"Grail" cards : Or Ten Cards I Really, Really, Really Want in My Collection

 

 

I’m changing it up today.

            I was going to moan and complain about still not completing those Junk Wax sets that I bought all of those wax boxes of…but I don’t feel like moaning and complaining. Or being another person moaning and complaining. I work with the public. I’ve been listening to people moan and complain all week.

            Instead, I want to do something fun.

Well, fun for me.

And maybe fun for you too…if you do it on your own.

I like to listen to podcasts. One of my favorite Hobby related podcasts is John Newman’s Sports Card Nation. It’s actually two podcasts. There’s the flagship Sports Card Nation, which Newman does (usually with a guest interview) on Fridays, and then there’s Hobby Quick Hits, which John does on the Monday before. On the October 17^th edition of Hobby Quick Hits, John spent the episode going over the Top 10 cards he’d like to acquire.

Grail cards as some call them.

Although the Holy Grail was individual and singular, hence its name, people still like to refer to those highly sought cards in that manner. That’s fine with me…I’m not one to nitpick. But I liked John Newman’s idea of creating a list of those kinds of cards. It got me wondering what ten cards, money being no object or, condition being no object, I truly want more than any other cards. What are my “grail” cards. So, I decided to compile a list and share it here. In no particular order of desire.

 

1955 Topps Roberto Clemente.

```I hardly had a Clemente card to call my own as a kid, let alone the A-number-1 Clemente card of them all. As an adult collector, I’ve slowly, and by slowly I mean when I can afford it, been buying some Topps base Roberto Clemente cards. But, if money were no object, or if I could find it in a condition I could live with, I think more than any other card in the world, I would want the 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente rookie card. I know I never got to see The Great One play, but to me he defines the drive, the passion and the pride (albeit shaky these days) in wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform. Learning the legend of Roberto Clemente comes along with learning the history of your favorite baseball team, if you’re a Pirates fan.

            I can’t think of a better keepsake.

 

1971 Topps Joe Greene:

           

            If Roberto Clemente is synonymous with Pittsburgh Pirates history and lore, then I’m throwing Mean Joe Greene into the ring as defining what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. He’s the first guy I think about when The Steel Curtain is mentioned. The first guy I think about when we talk about the 1970s Steelers Dynasty. And I say that as a Terry Bradshaw fan. I love that Coke commercial as a kid. I’ve managed to buy every Mean Joe card except is rookie. It’s there. It’s affordable. And there’s a number 75 sized hole in my PC.

 

1963 Topps Willie Stargell

 

            Yes, I’d get the Clemente rookie first or only if given the choice. But right after that it would be the Willie Stargell rookie card. Like Mean Joe, Pop’s rookie card is the only hole I have remaining in Willie Stargell base PC cards. Clemente was the legend we heard about, but Willie Stargell was the living legend who was still playing (sometimes) when I first became a Pirates fan. He’s my favorite Pittsburgh Pirate of All-time. This card would get a place of honor in my collection.

 

1965 Topps Mickey Mantle

 

            I don’t own a Mickey Mantle base card. I don’t think I ever will. And I know there are a lot of Mantle cards that would be someone’s everything. But if I had the, well, affordable, option in getting a Mickey Mantle card…I’d pick his 1965. I’m a massive fan of the 1965 Topps design and I just think the Mantle card is gorgeous. It’s a work of baseball card art. I know The Mick is nearing the end of his career. But he still looks youthful. Like he could chase Ruth again here. I love how Mickey is looking off into the distance, like he just murdered another ball.

 

1953 Topps Jackie Robinson

 

            Read what I wrote about Mickey Mantle and it’s essentially the same story that I have for Jackie Robinson. I don’t own a base Jackie card. I probably never will own a base Jackie card. But if I could I’d choose the 1953 Topps Jackie Robinson card. A while ago I asked collectors on Twitter their feelings on reprint cards. It wasn’t a positive reaction. But I was thinking about the 1953 Jackie card when I asked the question. I was thinking of getting a reprint because I love the card, the look of the card, it’s very essence of baseball card beauty so much, that even a replica would’ve sufficed just to hold it in my hand and look at it. But, alas, I came to realize that it’s gotta be the real deal…or nothing.

            Maybe one day Jackie.

 

1971 Terry Bradshaw

 

