Are you able to tell if any of your boxes are the FF versions?
Yes. The boxes I am opening now all come from a corrected print run case code of 90631, meaning March 4th, 1989. I have some cases with the FF error, but am keeping those sealed for now 😉 Thanks for continuing to follow the thread and comment along the way!
Awesome. I know there are several variations of the FF corrected version as well. Also, are working on master sets in PSA 10? I know the 1980s had a good amount of errors and corrections.
Awesome. I know there are several variations of the FF corrected versiosn as well. Also, are working on master sets in PSA 10? I know the 1980s had a good amount of errors and corrections.
I don’t have a goal of master sets inclusive of all variations, but as I rip the boxes I am keeping all variants for submission in PSA 10. Some of the 1980’s errors can be really tricky and I am not sure I have first issued cases from each year. Love the challenge though!
It's amusing to see a player with a glove listed as "Designated Hitter". Never noticed that Smalley card before.
That is rather ironic...I never would have noticed that. Nice catch! It looks like a spring training photo given the advertising on the fence behind him. Roy must have had glimmers of hope as an infielder, only to be dashed by the start of the season.
WOW Jim Gott again. That's the one I sent you maybe 6 months back LOL
I remember that one was oozing with gloss/sheen
Will be interested in how this one compares
It's amusing to see a player with a glove listed as "Designated Hitter". Never noticed that Smalley card before.
That is rather ironic...I never would have noticed that. Nice catch! It looks like a spring training photo given the advertising on the fence behind him. Roy must have had glimmers of hope as an infielder, only to be dashed by the start of the season.
Oddly, for years before this, Smalley was a multi-position player on cards, like "2B, SS, 3B, OF" and stuff like that. I know because my favorite thing to do as a kid was to shuffle my cards and deal them out and make teams. A player with several listed positions on the card was always valuable.
@softparade said:
WOW Jim Gott again. That's the one I sent you maybe 6 months back LOL
I remember that one was oozing with gloss/sheen
Will be interested in how this one compares
I think your’s has the edge based on the superior gloss, Dan. This one is crazy clean too though. Thanks again for sending the original Gott to me!
Oddly, for years before this, Smalley was a multi-position player on cards, like "2B, SS, 3B, OF" and stuff like that. I know because my favorite thing to do as a kid was to shuffle my cards and deal them out and make teams. A player with several listed positions on the card was always valuable.
Now that is an idea for all the commons I keep recycling! We could have card wars with the board members here...winner takes all the Roy Smalley’s 🤣🤣 Thanks for sharing. Love flashbacks like this.
It's amusing to see a player with a glove listed as "Designated Hitter". Never noticed that Smalley card before.
That is rather ironic...I never would have noticed that. Nice catch! It looks like a spring training photo given the advertising on the fence behind him. Roy must have had glimmers of hope as an infielder, only to be dashed by the start of the season.
A note about Smalley--According to Baeball-reference.com Mr. Smalley's last year playing was 1987. This makes me wonder if the picture was taken in the spring of '88 or if they used a picture from a previous spring training. Or maybe he gave it a shot in the spring of "88 and then decided to hang it up? In 13 big league seasons he played 272 games at DH and 1069 games at Shortstop with a career fielding percentage at SS of .966. He also played 3B, 2B, 1B and one game at Catcher. Just for comparison Oziie Smith's career fielding percentage was .978. So for every 1000 chances Smalley made just 12 more errors than Ozzie.
His Dad was Roy Smalley, Jr. He played several years in the majors (1948-1958). He actually has a 1954 Topps Card!
I enjoy following this thread...
I like when this thread creates fun topics and research about the less covered guys of the 1980s. Great add Dennis...thanks!
This was a tough box of 1989 Donruss when it came to condition. There were zero candidates for perfection in the entire box! I did pull these key cards though...
@dennis07 said:
A note about Smalley--According to Baeball-reference.com Mr. Smalley's last year playing was 1987. This makes me wonder if the picture was taken in the spring of '88 or if they used a picture from a previous spring training. Or maybe he gave it a shot in the spring of "88 and then decided to hang it up? In 13 big league seasons he played 272 games at DH and 1069 games at Shortstop with a career fielding percentage at SS of .966. He also played 3B, 2B, 1B and one game at Catcher. Just for comparison Oziie Smith's career fielding percentage was .978. So for every 1000 chances Smalley made just 12 more errors than Ozzie.
