Your Holy Grail as a kid
ugaskidawg
Posts: 882 ✭✭✭
I recently posted a thread about the oldest current packs you ever ripped and Nathanael (@FrozenCaribou) mentioned a Gretzky card that he thought was incredible he pulled from an 82-83 OPC pack. It got me thinking, what card(s) did you pull from a pack that was current at the time that you thought was incredible.
For me it was a slew of junk wax duds that were projected for great things, along with some stars that definitely panned out.
- 1988 Topps Mark McGwire - Rookie Cup
- 1988 Score & Donruss Gregg Jefferies
- 1989 Donruss Griffey RR
- 1989 Topps Chris Sabo
- 1990 Topps Frank Thomas
- 1987 Topps & Donruss Bo Jackson
- 1989 Topps Gary Sheffield
- 1987 Topps Jose Canseco
- 1988 Topps Orel Hershiser (Along with his 1989 Topps RB)
- 1988 Score Mark Grace
- 1988 Topps Matt Nokes Rookie Cup
- 1988 Topps Matt Williams
- 1987 Topps Will Clark
- Any of the 1988 Topps RB cards - The red background was one of my favorite designs
- 1988 Topps Ellis Burks Rookie Cup
Obviously, I ripped a ton of 88 Topps, so many memories there as a 9 year old.
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I first bought packs in 1974, just wanted any Detroit Tigers cards, but it was in 1977 that I ripped pack after pack to get the Mark Fidrych rookie card. After his 1976 season and being a Tigers fan, I just had to have it.
1970 Topps Hank Aaron
i was just telling a member here, a 1965 Carlton rookie....because i was putting together a moderate to high grade 1965 by hand, card by card, show by show, parents dropping off at shows.........pre-internet, pre-ebay days....all 598 cards......had 20 to go when i left the hobby....when i returned about 5-6 yrs ago, bought all 20 in ONE single day on ebay......oh, how set building has changed......
BTW, that was a great hobby memory. even my friends not in the hobby would ask how the set was coming along....pre-driver license days also,
Those 88 Donruss "SP" cards at the end of the set (including the Jefferies RC). I thought they were so rare until I learned that Donruss printed a bajillion cards in 88.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
In 1989, during the NLCS when WIll Clark and Mark Grace were going at each other like two heavyweights and Will Clark cards were hotter than the sun, I pulled a few 1987 Fleer Will Clark cards. Funny thing was, if you got the collation where the Clark was toward the top of the pack, the Barry Bonds was just a few cards down. That was only worth $1.50 at the time though.
Arthur
For me it was the 1970 Topps Tom Seaver. When I finally got one, I was super surprised that it was a portrait shot and not the pitching follow through pose that was on the (cello) box on the candy store shelf.
Willie Mays...Aikens! After the 1980 World Series, where he became the first player to have multi homerun games in his first 2 World Series home games (it was some obscure, specifically customized stat like that), the 1981 Aikens was the card I had to have... not the .390 hitting A. L. MVP George Brett. I ripped packs all summer before I finally got the card. I love the cartoon...
I had never seen a batter cock his knee inwards, rotating his hip, and pointing his sizable backside out at the pitcher like that...along with the heavy eye black, and being a left handed batter and having that cool looking oversized first baseman mitt that was unlike anything I'd seen in my limited exposure to t-ball and little league...
I received a generic Royals t-shirt for Christmas, and took it down to the local sporting goods store and had them screen print "Aikens 24" on the back. I then spent countless hours learning to hit left handed, first off of a T, then tossing it up to myself, then finally in the backyard wiffle ball games. The summer of 81, my little league photos, besides the team shot, we'd do a posed action shot also. Of course, I'm depicted as a roughly 70 pound left handed hitting slugger with my full ass showing to the pitcher! Haha!
As a side note, the first single card that I ever bought that wasn't included in my own packs, was the next year's version, a 1982 Topps Willie Aikens. I just had to have it, as well, and did not want to wait all summer ripping packs to get it. I paid a friend of mine a whole dollar for his.
Glad I could inspire a new thread with my musings on a Gretzky/Goulet league leader card, ugaskidawg.
I will add to it to say I also collected the Topps sticker yearbooks when I was a kid, and there were a few stickers that I always wished I could have but could never find. I could never find the upper right sticker of Rickey Henderson sliding into second base in the 1983 book, and Tom Seaver in the 1985 book. Those were my holy grails.
