LCS: Last Card Show?

After a long and eventful week that felt like a month in the best possible way.. I decided to go to the Cranford card show. There's nothing I needed in particular - at least nothing that I would find at this show. So I was really just dollar boxing and browsing for neat stuff. Possibly for the last time. 

Here's a card that caught my eye while I was searching through an adjacent seller's dollar boxes. It's the only single card purchase I made all day, and the only time I didn't negotiate a lower price. 

I'm building a decent sized Misiorowski PC - which actually started the first time I attended a Cranford show after I picked up four copies of his Topps flagship RC. Now I've got Chrome, Donruss, Finest.. and this RayWave thing. I don't have any Bowman Chrome prospect cards of Miz. Maybe next month. 

There was a very popular seller in the corner who had all his boxes labeled "Yankees";  "Yankees and other teams" and "Ohtani". Since it was tough to get anywhere near the other boxes I started with Shohei: 

The Archives Ohtani completes my set, and the 2026 Topps base is an upgrade. Love the low-numbered Chrome Platinum parallels. Younger collectors ignore the '70s-'80s greats, but I'd rather have Hall of Famers for $2 than an Anthony Volpe or Dylan Crews any day. 

Eventually I was able to get a better look at the "other teams" section and found some more shiny stuff - including another Miz. 

Next to this guy there was a table(probably two tables) with monster boxes all over the place. So many that some were placed on the floor in front of the tables. The seller saw my Devils hat and asked me if I collect hockey. I replied in the affirmative. This show has more UFC, WNBA, and NASCAR than NHL, so any hockey at all is like an oasis in the desert.

He pulled out a box from behind the table and placed it on top of other boxes in front of me. There were a couple of Upper Deck Young Guns rookies but none that interested me. A block of Ice and some Parkhurst Champions was enough for me to start a stack:

The color matching Bobby Brink isn't rare or serial numbered but it's a nice one. The Hockey Guy on YouTube is always tempted to say "Bobby Brink of the Boston Bruins" even though he's never played for the B's. It just sounds like he should be a Bruin. 

Some Parkhurst Champions including a pair of '52 retro minis that are kinda neat. The Jacob Markstrom patch wasn't a must-have; this card was released before his disappointing stint with the Devils and it's barely a 2-color swatch. But the dealer surprised me after I handed him my whole stack. He singled out this card, and based the price of the whole stack around it. According to his search, the last sale was $23. So he asked $30 for the pile (as you can see by my hand written note.) 

That means everything else in the hockey stack was $7. Including these:

The Kyle Connor Black parallel is #d /100. 

And these. 

And these. I attempted my best poker face when I found the Glo Pee Chee Jack Hughes insert. The dealer knew it was unique "Those are pretty cool, huh?" But I'm guessing he didn't know they were case hits. 

$30 for all these cards except the Glo Pee-Chee is fair. $30 with this card included is a steal. 

In case you were wondering:

It really does glow in the dark!


The RayWave Miz at the top of this post was next to a very popular table; it took me ten minutes just to get near it. And once I did, I pulled out three huge stacks of cards priced from $1-10. I put back a couple but still ended up with over $320 worth of cards that the dealer sold to me for a flat $200. 

I'll scan up some of those for a future post but it would take forever to scan them all. The dealer had to take a few pictures for inventory purposes and there were these pushy kids trying to sell/trade with him while he was spreading out my cards and snapping pics. It's great that kids are still interested in sports cards but they have no manners at all! 

Last time I was at this show I bought a bunch of football cards from a guy with $10 for $5 / $20 for $10 prices. But this time there were so many little rugrats elbowing their way through while I was in front of the box that I barely had the patience to pick ten cards. 

If I hadn't found the Tyler Booker refractor immediately I would have left. Nothing else here was a must-have but for 50 cents each they're solid. His inventory was a lot better last time.

This particular show is in a very small room and I've found some great cards both times I've gone, but I don't think there's anything else to see. All my current set builds are complete, I've got no more room for current baseball / football / basketball shiny, and there's little to no vintage or graded. I'll just let the kids have their fun from now on. I've got to save up for vintage 'bucket list' items anyhow.

No more news on neighbor lady. I had hoped to see her this morning since it was my last day off before Thanksgiving. I'd seen her come home with her husky around 8 a.m. Friday and hoped she'd be at the park this morning. No such luck. Maybe I'll see her tomorrow if I leave early for work. Oh, and a door to door salesman showed up today. I answered the door, dealt with him, and then he went to our mutual neighbor's house (which is is how I found out they're back from vacation). If I had the guts to ask Neighbor Lady for her number I could have texted her "heads up, aluminum siding salesman headed your way. don't answer the door" .. and then I realized that the last time a random guy knocked on her door ... it was me. Sigh...this sucks. 

