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I'm an older (50) goon that collected more or less right in the middle of the junk wax era. Opened packs with an older brother in 77-79 but was too young to really know anything other than "opening packs is fun" Got back into it on my own by 1982 and was pretty heavy into it up until 1989. A particular friend and I got the point that we were setting up tables at card shows by 87 or so. Beat the Hell out of working at McDonalds in high school. But even as a teenager I could see the writing on the walls regarding long term value - if you went into a retail store in 1988 I guarantee they had approximately 5000 boxes of Donruss wax and rack packs all over the store. So I started buying some older things that I liked. At work blah blah blah, but I'll try to take some pics of a few favorites and post some content. Some good, some bad, some WTF. I absolutely assure you that in 1987 I was the only 16 year old kid in America with a near complete Don Mossi card collection. Actually do have a few questions for those in the current scene. Professional grading wasn't really a thing to my knowledge when I was collection. I know a few things I have are worth grading but really don't know how many should I ever feel like sending them in.
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Aug 9, 2022 15:00
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| # ¿ Dec 10, 2025 02:56 |
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camoseven posted:Many local card shops will do consultations, which would probably be helpful to you. It's expensive to get things graded so you probably don't want to do it if it's not worth it. LCSs will frequently do group submissions, too, which can cut down on the price, or you can get a membership with a grading company if you're gonna be doing a ton. I actually got off my rear end last Summer and went to a local shop here to ask if they'd be willing to go through some things with me to determine which cards would be worth the time and money, but lol. The second I pulled up and saw how many people were in the store I knew they wouldn't have time. Talked briefly and was told when to try to come in for such a thing but it was pretty much impossible with my work schedule. My brief Googling in the past warned me of the costs which is absolutely why I'd want someone to go through them with me first. A lot of the things I'd consider are late 50's through early 70s. But more or less - as expected for cards a teenager was buying - the cooler the card the lower the condition. Off the top of my head - I have a 66 Mantle that is a no brainer. But a 62 Aaron that would probably come back a 2 or 3 at best? That's the kind of thing I'd need help deciding on. Someday I'll give it another go.
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Aug 9, 2022 15:46
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Well poo poo. Just got home from the vet and got some confirmation that my cat has lymphoma. Not much in a "take pictures of cards" mood tonight. Here's one though - the previously mentioned 66 Topps Mantle. Roughly 60/40 off center, but pretty decent otherwise. One of the few that I assume to be clearly worth getting graded. My dad bought this for me for my 17th birthday. It was $50, which was a mind boggling amount to spend on a card to me at the time. Not to him though. My dad was rad as Hell. Don't even really remember why I wanted a nice Mantle card so much as he was of course well before my time. Really wanted a '59 but something in a similar condition at the time was roughly twice as much.
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Aug 10, 2022 01:36
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That batch of 1963-66 Topps is just nuts. A lot of time and effort to do it right, but you'll end up with some nice money when you're done. Was wondering where all the pics of the '63s were, but "off being graded" is a good answer. Side note to the original question - Pete Rose should never ever be admitted to the Hall of Fame. Him being a complete dipshit rear end in a top hat off the field isn't even really a factor. The cards are still worth plenty, but never miss a chance to point out that Pete Rose is a piece of poo poo.
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Aug 19, 2022 18:59
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That bottom row of Stargell rookies reminds me of something. Sadly they're in a box in a friend's garage multiple states away so no picture. Tales from colleting in the junk wax era.... Fred McGriff had a decent enough 1987. A friend's dad told us he thought he was going to make it and we should grab some of his cards. Grabbed a few 86 and 87 Donruss since those were the only cards for him yet. Then when the 88s came out and he had Fleer and Topps cards as well - I bought a box of 400 1988 Fleer Fred McGriffs. I think I paid 3-4 cents each. It looks something like this, but about 20x  For a while the monthly Beckett guide had the card at a buck or so, but when you're 16 you don't really think or care about "how the Hell am I going to sell these?" The answer is "you won't" And considering the era of cards - 493 Home Runs or not, a box of 400 Fred (Major League Super Star) McGriffs isn't worth a whole lot in 2022. Typing this up makes me remember a couple other can't miss rookies that in hindsight sure as Hell could and did. Myself and a lot of others bought plenty of Joey Meyer cards based on reports of a single home run.  Youtube would break my drat brain in 1988. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z00iMx8hM5s And I swear for a while some dealers in my area just wouldn't sell Gary Thurman cards at all. 3-4 times Beckett? Nope. This kid's gonna be huge. 
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Aug 20, 2022 15:52
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camoseven posted:Holy poo poo this is the best collection I've ever seen I am just sitting here staring at chickens.
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Nov 17, 2022 19:59
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RCarr posted:I hope the Sacremento Kings player is Jason Williams. Vlade Sidenote - still in awe of that bird set. Absolutely cool to see.
