To The Grave

Last week Zippy Zappy from Torren Up Cards posed a question to himself about which cards he would consider taking to the grave. What is funny is that earlier that day my son asked me if there were any of my cards that I would never sell so mentally I started going through my collection to consider which cards have more of a meaning to me and which ones I could do without if I chose to sell them.

I plan on being cremated but in this instance I will pose the same question:

Which cards would I bring to the grave?

I have quite a few vintage cards dating back to the late 1800s and they would make a nice collection in the afterlife.

Fast forward to pre-war confectionary cards like my 1933 National Chicle Sky Birds Richthofen. The beautiful illustrations could keep me company while the worms crawl in.

I could skip the whole cardboard collection and go with my 8x10 autographed Gale Sayers photo, we already share a birthday maybe we can share some laughs while the worms crawl out?

The photo is creased after being in my collection nearly 30 years (and numerous moves), but still a wonderful addition to my football collection.

Maybe something from my Griffey collection? Kerr, Largent or Jay Buhner? No… the worms will just play pinochle on my snout.

 

In the end I believe I would take just one card with me. The 1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig #92, often considered his rookie card, was my first white whale and the first (and only) white whale that I actually own. Lou Gehrig was one of the good guys, he was a pure player and a great teammate. He actually signed with the Yankees out of college so he could give his signing bonus to his parents because they were in a serious financial bind and he wanted to pay for their home. Now that is a good boy.

Shadowbox Mania

I have been looking to pick up a Shadowbox card since they first hit the scene a couple of years ago. Using multiple layers, Upper Deck came up with a new level for cards which has since been duplicated by Topps and Panini. We have even seen Rittenhouse use the technology with their James Bond and Star Trek licenses. Over time we have seen some additions like autographs, jersey swatches and inserts and rivets so you can change the look of your card.

 I have watched a handful of cards, usually ending with a price higher than I was willing to play. Because I was looking for specific players I also found myself playing the waiting game. Earlier this year one of those cards I was waiting for, Gale Sayers, showed up and I lost out on a last minute bid. I was actually considering just grabbing up any player who was up for auction but didn’t want to drop money on a card that I was not interested in adding to my collection just to satisfy an urge. I am glad I waited because this one showed up and when the auction ended I paid 50 cents less than the Sayers card went for earlier this year.

 

These are the type of cards that you need to have in your hand to appreciate. I just picked up a couple of Rittenhouse shadowbox cards, Daniel Craig James Bond Shadowbox card and James Doohan Star Trek Shadowbox card, to add to the collection.

TriStar's National Sportscard Collector Convention Promo Cards

The National Sports Collectors Convention is the place where many card companies showcase previews of upcoming sets and they will also often hand out promotional cards for these sets to give an actual on-hand experience for collectors and dealers alike. The most recent company to release details about their special convention cards is TriStar with a 10-card set previewing two sets scheduled to be released this fall- TriStar Obak Baseball: History of the Game and Obak Football.

The 10-card checklist consists of: Ken Griffey Jr., Nolan Ryan, Cap Anson, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Gale Sayers, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Stan Musial, Bob Kalsu, John F Kennedy and Gerald Ford. Each VIP bag will contain 7 random cards and you can pick up the remaining 3 by opening 3 packs of Obak Baseball or Signature IMPACT wrestling at TriStar’s booth and redeeming each wrapper for one of the missing cards.

So far they have released the images of three cards: Gale Sayers, John F Kennedy and Ken Griffey Jr.

Gale Sayers: TriStar has some designers that come up with interesting backgrounds. The 2010 Baseball set was a prime display of randomness.

What exactly does Gale Sayers have to do with Arizona? The background image is a perfect example of a desert moon following one of our monstrous dust storms. This background actually distracts from the player due to the bright coloring and large moon and while it might make a nice postcard you would find up at the Grand Canyon or Tombstone, it is not a background that I like on a card.

John F Kennedy: This card, while accurately displays a young JFK in his Harvard football gear, is a stretch. He played one season, 1937, on the Junior Varsity team and then hurt his back and never played football again. I know that adding presidents to a set is all the rage right now but this one really does not belong in a set. At least Ford played on 2 National Championship teams at Michigan and was offered a pro contract from both Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.

Ken Griffey Jr: As a life-long Griffey fan and collector all that could come to mind was:

Come on… we are talking about Ken Griffey Jr…. The Kid… the man we all loved swatting homerun after homerun… the man who played at full-speed all the time (until the 2000 season when he always seemed to be on the DL). But there is my point, here is someone who will always be remembered for his youth and TriStar instead punishes the collectors with a card depicting the old, bloated Griffey. The guy who people claim fell asleep in the club house during a game. A slap in the face to all Griffey collectors really.