            Like Mean Joe, Terry Bradshaw, to me, defines the Steeler of the 1970s. Yeah, the road to 4 Super Bowls was shaky for Terry. But he did it. He’s a quarterback legend in Pittsburgh. That long 2-decade bridge between him and the Big Ben years, full of a bunch of QBs that…the less said, the better. I’m a Bradshaw collector. Like with Mean Joe Greene, I have all of Terry Bradshaw’s Topps base cards. But it always comes down to the rookie. This card is definitely high on my list of cards I NEED in my collection.

1957 Topps Bill Mazeroski

 

            If there’s a final Pittsburgh Pirate whom I’d include in my holy trinity of post-WWII Pirates, it would be none other than Bill Mazeroski. He’s another one that I never got a chance to play. But like Willie Stagell, Maz was, and still is, a living legend to Pittsburgh Pirates baseball. That 1960 Game Seven, Game winning Home Run is nearly as famous as The Shot Heard Round the World…and Maz didn’t know what the pitch coming to him was going to be so…I can picture him rounding third now. Of course I can! It’s been engrained in all of the memories of Pirates fans of any age.  In college I was lucky enough to take classes in Forbes Quad, a building that was built over the site of Forbes Field. On the floor in the building, encased in glass, was home plate from Forbes Field. And outside the building stood the part of the wall Maz hit the home run over.

1954 Topps Henry Aaron.

 

            I’ve often said, and I still do say, at times, that I’ve never lived in a world where Henry Aaron wasn’t the Home Run king. He his number 715 the night before I was born. So, yeah, I never go to see Henry play. But I’ve been an admirer my whole baseball-loving life. I’m a collector, when I can, of Henry’s cards. I’ve read a couple of bios. Just honestly think he’s a class act all of the way. Whenever Topps issues cards, I’ll grab the Aaron cards out of the set. Like Clemente, he’s one of maybe three players, whom I collect their post-playing years card. If Clemente’s rookie is the true “grail” card…Aaron’s rookie wouldn’t be far behind.

1965 Topps Joe Namath

 

            In some ways, I’m still trying to figure out what kind of a football card collector I’m going to become. So far, it’s mostly been Steelers. But that 2022 Score box I bought is looking more and more like me dividing the cards up into player PCs. And that got me thinking about some of the older players. One of the things that’s always been interesting to me is how many top quarterbacks hailed from my own backyard of Western Pennsylvania. There’s Johnny Unitas. There’s Joe Montana. There’s Jim Kelly. There’s Dan Marino. Then there’s Broadway Joe Namath. I’ve been thinking that I’d like to create a PC of Western PA quarterbacks, and I’ve always been intrigued by the celebrity of Namath. I was growing up as the NFL was exploding into the leviathan it is now. Guys like Namath were those legend that you heard about. The card is also pretty damned sweet too.

1981 Topps Joe Montana

 

            If you’re going to have one Joe in the Western PA collection, you’ve gotta have the other Joe. The Steelers were a dynasty I heard about. The 49ers, in the 1980s, were the dynasty I was watching. And Joe Montana was THE GUY. Of all of the cards on this list, the Montana rookie is the only one to get the distinction of being a card I actually owned when I was a kid. Yeah, moron me, right? But I had the card briefly. In a trade and then I soon traded it away. Joe was maybe 5 years into his career. Who know? I sure didn’t at the time. Of course, I can’t remember what I traded it for…aint’t that the way it always is. But I’d like to get the card back in my collection at some point.

 

        Well…I hope you folks found my list interesting. Or amusing. It’s fun to think about what cards you would or wouldn’t get, if money didn’t matter. Or that you’d honestly spend the money on. It was an interesting thought piece. And if you get the chance, take a listen to John Newman podcast on the topic. Here's a LINK

 

Thanks for reading! Happy Collecting!

 

NEXT FRIDAY: 2022 Update…hmmmm

More Football Cards...yes, I know

 

Football cards

…again.

I know…

But ‘tis the season…or, it’s still too early to be using a phrase like that, right?

All the same it is Football season, or it has been for a number of weeks now. Football is probably the sport I’m consuming most, reading about the most, and purchasing for my card collection the most.

I just can’t get with these MLB playoffs. Minus a team or two, it’s the same group of teams in the post-season nearly every year. And, yeah, the winners have been varied. But one fact remains; the winner is usually a team with one of the highest payrolls in the league. But that’s the way MLB (and, sadly, a good many of its fans) wants it…well, that’s how they get it.

Enjoy the diminishing broadcast numbers.

And, yes, I too was excited to see Seattle and Cleveland in the playoffs…even though, other than Julio Rodriguez and Jose Ramirez, I couldn’t tell you another Mariner or Guardian player.

I watch a lot of teams and a lot of baseball.

Seattle hasn’t been on my radar since Griffey Jr. left.

And Cleveland…I grew up less than 3 hours away from that city…and the team never registered for me.

But I digress.

So I’ve been reading a lot about football.