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Nov 18, 2022 15:43
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Tony Phillips posted:Fred McGriff had a decent enough 1987. A friend's dad told us he thought he was going to make it and we should grab some of his cards. Grabbed a few 86 and 87 Donruss since those were the only cards for him yet. Then when the 88s came out and he had Fleer and Topps cards as well - I bought a box of 400 1988 Fleer Fred McGriffs. I think I paid 3-4 cents each. Make that "Hall of Famer and Tom Emansky deemed BASEBALL SUPERSTAR" Fred McGriff. Hell Yeah, Crime Dog.
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Dec 5, 2022 01:34
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DR FRASIER KRANG posted:My buddy got me one of those cards where you pick a game for the player and if they go yard you get a special card from that game or something. Do the Jays play Oakland still this year? It's as good a guess as any.
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May 28, 2023 16:18
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Redemption card stories reminded me of something. 1983 Topps. 11 year old me opened a lot of them. I don't recall any other year or series doing this during the time I collected (82-89 or so - junk wax city) but 1983 Topps wax packs came with a scratch off game.   I scratched so many of these things. We all did. Nobody I knew won a drat thing. Even at 11 years old I wasn't dumb enough to think I was going to win a World Series trip but I got math enough to know that I had opened enough that at 1 in 140 for any prize - I was officially unlucky. Then I won. But it wasn't the card sheet. And while it sure as Hell wasn't WS tickets, it also wasn't the ColecoVision that would have blown my drat mind at the time. No - I won a batting glove. A 1 in 1143 chance. I AM A KING. I filled out the card, and mailed it in. The back says 4-6 weeks, but I remember it taking what seemed like forever. Long enough for my dreams of a sweet new FREE Franklin batting glove to have been basically forgotten when the package arrived. (In hind sight - it was probably a month or something. 11 year olds are weird.) Google is failing me, and it's not important enough to keep looking for a picture of what I got. But let me assure you what came in the mail was NOT a Franklin batting glove. Velcro strap to cinch it around your wrist? No - it had a thin 1/4 wide strip of elastic sewn into the opening. Actual padding that make hitting a ball wrong not sting? Hell no - you may as well not be wearing it. It was a Topps version of Ralphie getting told to be sure to drink my Ovaltine. I tried to use it. But my friends saw it. 11 year olds are weird. And ruthless. I don't remember how long it took before I threw it away, but it sure as Hell didn't make it through that Summer. My God, I think I endured multiple instances of the ultimate 1983 taunt - "Did you get that at K-Mart?" Thanks, Topps. Still a great design though. I think the 83 Topps are easily the best of the years I collected. Edit - I can absolutely smell wax pack gum from looking up those pictures. That memory/sense or whatever is just seared into my head. Tony Phillips fucked around with this message at 22:42 on May 29, 2023 |
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May 29, 2023 22:39
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Chief McHeath posted:Sorry they’re all baseball cards some of them just have hockey or basketball players on them Sometimes it's a bunch of 100 year old chicken cards and that seriously might be my favorite post in this thread.
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May 30, 2023 14:45
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Old timer tales from the 1980s.... NOBODY BOUGHT THOSE drat 86/87 FLEER BASKETBALL CARDS. Sigh. If only I had any drat sense. I could accept that somehow a 1984 Donruss Mattingly was worth $60 and friends and I bought every pack of 84 Donruss we could chasing those cards. (Side note regarding 1980s Donruss collation. If you peaked at the back card in a pack and saw Oil Can Boyd - there was a Darryl Strawberry in that pack. Every time.) But Fleer comes out with the first major basketball set in five years or so - basically chock full of rookie cards by default. (Guess people really don't count those Star sets.) Every kid in the country knew MJ was the ultimate badass. Of course his rookie card would be worth a lot. But I don't know a single friend that actively collected those cards. The only one I ever bought was Manute Bol because lol - he tall. 2+ years later. I remember the Pay-N-Save in Bremerton, WA STILL having all the 86/87 Fleer NBA wax packs you could ever want. Boxes and boxes at $.10 a pack. Basically wax pack clearance. I have no idea who eventually bought them at that price, but God bless them.
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Jun 9, 2023 17:22
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Help a 51 year old goon feel older than needed. Those cards pretty clearly look based on the 1974 Topps design. A few years prior to my earliest card memories. So. My question: What's the most recent set to have had it's design reused like this? I assume some set from the 80s has been retro'd? Edit : VVV - so recent it doesn't even make me feel old. That's just silly. Tony Phillips fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Jun 11, 2023 |
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Jun 11, 2023 23:08
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Ever dragged junk wax cards around for decades knowing that they're worthless? Well I did. But then I moved cross country and left them behind with a friend. HE then dragged them from Seattle to LA and back over the course of another 6 years. Then HE moved them to Minnesota where I had moved and I was reunited. The amount of gas burned moving these cards around the country dwarfs their value. I need to clear some closet space in my office and I'm not really sure these 1987 Topps Incaviglias really warrant the pomp and circumstance of binders...  About to get nostalgic as hell over here.
