Ohhh that smell...

Some smells may remind you of a memory. I can admit anytime I smell one of those hard strawberry candies wrapped in the strawberry look-alike wrapper, I am transported back into the 80's and in my great grandmother's house where she kept a candy dish full of them in her living room. 

Recently, a reader of mine who emails me every so often sent me a bunch of 1989 Topps Jumbo packs (thanks Mike!) and a familiar smell whisked me away to a memory I had of when I was 7 back in 1989. There I was making my rounds with my dad on my birthday after I was picked up from the bus stop. When I stepped out, my dad saw me wearing a birthday hat which my 2nd grade teacher made for every kid on their birthday. It was almost like a crown, and I wore it proudly all day. When I got into my dad's truck, we then made a quick stop at our local Foodland to pick up a birthday cake. On our way back, we stopped by my grandparent's place of business where they sold RV's and RV accessories. When I got in the door, I remember grabbing a balloon from the many they had in the doorway for kids when they came into their place of business. I walked past the register and turned to my left and headed into my grandfather's office. Anytime I saw him I always took the hat he was wearing and turned it backwards. He'd always yell at me, "Dammit B.J.!" Another thing you should know about these grandparents was that they never called me by my first name. They told my dad after I was born that they HATED my name and refused to ever use it, so I was always referred to by my initials. Because of this, my cousins never actually called me Bryan either. It was always B.J. or Beej. Am I a bit upset by this? Maybe, but after over 40 years of it, it's the least of my worries. After I said "Hello" to my grandfather, I stopped in the kitchen which was right next to my grandfather's office and my grandmother was in there. She said "Happy Birthday" to me and gave me a small bag with a card in a blue envelope. Inside the bag was a jumbo pack of 1989 Topps. I know I noted in my 100 post that these grandparents didn't ever get me anything, well a certain smell from those 1989 Topps packs generated this memory from my brain and I have been mistaken. 

My grandparent's kitchen in their businesses building had a brown picnic table with 4 benches. I sat down on the bench near the window with the table always wrapped in an ugly yellow tablecloth, I pushed the birthday crown out of my eyes and began to tear open those packs. Afterwards, we would tear into my cake. We had a mini-birthday party for me that day because I asked for a birthday party with friends instead of family that year. My parents ponied up to get the McDonald's Play Place for me and 5 friends. 

Anyways, these were the first of many 1989 Topps packs I would open that year. Immediately I noticed the smell of the cards. It wasn't like that familiar smell from the previous year's Topps packs in 1988. No, this smell was different. I don't remember who I pulled from those packs that day, but I do remember that smell. Does anyone know what I'm talking about. The cardboard they used that year combined with the crappy gum, it just sends a wave of nostalgia through my body. 

Pictured: me with a stack of 1989 Topps, a birthday cake with 7 candles, birthday hat in my eyes, the yellow tablecloth and a killer Pittsburgh Pirates shirt!

So, I guess I will be diving back into the 1989 Topps set. When I sold my collection to that guy in New Jersey back in 2004, with it went my hand collated set of 1989 Topps Baseball. Thanks to Mike (who I don't even believe follows my blog, he just reads it), I will be heading back into the world of nostalgia. Smelling that familiar smell once again and being reminded of being 7 again and a time when my grandparents maybe cared about me a little more than I had remembered. Also, for the record, I pulled a Gregg Jefferies in the first pack! 

1989 Topps (note Keith Atherton is the last card in the box)

Thanks for reading.

He played there? Baseball Edition: Part 2

It seems the first "He played there?" that was posted was a success (views wise), so here is installment #2. 

When thinking about who I should start this post with, my mind instantly went to Cecil Fielder. A legend in my neighborhood growing up, Fielder was known for being a bit "husky" and also for his towering home runs. A big card back in 1990 on my street was his 1990 Topps Traded card which showed him in his Detroit Tigers uniform. My neighbor Tommy had it. I still don't know where he obtained it, but I tried my best to trade him for it (unsuccessfully I might add). After his 51-home run year, he followed it up again with another monster of a season with 44. Although it wasn't more than 50, when my neighbors and I were outside hitting the baseball, we were still trying to emulate Mr. Fielder. After his days with the Tigers were over, he ended up with the Yankees for 2 seasons before heading over to the Anaheim Angels in 1998 where he split his final season with the Angels and Indians. Unfortunately for my fellow blog friends reading this, I couldn't locate a card of Fielder with the Indians (I'm sure there might be one out there though), so for the sake of the "He played there?" portion, enjoy Cecil Fielder with the Angels which I purchased from a nice guy on Sportlots named Scott (whoops24).