As for cards, I was never fortunate enough to get a 1984 Fleer Update set to go along with my regular set, and for the rest of my childhood it was way out of my price range. I used to look at Beckett and get excited when my "penny stock" Chris Sabo rookies rose 50 cents, so the 1984 Fleer update set may as well been a 52 topps Mantle.
-Nathanael
1985 Topps Dwight Gooden. I was just starting to get hooked and the $3 book value was more than enough to entice me. I still remember exactly where I was when I pulled my first one out of a cello pack purchase from OurX Drugstore sitting in my parents' 1981 Chevy Malibu Classic light blue station wagon waiting for mom to get done shopping at Eagle.
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Mine was the 86 Donruss Canseco Rated Rookie. I would have sold a kidney for that card as a kid. LOL
I don't know if it was a holy grail, but I remember opening 1970 packs thinking
Hank Aaron is the biggest star I could get and getting his brother Tommies' card instead.
I did get a Hank Aaron in 1971 along with Stargell and Yaz and maybe a few other stars.Those are the
three I remember most.
86 Donruss Canseco
I tried to corner the neighborhood on a card...traded almost all I had at the time for these but lets just say the neighborhood made out over time...
The 1991 and 1992 Donruss Elite inserts as they were one of the first limited inserts at 10,000 and you hardly ever saw them around. I picked up Gooden in 1995, but never found a Puckett back then. Finally got it earlier this year.
Other than that, 84 Fleer Update stars and 86-87 Fleer MJ were the holy grails that I was able to obtain.
I actively collect Kirby Puckett. I have collections of Michael Jordan, Emmitt Smith, Roberto Clemente, Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver, Errict Rhett and Evan Longoria.
I think the 91 Donruss Elite cards were distributed 1 card per 20-box case.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
We were chasing the 1986 Donruss Canseco, but I was lucky enough to get a couple of those from packs. The one I was really after at the time was a 1984 Topps Don Mattingly rookie, I only knew a couple of people with one and they wouldn't part with it. In 1986 Topps I always wanted the Doc Gooden card. Always thought it was a cool card - and i just had a great memory of opening a pack and smelling the bubble gum. Funny how that sticks with you.
The Doomsday Collection
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Its scarcely imaginable in today's world - HOW INSANE THE DEMAND FOR THIS CARD WAS!!! in 1990. The excitement in general around cards in 1990 is what got me into the hobby.
I remember a local kid's clothing store had an upstairs loft area they let someone rent for the town's first "card store". There would be a line on the stairs for people to get into the small store area and buy 1990 Score packs. I remember a man waiting at the bottom of the stairs offering $20 for any copy pulled.
Needless to say the store lasted about 2 months inside the kid's store before they had their own storefront in the same shopping center. That was the baseball card boom.
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When looking at price guides in the late 70's early 80's I always made sure to see how much the 52 Topps Mantle rookie was going for.
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
1990 Score was so pleasing to open. Bold colors but a simple design. Rookies, subsets, #1 draft picks. Frank Thomas, Juan Gonzalez, Ben McDonald, John Olerud, Dave Justice, and Mo Vaughn as can't miss and all those guys who we speculated on like Marquis Grissom, Chuck Knoblach, and Joey Belle.
Thinking about it now, that set is solid for rookie cards. Larry Walker, Bernie Williams, Moises Alou, Sammy Sosa in addition to the others. I might go buy a box...
I never really chased cards out of packs, but I always wanted the 1968 3D cards. I wasn't completely sure they really existed.
1982 Topps Traded Cal Ripken. I was lucky enough to pick-up a few sets at 6.99 or 7.99 during the initial release.
I bought my first pack, or rather had it bought for me in 1957. I lived in St Louis and wanted a Musial card. In 58 I ended up with his AS card. That was "ok", but in 59 I finally got the real deal. Still one of my favorite cards.
Bowman Baseball -1948-1955
Fleer Baseball-1923, 1959-2007
Al
+1 Turned right to the page every time and just stared.
@Cakes said:
Finally someone older than me! Its a shame Musial didn't have more topps cards.
That 88 Ellis Burks lit up my memory. It was definitely on my list too, 87 and 88 were my first real years. 86 were my first packs but I was all in by 87 and as a Red Sox fan, any Clemens card or that 88 Ellis Burks. I mean the Fleer Burnks seemed totally unattainable.
