This has been a solid case of 1988 Topps condition wise and the blend of star power has been a nice bonus! Here are the growing piles of non-contenders...
When Rose and a Glavine RC are among the 8 candidates for PSA 10, I consider myself lucky for a 1980s box!
Alright...need some help. Feeling like ripping some new brands and boxes this weekend. What is your rank of preference among:
1) 1982 Topps Football vending box
2) 1989 Hoops I Basketball box
3) 1989 Bowman box
4) 1989 Upper Deck box
5) 1985 Fleer box
6) 1990 Leaf I box
7) 1992 Fleer Jumbo baseball box
8) 92/93 Stadium Club basketball II box
Yes, I know the last 3 are not 1980’s material, but always fun to mix in cool Griffey, Thomas and Shaq cards. So what’s the vote?
Ok...the people have spoken. I will target the following rips this weekend...
1) 1982 Topps football
2) 1990 Leaf I box
3) 1989 UD box
4) 1989 Bowman box
5) 92/93 SC basketball box
Let the fun begin. Up first is a 1982 Topps football vending box. The key cards are rookies of LT, Lott, Munoz and Collinsworth and of course the 2nd year Joe Montana.
Such a fun way to start a weekend. I haven’t sifted through 1982 Topps football in years. A great set with amazing photos and a nightmare condition-wise! The Walter Payton IA has to be one of the greatest football card images of all time. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark...
I pulled all these key RCs, but none were PSA 10 worthy...
There were only 3 candidates for PSA 10 in this entire cash fresh vending box of 500 untouched cards. This just reinforces how tough perfect 1980’s cards are even straight from unopened material...
While not a 10, this 2nd year Montana is a solid 8 - 9, so I will sub it and hope it leans to the MINT 9 grade. Such a sweet looking card of the undefeated 4x Super Bowl champ...
With Jordan and Shaq mania at a feverish pitch, I’m heading out of the 1980’s for the next rip. Here comes a 1992/93 Stadium Club 2 box. Let the hunt for Shaq RCs and the gorgeous Beam Team inserts begin...
@Cory1976 said:
That Montana looks sharp. Disappointed you didn't find a LT rc regular issue.
Thanks. Yeah, with vending holding 500 cards and the set being 528 cards, it is always a bit of a role of the dice on who you will hit. No worries, there will be more of these in the future.
It is hard for me to believe that 92/93 Stadium Club 2 boxes are selling in the $150 range suddenly after being widely available for sale in the $45-$55 range for the past year. 1980’s and early 1990’s basketball has seen such a crazy surge in pricing during this COVID19 window. I always get a kick out of mixing in some of the shiny stuff every now and again. I remember these packs immediately selling for $5/pack versus their MSRP OF $1 back in 92/93. Shaq and Alonzo mania was crazy at the release of this product and there were no cards hotter than Beam Team at the time. Beam Team are typically seeded 1 per box, with 2 appearing every now and again. The box usually yields 2-4 of each card in the basic set. This box followed suite. I am not trying to build this set in PSA 10, so here are all the stars and rookies that were pulled...
@jordangretzkyfan said:
Such a fun way to start a weekend. I haven’t sifted through 1982 Topps football in years. A great set with amazing photos and a nightmare condition-wise! The Walter Payton IA has to be one of the greatest football card images of all time. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark...
I think 82 Football is great!! I remember they did a profile on it in the SMR
And it was The Cardinals Team, Bert Jones and Rolf Benirschke so I went looking for mine and came up with this beauty! A little off but a good canidate for a 9? No printing marks which plague this card! It has been in a CS1 for two years so I don’t know if its still a low pop?
@jackstraw said:
I think 82 Football is great!! I remember they did a profile on it in the SMR
And it was The Cardinals Team, Bert Jones and Rolf Benirschke so I went looking for mine and came up with this beauty! A little off but a good canidate for a 9? No printing marks which plague this card! It has been in a CS1 for two years so I don’t know if its still a low pop?
