Random Wax: 1990-1991 SkyBox Basketball Series II

SkyBox Series II:  When you look at Mark Eaton's career stats of 6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, it doesn't come close to doing him justice.  Starting his career at age 26 he was twice the Defensive Player of the Year, a 5X All-Defensive selection and 4X block champion in his 11 seasons in the NBA.  He once averaged almost 6 blocks per game in a season.

I could have easily started this post with Scottie Pippen.  Also, a defensive standout, 10X All-Defensive Team, 1X Steals champ, he had a great all-around game and of course won 6 championships with the Chicago Bulls.  Larry Nance made the All-Defensive Team 3X while Ricky Pierce was a 2X Sixth Man of the Year award winner.

We get coaches in Series II which is great.  One of my favorite all-time subsets are these Team Checklists with the team logos.  Love 'em.  Series II also had some good rookies that included Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Vlade Divac, Drazen Petrovic and Glen Rice.

90-91 SkyBox had these great backs.  The stats are different but work and we're in because of those photos.

Rik Smits had a great nickname - The Dunking Dutchman.  We'll end this pack with another team checklist and one of the great logos of all-time.  Seattle seems to be tops on the list of teams who will get an expansion team when the NBA is ready.  Can't wait to see the Supersonics again.

BREAKDOWN:
15 – Total Cards
2 – Coaches
2 – Team Checklists

Random Wax: 1994 Ted Williams Baseball 4 Packs

1994 Ted Williams:  Mike Schmidt is probably the best third baseman of all-time.  10X Gold Glove winner, 3X MVP, 6X Silver Slugger, 12X All-Star, Hall of Fame, World Series Champion and World Series MVP.  He also led the league in home runs 8X.  Strong mustache game as well.

Hall of Famer Rod Carew was an 18X All-Star team member, tied for Yaz for 5th most all-time.  He also had 7 batting titles in his Hall of Fame career in which he batted .323 with a .393 OBP (5X league leader).  He was also the 1977 MVP when he led the league in WAR, runs, hits, triples, hitting (.388), OBP (.449), and OPS (1.019).  We don't hear near enough about this great hitter in MLB history.  

Jose Silva went 25-28 over 7 MLB seasons.  He best season was 11 wins with the Pirates in 2000.

Going North cards focus on players as they transitioned to the major leagues. Vada Pinson had 2,757 hits in 18 seasons batting .286.

Fun inclusions in this set include Negro League and Women of Baseball. Newt Allen played 20 seasons ending his career with a .288 average.

The backs highlight the five best seasons in a player's career and were a fun look back at their careers.  Poor Alma was "The Hitless Wonder".  Not sure why they didn't highlight her pitching stats.

These are the last of these packs from an eBay purchase.  Speaking of strong mustache game, Phil Garner is no slouch.  Garner played 16 seasons winning a championship with the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.  That team made We Are Family a rallying cry.  That was a fun team.

500 Club, Swinging for the Fences and this Ted Williams insert.  Ted Williams was a 2X Triple Crown winner and 2X MVP amongst so many mother accolades.  

3B Eddie Yost led the league in walks 6X.  I'll miss showing off these cards.  They've been so much fun and a great look back at greats of the game.

BREAKDOWN:
48 – Total Cards
6 – The Campaign
6 – Negro Leagues
4 – Checklist
3 – Goin’ North
2 – Women of Baseball
2 – Swinging for the Fences
1 – 500 Club 
1 – Misc Insert (LP1)

John Elway Card Lot

I picked up this John Elway card lot last year and it had some really cool cards including this great 2013 Topps Magic card.  Elway ended his career as a 2X Super Bowl champion, MVP, Super Bowl MVP, All-1990s Team, Walter Payton award winner and 9X Pro Bowl selectee.  

I've made no secret that John Elway is my favorite football player of all-time.  That 1999 Upper Deck MVP card is really cool because of the photo.  Unfortunately, it was a culmination of Broncos defeating my Falcons soundly in the Super Bowl.  But what a way to end your career.  Two straight Super Bowl victories.  That first Score photos is nice as well.

The art on those Upper Deck cards have always been a favorite of mine.  There are so many 90s football sets I don't remember like these Bowman and Donruss sets.  Lots like these allow me to go back and look at those sets.  

And we have Pinnacle.  So much variety.  This was a 35-card lot I picked up on eBay.

Upper Deck, Pinnacle, Topps.  I really like those old Denver unis.  I grew up with those of course, but they really did look good.