His Dad was Roy Smalley, Jr. He played several years in the majors (1948-1958). He actually has a 1954 Topps Card!
I enjoy following this thread...
Smalley was in camp with the White Sox in '88 but was released after they apparently failed to work out a deal to send him back to the Yankees. He retired in April.
A note about Smalley--According to Baeball-reference.com Mr. Smalley's last year playing was 1987. This makes me wonder if the picture was taken in the spring of '88 or if they used a picture from a previous spring training. Or maybe he gave it a shot in the spring of "88 and then decided to hang it up? In 13 big league seasons he played 272 games at DH and 1069 games at Shortstop with a career fielding percentage at SS of .966. He also played 3B, 2B, 1B and one game at Catcher. Just for comparison Oziie Smith's career fielding percentage was .978. So for every 1000 chances Smalley made just 12 more errors than Ozzie.
His Dad was Roy Smalley, Jr. He played several years in the majors (1948-1958). He actually has a 1954 Topps Card!
I enjoy following this thread...
By 1988 they were releasing cards by January, if not in time for Christmas. I submit that only in the Traded/Update/Rookies sets would you find a picture from spring training.
These two 1989 Topps Traded sets were a much better start to the new year! First, here are the stars and rookies that didn’t make the grade...
Not sure I could have been more fortunate on the 8 candidates for PSA 10. The Griffey’s are the obvious hits. I am equally excited about the Jim Abbott, since I was a huge fan back in the day...
BINGO! Nice hits. Such a huge fan of the latter part of the decade as they were my collecting golden years. I would love to know the count of how many of those boxes I ripped back in the day. So many 87-89, but by 89 I was full bore.
John
Conundrum - Loving my unopened baseball card collection....but really like ripping too
@jordangretzkyfan said:
Six seems to be the number with Donruss today. I managed to find another 6 candidates for PSA 10 in this box too. Unfortunately no major star power, unless you are a massive Tim Raines fan. First, here are the ones that don’t make the grade...
There were 3 Sheffield RCs in this round...
Here are the 6 contenders...
For centering on the 1989 Donruss, do you look for the bottom border to be the same as the 2 sides, or do you look for the bottom to be the same as the top? There are many sets out there that seem to have 3 borders, so never sure whether PSA wants those 3 to be the same, or if it always opposite sides should be the same?
The Raines top seems to be more than the bottom, which led me to question whether you look for the bottom to be the same as the sides, which in this case it seems to...
This 1988 box had some serious star power in PSA 10 condition. More on those in a moment, but first the growing piles that don’t make the perfect grade...
This Glavine missed the mark too...
Take a look at the names that accompany these 13 contenders for PSA 10!
For centering on the 1989 Donruss, do you look for the bottom border to be the same as the 2 sides, or do you look for the bottom to be the same as the top? There are many sets out there that seem to have 3 borders, so never sure whether PSA wants those 3 to be the same, or if it always opposite sides should be the same?
The Raines top seems to be more than the bottom, which led me to question whether you look for the bottom to be the same as the sides, which in this case it seems to...
Great question. I have seen PSA 10s with a full range of T/B centering across the two dimensions you call out. I tend to look for the color bottom border to be equal width as the top border space between the top edge and the players name. I believe this to be Donruss’ intent based on the sheet lines I have seen for miscut cards. I think PSA gives some leeway for this issue, since both look okay aesthetically.
This set boasts some great photography. I personally like the Henderson, Strawberry and Eric Davis cards. Here are the stars and rookies that didn’t make the grade...
Pulled these key RCs...
Was happy to land these 13 contenders for PSA 10...
Great thread! Always loved that 88 Fleer Walt Weiss Rookie. Lots of fond memories from that set. Weiss was a great young player at the time and was ROY after Canseco and McGwire. I know His stuff is virtually worthless now but nostalgia value for me is very high. Keep on rippin for 10s!
@jordangretzkyfan said:
This set boasts some great photography. I personally like the Henderson, Strawberry and Eric Davis cards.
Agree. I'll add Mattingly, Burks and Maddux to this list! Classic capture of Mattingly finishing his swing. And for some reason the Burks has always been an eye-catcher.