Centering and corners look MINT from the picture. So long as that is a shadow on the border edge by the helmet and not a light stain, I would say you have a low pop 9 on your hands. Thanks for sharing and following the thread!
The only card from the 1980s that is hotter than the 1989 UD Griffey RC right now, is the 86/87 Fleer Jordan RC. Even I am not crazy enough to rip those basketball boxes! But I am willing to open 1989 UD’s. This is arguably the most iconic set from the 1980s. It redefined card collecting from being a kid’s hobby to a broad scale industry for adult speculation and investment. I vividly remember seeing the first-ever shiny foil packs on the counter of my LCS for $1.50/pack. Wait!!! What???? $1.50/pack!!! What is this shiny treasure and am I really willing to spend my $5 weekly allowance to buy 3 packs of this rather than 10 packs of Topps? This is a major decision moment for a kid. I knew my LCS owner really well and he told me these were the hottest cards. He showed me an example of the amazing photography on the front AND the back. They were like little cardboard works of art and I simply had to collect them all. As a nice gesture, my LCS owner threw in a free pack and I was off with 4 new found treasure chests. Today, the clear card to pull is Griffey. While Griffey was a top prospect and #1 overall pick, THE card to pull when these hit the market was the Gregg Jefferies card. Yep, Gregg “freakin” Jefferies. I landed the Jefferies on my 3rd pack and I was hooked. My parents gave me a full box later that summer for my birthday and I was well on my way to a full set. Let’s see if I can land that Jefferies prospect card again...
@jordangretzkyfan said:
Centering and corners look MINT from the picture. So long as that is a shadow on the border edge by the helmet and not a light stain, I would say you have a low pop 9 on your hands. Thanks for sharing and following the thread!
That's a shadow from my hand as I took a photo of it..
Opening packs of 1989 UD makes you pause to appreciate the photography on each card. This really is a beautiful set! It was fun to go through these, since I hadn’t seen many of them for a few decades...brought back so many memories. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark. I am loving the look of the Gregg Jefferies top prospect still to this day...such a fun pull.
While a very high quality card, these are still a condition nightmare. Very few are dead centered and surface issues like spider veins are fairly plentiful. Out of this fresh box, only 13 candidates for PSA 10 emerged. Usually 13 is an unlucky number, but I will take it in this case. First 11 candidates...
@jordangretzkyfan said:
Opening packs of 1989 UD makes you pause to appreciate the photography on each card. This really is a beautiful set! It was fun to go through these, since I hadn’t seen many of them for a few decades...brought back so many memories. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark. I am loving the look of the Gregg Jefferies top prospect still to this day...such a fun pull.
While a very high quality card, these are still a condition nightmare. Very few are dead centered and surface issues like spider veins are fairly plentiful. Out of this fresh box, only 13 candidates for PSA 10 emerged. Usually 13 is an unlucky number, but I will take it in this case. First 11 candidates...
Candidate #12...
And this 13th contender looks decent too...
the right bottom corner on the Griffey looks bent a little or am I seeing it wrong on the scan. I bet you were happy to pull a Griffey in this box. thank you for sharing.
@Kep13 said:
I don't recall if there is a way to know if the box you have could contain the Upper Deck errors?
No way to tell from the outer box that I am aware of. The early print runs had the Murphy reverse negative, Sheffield with his “SS” upside down and the Pat Sheridan without a position if I recall correctly. None of those were in this box unfortunately.
@erba said:
Great job with the 89UD! I have never had a Griffey in all my years of collecting. I'll have to change that soon, if it grades a -3!
Thank you. It is a great card to own in any grade, so hopefully you land one soon.
@rcmb3220 said:
I know it’s a year out of your range but if you ever get around to opening 90 score baseball I’d love to see it.
I love Frank Thomas, so I will be sure to add a 1990 Score box into the mix for you. I have some, so happy to hunt for a perfect Thomas and the Bo Jackson black and white card.
