Random Wax: 2019 Topps Stadium Club

This 2019 Topps Stadium Club baseball pack is a retail variety with five cards.  I'm a big fan of the Stadium Club brand with their great photography and cards.  Freddie Freeman looks jacked right here and why shouldn't he after the year he and the Bravos had this year.

  Nice Juan Marichal card and Trey Mancini looks really happy in his photo.

Action shots are always great and this one is one of those you have to like.  This red foil parallel (1:3 packs) shows Trea Turner laser focused on the target of his throw.

I really like this Christy Mathewson card.  It goes against my normal preferences but I think it is a cool photo for some reason.  Good pack for only five cards.

BREAKDOWN:

5 – Total Cards
2 – Retired Greats
1 – Red Parallel

Random Wax: 2016-2017 Hoops Basketball

We'll kick off this clearance pack of 2016-2017 Hoops with Mike Conley who was traded this offseason to the Utah Jazz.  This was a great trade for Utah who get a very dynamic point guard to pair with Donovan Mitchell.  I can't say no to these clearance packs just because they are fun and with the normal price of packs at Wal-Mart going up to $5.49 the reduced prices have an even greater appeal.

  These are the blue parallel and Orange Explosion parallel (#/75) paired with Jaylen Brown of the Celtics.  That's Paul Pierce in one of his last two seasons playing then for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Al Horford (76ers) and J.J. Redick (Pelicans) changed teams this offseason while Steven Adams will have Chris Paul as a teammate after Paul was traded by the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder.  This was one crazy offseason with so many moves by so many stars of the league.

Myles Turner is a very good young center for the Pacers while Julius Randle left the Pelicans for the New York Knicks this offseason.  Gordon Hayward looks to bounce back after a down season after returning from a serious injury in 2017. 

These End2End is nice.  This was a fun pack even if I didn't find some of the biggest stars in the game and will hunt for more of these as I get the chance.

BREAKDOWN:

30– Total Cards
4 – RC
1 – End 2 End
1 – Blue Parallel
1 – Orange Explosion Parallel #/75

2019 Donruss Football

This 2019 Donruss football pack was a retail pack which had eight cards but was still plenty of fun.  I don't tend towards the small packs but I hadn't found the larger value packs yet.  I love retired greats and this had a couple to satisfy the itch.  I really liked this Warren Moon card so he leads us off though it was a tough pick between him and the All-Time Gridiron Kings Jerry Rice.

The design is one I like.  Reading the press releases when it was first showing up on the internet I thought it looked good and wasn't disappointed with the cards in hand.

I like the rookie cards with players in their college unis while still having the NFL team logo of the franchise that drafted them.  Nothing against Score but Score comes out so early you don't know who the players were drafted by and have to look them all up if you sort players by team.  

The All-Time Gridiron Kings is a nice design though the border color is boring.  Gray works sometimes, sometimes it doesn't.  This is a time it doesn't for me.  Still I'll probably look to complete the Gridiron Kings set. Good first pack and look forward to more Donruss football this year.

BREAKDOWN:

8 – Total Cards

2 – Retired Greats

1 – Rated Rookie

1991 Pro Line Portraits Hobby Box Photos Just Because

I just wanted to show off some more photos from my 1991 Pro Line Portraits box I opened.  I picked up this box from Centerfield Sports in Springfield, MO.  Great card shop if you are in the area.  This Ronnie Lott card is a nice shot allowing him to give us a "gun show". 

 More beautiful ladies.  These are more wives of players - Toni Lipps, Stacey O'Brien, and Janet Elway.

Greats of the game in Troy Aikman, Jerry Rice, and Michael Irvin.  I didn't recognize Rice when I first saw this card.

More retired greats with John Riggins, Franco Harris, and Ahmad Rashad.  

Jerry Glanville!  Maybe not that great of a coaching career but man he was fun.  He's joined by Don Shula and Chuck Knox.

Vinny Testaverde representing the great creamsicle uni of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Warren Moon in a pretty cool photo while Jeff George just being cool.  I think...

The backs have a small photo that is different from the fronts and a quote from the player.  Nothing too special but kept with the theme of being different from other sets of the time.   That's it for today.  I really enjoyed this box and at the right price I would take another shot at busting one and maybe pulling one of the big autos that can be found here.  