This book specifically.

Which I’ll get to in an upcoming blog.

But when I read about a sport, or a player in a sport, it tends to fuel my collecting. The MacCambridge book probably spurred the purchase of the 2022 Score Cards. Its certainly going to be spurring the next ComC purchase that I make. Hint? Wallet is going to take a HIT. And the book spurred me to get back to the football PC, for some players that I’m already collecting, and have an interest in collecting.

Yes, this is going to be a show and tell blog post.

I did a recent, well, not too recent ComC purchase of football cards.

I really wanted to get a lot of this guy.

Aside from Terry Bradshaw, or maybe even more so, Mean Joe Greene has always been one of the most mythic and magisterial of Pittsburgh Steelers. I was really too young to watch him play, but, as the old adage goes; his legend lives on. I probably know Mean Joe more for his Coke commercial rather than his playing. Nevertheless, he’s a Steeler I revere. And, like Bradshaw, I want his cards in my ever-growing football PC.

And Mean Joe’s cards are pretty cheap.

If you don’t mind the condition.

I’m going to have to save up for his rookie though.

I also filled in some gaps on my Jack Lambert PC.

Sans rookie again…but we’ll get there…one day.

I basically bought the house on John Stallworth.

Including his 1978 Topps rookie.

Grabbed a couple of other Steelers rookie cards that weren’t pricey at all.

Always loved that Louis Lipps card.

But it wasn’t all Steelers.

I grew up fascinated by Bo Jackson. I’m sure a lot of us did. He was the first two-sport pro player that I’d ever seen. Bo’s 1987 Topps rookie card is one of my favorite and favorite-looking cards of all-time. He made me want to try and like the Raiders. I can’t wait to read Jeff Pearlman’s book on him when it comes out later this year. And I have a small PC of Bo’s cards as well.

But mostly his baseball cards.

So, I grabbed these.

Lastly, I wanted to go a little modern for the PC. Modern is hard because, at least in my view, the cost of so many player’s rookie cards, especially quarterbacks, is inflated beyond belief. Don’t believe me, look up Josh Allen’s rookie cards on ComC. But, like I said last week, I like the Miami Dolphins (not this Sunday, of course). And I like Tua Tagovailoa, even though he takes crap and gets crapped upon (even by his own team). I think he’s a solid NFL quarterback, and maybe even a franchise guy. I wanted some Tua rookies. And, in comparison to other QBs, his were affordable to a cheapskate like me.

I got these two.

Coincidentally…and sadly at that, the cards arrived the day before Tua had that nasty concussion scare on Thursday Night Football.  But he’s back this week. I’m glad for that. I just hope he has a bad game against the Steelers.

Anyway…sorry for the show and tell.

 Thanks for reading! Happy Collecting!

NEXT FRIDAY: Stalled set building.

2022 Score Football Cards : A Rip Party 32-Years in the Making

 

 

1990.

            I don’t want it to seem long ago.

            But it is.

            Thirty-two years ago, to be exact.

            George Bush was president.

            The Gulf War hadn’t happened.

            Kristen Stewart was busy being born.

            These guys ruled the airwaves.

            I was sixteen.

            Christ…sixteen.

            And in the fall of 1990, when I wasn’t watching Beverly Hills 90210, I was probably going to my local drug store to buy these.

            1990 Topps Football Cards.

            AKA…the last football cards I’d buy in pack form.

            …until now.

            That’s right. I broke down and did it. I ripped packs. It was inevitable. I tried being a good boy, not opening up so many packs this year. I was conservative. I concentrated on Topps baseball base, and singles cards that I really wanted.

            But that itch…that goddamned itch.

            Then suddenly it was fall. The weather turned unusually cool at the beginning of October. Baseball was winding down for me. Congrats on another 100-loss season, Buccos!  I was sitting down for the Sunday games. I was tunning in on Sunday night. Conversations after 8pm on Monday alluded me. I raced home from work on Thursday night, replacing my Dylan and Beatles albums, with the cadence of a plethora of announcers’ voices. The football season was suddenly in full bloom. Like I said, I’d been a good boy with cards. So I said to myself, you know, give it a shot.

            So I bought a box of 2022 Score Football cards.

            My first box of football cards in thirty-two years.

            And it was…a fun rip?

            First of all, I knew what I was getting into with Panini and base football card. I’ve been around for a few years now. I’ve bought some singles. I’ve never been incredibly wowed by Panini products. Despite my extolling the virtues of Topps unlicensed football product up to the early 1980s, I’m not at all a fan of Panini’s unlicensed baseball cards. They look generic. I find most of Panini’s brand design to be kind of bland and generic.

            In case you haven’t seen it, here’s Panini’s 2022 Score design, featuring some of the usual suspects.