@lwehlers said:
the right bottom corner on the Griffey looks bent a little or am I seeing it wrong on the scan. I bet you were happy to pull a Griffey in this box. thank you for sharing.
I went back and checked in the light...no bend that I can find. Think it was a shadow on the corner when I took the pic. Thanks for noticing...always helpful in case I miss something.
Too many home projects this weekend, so I will get to more rips during the week when I get some free time. Thanks to all those following and commenting.
@jordangretzkyfan said:
Opening packs of 1989 UD makes you pause to appreciate the photography on each card. This really is a beautiful set! It was fun to go through these, since I hadn’t seen many of them for a few decades...brought back so many memories. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark. I am loving the look of the Gregg Jefferies top prospect still to this day...such a fun pull.
And this 13th contender looks decent too...
Congrats! Amazing pull!
Good to catch up with this thread in a shelter in place Monday!
In addition to UD, the other brand that came onto the scene in 1989 was the resurrection of the Bowman brand. This is my favorite Griffey RC photo. Such a great looking card adorned with the signature from his original Topps contract. In fact, all of Junior’s RCs are visually appealing. I love the 1980s! Here goes a box of 1989 Bowman...
This has been a nice Griffey run. I had forgotten this set contains the rookies of Ventura, Nagy and T. Martinez too. It was fun to open these cards after all these years. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the cut...
I found a solid 20 candidates for PSA 10 in this box which was much higher than I would have guessed heading in. The star power in these 20 was off the charts! Ryno, Mattingly, McGwire, Canseco, Larkin, Avery RC...
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
@NGS428 said:
Having some great luck on the Griffey cards!
@baseballfan said:
my favorite Griffey rookie, great card congrats
Thanks Nic and Fred. It has been a fun little run with 1989s. I certainly don’t expect the luck to continue, but let’s rip a 1989 Fleer box while we are at it...
Awesome stuff Chris. Love the tour through 1989. I didn’t buy into UD at my local LCS and they were only a buck! I was busy buying vending boxes at $7 pet and laughing at my friends who paid up for the UD. My buddy pulled the Griffey on a walking out the door purchase of his only 1989 UD pack. It was awesome.
In 1990 I wasn’t going to make the same mistake of not buying UD. I probably bought 150 packs that year. Solid decision on my part :-(
John
Conundrum - Loving my unopened baseball card collection....but really like ripping too
@NJ80sBBC said:
Awesome stuff Chris. Love the tour through 1989. I didn’t buy into UD at my local LCS and they were only a buck! I was busy buying vending boxes at $7 pet and laughing at my friends who paid up for the UD. My buddy pulled the Griffey on a walking out the door purchase of his only 1989 UD pack. It was awesome.
In 1990 I wasn’t going to make the same mistake of not buying UD. I probably bought 150 packs that year. Solid decision on my part :-(
John
Haha...yeah, I loaded up on those 1990 UD too. I was certain my Ben McDonald and John Olerud RCs were going to pay off BIG TIME!
I woke up in a Frank Thomas mood this morning. As a collector in the 80s and 90s, there were those who favored Griffey and those who favored Thomas. While I liked and collected both, I fell on the Thomas side of the debate. Never before had a player of his size had such plate discipline, raw power and his ability to drive in runs. I mean seriously, this 6’ 5” and 240lbs dude put up a decade of .300+, 30+ HR, 100+ RBI and 100+ runs. Frank was a beast and he did it clean. He has so many iconic RCs between Leaf, Topps, Score...but the card I always wanted of his wasn’t a rookie. Well, not technically. But it did say Rookie Sensations. Yep, the chase was on in 1992 to even find packs of Fleer jumbos. I remember packs going for $8/pack when you could even find the one guy at the weekend mall show who had 2 boxes. The 1992 Thomas RS was selling for $125 as soon as I knew it existed. Such a good looking card! While I have a few boxes, I’ve never ripped a box of these before. Let the hunt for my first pack pulled Big Hurt begin...