Wow...what a box! Love when the card condition spirits smile upon me. That box boasted a whopping 44 candidates for PSA 10. Well okay, 43...but I am leaning in on the T/B centering on the Mattingly, since it is one of the best looking cards from the 1980s. Here are the ones that didn’t make the grade...
These are 36 of the candidates for PSA 10 that came out of the box...
And here are the remaining 8 candidates, with outstanding star power. The base Mattingly is a MINT 9 due to centering, but I will sub it anyway...
@erba said:
This is one of my favorite threads on here. Perhaps I missed it in the thread, but what do you do with the cards that don't make the grade?
Thanks for following this thread and commenting! I keep the stars and rookies that won’t grade PSA 10 in 3200 count storage boxes for the time being. I will eventually sell-off most of them whenever I find the time to list them. As for the non-PSA 10 commons, I send them all to recycling to help rid the world of over-produced 1980s cards and save some modern day trees 🤣
Let’s get this weekend started with some more ripping. I’m going to start with a couple of 1988 boxes, then some 1986-1989 Traded sets. After that, who knows...
Finally making some progress on this 1988 Topps set. This box had 13 more candidates in it, but first here are the stacks of the stars and rookies that keep piling up and didn’t make the cut...
If you had to pick one year from the 80's where you could just throw out 80-90% of the cards cause the centering is horrific, which would it be? The other night I pulled a box out of my room and was going thru some 85 Fleer and 85 Topps...good heavens, so many of the cards were like 90-10 for centering...ish
I love when I rip a box and the contenders line up with the stars (and rookies). This was one of those boxes! 20 candidates for PSA 10 in all. Here are the continued piles that don’t make the grade...
Now for the first 16 candidates...
And these final four candidates (with permission from Jim Nance and the NCAA). The Grace and McGwire were extra sweet for me, since I coveted them as a kid...
@Kep13 said:
If you had to pick one year from the 80's where you could just throw out 80-90% of the cards cause the centering is horrific, which would it be? The other night I pulled a box out of my room and was going thru some 85 Fleer and 85 Topps...good heavens, so many of the cards were like 90-10 for centering...ish
Great question! You appropriately called out two of the worst. 1981 Donruss is far and away the worst for me. 90/10 centering, tilt cuts and uneven boarders that look like the cards were cut with kindergarten safety scissors. 1981 Donruss is the #1 mess in my experience. The centering Gods also hate 1985 Topps, 1985 Fleer, 1987 Topps, 1988 Donruss, and 1986 Fleer in that order. They are all so hard to find dead centered. I would guess 90-95% are OC and those that are centered usually have a print defect keeping them from PSA 10. I also find many of the Donruss “The Rookies” sets to be a centering nightmare too. The 1980s can be a real challenge to find perfect examples, which is why you have to break a ton to find that 1-2% that are truly GEM MINT. Thanks for the comment.
This set can be a nightmare to find in GEM MINT. Those black borders coupled with poor sheet cutters and then crammed into a tight set box...oof, this is going to be a challenge in PSA 10. Here are the ones that miss the mark...
These are a good example of the condition challenge...
I broke these two 1987 Topps Traded sets right after the 1986’s. These were an even bigger condition nightmare this round. Not a single candidate. Here are the cards that missed the mark...
Comments
Let’s move to a 1988 Fleer box...
Awesome. I know there are several variations of the FF corrected version as well. Also, are working on master sets in PSA 10? I know the 1980s had a good amount of errors and corrections.
Always a fun rip, but not the most productive box of 1988 Fleer. Here were the ones that missed the grade and continue to pile up...
None of the big three made the grade...
These were the 4 candidates for PSA 10 out of this box. I always forget what a great pitcher David Cone was...
I don’t have a goal of master sets inclusive of all variations, but as I rip the boxes I am keeping all variants for submission in PSA 10. Some of the 1980’s errors can be really tricky and I am not sure I have first issued cases from each year. Love the challenge though!
It's amusing to see a player with a glove listed as "Designated Hitter". Never noticed that Smalley card before.
That is rather ironic...I never would have noticed that. Nice catch! It looks like a spring training photo given the advertising on the fence behind him. Roy must have had glimmers of hope as an infielder, only to be dashed by the start of the season.
Time for Dan’s favorite throwback 1960’s-esque design...
That was a pretty good box from a condition standpoint. I found 15 candidates for PSA 10. Here are the piles that don’t make the grade...