            And here’s the back of the card.

            It’s…not bad.

            It’s Panini.

            It covers all of the basis.

            For my return to football cards, I’m going to go ahead and say its all right. The best set of Score cards they’ve produced in years.

            Buuuuuuttt….

            I’m not a fan of the one and done with stats. I’m a sprawl guy. I like to see the whole career laid out on the back of the card. I’m glad Aaron Rodger’s is a “magician” on the field and that he’s akin to Gandalf the White (interesting choice, considering he’s more of the wizarding type). But if that’s the kind of description I’m getting, I’d rather Panini just say nothing and show me Rodgers’ stats. Looking at his whole career number, I can determine on my own whether or not Rodgers is a “magician” or worthy enough to be mentioned in the same sentence as Gandalf the White.

            Hint…he isn’t.

            Another thing Panini does with their football cards, that I’m iffy on, is giving space to past players.

            Case in point.

            In my box, I counted over 30 base cards given over to retired players. Yeah, getting a Joe Montana card is cool. It was much cooler getting one when he actually played the game, or buying a Joe Montana card from his actual playing years. Here, it seems like Panini is making up for the fact that they didn’t get to produce cards for those players. And the cards are taking up the space that could be used to produce cards for player actually playing the game. Like right now. Like in 2022. There are 53 players on an NFL roster. Panini makes room for 10 and some guy who’s no longer playing.

            In truth, Topps did the same thing.

            Guess you can’t give room to more than 10-12 team cards, if there’s only 400 in the set.

            I always wished that football card checklists expanded to 600 or 700 cards, like baseball. Yeah, maybe not everyone wants a card of the starting Right Guard. But some collectors do. Some fans do too.

            Of course, the one thing Panini is stack with is rookie cards. Everyone loves the rookie card. There are 100 rookie cards to be exact, in 2022 Score. That’s a lot of space given over to unproven pro talent…but such is the world of collecting. So, I’m not going to gripe. One thing that is cool about the rookie cards in 2022 Score, is the fact that Panini got as many player’s as they could in their team uniforms. That means one can open up a pack of 2022 Score and, like Donruss, get a Kenny Pickett card in his Steelers uniform. Unless you’re me…I didn’t get a Kenny Pickett card. Hello secondary market for me.

            But I got these guys.

            And I did get a Kenny Pickett as an insert.

            Here are some of the other inserts/parallels that are in this year’s 2022 Score.

            That seems to be Panini’s bag. A lot of inserts. And at 10 packs of 40 cards, they’re all at the end, you know, for those collectors bored by base cards. They can just flip right on through, never thinking about the money they spent, and only wanting to get to the bells and whistles.

            Speaking of bells and whistles…you get 4 autograph cards in 2022 Panini Score.

            Here are mine.

            All are available to trade for a Kenny Pickett base rookie card.

            And by all, I mean all. I’ll send you all four for the Kenny card.

            I know this blog post seems a little snarky or negative, but I did truly enjoy opening up a box of 2022 Score cards. I had a lot of fun sifting through the cards, looking at the photos, and yes, reading about what a magician Aaron Rodgers is…even if he IS no Gandalf the White. I’m glad that I didn’t held off buying baseball product I’m not that into, so that I could have this ripping experience. I may do it again if/when Donruss is released. I’ve even excepted the fact that I won’t get a Kenny Pickett card in that product either…I know my luck.

            I suppose the final issue I have now is what to do with the cards. I did promise myself that I wasn’t going to just have a lot of base cards sitting around. I don’t know if I necessarily want to make a Panini Score complete set. I might star some individual player PCs. Or I’m thinking of getting some team sets together. Unlike with baseball, where I’m a one team man; other than the Steelers, I tend to pull for a few more footballs teams. The Giants. The Dolphins (a Pittsburgh kid and Dan Marino fan), The 49ers (child of the 1980s), and The Bills (grew to like them when I lived in Buffalo, unapologetic Josh Allen fan).

…except when he routes the Steelers.

            38-3….COME ON!

 

Thanks for reading! Happy Collecting!

NEXT FRIDAY: Going into the football card well one more time.

Ranking 1980s Topps Football Cards

 

Sentimentality.

            Nostalgia.

            It’s all gonna be here.

            Like a big warm soup.

