Random Wax: 1990 Score Football

 

1990 Score: Boomer led the Cincinnati Bengals to the Super Bowl in 1988 and had a really good career.  He was a 4X Pro Bowl selection and 1X All-Pro.  He twice threw for over 3,500 yards and 28 touchdowns.

1990 Score is an easy one to like.  The design is fairly simple but seems to work even without the team logo.  I do wish the colors had matched the team's colors more in line like that Steve Deberg card.  It was time to show off this pack whose scans have been gathering dust since 2021.  Two Eagle Hall of Famers here.

The backs were great and were fun in terms of design and color compared to Topps cards.  The tradeoff is the lack of career stats.

Great Vance Johnson photo and I do remember him doing that in games.  Fun cards and I wouldn't mind picking up more of these someday.  And no, I did not know the answer to the trivia question.

BREAKDOWN:
15 – Total Cards
1 – Top Gun
1 – Ground Force
1 – Super Bowl Trivia

Random Wax: 1991-1992 Topps Stadium Club Hockey

91-92 Stadium Club:   First hockey pack of the year and we'll go old school.  Luc Robitaille played 14 seasons for the Los Angeles Kings but won a championship with the Detroit Red Wings.  He made the All-Star team eight times and is a member of the NHL Hall of Fame.  

Topps rolled out Stadium Club in 1991 across the sports, maybe in response to Upper Deck taking trading cards to a different level.  Plenty of good photos even on simple headshots like the Kirk Muller here.

Not enough stats on the backs for a Topps offering but it's still nice and colorful with a photo of the player's rookie card which is really cool.

I'm not a hockey expert but I enjoy hockey cards.  I think when done right, they can be some of the best in the hobby.

I just don't think of Topps hockey cards from the 80s but the photo here shows the '84 set followed a somewhat similar design as the 1983 Topps baseball design and there isn't anything wrong with that. 

Also get some nice horizontal offerings in the set and I like this photo.  It's not in game and just something different but still relevant.  I'll do more hockey later this year and look forward to it.

BREAKDOWN:

12 – Total Cards

1 – Hall of Famers

Random Wax: 1988 Fleer Baseball (3 Packs)

1988 Fleer:  Tony Gwynn led the league in batting average eight times.  He hit over .320 in 13 seasons.  He was a .338 career hitter with a .388 on base percentage.  Just crazy greatness.

A couple more Hall of Famers in Cal Ripken Jr. and Dennis Eckersley.  Mike Greenwell was no slouch in the hitting department, playing 12 seasons with the Red Sox ending his career with a .303 batting average and .368 on base percentage.

SuperStar Specials are fun cards.  I wish we had more like these today.  I know Topps tries with team and checklist cards, but I also want something closer to these.

We love Fleer stickers and the '88 design was great with different options.

Cincinnati traded Jeff Montgomery to the Kansas City Royals for Van Snider after only one season.  Yep, didn't know who he was either.  KC was the clear winner there as he played 12 seasons for the Royals ending with 304 saves.

Kent Tekulve's walkout music, Rubberband Man, was a classic as was the Pirates unis.  He talks about it some here.  Ron Gant looking 12 and Joe Niekro and the lost art that is the knuckleball.  I always like pitchers who threw it.

The backs of the stickers were just as much fun.  A color photo would have been better, but I'll take it.

More greats from the era.  I'll always take an Eric Davis card and always wonder what if...?  Fun design, fun set and so many fun memories of these players.

BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards (3 Packs)
3 - Stickers
2 – SuperStar Specials
2 – Major League Prospects

Random Wax: 2020-2021 Illusions Basketball

20-21 Illusions:  Some of Donovan Mitchell's numbers are down slightly this season but the Cavs are the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.  I hope they do well in the playoffs.  They have a solid starting five who are obviously gelling this season.

I have a soft spot for Illusions, especially some of the older designs.  First time I'm showing this pack and wow does it age well.  Mitchell has raised his game, Morant is one of the most athletic players in the sport and Doncic is still crazy good and now a Laker.

We get retired greats on some of the inserts.  These Living Legends aren't my favorites but I'm not complaining.

The Saddiq Bey is an Orange Parallel.  This pack only had 12 cards but I'm definitely happy with it.  I also get a nice Trae Young pull.  The Hawks will likely be in the play in tourney, but they aren't that good this season so I'm not really sure what to expect out of them in the playoffs. 

BREAKDOWN:
12 – Total Cards
3 – RC
1 – Retired Great
1 – Living Legends
1 – Orange Parallel