Maybe I should stick to the 80s. That was not the first breaking experience I was hoping for out of 1992 Fleer jumbos. Not sure how many Rookie Sensations usually come out of a box, but this one didn’t contain any. I did pull a couple of the Clemens highlights, but clearly not what I was looking for. The box did contain both the Maurer error (name misspelled) and Gardner error (wrong position).
That was much better from a candidate standpoint. The 1988 Topps set has really grown on me during this rip journey. Here are the piles that don’t make the grade...
There were 11 contenders for PSA 10 in this box, headlined by Yount and Palmiero...
I don’t want to be shut out on the Big Hurt today, so I am going to rip 3 sets of 1990 Fleer Update. While not his most desirable RC, still an undervalued card in my opinion. I am not looking for any PSA 10 cards in this set other than Thomas, so this will be a quick rip...
@bensie said:
Rookie sensations were supposed to be insert at a rate of 1 in every 4 jumbo packs. You got skunked for sure :-(
Wow...thanks for the info. 1:4 odds means I should have pulled 6 Rookie Sensations out of the box. That was one bad luck box then. Woke up still in a Frank Thomas mood, so I’m not going out like that 🤣 Time for round 2...
Now that’s what I’m talking ‘bout! Bensie was right on the ratios. My two boxes were just a tale of two cities. This box yielded 8 Rookie Sensations cards along with 3 Clemens Highlights. Even though the centering was off top/bottom on all the RS cards, I was thrilled to pull my first Thomas from a pack. Such a sick looking card!!
The 1990-1992 boxes have been a fun change of pace from my 1980’s breaks, but my mission is still to build perfect sets from the 80s. I will keep that focus while mixing in some of this other stuff for fun. Thanks to those who continue to follow.
I had an ideal for the 1981 Topps baseball set instead of trying to get a complete set all PSA 10 how about getting the set all in cello packs with all the cards in the set represented on the front or the back of the cello packs? You need around 500 cello packs to do this.
@rmilin said:
I had an ideal for the 1981 Topps baseball set instead of trying to get a complete set all PSA 10 how about getting the set all in cello packs with all the cards in the set represented on the front or the back of the cello packs? You need around 500 cello packs to do this.
That sounds like quit the challenge. If that is one of your favorite sets, I say go for it. Keep us posted on your progress.
Let’s get back to attacking these 1980’s sets in perfect condition. Up next are 3 sets of 1987 Fleer Update. I have always loved the look of this Maddux XRC! The McGwire in this set is pretty slick too. Here’s hoping...
Comments
Love it, Chris. I still follow every post. What you're doing is unprecedented. Be well!
Andy
Thanks Andy. That is a very polite way to say I am nuts 🤣 👍
Here goes another 1988 Topps box before I mix it up a bit over the weekend...
Hahaha, birds of a feather....
Andy
This has been a solid case of 1988 Topps condition wise and the blend of star power has been a nice bonus! Here are the growing piles of non-contenders...
When Rose and a Glavine RC are among the 8 candidates for PSA 10, I consider myself lucky for a 1980s box!
Alright...need some help. Feeling like ripping some new brands and boxes this weekend. What is your rank of preference among:
1) 1982 Topps Football vending box
2) 1989 Hoops I Basketball box
3) 1989 Bowman box
4) 1989 Upper Deck box
5) 1985 Fleer box
6) 1990 Leaf I box
7) 1992 Fleer Jumbo baseball box
8) 92/93 Stadium Club basketball II box
Yes, I know the last 3 are not 1980’s material, but always fun to mix in cool Griffey, Thomas and Shaq cards. So what’s the vote?
My top 3 would be:
1982 Topps vending fb
92-93 UD Baskets
1990 Leaf
I vote for 82 fb. Good luck
My top three would be 1989 upper deck, 1989 Bowman, and 1990 leaf, in that order.
Ok...the people have spoken. I will target the following rips this weekend...
