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I love the 1980s! The ultimate unopened rip quest to build Topps, Fleer, Donruss PSA 10 sets...

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  • baseballfanbaseballfan Posts: 5,456 ✭✭✭

    good luck. looks like your on a pretty good roll

    can't wait to see them

    Fred

    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

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @baseballfan said:
    good luck. looks like your on a pretty good roll

    can't wait to see them

    Thanks Fred. Unfortunately, the condition Gods were not with this box. Here are the piles that continue to build of sub-10 cards...

    I did pull all the key cards. I love the look of this Griffey RC...such a great early photo and design...

    Here was the only candidate for PSA 10 in the entire box...

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I know this is a departure from my 1980’s theme, but I am in the mood to hunt for a Shaq RC. I figured you would all want to follow along and see this break too, so here is a nice shake up from my PSA 10 quest from the 1980s...

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Always fun to hunt for some shiny stuff once in awhile. That was a pretty good box. Here were the rookies and stars pulled. I had forgotten just how many variations of each rookie and all the different Jordan’s UD made that year. I love the Jordan base photo. One of the greatest images of all-time...

    I didn’t pull the Shaq #1 RC, but did pull his more rare Rookie Standouts RC. It looks like a solid PSA 10 as does the Jordan/Wilkins SP2 card. There were 5 Larry Bird Heroes inserts (including the header card), 1 SP and 3 rookie standouts for those who track insert ratios...

  • baseballfanbaseballfan Posts: 5,456 ✭✭✭

    nice change of pace i like that Jordan card also

    Fred

    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

  • Kep13Kep13 Posts: 515 ✭✭✭

    Did you have any cards that were stuck together with that '92 UD box?

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Kep13 said:
    Did you have any cards that were stuck together with that '92 UD box?

    No. I do keep everything in climate controlled storage though. Typically there isn’t any sticking with pre-1993 UD. Bricking tends to just impact the super high gloss cards like Fleer Ultra, Stadium Club, and post 1993 UD. Thanks for the question.

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Alright...let's get back to the good ol’ 1980’s stuff. Up next is a 1983 Donruss box...

  • ahopkinsahopkins Posts: 1,100 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Love it, Chris. I still follow every post. What you're doing is unprecedented. Be well!

    Andy

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ahopkins said:
    What you're doing is unprecedented. Be well!

    Thanks Andy. That is a very polite way to say I am nuts 🤣 👍

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Here goes another 1988 Topps box before I mix it up a bit over the weekend...

  • ahopkinsahopkins Posts: 1,100 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @jordangretzkyfan said:

    @ahopkins said:
    What you're doing is unprecedented. Be well!

    Thanks Andy. That is a very polite way to say I am nuts 🤣 👍

    Hahaha, birds of a feather....

    Andy

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    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?

  • Kep13Kep13 Posts: 515 ✭✭✭

    My top 3 would be:

    1982 Topps vending fb
    92-93 UD Baskets
    1990 Leaf

  • Cory1976Cory1976 Posts: 158 ✭✭✭

    I vote for 82 fb. Good luck :)

  • bensiebensie Posts: 59 ✭✭

    My top three would be 1989 upper deck, 1989 Bowman, and 1990 leaf, in that order.

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    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.

  • NJ80sBBCNJ80sBBC Posts: 738 ✭✭✭✭

    The epic ness continues. Straight up entertainment. Good luck!

    Conundrum - Loving my unopened baseball card collection....but really like ripping too
  • softparadesoftparade Posts: 9,276 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ahopkins said:
    Love it, Chris. I still follow every post. What you're doing is unprecedented. Be well!

    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

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited April 18, 2020 10:15AM

    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...

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    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...

  • Cory1976Cory1976 Posts: 158 ✭✭✭

    That Montana looks sharp. Disappointed you didn't find a LT rc regular issue.

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @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.

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    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...

  • jackstrawjackstraw Posts: 3,764 ✭✭✭
    edited April 19, 2020 4:11AM

    @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?

    Collector Focus

    ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @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!

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    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...

  • jackstrawjackstraw Posts: 3,764 ✭✭✭

    @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..

    Collector Focus

    ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
  • Kep13Kep13 Posts: 515 ✭✭✭

    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?

  • erbaerba Posts: 306 ✭✭✭✭

    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!

  • rcmb3220rcmb3220 Posts: 1,108 ✭✭✭✭

    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.

  • lwehlerslwehlers Posts: 905 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @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.

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @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.

  • SumoMenkoManSumoMenkoMan Posts: 1,269 ✭✭✭

    Awesome!!! Love 1989 UD!

  • bensiebensie Posts: 59 ✭✭

    Sweet box of 89!!! Can't believe you pulled contenders for both Johnson and Griffey. Congrats!

  • NGS428NGS428 Posts: 2,324 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @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!

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    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...

  • NGS428NGS428 Posts: 2,324 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Having some great luck on the Griffey cards!

  • baseballfanbaseballfan Posts: 5,456 ✭✭✭

    my favorite Griffey rookie, great card congrats

    Fred

    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

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @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...

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    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...

  • NJ80sBBCNJ80sBBC Posts: 738 ✭✭✭✭

    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
  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @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!

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    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...

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited April 25, 2020 10:08AM

    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).

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Back to a box of 1988 Topps...

  • jordangretzkyfanjordangretzkyfan Posts: 2,451 ✭✭✭✭✭

    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...

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