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Aug 31, 2025 23:10
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FlamingLiberal posted:I love the '88 Topps, not sure if you have those but I have probably 30 or so signed. Ron Karkovice did a free signing here last month so I got him to sign one. I have a maybe 1500-2000 77-79 Topps from an older brother that collected. Then I started up from 82 through 1988. I have a LOT of 1988 topps, fleer, donruss and score. I bought a box or two of 89 Topps and Fleer and then just stopped cold turkey. These binders are basically a 1986-1988 who's who in failed prospects. But then you turn a page and you're looking at Greg Maddux rookie cards. OMG he's an upper echelon hall of famer they must be worth a fortune!!!! Lol. Is there any legitimate thing to do with these? They're not worth anything barring some miracle PSA 10 grade on a few of them, but I'm never grading them and despite being a careful nerd of a kid - they likely all have some defect or another. I used to hear people say you should give them to some kids charity, but what the Hell? No poor kid in need wants to look at Shane Mack or Dave Magadan. I assume if I called a card shop and asked if I could just drop them off they'd ask me not to. I'm mentally at peace with them being worthless and don't mind tossing them in the recycling, but it just feels dirty. Edit - more content. My earliest baseball card memories are opening packs of 1977 Topps with my dad and older brother. I was 5. I didn't know who was who just that there was a new team called The Mariners and we lived in the north west and Hell yeah baseball! Not knowing anything about the players, I'd open a pack with my dad and he'd tell me who was good. I can distinctly remember him gushing about one particular player that I got so that was my new favorite player. Ha ha ha. I'm a five year old Mariners fan and my favorite player is Pete Rose. In hindsight, someone should have called CPS. But that's why 9 years later I was eating a lot of Wheaties and savng boxes cause I'm sure these will be worth a lot!  Tony Phillips fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Aug 31, 2025 |
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Aug 31, 2025 23:42
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FlamingLiberal posted:No there's nothing you can really do with them. I guess keep any rookies of like HOFers but other than that, they still aren't worth anything because they were so overproduced. That's more or less where I ended up tonight. I went through two binders. Remembered lots of guys. Good times. Then 95+% went into the recycling. HOF rookies and a few 2nd year cards if I liked them went into a box. Actually, the box previously held a hand collated set of 1988 Score. Those all went into the recycling so I could use the box. This is probably about a much fun as you can have with cards like this. Having a good time, actually. Third binder was more interesting. More or less where I had stashed anyone of note from 1982 or before. Still mostly garbage, but some interesting things. I'll post some pics later. Also in that binder were my autographs. A whole lot of forgotten mid to late 80s mariners, but also some cool ones as well. I know the Dimaggio signatures are from 1987 in Oakland - part of some All Star game festivities. I don't really remember them like I do DiMaggio, but I assume Drysdale and Robinson were from the same time.  I do actually have some older cards I should get graded. I assume the DiMaggio autos should be authenticated as well.
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Sep 1, 2025 01:40
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When your favorite player is Pete Rose and it's 1984 or so it gets boring as Hell to collect Pete Rose cards. By the Summer of 84 I assure you I wanted Don Mattingly cards, not Pete. It was new favorite player time. That's why if any of you need 56 1987 Topps Boggs cards, I'm your guy.  Pete Rose and Wade Boggs. The two players I collected the most and longest. There's a third player that I liked though. Because Bill James called him ugly in "The Historical Baseball Abstract" and I thought it was funny. In 1988 I would bet anything that I was the only 16 year old kid in America actively collecting Don Mossi cards.  I know I had 1958 and 1964s in the past - not sure where they went. Don't think he had a 1965.
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Sep 2, 2025 00:59
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| # ¿ Dec 10, 2025 02:56 |
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Don Mossi actually had a decent career and was pretty good for three year run with the Tigers. Long story, but a friend and I once ended up seeing "Peggy Sue Got Married" after the movie ticket guy refused to let us into R rated Stand By Me. This was 1986. I don't think I was collecting Mossi yet, but he gets name dropped by Nic Cage's character in the movie as he's talking about the Tigers starting rotation. Can't find it on youtube, but somehow a Peggy Sue got Married soundboard exists. https://www.101soundboards.com/sounds/5538867-don-mossi-frank-lary-jim-bunning-and-paul-foytack These are the things that use up braincells in my head. Edit - If anyone's interested - I have some signed index cards that I don't recognize. Would love some guesses on who they are. Tony Phillips fucked around with this message at 15:40 on Sep 2, 2025 |
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Sep 2, 2025 15:19
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