1991-1992 Upper Deck Basketball Locker

1991-1992 Upper Deck Basketball Locker:  I've seen these lockers at card shows in the past but I decided to grab one at last months card show in St. Louis.  There were six lockers in the series with mine being #6.  Each had a different photo of Michael Jordan on the side.  This is a great set with Upper Deck nailing it with their first basketball set.  This Drexler has a great photo of Drexler about to lay it in in after what I'd think was him stealing the ball.  Karl Malone is flat footed in the back ground on the other end of the court.

These team checklists are a big highlight of the set for me.  I love the art Upper Deck put on these cards across the different Upper Deck sets.  There were more than one per pack in my pull which seemed out of the norm but I'm OK with that.

A few of the stars I pulled.  Drexler makes another appearance in the Karl Malone card.

A few good rookies in this pack.  Would have liked to have seen Dee Brown doing a dunk.

A few of the NBA Draft cards.  The clothing styles takes me back!

A few personal collection guys.

This is what the lockers look like (not my photo).  I busted an entire box in the past and would probably do it again if given the chance.  I really like this set.

This is the only hologram I pulled but it is of a great player and PC guy.  I was really happy with how this card scanned.  This locker was fun and brought back a lot of fun memories.

BREAKDOWN:

84 – Total Cards (12 packs X 7 cards)
25 – Team Checklist
8  – NBA Draft
7 – Rookie Standouts
2 – Checklist
1 – Hologram

Random Wax: 2016 Contenders Football

2016 Contenders Football:  Been a while since I busted a pack of these.  Not my favorite design from this brand but one that has grown on me the more I see it in hand.  Nice seeing retired greats like Bart Starr in these newer sets.  Oddly enough I think he is the only retired great in this base set which totals 100 cards.

Plenty of stars to be found here.  It stinks to see such a great player like J.J. Watt out for the year due to injury.  The Texans should be contenders at the end of the year but his loss won't help that defense that needs all the help it can get.

To remind everyone those numbers are the player's weight, height in inches, and uniform number.

A fun pack.  I won't hesitate when I see Contenders packs so expect more of this brand in the future.

BREAKDOWN:

22 – Total Cards
1 – Touchdown Tandems

Mail Day from The Lost Collector

Approximately 175 awesome Boston Red Sox cards arrived last week from The Lost Collector.  He's a Yankees guy whom I sent some cards and he really outdid himself with all these great cards in return.  Who says Yankees and Red Sox fans can't get along?  Picking a favorite to start off with was hard but I had to go with this 2016 Topps Update David Ortiz All-Star Game card.  An all-time fave in Ortiz during his final year in the game, a great photo, and my love for in-game all-star game photos makes for a great card.

  World Series cards are great when they feature in game photos and ever better when they are from your team.

The cards I received were from all kinds of sets from different years including these of some all-time greats and one who may be on the way to being included in that group.

I always liked Adrian Gonzalez and was excited to see him become a Red Sox.  Unfortunately his time there was short but he was great during his tenor with the team.  Great shot of Tony Pena in his unique catching stance and I love that Triple Play set.

Plenty of David Ortiz with these cards which is awesome.  I like that card design on that Clemens card but not sure about that photo.

Plenty of shiny cards were included.

Pedro and Tim Wakefield are two of my favorite Red Sox players and PC guys.

Ellis Burks and Jim Rice are also right there at the top of my favorite Boston players.

More Red Sox World Series greatness.  I don't take those moments for granted.  That drought before the 2004 Championship was brutal.  You just don't know if and when that next opportunity will come.

I like that Mookie Betts card a lot.  Unfortunately the chances seem slimmer and slimmer that he'll be able to remain in Boston past 2020 if even that long.

I always liked Peavy with the Padres and was happy when he joined the Red Sox and won a championship with them in 2013.

I'm a fan of Kyle Larson (NASCAR) so this is a great card for me.