John Elway played in 5 Super Bowls.  Three of those did not go as planned but it is still a great accomplishment to quarterback a team to that many championship games.  Shannon Sharpe really was a great combo with John Elway.  He was a 4X All-Pro with the Broncos and really revolutionized the tight end position.

I like the Select '95 with the muted background.  Makes those colors and photo pop.

I was surprised by how the photos didn't feel repetitive to me.  I thought I'd really just get the classic Elway look right before throwing but I'm very happy with all the different looks which are helped by so much variety in designs amongst the sets.

That Topps Season Highlights card is one of my favorites from the lot.

A nice look at Elway as a Stanford quarterback.

I'd never seen that Goodwin Champions card before and I like it.  That Fleer Ultra is also a favorite of mine.  It is that classic look, but I like how that photo is framed really well.  It was fun sharing these and reliving so many memories watching Elway in his career.

 

Random Wax: 2021-2022 Hoops Blaster

21-22 Hoops: LaMelo Ball is good.  He and the Hornets seem to be on the upswing.  They have a solid team with surprise rookie Kon Knueppel really helping them this season.  When I was young, I subscribed to Slam magazine, and I have always liked these inserts.  Good job Hoops.

KAT is now a Knick and in a really good photo here.  The Phoenix Suns are a surprise team this year after trading away KD in the offseason and we get LaMelo's base card.  This design has always been a solid Hoops look.

Evan Mobley has developed into an excellent big man for the Cavs and is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

Lights, Camera, Action are favorites of mine and the only horizontal options in Hoops.

A Purple and a Blue Parallel.  De'Aaron fox is great at getting to the basket with his speed and here he gets a nice photo.  Jalen Green is now a Phoenix Sun.

I picked up this blaster in 2022 and I'm just getting around to sharing it.  Yep, 'Melo was a Trail Blazer for two seasons before ending his career in LA.  Chris Paul recently announced his retirement after a Hall of Fame career.

Skyview, Class of 2021, and Pure Players inserts.  Plenty of variety in Hoops which is always good.  I like the Class of 2021 inserts design.  

Another good-looking Lights, Camera, Action insert.  Pascal Siakam has since become an Indiana Pacer helping them get to the NBA Finals last season.

A fun box of cards and lots of good photos.  I enjoy going through these after time has gone by and seeing what a difference 4 years can make in this instance.

BREAKDOWN:
88 – Total Cards
11 – RC
2 – Blue Parallel
2 – Purple Parallel
2 – Lights Camera Action
1 – Slam
1 – Skyview
1 – Pure Players
1 – Arriving Now
1 – Class of 2021

2026 Topps Baseball Hanger Box

2026 Topps:   Paul Skenes has been nothing short of great in his short career.  He has a 1.96 ERA through his first two years, a Cy Young and an ERA title.

I really like the design on this set.  No arguments with most of Topps' choices.  I haven't been this excited about a design in a while.  Great photo for Clayton Kershaw who retired after a Hall of Fame career.

Youngsters in the sports.  Matt Shaw had a solid first season with the Chicago Cubs hitting 13 home runs.

Maybe the greatest pitcher of his era.

1991 Topps Baseball, Diamante Parallel (Hanger Box exclusive) and a Profiles by Ken Griffey Jr.  I've always liked the Diamante look.  The others are okay but don't really move the needle for me.  James Wood struck out a league leading 221 times last season but had 31 dingers as well.

This Green Parallel Big Ticket Player insert is a good-looking card and is #/99.

Fun photos like these are always something I look forward to.

I really enjoy League Leader cards, and these are nice.  I do wish they had the season (2026) somewhere on the fronts.

I like that the borders aren't white all around the card, the team logo is prominent, the player's name is easy to read, and even the abbreviated team name in the corner.  Many small details along with the cloth/stitch look really work for me.

Crazy amazing start to his career.

I like the design on this year's Stars of MLB as well with team colors in the background being a nice bonus.

These team cards are done well with the exception that they don't give individual stat numbers for the team leaders.  Such an easy fix but Topps keeps omitting those.  We end it with a Titans of the Game.  I'm not sure about the design but I'm always up for an Ohtani pull.  Great box of cards and lots of fun.

BREAKDOWN:
59 – Total Cards
13 – RC
2 – Diamante Foil
2 – All-Star Rookie Cup
2 – 1991 Topps Baseball
1 – Team Card
1 – Future Stars
1 – Retired Great
1 – League Leaders
1 – Big Ticket Player
1 – Stars of MLB
1 – Titans of the Game
1 – Green Parallel #/99
1 – Profiles by Ken Griffey Jr.