyed it
collecting RAW Topps baseball cards 1952 Highs to 1972. looking for collector grade (somewhere between psa 4-7 condition). let me know what you have, I'll take it, I want to finish sets, I must have something you can use for trade.
looking for Topps 71-72 hi's-62-53-54-55-59, I have these sets started
http://sportsfansnews.com/author/andy-fischer/
Let's see... $475 for the first PSA 10 '93 Finest Refractor.... a bargain $275 for the second.
$100 for the 1/1 '05 Topps Rookie Cup Refractor... purchased RAW btw.
$100-115 ea for the Printing plates...
$100 buy-it-now for the first BGS 9.5 Desert Shield... can't remember what I paid for the second, but I don't think it was half that.
countless $20-30 singles in there.... most raw of course.
Only recently did PSA graded Chris Sabo's start popping up on Ebay regularly... and I buy 90% of them.
... and I LOVE it!
I don't regret one dime I've put into this collection... and won't hesitate to put more into it!
BIG reward for that PSA 10 '91 Desert Shield floating around out there...
a NICE reward for the '91 Topps (regular edition) PSA 10 out there...
and another nice reward for the sole '90 Fleer PSA 10.
The hardest card for me to find in a potential PSA 10 is by FAR the '89 Donruss Diamond Kings.... but I'm working on that. I have couple ready to be sent that have a shot.
ALWAYS Looking for Chris Sabo cards!
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
Seriously, puts my Seau collection to shame.
NathanSr
Successful sales: xphunk, vjsteele4, onefasttalon, five7teen, yankeeno7
Successful trades: mijang
Generous Souls: MBMiler25, DES1984
HOF RC Auto Set
1955 Topps Football AA
1950 Bowman Football
1951 Bowman Football
1952 Bowman Football
ebay user- Jolt333
Please be sure to check out my auctions!
Ripken, Brooks & Frank Robinson, Old Orioles, Sweet Spot Autos, older Redskins - Riggins, Sonny, Baugh etc and anything that catches my eye.
My ghetto sportscard webpage...All Scans - No Lists!!! Stinky Linky
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.