1) 1982 Topps football
2) 1990 Leaf I box
3) 1989 UD box
4) 1989 Bowman box
5) 92/93 SC basketball box
Let the fun begin. Up first is a 1982 Topps football vending box. The key cards are rookies of LT, Lott, Munoz and Collinsworth and of course the 2nd year Joe Montana.
The epic ness continues. Straight up entertainment. Good luck!
And more than likely will never be done again.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
Such a fun way to start a weekend. I haven’t sifted through 1982 Topps football in years. A great set with amazing photos and a nightmare condition-wise! The Walter Payton IA has to be one of the greatest football card images of all time. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark...
I pulled all these key RCs, but none were PSA 10 worthy...
There were only 3 candidates for PSA 10 in this entire cash fresh vending box of 500 untouched cards. This just reinforces how tough perfect 1980’s cards are even straight from unopened material...
While not a 10, this 2nd year Montana is a solid 8 - 9, so I will sub it and hope it leans to the MINT 9 grade. Such a sweet looking card of the undefeated 4x Super Bowl champ...
With Jordan and Shaq mania at a feverish pitch, I’m heading out of the 1980’s for the next rip. Here comes a 1992/93 Stadium Club 2 box. Let the hunt for Shaq RCs and the gorgeous Beam Team inserts begin...
That Montana looks sharp. Disappointed you didn't find a LT rc regular issue.
Thanks. Yeah, with vending holding 500 cards and the set being 528 cards, it is always a bit of a role of the dice on who you will hit. No worries, there will be more of these in the future.
It is hard for me to believe that 92/93 Stadium Club 2 boxes are selling in the $150 range suddenly after being widely available for sale in the $45-$55 range for the past year. 1980’s and early 1990’s basketball has seen such a crazy surge in pricing during this COVID19 window. I always get a kick out of mixing in some of the shiny stuff every now and again. I remember these packs immediately selling for $5/pack versus their MSRP OF $1 back in 92/93. Shaq and Alonzo mania was crazy at the release of this product and there were no cards hotter than Beam Team at the time. Beam Team are typically seeded 1 per box, with 2 appearing every now and again. The box usually yields 2-4 of each card in the basic set. This box followed suite. I am not trying to build this set in PSA 10, so here are all the stars and rookies that were pulled...
And this was one of the double BT boxes...
I think 82 Football is great!! I remember they did a profile on it in the SMR
And it was The Cardinals Team, Bert Jones and Rolf Benirschke so I went looking for mine and came up with this beauty! A little off but a good canidate for a 9? No printing marks which plague this card! It has been in a CS1 for two years so I don’t know if its still a low pop?
ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
Centering and corners look MINT from the picture. So long as that is a shadow on the border edge by the helmet and not a light stain, I would say you have a low pop 9 on your hands. Thanks for sharing and following the thread!
The only card from the 1980s that is hotter than the 1989 UD Griffey RC right now, is the 86/87 Fleer Jordan RC. Even I am not crazy enough to rip those basketball boxes! But I am willing to open 1989 UD’s. This is arguably the most iconic set from the 1980s. It redefined card collecting from being a kid’s hobby to a broad scale industry for adult speculation and investment. I vividly remember seeing the first-ever shiny foil packs on the counter of my LCS for $1.50/pack. Wait!!! What???? $1.50/pack!!! What is this shiny treasure and am I really willing to spend my $5 weekly allowance to buy 3 packs of this rather than 10 packs of Topps? This is a major decision moment for a kid. I knew my LCS owner really well and he told me these were the hottest cards. He showed me an example of the amazing photography on the front AND the back. They were like little cardboard works of art and I simply had to collect them all. As a nice gesture, my LCS owner threw in a free pack and I was off with 4 new found treasure chests. Today, the clear card to pull is Griffey. While Griffey was a top prospect and #1 overall pick, THE card to pull when these hit the market was the Gregg Jefferies card. Yep, Gregg “freakin” Jefferies. I landed the Jefferies on my 3rd pack and I was hooked. My parents gave me a full box later that summer for my birthday and I was well on my way to a full set. Let’s see if I can land that Jefferies prospect card again...
