It's been a while since I've done a Starting Lineup post. The plans to purchase a new piece every month were put on hold when I lost my job. And then I got side-tracked with card projects and the All-Time Teams reboot.
Buying back my childhood resumed almost immediately after I got hired at my new place of employment, which happens to be a sports apparel company. No joke, I have probably sent an invoice to your favorite team's payables department.
In fact I've recently purchased a Starting Lineup set in the office.
Behold the 1992 Dream Team boxed set! All ten of the original legends are here. (The final two additions to the team - Clyde Drexler and Christian Laettner - are not included.)
Until recently, this box was in a cabinet in my manager's office. However he and his wife are expecting their first child and he's selling a huge chunk of his collection to make room for baby.
New Boss is not a sports card or memorabilia collector. Video games are his passion (he once competed in the Nintendo World Championships). He's been selling off his collection of consoles and games to other employees since before I was hired. When I told him that I'm not much of a gamer and revealed what my hobby collection consists of, he led me to his office and opened up the cabinet.
"Now you're speaking my language!" I told him, as he handed the box to me.
"I was gonna sell it for $30, but you can have it for $25."
The box isn't in the best shape, and it isn't something I'd choose if there were more SLU options before me. That said, these sets sell for 2-3x his price on eBay (I didn't check recent sales until after I brought it home). If I decide to open the box, $2.50 per piece is still a great deal. And it's going to a good cause.
A week later, he placed this tricked-out Nintendo Wii and a bag full of accessories on my desk. He offered them to me for free just as I was getting a phone call. I almost didn't answer it; was he really giving me this? I picked out a couple games my girls would like - Mario tennis and Kirby.
So, yeah... new boss is awesome. New job is pretty neat. And I'm making enough money to impulse buy 30+ year-old action figures along with occasional card purchases - without any objections from the Mrs.
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Night Owl showed us a Kevin Brown Starting Lineup card in one of his recent posts, which made me curious about my SLU card collection. I've discussed this Duke Snider card before:
It's one of about a dozen loose cards in my collection. Early SLU cards are surprisingly expensive; some collectors actually buy the figures just to get the card - a concept that would blow my mind as a kid.
I rarely open any of my figures so it shouldn't be a huge surprise to see such a small amount in my card boxes.
These are from figures I've opened.
So are these two. I have the Alfie on my shelf but Wilson Alvarez is long gone.
Come to think of it, I don't know what happened to the Peter Bondra card.
Also, my 600th post celebration is approaching. I'll be giving away some cards to one lucky reader very soon. Keep commenting for your chance to win 300 (or more?!?) free cards.
Thanks for reading!
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