How was he acquired? Cecil Fielder signed a 1-year contract with the Anaheim Angels on December 19, 1997. He was released by the Angels on August 10, 1998, and signed with the Cleveland Indians on August 13, 1998.

1998 Topps Chrome Cecil Fielder #374

Steve Carlton had a Hall of Fame 24-year Major League career. When Carlton was in his 40's, he did a little bouncing around between teams before calling it quits. In 1986, the guy played for 3 teams! In 32 games that season, Carlton would suit up for the Phillies, Giants, and White Sox. The very next year, he would play for Cleveland and Minnesota and end his career with the Twins the very next season in 1988. During one of his stops in 1986, he would collect a career milestone by notching his 4,000th strikeout of his career! This would be in one of the 6 games he played with the San Francisco Giants. Lucky for us, Donruss would commemorate this brief stop Carlton had with the team with a Highlights card for everyone to enjoy! 

How was he acquired? Carlton signed a 1-year deal with San Francisco Giants on July 4, 1986, which he would be released from by August 7, 1986, and he would sign with the White Sox 5 days later on August 12, 1986.

1986 Donruss Highlights Steve Carlton #35

Bret Saberhagen was a pretty big name back in the 80's and early 90's. He was a 3-time All-Star, Won 2 Cy Young awards, was a World Series MVP, Gold Glove winner and was named Pitcher of the Year a few times. He was just good. When I was thinking of writing this blog post, I had a large sum of cards in my card from a seller named Scott (whoops24) in my Sportlots cart, and I decided to add this one too just in case I decided to add Saberhagen to this list. Well darn it, I'm adding him! In 1995, Saberhagen would have a 9-game stint with the Colorado Rockies. He has a few cards picturing him with this team and below I am showing one of them.

How was he acquired? August 4, 1995, Saberhagen was traded by the New York Mets with David Swanson (who was the player to be named later) to the Colorado Rockies for Juan Acevedo and Arnold Gooch.

1996 Fleer Metal Universe Platinum Bret Saberhagen #157

When you think of Andruw Jones, you probably think of him as an Atlanta Brave, and rightfully so. However, Jones actually played on 5 teams in his career. I was shocked when I looked this up. In 2008, he left the Braves to continue his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This is something that I vaguely remembered. Maybe because I had a lot going on at that time in my life, or maybe because my memory for sports transactions just isn't what it used to be. Anyways, Jones had the worst year of his career in 2008 with the Dodgers. He would only play in 75 games due to knee surgery, but he only managed to hit 3 home runs to go along with 14 RBI's and batted an abysmal .158. No wonder the Dodgers cut bait on him after that season. There are plenty of Jones Dodgers cards out there and I actually already happened to have one of them to use for this post! When my wife and I were celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary, we decided to venture out to the place where we had our reception. It's a mansion that is themed like Gone with the Wind (my wife's favorite movie). We stayed the weekend and had a few nice (expensive) dinners out there. While we were out there, we ventured around town and found a comic book/sports card shop there. I bought the only pack of baseball cards the place had which was a 2008 Bowman Chrome and ended up pulling the card you will see below. First let's look at how Jones ended up on the Dodgers in the first place.

How was he acquired? Andruw Jones signed a 2-year $36.2 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

2008 Bowman Chrome Andruw Jones Refractor #87

Anytime I think of Al Oliver, I think of him as a Pittsburgh Pirates. I can picture him now wearing that yellow Pirates hat. When I was opening one of those awesome Fairfield re-packs I love so much (that the Rite Aid near my house no longer carries), I pulled an Al Oliver card, and I passed right by it. I didn't even realize it was him! When I went back through my stack of commons one rainy day, I had to look at the back of the card to make sure it was the same Al Oliver. Well, holy crap, it was! I had no idea at all that Al Oliver played for the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1984, Oliver split time between the San Francisco Giants (91 games) and the Phillies (28 games). Oliver would only play 1 more season in the Majors in 1985 when he would play 96 total games split between the Dodgers and Blue Jays. Since I only have his Phillies card, enjoy it below.

How was he acquired? August 20, 1984, Oliver was traded by the San Francisco Giants with Renie Martin (player to be named later) to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kelly Downs and George Riley.