            People like warm soups. We’ve had a few cool days here on the East Coast, so people are walking around in jackets and hats, and everyone has put their heat on. Full disclosure...it could be 30 degrees out and I’d never need the heat. That is to say, we are heading into my season. And while I’m an avid baseball fan currently mourning the loss of another baseball season,

 (yes, yes, I know...the playoffs…that time of year where the 200-300 million dollar payrolls get to shine in their most Darwinian way), my actual temperature comfort range falls right in line with another season…Football season.

            Yes, I love the fall. I love the falling leaves. I love the way the word autumn slips out of my mouth. I love to see ads for pumpkin spice this and that. And I love to watch people dress in unseasonably warm clothing simply because the dial has slipped below 65-degrees. The fall? I’m ‘bout that. And nothing says the fall like the smell of the pigskin (or Nerf, if you grew up like me), the clash of the pads, the shiny helmets, the militaristic jingoism, the breast cancer pink, the vast number of penalties, the warnings of danger…the fact that football is BACK, baby!

            My collecting is turning to all things gridiron, even though I know it’s better to buy off-season. But who can think football when its 90-degress outside?

            Maybe this guy did.

            Sentimentality? Nostalgia? I mentioned them in the beginning. And they will influence and cloud my judgement on EVERYTHING here. So…with no further ado, I give you my rankings, right or wrong, on what I think are the best (maybe not best-looking) Topps football cards of the 1980s.

 

1984 Topps:

            Admit it card lovers, you’re already rolling your eyes at this one. Regardless, 1984 Topps is my favorite set of the decade. It’s not the best-looking (although I’m gonna make the argument that it is) set of the decade, but its one of the most memorable. For me, 1984 Topps is flashy. It’s MTV with its slants and bright colors. It’s the “hippest” card Topps made that decade in all of their sports. Its as bold as the year it came from: Springsteen, 1984 Olympics, Regan in a landslide. The set is packed with some serious star power…and those rookies! Marino. Elway. Dickerson. Curt Warner. 1984 Topps also features the last card of my beloved Terry Bradshaw, playing his last game against the Jets, at their last game at Shea Stadium. 1984 Topps football, is the first football card I remember actively seeking out with the same allowance/couch cushion money that I was pumping into baseball cards. It’s a landmark set for me.

 

1985 Topps:

             God, did you hate them back then but absolutely love them now? Or is it just me? Back in 1985, I didn’t know what to make of these cards…or anything really. Black borders. Horizontal photos. Cards didn’t come horizontal in the 1980s. That was something the 1950s did. Yet…there we were. No real room for action shots. No real room…for anything. That late summer of 1985, I was laid up in a leg cast and the most I could do with football was watch pre-season on TV while all the neighborhood kids played Nerf outside. Football card were the closest I could get to anything. And Topps gave me…these? But the years have warmed my heart. I see, now, what an unusual and bold set 1985 Topps football actually is. Over the years, it has become one of my favorite football sets. I recently passed up the chance to buy the set, and I feel STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.

            I don’t think Topps has taken this kind of chance with cards since then.

 

1980 Topps:

            Another sentimental favorite. In the same year that I discovered baseball cards, looking through a pile of cards from a friend, I discovered that they made football cards too. And football loomed large for a 6-year-old in Pittsburgh in the late summer of 1980. The Steelers were getting ready to begin their season, after having won their 4<sup>th</sup> Super Bowl in January of that year. I can’t begin to describe to anyone outside of that city what the names Bradshaw, Greene, Harris, Stallworth, Swann, and Lambert (to just name a few) meant. They were legends. They were almost Gods. And the 1980 Topps set was pretty cool itself. I like that the thin borders leave a lot of room for the player photograph. And the team name, player name, position; they exist in a nice football-esque orb at the bottom center of the card. 1980 Topps is the penultimate set that didn’t have a license to show team logos…but that doesn’t hurt the set. In fact, Topps football from its inception to 1981 did a very good job of making collectors think and feel the authenticity of the cards, even though there was something glaring missing.

 

1983 Topps:

            This set could very well have easily been up there at the top of the Topps. I just think 1984 and 1985 have a little something more. But I LOVE 1983 Topps football cards. These are the first Topps cards that I ever remember opening. NOSTALGIA. Not like 1984 Topps, where us kids went to Thrift Drug with our own money, but 1983 Topps was more in the vein of mom needing something to shut me and my brother up, baseball was out of season, so here’s a 25-cent pack of something, kid. Again, this is another set that Topps gives over to photography without trying to spice things up. Topps was so minimalist in 1983, that the team’s name is just a bold white outline, whose color is filled in with the photograph. And those photos are sharp too. This is the first set that I remember being clear photographs, instead of the grainier photos that we always seemed to get on cards.

 