That's a shadow from my hand as I took a photo of it..
ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
Opening packs of 1989 UD makes you pause to appreciate the photography on each card. This really is a beautiful set! It was fun to go through these, since I hadn’t seen many of them for a few decades...brought back so many memories. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark. I am loving the look of the Gregg Jefferies top prospect still to this day...such a fun pull.
While a very high quality card, these are still a condition nightmare. Very few are dead centered and surface issues like spider veins are fairly plentiful. Out of this fresh box, only 13 candidates for PSA 10 emerged. Usually 13 is an unlucky number, but I will take it in this case. First 11 candidates...
Candidate #12...
And this 13th contender looks decent too...
wow, congrats...that must have made your day...they look very nice, and the hologram is in order as well...
I don't recall if there is a way to know if the box you have could contain the Upper Deck errors?
Great job with the 89UD! I have never had a Griffey in all my years of collecting. I'll have to change that soon, if it grades a -3!
I know it’s a year out of your range but if you ever get around to opening 90 score baseball I’d love to see it.
the right bottom corner on the Griffey looks bent a little or am I seeing it wrong on the scan. I bet you were happy to pull a Griffey in this box. thank you for sharing.
No way to tell from the outer box that I am aware of. The early print runs had the Murphy reverse negative, Sheffield with his “SS” upside down and the Pat Sheridan without a position if I recall correctly. None of those were in this box unfortunately.
Thank you. It is a great card to own in any grade, so hopefully you land one soon.
I love Frank Thomas, so I will be sure to add a 1990 Score box into the mix for you. I have some, so happy to hunt for a perfect Thomas and the Bo Jackson black and white card.
I went back and checked in the light...no bend that I can find. Think it was a shadow on the corner when I took the pic. Thanks for noticing...always helpful in case I miss something.
Too many home projects this weekend, so I will get to more rips during the week when I get some free time. Thanks to all those following and commenting.
Awesome!!! Love 1989 UD!
Sweet box of 89!!! Can't believe you pulled contenders for both Johnson and Griffey. Congrats!
Congrats! Amazing pull!
Good to catch up with this thread in a shelter in place Monday!
Nic
Guides Authored - Graded Card Scanning Guide PDF | History of the PSA Label PDF
In addition to UD, the other brand that came onto the scene in 1989 was the resurrection of the Bowman brand. This is my favorite Griffey RC photo. Such a great looking card adorned with the signature from his original Topps contract. In fact, all of Junior’s RCs are visually appealing. I love the 1980s! Here goes a box of 1989 Bowman...
This has been a nice Griffey run. I had forgotten this set contains the rookies of Ventura, Nagy and T. Martinez too. It was fun to open these cards after all these years. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the cut...
I found a solid 20 candidates for PSA 10 in this box which was much higher than I would have guessed heading in. The star power in these 20 was off the charts! Ryno, Mattingly, McGwire, Canseco, Larkin, Avery RC...
And then this guy...
Having some great luck on the Griffey cards!
Nic
Guides Authored - Graded Card Scanning Guide PDF | History of the PSA Label PDF
my favorite Griffey rookie, great card congrats
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
Thanks Nic and Fred. It has been a fun little run with 1989s. I certainly don’t expect the luck to continue, but let’s rip a 1989 Fleer box while we are at it...
I did manage to pull a Griffey, but it wasn’t worthy of a 10. Here are the piles of stars and rookies that keep building up...
I pulled all these key cards, but none made the grade...
Here were the 4 candidates for PSA 10...
Awesome stuff Chris. Love the tour through 1989. I didn’t buy into UD at my local LCS and they were only a buck! I was busy buying vending boxes at $7 pet and laughing at my friends who paid up for the UD. My buddy pulled the Griffey on a walking out the door purchase of his only 1989 UD pack. It was awesome.