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1984 Yzerman, Topps since in the US instead of Canada. Fortunately they were not a tough pull, but loved them all the same.
As a kid it was any Johnny Bench card I could find - especially the 1976 Topps. Next in line it was Hank Aaron from 1975 when he broke the HR record.
In college it was the 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas card. At the time it was rare to find - singles or boxes. I jumped on them early since I played against him in college and saw him as a sure fire all star at the MLB level. Man was a giant who could hit for average, an with his size he would surely hit for power. Those were the days. Neat thread you started and a lot of great memories.
'76 Kurt Bevacqua bubble gum blowing champ card, and 77 Fidrych RC
Bosox1976
I always seemed to look at that card just after the 86 Donruss Canseco every time I got the monthly Beckett.
I'm kind of envious of those who had a "grail" as a kid.
I bought packs in the mid to late 50s with no idea what I was doing - didn't know there were series - only wanted any Dodgers card to include the team card.
That's about it. Perhaps that's why I enjoy cards/collectibles so much today? Recapturing something from the past?
Any insight as to why he didn't have a regular Topps issue until 1959? From an article on the PSA boards, he agreed to be in the 1958 set after a Topps executive agreed to make a donation to charity.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
Any Pete Rose cards were pretty much my Holy Grail as a kid, 85T was nice with three different Rose cards (RB/Mgr/regular), and 86T was the greatest set ever for a Rose fan. While y'all were looking at the 52T Mantle in the price guides, I was rushing to check out the 63T Rose. Funny thing is now I have no desire to own one, the floating heads annoy me and I'd much rather have the 64.
I found this article from 2012.
How Topps finally got Stan Musial on its baseball cards
February 14, 2012 by retrosimba
So you think showing a squirrel on a Skip Schumaker Topps baseball card is controversial? How about printing baseball cards for seven years between 1951-57 and never offering a Stan Musial baseball card?
In the first series of its 2012 baseball card set, Topps has printed two cards of St. Louis utilityman Skip Schumaker. The common card shows an image of Schumaker sliding. The other card, which has been released in limited supply (driving up demand and price), shows only Schumaker’s shoe as the so-called “rally squirrel” dashes across home plate.
Critics call the squirrel card dumb. Supporters find it fun. For Topps, the card has created publicity.
It may be the most controversy associated with Topps and the Cardinals since its seven-year absence without Musial.
Topps began printing baseball cards in 1951 when Musial was 30 and near the peak of his Hall of Fame career. Musial had a contract to appear on baseball cards produced by a rival company, Bowman.
Bowman produced Stan Musial cards in 1952 and ’53.
For the next four years (1954-57), Musial didn’t appear on any baseball card, even though he may have been the most popular player in the game.
In a 2001 interview with USA Today on the 50th anniversary of Topps baseball cards, Topps executive Sy Berger said Musial “just didn’t want to sign (a contract) for cards.”
The breakthrough came in time for Topps’ 1958 set. Berger said Cardinals owner Gussie Busch was raising money for charity and asked Topps for a donation. Berger said Topps offered to donate $1,500 to the non-profit of Busch’s choice if Musial would agree to sign a Topps contract to appear on a 1958 baseball card. Musial did. The retired Cardinals star continues to be featured on Topps baseball cards today.
(In the book “Musial: From Stash to Stan the Man” (2001, Missouri), author James N. Giglio claims “insufficient compensation” was the reason Musial didn’t sign with Topps until 1958.)
When Topps issued its first baseball cards in 1951, the look and feel were more like a deck of playing cards, or game cards for a baseball board game.
The 1951 cards came in two styles: with red backs and with blue backs. The front of the cards featured a player’s face bordered by a baseball diamond. The backs of the cards were colored either red or blue and offered no statistical information.
The red backs and blue backs were issued at the same time.
Two Cardinals _ pitcher Howie Pollet and outfielder Tommy Glaviano _ were part of the red backs. Six Cardinals _ pitchers Gerry Staley, Red Munger and Harry Breechen; second baseman Red Schoendienst; outfielder Enos Slaughter; and third baseman Billy Johnson _ were part of the blue backs.
The series had 52 red back and 52 blue back cards. There also were special-feature team cards and all-star cards. These included a Cardinals team card and an all-star card of retired Cardinals pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander.