Thanks for reading!


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Shoot It!

What’s your favorite shot in sports history? (I know that some significant home runs are called ‘shots’ but for this post I’m sticking with hoops and hockey.. soccer qualifies as well.)

Are you an MJ guy? If so, is the Cleveland shot your fave, or the "final shot" against Utah? 

I’m definitely not an MJ guy, so my favorite NBA shots would include the Kawhi Leonard bounce-bounce-swish against Philly - which felt like it was the end of a movie. 

The Ray Allen corner 3 against the Spurs is a big one, too. While I liked UConn Ray and Milwaukee / Boston Ray .. I did not like Heatles Ray. 

For a long time my favorite was Reggie Miller's destruction of the Knicks, especially when he gave Spike Lee the choke signal. But my new number one is Dame Time ending OKC and then mugging under a pile of teammates. 

I don't watch nearly as much college hoops as I used to, but Christian Laettner was an absolute killer. 

Taking big shots (or big swings) in big moments is not as easy as it sounds, even for a pro. You can't be afraid to fail. You have to trust your instincts and believe. 

This was exactly what I needed this week. Especially after last week's downer of an episode, when Roy and Keeley got their wires crossed and Beard misread signals from a much younger woman. 

[Editor’s note: wait.. did you...?]

...

How about hockey? Lots of iconic shots there, too. Excluding international goals from Paul Henderson, Mike Eruzione, Sidney Crosby, and Jack Hughes, here are a few memorable shots that come to mind:

Steve Yzerman’s rip from the blueline to eliminate the Blues in the 1996 playoffs.

Evgeny Kuznetsov’s eagle eyed shot to finally take down Pittsburgh in 2018, punctuated by the flapping bird celly. 

A couple sentimental favorites of mine include Fernando Pisani's overtime shorty vs Carolina and "Henrique… it’s over!" to send the Devils to the final in 2012. Even though they didn't win the ultimate prize, these shots kept their chances alive. 

You know who never lacks confidence? Soccer players. Doesn't matter if they're chunky chain smokers or chiseled Greek Swedish gods they just find a way to score regardless of the odds, or the angle, or the stage. 

[Editor’s note: bro, did you shoot your shot or not?]

Of course, even the best have been known to fail. As incredible and significant as a perfect shot can be... shooting and missing - especially when you can line up your shot ahead of time - is equally memorable. 

[Editor’s note: you blew it.]

No! No. I didn't blow it. I happened to see her coming home with her dog, and I happened to be on my way to Dunkin, so I... asked her if she wanted anything. And she didn't. It's fine. No big deal. It's fine! 

[Editor’s note: wait, did you ask her if she wanted anything or did you say ‘can I get you anything’?]

I said.  I um.. what’s the difference?

[Editor’s note: it’s a big fuckin difference, mate]

Whatever. She's really fit; maybe she just doesn't fuck with Dunkin because it's garbage.

[Editor’s note: so why were you on your way there?]

....

....I'm not talking to you anymore.

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Since nobody's reading this anyway...

 I pre-ordered two boxes of 2026 Topps Update, as it will be the final final box of cards I buy. Also I might make my way to the Cranford card show this weekend. We'll see what the budget allows. 

Jeremy (Karensjer on TCDB / Topps Cards That Never Were here on blogger) sent me a bunch of 2026 Topps set fillers, along with a couple extras:

My goal was to complete the base Topps set before I started Update. It appears I have done so, but I wont know fore sure until all my TCDB trades arrive and I have time to put all of my stacks of cards in order. Jeremy, thanks so much for the set help and the extras for my PC!

All Rookies - NFL

Over the past few years I've been building a collection of graded and ungraded rookie cards featuring legendary players from my childhood/adolescence/young adulthood. Basically, the top players in baseball, football, and hockey from 1980-1999. I've got a couple basketball cards, too, but that collection will never be complete for several rea$ons. 

Since the NFL season starts tonight for some reason I thought I'd take inventory of my football list first. I didn't go position-by-position and make an all-decade team, because if I had I'd run into all kinds of issues. The first problem? Offensive linemen. 