In 1990 I wasn’t going to make the same mistake of not buying UD. I probably bought 150 packs that year. Solid decision on my part :-(
John
Haha...yeah, I loaded up on those 1990 UD too. I was certain my Ben McDonald and John Olerud RCs were going to pay off BIG TIME!
I woke up in a Frank Thomas mood this morning. As a collector in the 80s and 90s, there were those who favored Griffey and those who favored Thomas. While I liked and collected both, I fell on the Thomas side of the debate. Never before had a player of his size had such plate discipline, raw power and his ability to drive in runs. I mean seriously, this 6’ 5” and 240lbs dude put up a decade of .300+, 30+ HR, 100+ RBI and 100+ runs. Frank was a beast and he did it clean. He has so many iconic RCs between Leaf, Topps, Score...but the card I always wanted of his wasn’t a rookie. Well, not technically. But it did say Rookie Sensations. Yep, the chase was on in 1992 to even find packs of Fleer jumbos. I remember packs going for $8/pack when you could even find the one guy at the weekend mall show who had 2 boxes. The 1992 Thomas RS was selling for $125 as soon as I knew it existed. Such a good looking card! While I have a few boxes, I’ve never ripped a box of these before. Let the hunt for my first pack pulled Big Hurt begin...
Maybe I should stick to the 80s. That was not the first breaking experience I was hoping for out of 1992 Fleer jumbos. Not sure how many Rookie Sensations usually come out of a box, but this one didn’t contain any. I did pull a couple of the Clemens highlights, but clearly not what I was looking for. The box did contain both the Maurer error (name misspelled) and Gardner error (wrong position).
Back to a box of 1988 Topps...
That was much better from a candidate standpoint. The 1988 Topps set has really grown on me during this rip journey. Here are the piles that don’t make the grade...
There were 11 contenders for PSA 10 in this box, headlined by Yount and Palmiero...
I don’t want to be shut out on the Big Hurt today, so I am going to rip 3 sets of 1990 Fleer Update. While not his most desirable RC, still an undervalued card in my opinion. I am not looking for any PSA 10 cards in this set other than Thomas, so this will be a quick rip...
Always fun to pull some fresh Frank Thomas RCs. The centering wasn’t where it needed to be, so these will go in my stacks of Thomas RCs...
Rookie sensations were supposed to be insert at a rate of 1 in every 4 jumbo packs. You got skunked for sure :-(
Wow...thanks for the info. 1:4 odds means I should have pulled 6 Rookie Sensations out of the box. That was one bad luck box then. Woke up still in a Frank Thomas mood, so I’m not going out like that 🤣 Time for round 2...
Now that’s what I’m talking ‘bout! Bensie was right on the ratios. My two boxes were just a tale of two cities. This box yielded 8 Rookie Sensations cards along with 3 Clemens Highlights. Even though the centering was off top/bottom on all the RS cards, I was thrilled to pull my first Thomas from a pack. Such a sick looking card!!
The 1990-1992 boxes have been a fun change of pace from my 1980’s breaks, but my mission is still to build perfect sets from the 80s. I will keep that focus while mixing in some of this other stuff for fun. Thanks to those who continue to follow.
I had an ideal for the 1981 Topps baseball set instead of trying to get a complete set all PSA 10 how about getting the set all in cello packs with all the cards in the set represented on the front or the back of the cello packs? You need around 500 cello packs to do this.
That sounds like quit the challenge. If that is one of your favorite sets, I say go for it. Keep us posted on your progress.
Let’s get back to attacking these 1980’s sets in perfect condition. Up next are 3 sets of 1987 Fleer Update. I have always loved the look of this Maddux XRC! The McGwire in this set is pretty slick too. Here’s hoping...
This is by far my favorite Fleer design of the 80s. Such a good looking set! Here are the stars and rookies that missed GEM MINT status...
The centering on these 2 Maddux XRC was off too far...
But I was really happy with the star power of these 13 candidates for PSA 10!