No Glavine RC in this box, but here are the 15 beauties that I found...
WOW Jim Gott again. That's the one I sent you maybe 6 months back LOL
I remember that one was oozing with gloss/sheen
Will be interested in how this one compares
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
Oddly, for years before this, Smalley was a multi-position player on cards, like "2B, SS, 3B, OF" and stuff like that. I know because my favorite thing to do as a kid was to shuffle my cards and deal them out and make teams. A player with several listed positions on the card was always valuable.
I think your’s has the edge based on the superior gloss, Dan. This one is crazy clean too though. Thanks again for sending the original Gott to me!
Now that is an idea for all the commons I keep recycling! We could have card wars with the board members here...winner takes all the Roy Smalley’s 🤣🤣 Thanks for sharing. Love flashbacks like this.
Here goes another box of 1989 Donruss...
A note about Smalley--According to Baeball-reference.com Mr. Smalley's last year playing was 1987. This makes me wonder if the picture was taken in the spring of '88 or if they used a picture from a previous spring training. Or maybe he gave it a shot in the spring of "88 and then decided to hang it up? In 13 big league seasons he played 272 games at DH and 1069 games at Shortstop with a career fielding percentage at SS of .966. He also played 3B, 2B, 1B and one game at Catcher. Just for comparison Oziie Smith's career fielding percentage was .978. So for every 1000 chances Smalley made just 12 more errors than Ozzie.
His Dad was Roy Smalley, Jr. He played several years in the majors (1948-1958). He actually has a 1954 Topps Card!
I enjoy following this thread...
I like when this thread creates fun topics and research about the less covered guys of the 1980s. Great add Dennis...thanks!
This was a tough box of 1989 Donruss when it came to condition. There were zero candidates for perfection in the entire box! I did pull these key cards though...
Let’s try these 1989 Topps Traded sets and see if our Griffey luck changes...
Smalley was in camp with the White Sox in '88 but was released after they apparently failed to work out a deal to send him back to the Yankees. He retired in April.
By 1988 they were releasing cards by January, if not in time for Christmas. I submit that only in the Traded/Update/Rookies sets would you find a picture from spring training.
These two 1989 Topps Traded sets were a much better start to the new year! First, here are the stars and rookies that didn’t make the grade...
Not sure I could have been more fortunate on the 8 candidates for PSA 10. The Griffey’s are the obvious hits. I am equally excited about the Jim Abbott, since I was a huge fan back in the day...
BINGO! Nice hits. Such a huge fan of the latter part of the decade as they were my collecting golden years. I would love to know the count of how many of those boxes I ripped back in the day. So many 87-89, but by 89 I was full bore.
John
Ewwwwww Willie Randolph in a Dodger uniform lol.
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
Let’s keep the new year high-grade star luck going with a box of 1988 Topps...
For centering on the 1989 Donruss, do you look for the bottom border to be the same as the 2 sides, or do you look for the bottom to be the same as the top? There are many sets out there that seem to have 3 borders, so never sure whether PSA wants those 3 to be the same, or if it always opposite sides should be the same?
The Raines top seems to be more than the bottom, which led me to question whether you look for the bottom to be the same as the sides, which in this case it seems to...
This 1988 box had some serious star power in PSA 10 condition. More on those in a moment, but first the growing piles that don’t make the perfect grade...
This Glavine missed the mark too...
Take a look at the names that accompany these 13 contenders for PSA 10!
Great question. I have seen PSA 10s with a full range of T/B centering across the two dimensions you call out. I tend to look for the color bottom border to be equal width as the top border space between the top edge and the players name. I believe this to be Donruss’ intent based on the sheet lines I have seen for miscut cards. I think PSA gives some leeway for this issue, since both look okay aesthetically.
A 1988 Fleer box is up next...
This set boasts some great photography. I personally like the Henderson, Strawberry and Eric Davis cards. Here are the stars and rookies that didn’t make the grade...
Pulled these key RCs...
Was happy to land these 13 contenders for PSA 10...
Great thread! Always loved that 88 Fleer Walt Weiss Rookie. Lots of fond memories from that set. Weiss was a great young player at the time and was ROY after Canseco and McGwire. I know His stuff is virtually worthless now but nostalgia value for me is very high. Keep on rippin for 10s!