In 1952, Topps issued a 407-card set that is the prototype for the traditional baseball card, with statistics on the back and designed images of players on the front.
The first Cardinal to appear in the 1952 set was catcher Johnny Bucha (card No. 19). Bucha played in a total of 24 games for the Cardinals over two seasons (1948 and ’50) but didn’t play in any games for St. Louis in 1952.
1980 set Henderson and the A's
and I remember the last card was Butch Wynegar was the last card
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
No question it was Johnny Bench for me. I remember opening 72's with my cousin when I was around 11 years old. Pulling any of the Reds was a thrill back in the day. My cousin was a huge Tigers fan so for me pulling any Tigers was great as it was instant trade bait with my cousin.
I believe it was around 1976 I was with my cousin again and we walked into a small store and it had unopened 72's we could not believe it so we bought as many as we could and thought we won the lottery. Those cards seem so old back in 76. Wish I would have kept them unopened LOL.
1979 Topps Roger Staubach , never pulled one from a pack but my best friend did. He was a huge Redskins fan so after some negotiations we made a trade. I guess I've made up for never getting one from a pack back then, I now have a rack pack, cello and super cello with Roger showing on top.
I agree most of my favorite cards are the second year cards of players that have the rookie of the year trophy on them. The 71 Munson is one of my all time favorites.
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
For me it was the 1984 Fleer Update Set. I actually pre-ordered 3 sets from Lou Brown Cards in Michigan. After they blew up I sold each of them at a show for like $150 each to a dealer. After I graduated grad school I ended up getting the Puckett in PSA 10 first, then the Gooden a few years later, and Clemens just a few years ago from the BST board.
Do you remember these sets being factory sealed in any way? I’ve had people tell me that they never were, also that they were sealed with a piece of tape OPC style without cellophane. Any help is appreciated.
1985 Donruss Eric Davis
1986 Topps William Perry
IG: goatcollectibles23
The biggest lesson I've learned in this hobby, and in life, is that if you have a strong conviction, you owe it to yourself to see it through. Don't sell yourself, or your investments, short. Unless the facts change. Then sell it all.
I had no grail as a kid. Oddly I just enjoyed the variety and info that it gave. I'm a moron. I just liked pretty colors and familiar symbolism. Really wish I had a better eye for '79 Gretzky's back then.
Kevin
Kevin
I’m with you, I just loved cards in general but was attracted to Strawberry and Bo Jackson cards from the late 80’s. If I pulled one of them from a pack, I did ok lol.
Add the 83 Topps Traded to my list - after reading your post Gem I forgot a few cards. That card was a unicorn and still is due to the TT. Found a couple last year in PSA 8.5/9. Throw in Canseco rookies, Mattingly 84 Topps, 84 Gooden...
KC
In 1991-92 I was 15 and even though I'd amassed a pretty good collection my holy grail was the 1991-92 Classic Four Sport card of Manon Rheaume, the first woman of hockey. Damn, she was beautiful. I remember buying nearly a box of Four Sport...but I can't honestly remember if I got one. I THINK I did. (Then again I bought any card I could find of hers later that year.)
@SpinFadeSplash23 said:
I grew up a Red Sox fan but Eric Davis was one of my favorite players when i first got into collecting cards even though i rarely watched Reds games, just seeing him hitting & taking away home runs whenever my local Boston news had Reds highlights was all i had to go by aside from box scores in the newspaper.
I admit my current CU user name erikthredd came from the Eric "The Red" Davis
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Holy moly I had that card. It was just a picture of her standing up in front of the goal with her mask off, right? I didn't even realize I had it until later on when I was just fishing through the stack and was like "whoa, that's a woman!"
I'll also second the whole Eric Davis thing. He was the power/speed combo guy before it was cool to be a power/speed combo guy.
Arthur
Prior to discovering there was a woman on the card Arthur was busy looking for a crease
Bowman Baseball -1948-1955
Fleer Baseball-1923, 1959-2007
Al
There's like eleven different ways that could be construed. I'm choosing to take it the way that it means I'm really handsome and smart with great hair.
So thank you, Al.
Arthur
81 Topps Fernando Valenzuela. Ripken, Boggs and Gwynn Rookies too.
If I recall correctly, my three sets weren't sealed. However I think some dealers put the tape on themselves.