Random Wax: 1991 Fleer Baseball (4 Packs)

 1991 Fleer: Rickey needs no introduction.  He led the league in steals 12 times including at age 39 when he swiped 66 with the '98 A's.  He's the all-time record holder for steals and runs scored.

More greats from the era.  Gary Carter played one season in San Francisco.  Carter led the league in RBIs with 106 in 1984. 

Love the stickers!  On the backs we got the all-time leaders for a team which is amazing.

Brian Harper hit .295 for his 16-year career and won a championship with the 1991 Twins.

These three could hit.

Lots to like on the backs.  The one thing I could never understand was the muted or dulled color.

Dave Parker, 2X hitting champ, MVP, 7X All-Star, 2X World Series Champion, and Hall of Famer batted .290 for his 19-year career.

We'll end it with a nice Pro Visions Black.  I like the art.

BREAKDOWN:
60 – Total Cards
4 – Stickers
1 – Checklist
1 – Pro Visions Black

Random Wax: 2024 Prestige Football

2024 Prestige:  Ricky Williams was just being Ricky.  In the process he ran for 1,000+ yards 5X while leading the league in rushing with 1,853 yards with the Dolphins in 2002.  The Saints made one of the most infamous trades to draft him. 

Traded by Redskins as 1999 1st round pick (5th overall) to Saints for 1999 1st round pick (12th overall subsequently traded, Cade McNown), 1999 3rd round pick (71st overall subsequently traded, D'Wayne Bates), 1999 4th round pick (107th overall, Nate Stimson), 1999 5th round pick (144th overall subsequently traded, Khari Samuel), 1999 6th round pick (179th overall subsequently traded, Desmond Clark), 1999 7th round pick (218th overall subsequently traded, Billy Miller), 2000 1st round pick (2nd overall, LaVar Arrington) and 2000 3rd round pick (64th overall, Lloyd Harrison)

Pretty good pull in this pack and I like the design.

Panini had lost their rights to college properties so air brushing was back in vogue.  Here we have a Sunburst Xtra Points Parallel. 

All three of these are good.  I especially like Any Given Sunday.  But with no rights to college teams the Alma Mater insert doesn't hit the same.

I enjoy the retired greats in the set.

We end it with a really nice For the Record Jerry Rice.  Total receiving yards is just one of at least seven career records he holds.

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards

5 – RC

5 – Retired Greats

2 – Sunburst Xtra Points

1 - Dominators

1 – For the Record

1 – Youth Movement

1 – Any Given Sunday

Stranger Things Season 5

 

Stranger Things has come to an end.  I liked the ending and thought it did justice to the series and characters.  I had a friend who saw the final episode in the theater and liked that experience.  I thought the final season was pretty well paced.  There are always a few things here and there you wish they had done differently but overall, I enjoyed it.  

Zane Smith 1983 TCMA Durham Bulls

This 1983 TCMA Durham Bulls card is Zane Smith's first trading card.  When I posted my Zane Smith card lot in November, I mentioned I would go after this card. It was an easy and cheap find on eBay.  I really like it.  The Durham Bulls are a fairly notable minor league team, and I like the photo and design which is pretty simplistic.  Solid hair game as well.  Just showing off my latest addition to my Zane Smith collection which also includes an autograph. 

2025 Christmas Goodies

 The family really outdid themselves this year.  I'm truly blessed.  I added a new Star Wars steelbook to the collection - Rise of Skywalker.  I almost have all the Star Wars steelbook movie releases.  The Penguin will be a fun watch.  I don't have an HBO Max subscription so I need it in physical form.  The animated Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy rounded out my movies.  Three books - The Boys (Ron and Clint Howard), Can You Dig It? and the Dr. J autobiography - are all books I'm excited to read. A Mould King Firebird model.  A Hot Topic gift card which will probably that into a The Lost Boys shirt.   Speaking of, I also got cool AC/DC shirt.  And some baseball and basketball cards.  Again, I'm so blessed and thankful. Santa was good to me.

2025 Favorite Cards and Action Figure

 

These favorite cards posts are one I look forward to every year.  This Eric Dickerson card takes top honors this year.  I really like the colors, the photo, it's a simple design, and the great look at Dickerson's eyes and goggles.  In June I posted this card and other Dickerson cards I got in a Eric Dickerson card lot on eBay.  There are a few good-looking cards in the lot.

This Giannis was close behind.  I thought this 2021-2022 Donruss card did a great job with the photo and subtle design elements making it feel like a show.  It was posted in March.

This 1992 Pro Set Racing card is one of Jeff Gordon's first cards and a big reason I picked up some packs to open.  It's very simple but a card I like.  This one was also posted in March.  

Cards found in this post are cards I posted in 2025.  I'll show of my favorite from each sport and non-sport as well as my favorite action figure.  Why I like them or choose them can be random and it doesn't matter if they are old or new.  

This cool looking card is from a 2024 Upper Deck Marvel Studios Series 2 Cinematic blaster that I also posted in March.  I like the retro lunchbox vibe, and the colors and design really work for me.  I like it.

This 2025 Topps Elly De La Cruz I showed off in August has a nice photo and framing.  A really good use of the horizontal cards from Topps.

This 2022-2023 Upper Deck Trevor Moore was in a June post.  I didn't post much hockey this year, but I kept coming back to this card.  It's the intensity of the bench players that really draws me in here.  Good job Upper Deck.

This Topps Chrome Rhea Ripley was posted in February.  Ripley is very photogenic, and this made for an easy pick.

This Baylan Skoll figure looks really good.  I posted him in May along with Shin Hati, both of the Ahsoka series.  He really captures the actor's looks and is a great addition to the collection.

These are so much fun. Everyone have a fun and safe New Year's Eve!

2025 Donruss Football

2025 Donruss:  Drake Maye and the Patriots deserve some love for the season they are having.  He has thrown 25 touchdowns, 8 interceptions and over 3,900 yards in 2025 guiding New England to a 12-3 record.  And he looks sharp in that Pat's retro uni.

This is my first look at 2025 Donruss and I like it.  It's pretty clean and has a Donruss feel to it.  Really good pull in this pack never hurts either.  Christian McCaffrey is my favorite player in the NFL today and is having another great year notching his second season of 800 yards rushing and 800 yards receiving.  He's one of only 3 players to have accomplished that.  Mashall Faulk and Roger Craig being the others.

I really like these backs which are so different from the designs of Donruss past.  We rarely get this much color and another photo.  The photo is a little awkward here since it isn't horizontal.  Seems like they could have done better in incorporating the photo but overall, I'm like all the color.

We get Rated Rookies with subtle design differences which work.

Last year McCaffrey dealt with injuries again but when he's healthy his is an amazing running back.

Good looking Bomb Squad insert.  Sam Darnold really has turned around his career.  He's 26-6 in his two seasons with the Vikings and Seahawks.  Who woulda thunk?

I love all-time greats in these sets and I'm a big fan of Art Monk.

That Jason Taylor is a Press Proof Parallel.  This was a really fun pack of cards.  We're near the end of the NFL regular season.  I hope your teams are doing you well!

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards

5 – Retired Greats

4 – Rated Rookie

4 – Press Proof Blue Parallels

1 – Bomb Squad