My starting five would be:
 

• Anthony Munoz - 1982 Topps (don't have it)
  
  
• Randall McDaniel - 1989 Pro Set & Topps Traded (have both)
  
  
• Dermontti Dawson - 1989 Pro Set & Score Supplemental (have Pro Set)
  
  
• Bruce Matthews - see below
  
  
• Willie Roaf - several RCs in 1993 sets (have four, including SP)

Without really trying I have four of the five official RCs needed. However... Bruce Matthews' first card was definitely not in 1989. It was released in 1986. And it's a non-standard sized oddball:

This won't do. I can't include offensive linemen in this project. I don't even want to include kickers, although I did just trade for a Morten Andersen RC. 

My '80s/'90s punter would either be Sean Landeta or Reggie Roby. Roby would be easier; both cards were released in 1984 but Landeta's was in the USFL set. 

Which leads me to problem #2. USFL cards are far more expensive than their NFL counterparts. They're not true RCs (by the traditional definition), but they are the first cards of these players:

I can build a solid collection without Steve Young; there are enough QBs ahead of him in the era.

I cannot have an all 1980s-1990s team without Reggie White. Even if I discarded positions and just made a top ten players list, I'd need Reggie. But.. do I need this Reggie? Or can I count his 1986 Topps RC?

For the record, my all-defense team would look like this:

• Reggie White - see above
  
  
• John Randle - 1991 Pro Set Update (don't have it)
  
  
• Bruce Smith - 1986 Topps (have it)

Smith also has one of those oversized McDonald's things in the 1986 set, but Topps was on the ball here. Randle is another issue. I wouldn't call it a problem per se; it's a true RC in an NFL-licensed set. However it's from the 'final update' portion of the 1991 set and costs about $10. I'd be better off going with Warren Sapp as my interior lineman. 

There's another issue with the linebacking crew:

• Lawrence Taylor - 1982 Topps (have it)
  
  
• Ray Lewis - see below
  
  
• Mike Singletary - 1983 Topps (don't have it)
  
  
• Derrick Brooks - several RCs in 1995 sets (have Bowman, would prefer SP)

I don't like any Ray Lewis RC. There aren't many to choose from; he wasn't included in 1996 Topps, Topps Chrome, Upper Deck, or SP. The Bowman's Best, Stadium Club, and maybe Skybox are basically the only options. While it's nice to have a clear-cut best RC of a 1990s-era star, this particular card isn't something I'd want to spend $50 on:

I call this the Zdeno Chara problem. A non-numbered 1990s RC of a defensive specialist should not cost this much. But the lack of options inflate the value of the best/only RC out there. 

Finally we have the secondary, and a problem I stumbled across while searching for something else.
 

• Rod Woodson - see below
  
  
• Deion Sanders - 1989 Score/Pro Set/Topps Traded (have Score & Pro Set)
  
  
• Ronnie Lott - 1982 Topps (have it)
  
  
• Steve Atwater - 1989 Score/Pro Set/Topps Traded (have Pro Set & Topps Traded)

Charles Woodson and Champ Bailey would be all-2000s cornerbacks for sure, even though their rookie cards were released in the 1990s (hold that thought.)

I was certain that I had Rod Woodson's rookie card. Like Sanders and Atwater, his RCs are in 1989 sets. Unlike those guys, Woodson played in the NFL in 1988 so he's in the base Topps set rather than Traded. 

However... I never noticed that his rookie year was actually 1987. In fact he is the only Hall of Fame player drafted in 1987. So he should have been in the 1988 Topps set. A blog called The Writer's Journey made a mock-up of a 1988 Topps Woodson RC - but they used the baseball design. 

Topps was the only official NFL card set in '88, and Woodson wasn't in it. What's the problem?

Well... as I just discovered, he does have a 1988-issued trading card. And it is not cheap:

You can probably guess how I came across this Starting Lineup card. It's not quite as sharp looking as his 1989 SLU issue but it is a first year Rod Woodson card, standard sized and officially licensed. 

This counts, right? I'd count it -- if I were building an all-era team by position. But I'm not (I still want this card though!) Too many roadblocks, as you can see.

Getting back to the Charles Woodson / Champ Bailey problem - I'd prefer to build a collection of rookie cards by release date. So that means more "skill position" players than defenders, and more late 1990s issues. (This way I don't feel like I need a Tom Brady RC. He missed the cutoff by a year 😛 )

So here's my list:

• 1980 - none. Unless Lester Hayes gets in one day, there are no Hall of Famers here. 
• 1981 - Joe Montana 🗸, Art Monk 🗸. I'll skip over Kellen Winslow Sr. 
• 1982 - Lawrence Taylor  🗸, Ronnie Lott  🗸. Still need Anthony Munoz. 
• 1983 - Mike Singletary. Don't have Marcus Allen, either, but I might skip him.
• 1984 - Dan Marino  🗸, John Elway  🗸, Eric Dickerson  🗸, Darrell Green  🗸 Might want Howie Long. I was interested in Roger Craig, but the price tripled now that he's (rightfully) in the HOF.
• 1985 - Warren Moon  🗸 I'll skip Richard Dent. 
• 1986 - Jerry Rice 🗸, Bruce Smith 🗸 Also have NFL RCs of Steve Young and Reggie White.
• 1987 - Jim Kelly 🗸 Kelly also has an XRC in 1984 Topps USFL. 
• 1988 - Bo Jackson 🗸 Obviously not a HOFer but the most popular RC in the set by far.
• 1989 (deep breath) Michael Irvin, Cris Carter, Tim Brown, Rod Woodson* 🗸, Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders 🗸, Deion Sanders 🗸, Derrick Thomas 🗸, Troy Aikman, Sterling Sharpe 🗸. I have the 1989 Pro Set set, but I'm only counting Score here. Still need half of this list. 
  
• 1990 - Emmitt Smith 🗸 Shannon Sharpe 🗸 Cortez Kennedy and Junior Seau have dime-a-dozen RCs in highly overproduced sets. Sharpe was only in Action Packed Rookie Update. 
• 1991 - Brett Favre 🗸 I had all of his RCs at one point. Might get that John Randle Pro Set one day. 
• 1992 - none, but I do want a Darren Woodson RC even though he's not in the Hall (yet)
• 1993 - Jerome Bettis 🗸, Michael Strahan 🗸, John Lynch 🗸 I bought the whole set of Fleer Ultra mostly for the Strahan RC; he's not in Upper Deck or SP. 
• 1994 - Marshall Faulk 🗸 Need to find an Isaac Bruce RC and maybe a Larry Allen. 
• 1995 - Terrell Davis 🗸, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks 🗸, Curtis Martin. Need a better Brooks, and I don't really have a Sapp RC (mine is a parallel). I might skip Curtis Martin. 
• 1996 - none. If I'm being a true completist I'd need Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison - along with the Ray Lewis mentioned above. But I just can't bring myself to buy any of their RCs. 
• 1997 - Tony Gonzalez 🗸. Jason Taylor and Ronde Barber also fall under the "Chara problem" category. Even more so than Lewis, as their best/only RC is in SP Authentic. 
• 1998 - Peyton Manning 🗸, Randy Moss 🗸, Charles Woodson 🗸. Upper Deck flagship for Manning and Moss, Bowman's Best for Woodson. I can't afford SP Authentic so that will have to do. 
• 1999 - Champ Bailey 🗸, Edgerrin James 🗸, Torry Holt 🗸. I used to have the 1999 Topps Chrome set but the surface of those cards got scratched up from sitting in 9-pocket pages. I do have the '99 Finest set though. Also, Holt isn't a Hall of Famer -- but he should be. 

Excluding all the "problem" players noted, I really just need a few 1989 Score RCs, Mike Singletary, John Randle, Isaac Bruce, Warren Sapp, a Derrick Brooks SP RC, and maybe Munoz and/or Martin. 

I left out one Hall of Famer who has a rookie card in this era. He's arguably the greatest ever at his position, his RC is not serial numbered or autographed, and he is not a "skill position" player. And yet, an ungraded copy of his only rookie card would cost more than almost any player on this list. 

$100 for a kicker card?!!??

Thanks for reading!




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Let's Remember Some Guys (and Gals) - '90s edition

I've been hit with a wave of nostalgia lately. Every one of my interests seems to have a callback to the 1990s. 

Is Major League Baseball on the verge of a prolonged work stoppage? 

Is a popular singer organizing a music festival showcasing female artists and supporting women's causes? 

Are we sure Kurt Cobain took his own life? 

These videos are all outside of my expected spot for such nostalgia - 60 Songs That Explain the '90s. 

On a recent episode, host Rob Harvilla explains the origins of one of my favorite sports talk subjects: remembering retired players who weren't superstars or even all-stars but just..guys. 

Those Guys played pro sports, possibly for a decade or two. Possibly for your favorite team. And they deserve to be remembered - which is what the writers at Defector (née Deadspin) set out to do.

I'm in the mood to remember some sports guys. And some sports gals. And, as a nod to Olivia Rodrigo and the Daisy Chain Festival, I'm going to remember some musical gals as well. 

Do you remember... Errict Rhett?

He was the star running back at Florida after Emmitt Smith graduated, and had a couple of really good seasons for some really bad Buccaneers teams. I'm adding this very orange card to my wantlist. 

Do you remember... Kent Bottenfield?