1985 Topps Al Oliver #130

Catchers are my favorite. I played catcher myself when I played baseball, and I respect the heck out of anyone who can play that position for their entire career. It's literal hell on the knees. It's part of the reason I have bad knees to this day. Pudge Rodriguez was one of the best catchers out there. He played 21 seasons in the majors and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017! Most people remember him playing for the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, his brief stop with the Yankees, and of course you remember when he played for the Astros....right? Right? Well, if you're like me, you had no idea or recollection of this, but Pudge suited up for 93 games with the Astros back in 2009. Of course, our awesome friends at Topps commemorated this with a baseball card that season to remember his brief stop in Houston.  

How was he acquired? March 20, 2009, Ivan Rodriguez signed a 1-year deal with the Houston Astros.

2009 Topps Update and Highlights Ivan Rodriguez #UH1

 

I was pretty big into the Mets when I was younger in the 80's, but I was never a big Keith Hernandez fan. Not sure why, I just wasn't. Maybe because Strawberry, Gooden and Jefferies were more fun to root for? Who knows. However, Hernandez was a great player and had some hilarious cameos in Seinfeld, and I remember him being on an episode of Sesame Street when I was younger (I think?) When I was talking to a co-worker a few years back, he had told me that I had to check out a book Hernandez wrote and I've been meaning to pick it up, I may just have to sooner or later. When I was deciding to do these posts, I looked through stacks and stacks of commons looking for anyone that I didn't remember they played for a certain team and this one definitely stuck out to me. Back in 1990, Keith Hernandez retired from baseball, but before he retired, he played 43 games for the Cleveland Indians and hit only 1 home run, with 8 RBI's and batted .200. Upper Deck was there to show you it actually happened, so thanks Upper Deck!

How was he acquired? On December 7, 1989, Hernandez signed a 1-year deal with the Cleveland Indians.

1990 Upper Deck Keith Hernandez #777

Why don't I just stick with former Mets for this post? Darryl Strawberry was one of my favorite players growing up. I had a Strawberry t-shirt, his Starting Lineups, cards, Mets hat, you name it. I was all in. It probably helped he had the last name of one of my favorite fruits, but the fact that he was an All-Star was just icing on the cake. I'm not saying Strawberry was the complete inspiration behind this post idea, but he was a big part of it. When my wife and I were at a card show years back, I picked up a Darryl Strawberry parallel. I didn't even think about what team he was playing on pictured on the card, I just saw his name and threw it in my pile of cards to buy. Of course, when you think of Darryl Strawberry, you think of the Mets, Dodgers or Yankees. That's where my mind goes, but back in 1994, Straw had a short stint with the San Francisco Giants by suiting up for 29 games. If you look up Straw's time with the Giants on the internet, you might not want to read what you see. He did some awful things between innings when he was there. I just finished his book, "Turn Your Season Around - How God Transforms Your Life." I'm happy Strawberry found God and turned his life around because from the things I have read about him on the internet, the man sure needed it. 

How was he acquired? Darryl Strawberry signed with the San Francisco Giants on June 19, 1994.

1995 Select Artist's Proof Darryl Strawberry #5

When I see someone do a heel click, I always think of Ron Santo. From everything I have read in the past about the guy, he just seemed like a great person overall. Between his charities, his broadcast career, and his major league baseball career, Santo certainly was deserving of his Hall of Fame induction. When I read more about him some time last year, I found out that he didn't play his whole career with the Cubs like I had initially thought. In 1972, Santo became the first player to invoke the ten-and-five rule that ended the baseball strike that year. The rule states a player with 10 years of service and the last 5 years being with the same team could decline any trade. With the Cubs trying to shed Santo's salary, he vetoed a trade with the California Angels. He then asked Cubs management to try to swing a deal with the White Sox so he could stay in the City of Chicago. In December of 1973, that trade came to fruition and Santo would spend his last major league season playing for the crosstown Chicago White Sox.

How was he acquired? Ron Santo was traded by the Chicago Cubs on December 11, 1973, to the Chicago White Sox for Steve Stone, Ken Frailing, Steve Swisher and Jim Kremmel (player to be named later)

1975 Topps Ron Santo #35

This one made me do a double-take when after watching Moneyball one night, I decided to look up Jason Giambi. Apparently, in 2013 and 2014, Giambi was a Cleveland Indian and my mind either blocked it out, or it was just that insignificant. When glancing at his stats, he actually played 97 games as an Indian. That's 14 more games than he played in Oakland, but a lot of people remember him in Oakland due to his name being mentioned in the movie Moneyball. Giambi's time with Cleveland did not go well. He smacked 11 home runs and 36 RBI's but batted an abysmal .183 in 2013 and .133 in 2014. Giambi would retire as a Cleveland Indian after the 2014 season. This card was bought on Sportlots from Scott (whoops24).