Definitely a great follow up set to the epic 1987 Fleer.
Agree. I'll add Mattingly, Burks and Maddux to this list! Classic capture of Mattingly finishing his swing. And for some reason the Burks has always been an eye-catcher.
Jeff
I’m feeling the call from 1986 Topps. 2020 is off to a good start and this set is a beast with the top black borders. Let’s see what we can find...
Wow...what a box! Love when the card condition spirits smile upon me. That box boasted a whopping 44 candidates for PSA 10. Well okay, 43...but I am leaning in on the T/B centering on the Mattingly, since it is one of the best looking cards from the 1980s. Here are the ones that didn’t make the grade...
These are 36 of the candidates for PSA 10 that came out of the box...
And here are the remaining 8 candidates, with outstanding star power. The base Mattingly is a MINT 9 due to centering, but I will sub it anyway...
This is one of my favorite threads on here. Perhaps I missed it in the thread, but what do you do with the cards that don't make the grade?
Thanks for following this thread and commenting! I keep the stars and rookies that won’t grade PSA 10 in 3200 count storage boxes for the time being. I will eventually sell-off most of them whenever I find the time to list them. As for the non-PSA 10 commons, I send them all to recycling to help rid the world of over-produced 1980s cards and save some modern day trees 🤣
geez... I love that Steve Balboni card! Raw power...
A.K.A. Bye, Bye Balboni - A.K.A. Bonesy
Looks like a fun one to have cracked. Killer box!!! WTG!
Let’s get this weekend started with some more ripping. I’m going to start with a couple of 1988 boxes, then some 1986-1989 Traded sets. After that, who knows...
Up first is a 1988 Topps box...
Great thread. Those 86s are tough in racks, let alone in wax. Nice hits.
Thanks,
David (LD_Ferg)
1985 Topps Football (starting in psa 8) - #9 - started 05/21/06
Finally making some progress on this 1988 Topps set. This box had 13 more candidates in it, but first here are the stacks of the stars and rookies that keep piling up and didn’t make the cut...
Pulled this Glavine, but not a 10...
Here are the 13 candidates for PSA 10...
Thanks David! Yeah, that box was definitely and outlier for wax. It was the best luck I have had with 1986 Topps. Thanks for following the thread.
Up next is a 1988 Fleer box...
If you had to pick one year from the 80's where you could just throw out 80-90% of the cards cause the centering is horrific, which would it be? The other night I pulled a box out of my room and was going thru some 85 Fleer and 85 Topps...good heavens, so many of the cards were like 90-10 for centering...ish
I love when I rip a box and the contenders line up with the stars (and rookies). This was one of those boxes! 20 candidates for PSA 10 in all. Here are the continued piles that don’t make the grade...
Now for the first 16 candidates...
And these final four candidates (with permission from Jim Nance and the NCAA). The Grace and McGwire were extra sweet for me, since I coveted them as a kid...
Great question! You appropriately called out two of the worst. 1981 Donruss is far and away the worst for me. 90/10 centering, tilt cuts and uneven boarders that look like the cards were cut with kindergarten safety scissors. 1981 Donruss is the #1 mess in my experience. The centering Gods also hate 1985 Topps, 1985 Fleer, 1987 Topps, 1988 Donruss, and 1986 Fleer in that order. They are all so hard to find dead centered. I would guess 90-95% are OC and those that are centered usually have a print defect keeping them from PSA 10. I also find many of the Donruss “The Rookies” sets to be a centering nightmare too. The 1980s can be a real challenge to find perfect examples, which is why you have to break a ton to find that 1-2% that are truly GEM MINT. Thanks for the comment.
Time for some Topps Traded sets. Up first are two 1986 sealed sets...
This set can be a nightmare to find in GEM MINT. Those black borders coupled with poor sheet cutters and then crammed into a tight set box...oof, this is going to be a challenge in PSA 10. Here are the ones that miss the mark...
These are a good example of the condition challenge...
Here is the loan contender for PSA 10...
Wayne! Thanks for making it to the party, Wayne!
Andy
I broke these two 1987 Topps Traded sets right after the 1986’s. These were an even bigger condition nightmare this round. Not a single candidate. Here are the cards that missed the mark...
Party time...excellent 🙃
I was hoping you'd catch that. Haha!
Andy