He was a run-of-the-mill reliever for the Expos and Rockies, then caught on with the Cardinals and had one breakout year where he led the league in wins at the All-Star break?!? I thought he actually started an All-Star Game, because I had this memory of the most random St. Louis pitcher taking the ball at the beginning of the mid-summer classic. But I guess I mis-remembered a guy. Also it was 1999, not 1996 as I'd initially thought. 

Do you remember... Joe Juneau?

I remember being so excited the first time I pulled this card out of a pack. Juneau was a rookie of the year finalist and made the All-Rookie team after a monster 1992-93 season in which he racked up over 100 points. (To be fair, a lot of guys had 100+ points that year) Boston traded him to the Capitals in 1994, and he kind of fizzled out after that. I also recall at one point his name started getting pronounced in French either by request or some inside joke I wasn't aware of. Zho-ay Zhoo-no. lol. 

Do you remember... Antonio McDyess?

"Dice" was the second overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft (ahead of Kevin Garnett) and made the All-Rookie team in 1996. I remember he was a franchise-caliber power forward with the Nuggets but I did not remember he was drafted by the Clippers and traded to Denver on draft day. He made an All-Star team and an All-NBA 3rd team before a knee injury limited him to bench duty in the 2000s.
 

Remembering non-superstar female athletes is harder; there aren't enough teams and leagues for women to fly just under the radar while still being recognized as a role player/fan favorite, and the male-dominated sports talk landscape has only recently decided to talk up specific average-ish players for very specific reasons. But I've got a couple Olympic athletes that weren't quite champions:

Do you remember... Kim Zmeskal?

My first athelte crush, Sports Illustrated For Kids hyped her up hard in 1992. Kim was the first US gymnast to win the world championship in '91, and naturally everyone expected her to win multiple gold medals. Unfortunately a stress fracture in her ankle wrecked her Olympics, and she didn't make the team in 1996 - when Bela Karolyi's other little dynamo nailed a gold-medal winning vault on one leg. 

Do you remember... Surya Bonaly? 

Surya Bonaly didn't win an Olympic medal, either. But the French figure skater did something even more exclusive - a backflip. In competition. I remember Bonaly was a bit of a rebel; she was more athletic and daring than the traditional skaters and in a sport judged largely by Eastern bloc countries, there wasn't a whole lot of grace given to a black, French woman. Her backflip - which was not even legal at the time - was almost like a middle finger to the establishment. 

Earlier this year I witnessed firsthand how much fun elite figure skaters can have when their unique talents are celebrated rather than shunned. Whenever Ilia Malinin does a backflip, he gets points and praise. Maybe a couple figure skating fans remember who opened the door to make the backflip legal. But maybe they don't realize that, not that long ago, even if you could do a backflip.. you couldn't. 

It's easier to find random 1990s Gals in the world of entertainment. Let's remember some Alternative Nation faves. Do you remember Letters to Cleo? 

How about Elastica? Republica? Belly? Veruca Salt? (you probably remember Veruca Salt)

Okay one more... this is very random but I somehow remembered a girl without even realizing it...

I've been watching 13 Reasons Why on Netflix lately. I'd read the book a long time ago, and missed the show when it initially aired. Young adult fiction was my favorite genre for many years, even after I'd aged out of the demographic. I'm much closer to the parents' age than the young stars who play teenagers in the show. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I didn't recognize any of the younger actors but I recognized a couple of the moms. The lead character’s mom had a major role in Grey’s Anatomy. One of them played a memorable side character in Seinfeld. Another one had a supporting role in Dawson's Creek. And then there's this lady..

I didn't recognize the actress who played Clay's mom. Not consciously, anyway. However, the more episodes I watched, the more I noticed her. But... why? 

Finally, after about 30 episodes I decided to let the credits run. A list of names appeared. No photo or character name to link up, just actors' names. One by one. Until... 

Wait!! That's Amy Hargreaves?!? From Brainscan?!!? No way!!

So, apparently Amy Hargreaves has been acting pretty regularly for decades. But I haven't seen her in anything since (checks notes)... 1994. 

I actually have a VHS copy of this cult horror-ish fave somewhere in my closet. I've probably watched it five times total and not once since 2000 or so. I have no idea how I remembered Amy Hargreaves. 

Then again, I remember Erik Kramer and Pokey Reddick and Curtis Pride and Gianluca Pagliuca and Jyrki Lumme and Duce Staley and Paul Sorrento and... you get the idea. 

How many of these Guys (and Gals) do you remember? Who would make your list of niche/obscure 1990s athletes/actors/musicians? 

Thanks for reading!


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