1987 Topps:

            This is another one of those sets that could’ve been near the top for me. Its fourth…so I guess it technically IS near the top. But you get what I mean. I wanted to chalk my love of this set to me being 13 at the time of its release, and at 13 you could throw any card in front of me and I’d declare it genius. That statement takes nothing away from 1987 Topps, Fleer and Donruss baseball which are all, in fact, absolute genius. But I love the 1987 Topps football design all the same. Again, it’s another card that’s giving way to the photo of the player. Some in-action. Some seemingly taken when friendly games of catch were going on. The “dueling” flags at the top really do it for me. Just a catchy design the whole way around.

 

1986 Topps:

            Like 1985 Topps, 1986 Topps football card was another design that I wasn’t really wowed by as a kid but have come to absolutely love. I don’t why I didn’t like those green borders with the yard markers, except to say that I might’ve been a pretty conservative collector as a kid. I know see 1986 Topps as one of the more inventive sets of the decade, if not thee most inventive design. I mean, you do sacrifice some room for player images so that those green borders can have a chance to stand out…but I think it’s worth it. The player’s name and position information is crisp and clear in a small box, also incased by the border, at the bottom of the card. The team banner adds a nice little classic touch. I didn’t realize it then, but Topps had a pretty nice design run going from 1983-1987.

 

1982 Topps:

            Probably should be higher up for me on this list because I really do like the 1982 design as well. Topps’ first design in which they had the rights to team logos. And they make it know by having the team helmet joining the team’s name in the bottom left-hand corner of the card. The pennant adds a nice touch too. It’s a classic football card the whole way round. But…and maybe it’s just me. A lot of the photos feel grainy and out of focus. Or far away. The Lawrence Taylor rookie card looks like someone took a zoomed photo of him from the stands.

 

1988 Topps:

            A big set for me because of the Bo Jackson rookie card, but not of the more appealing to me. Although I do admire its simplicity. But there’s something about the colored border that takes away a lot of the player image and make the cards look a little bit claustrophobic. The helmets stand on their own at the bottom of the card, just left of center, to denote the team’s name. the NFL was big business by the late 80’s, and helmet alone could tell you who that team is. It’s a solid card.

 

1981 Topps:

            The last year Topps would have to contend with not being able to show team logos on cards…and they do another great job of not making the collector really notice.  I’ve always found the design to be a little bit dull…the football card version of 1961 Topps baseball. It’s simple and gets the job done…but it’s kind of meh. That said, anyone want to pass a Joe Montana rookie my way…I wouldn’t say no.

 

1989 Topps:

            This one bored me when it came out and it bores me now. There’s a design on the border, yes, but so what? It’s not symbolic of anything other than maybe Topps had a bland design and wanted to spruce it up a bit. Jazz that card up with some color blocks. Was someone who used to work for Donruss working for Topps in 1989? Feels like it. The player name/team/position seem almost inconsequential to the card. The team name is small too. The whole thing looks like one of those auto stickers that are places on cards now in lieu of having the player sign the actual card. The one good thing I can say is that there’s plenty of room for photos, which is nice, because by 1989, Topps football was showing more on-field action in their base cards, instead of leaving that for In-Action cards.

 

Overall, I’m a big fan of 1980s Topps Football cards. Granted, they were the only game in town for the better part of the decade. But the cards had style. Sadly, the 1980s would be the last decade, for some time, that Topps granted its own individual design their football cards. By 1991, all of Topps cards would become uniform for baseball, football, hockey, and eventually the re-introduction of basketball cards. I’m sure it saved Topps money and time, but, as a collector, it seemed dull and uninspired.  I liked the uniqueness of the designs of the various sports. Maybe that’s why I stopped collecting football cards after the 1990 season. Or my money was going elsewhere…and something had to go.

 

Thanks for reading! Happy collecting!

NEXT FRIDAY: Football cards…again. I bought new 2022 football product to rip for the first time in 32 years!