1991 Pro Line Portraits Football Hobby Box w/Autograph

While 1991 Pro Line Portraits football is a set I've known about since it's release it was Blowout Buzz, the Blowout Cards blog (a must read), that got me re-energized about this set and the hobby boxes.  These boxes have a large amount of cards (432) and autographs fall at a rate of one to three per case so definitely no guarantees you'll find ink.  The fun is the unique photos and the amazing autograph checklist.  Did I pull an auto?  Heck yeah - Cincinnati linebacker Alfred Williams (card shown at the end).  Not a huge name but he had a solid nine year career and won two Super Bowl rings with the Denver Broncos.  Not every photo is a hit nor did I recognize quite a few players but it was so much fun.  I lead off with the great Junior Seau and those great zubaz pants.  We all had those right?  Well I did and yes you can still buy 'em.

That's Bob Golic in a photo straight out of the eighties.  Maybe not but it looks like it should be.  Love it.  He is joined by Sweetness himself as well as Derrick Brooks.

Retired greats also get some love in this set.  I really enjoyed finding these guys though seeing O.J. was pretty jarring.  Nice looking photo but I just don't expect to see him on cards even in a 1991 set.

The wives were showcased in a seven card insert set and I love it.  I pulled all seven with these here being Phylicia Rashad, Jennifer Montana, and Babette Kosar (what a name!).  Interestingly enough Joe Montana does not have a card in the set.  I was very tempted to lead the post with Mrs. Montanta.  Just saying.  They are also part of the autograph checklist.

 Coaches are also represented here.  Look at that Bill Belichick rookie card.  Dude is smiling!  Ditka is as cool as ever.

Some of my favorite photos from the set - Jim Everett, Irving Fryar, and Gary Anderson.  All personal collection guys.

Plenty of all-time greats in the set with John Elway, Jim Kelly, and Jim McMahon all representing.  Tomorrow I'll throw up more cards just for the heck of it.

More greats here with Howie Long, Lawrence Taylor, and Eric Dickerson.  This was a fun box.  Between the distinctive photography, autograph chase and a ton of cards it was nothing short of a win.  Thanks to Blowout Buzz for getting me back on this set.

All the players autographed cards which were unique in that they have a raised certification seal which you can see in the bottom right hand corner of the photo.  Also unique was the autographs were on the back.  Tons of hall of famers can still be found in these boxes.  Many of these autos  from the set are very reasonable.  Payne Steward and "Santa Claus" also have autos in this set.  Side note - the autographed cards have no card number.  The boxes aren't the easiest to find and the autos can be tough to pull but this box was worth it.  I paid $20 for this box and it was worth every penny.  

    

   

Centerfield Sports Cards Card Shop - Football Cards

Only picked up a few football cards and they were all about the quarterbacks.  This Matt Ryan Retro '99 2019 Donruss football card looked cool and couldn't pass it up.

Love all three of these guys so they were a no-brainer as well.  Always fun finding retired greats and all-time favorites.  If you are ever in Springfield, MO I highly recommend stopping in and seeing this great shop.

Centerfield Sports Cards - Springfield, MO Sports Card Shop

While travelling last week I stopped in at Centerfield Sports Cards in Springfield, MO. I had some extra time and gave it a shot and I was really glad I did.  This is a really great shop.  Tons of cards including both singles and bexes.  The owner was a good guy and it made my visit fun.  I could have stayed there forever looking through his inventory but I keyed in on some Allen & Ginter and a few football cards.  

Today I'll post the baseball cards.  I also found a box of football cards I've been looking for for a long time.  I'll hopefully be able to post that on Sunday.  Love seeing The Crime Dog on new cardboard.

Some all-time greats and favorites of mine.  I don't look for many A&G cards but when I saw he had quite a few I wanted to see what I could find.  

Found a couple of Chipper Jones highlight cards as well as his A&G.  

Yaz!

As soon as I saw this one I knew I wanted it.  Sister Mary Jo Sobieck got her 15 minutes of fame last year throwing out the first pitch for a White Sox game.  Take a watch of the video, she has skills and personality.