So many great cards I could have scanned forever.  Thanks again to AJ and make sure you check out his blog at The Lost Collector.

Random Wax: 2019 Donruss Football

2019 Donruss Football:  This is one of those Dollar Tree eight card retail packs.  A fun pack for the size.  Hall of FamerTerry Bradshaw leads us off.  Definitely a draw to this brand is those retired greats.

    So odd seeing Clay Matthews not in a Packers' uni.  He is currently out with a broken jaw but I think he might return sometime soon.  Drafted 7th overall in this year's draft Josh Allen already has seven sacks as an edge rusher.  The backs are pretty blah but it is what you get with this brand year in and year out.

Can't go wrong with Russell Wilson.  There is definitely more Donruss football in my future.

BREAKDOWN:

8 – Total Cards
1 – Rated Rookie
1 – Retired Great

Secret Santa by Penny Sleeves for Your Thoughts

Penny Sleeves for Your Thoughts is at it again.  Secret Santa is open for business over at his blog.  The link is here.  Last year was my first year and I really enjoyed it.  Go on over and look over the details. It is easy and fun.

2019 Topps Baseball Wall-Mart Holiday Box

2019 Topps Baseball Holiday:  This Shohei Ohtania Rare variation, and that is what they call it, is the highlight pull from this box.  Rare variations fall 1:16 packs.  The variation is the candy cane in his back pocket.  Topps is all in with this year's holiday set and I actually like it over the holiday sets of years past.  I just thought they just didn't work with baseball though I was a bit more happy with the basketball holiday sets.  A friend's son pulled a Shohei Ohtani autograph relic card so while the variations are fun there are also big pulls to be had.  

  I pulled both this SP variation (1:7 packs) George Springer card as well as his base card.  Topps went with Christmas presents in the background on this variation.  Beckett's variation guide has more details on variations as well as photos. 

  The set is only 200 cards so it is easy to find star power in these boxes.

That Bregman card is another SP.  A little tougher to spot but that is a candy cane not a bat in his hand.  Variations are identified by the codes at the bottom of the card backs and are as follows:

Base – 057  SP – 063  Rare – 064  Super Rare – 065

These guys had a busy postseaon with Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner of course a part of the 2019 World Champion Washington Nationals.

  Another National and two of the great young players in the league right now.

Plenty of key rookies here.

Had to give CC Sabathia some love as he retired after a Hall of Fame career.  

The cards in this set are a mix of cards from all three 2019 Topps series (Ser. 1, Ser. 2, Update).  You'll also find some cards not found any any of those three sets like this Billy Hamilton card.

This was a fun box.  I do like the design even though it may seem a bit over the top.  The small set size is also a plus as you are going to find plenty of stars and plenty of key rookies.  Not sure I'll pick up another one but I wouldn't be surprised if I did. 

BREAKDOWN:

100 – Total Cards
22 – RC
5 – Metallic Flake
3 – Topps All-Star Rookie
2 – SP
1 – Rare
1 - Relic

Random Wax: 2019 Prestige Football

2019 Prestige Football:  While this year's design is a bit dull a Tom Brady insert always helps a pack shine.  I like the design of this Honor Roll insert and the photo on it.  Tom Terrific...just saying.

More Tom Brady here with his base card alongside a few inserts.  I prefer the Prestige Old School insert which features retired greats to this History Makers.  Not a bad photo or design with this Howie Long card but I wish they'd incorporate the actual photo background.

Young players get some love here on their RC cards.  

Some more stars help make this a fun pack.

Wide receiver goodness here.  I'll be curious if A.J. Green is traded this year.  I don't like seeing franchise greats move teams but this seems inevitable at some point.

Luke Kuechly is such a great player and fun to watch.  May go back to his brand sometime but it isn't on top of my football wants this year.

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards
5 – RC
3 - Green Parallel
1 – Honor Roll
1 – Powerhouse
1 – History Makers
1 – Prestigious Pros