How was he acquired? Signed by the Cleveland Indians on February 9, 2013, and again on November 1, 2013. 

2014 Topps Update Jason Giambi Gold /2014 #US-38

Recently I heard a story about how John Kruk, George Brett and some BBQ Ribs. I guess Kruk had a guy who would get him some BBQ ribs all the time when he was in KC in the broadcast booth. However, his BBQ guy was going to be out of town the next time he was in KC, so he gave Kruk a phone number of a guy named George who could also cook some mean ribs. So, the text back and forth and one day when George was going to deliver the ribs, Kruk asked him if he needed any clearances to get to the booth and George said, "No, I think I'll be alright." When he came to deliver the ribs, Kruk was like, "What the hell? I've been texting George Brett about BBQ ribs for the past few months and had no idea??" I thought it was pretty amusing, and I think I got the story about 75% accurate. Well, growing up, I always liked Kruk. He seemed like a silly goofball. After I heard the story above, I went down a rabbit hole about John Kruk and found out he ended his career with the Chicago White Sox. I thought he retired as a Phillie, but I was dead wrong. Also, Topps of course commemorated his stop in Chicago with a nice Topps Finest card I also purchased from Scott.

How was he acquired?  John Kruk signed a contract with the Chicago White Sox on May 18, 1995.

1995 Topps Finest John Kruk #319

Is it Graig or Craig? I never understood this guy's name as a kid. My dad told me he was a really good player though. I got to see him play when he was with the Padres when they visited the Pirates once. I was really young and don't remember much from the game other than eating nachos and having to wait in a long line to pee. The first time I heard of Nettles was when my dad, brother and I were sifting through the cards in the "boot box" full of cards my grandfather found in a field and my dad was telling us who was good and who he had never heard of. Nettles was one of the guys my dad said was good. The card I had back then of him was a 1986 Topps card of him with his throwing hand in his glove waiting for a ground ball, I guess. Not exactly full of action, but I owned it. As time went by, I picked up his Rookie Card and when researching for these posts I am making, I figured I'd look into Nettles. I knew he had played for the Twins, Indians, Yankees, and Padres. I had no idea though that he had played 1 season for the Braves and finished his career with the Expos! In his last year in 1988, Nettles played 80 games for the Expos and swatted 1 measly home run with 14 RBI's and batted .172. It sounds like he knew it was time to hang 'em up. At the age of 43 though, who could blame the guy. This card comes from Scott (whoops24) from Sportlots as well.

How was he acquired? Graig Nettles was sold from the Atlanta Braves to the Montreal Expos on March 24, 1988. 

1988 Score Traded Graig Nettles #25T

Finally, I show someone who started their career with the Pirates. I have a feeling most will already know that this guy played for them, but oh well. Moises Alou would be a 1st Round Draft Pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd overall) in 1986. He would make his debut in 2 games in 1990 and collect his 1st Major League hit for them. Shortly thereafter, he would be traded to the Montreal Expos and begin a long 17-year Major League Baseball career with 6 All-Star selections, a Home Run Derby Championship and 2 Silver Slugger awards. Well, here you go, let's see him in his Pirates gear. (Thanks Scott - whoops24).

How was he acquired? Traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 8, 1990 with Scott Ruskin and Willie Greene to the Montreal Expos for Zane Smith.

1990 Bowman Moises Alou RC #178

This last player is someone I couldn't stand because my mom had a crush on him back in the day. All my friends knew, and it was kinda weird. It was all my fault too. I was watching a baseball game on our living room tv instead of downstairs and Mike Piazza stepped up to the plate and my mom says, "Oh, who is that player?" So, I told her, and she said, "Well, he's cute." YUCK! Any time my friends would come over before we headed out to a Pirates game, she would ask if Piazza played for the other team. My friends soon caught on and thought it was hilarious. My one buddy actually gave her a Piazza card. I wonder if she still owns it. Anyways, Piazza is a Hall of Famer, we all know that, but did you know he spent 5 games as a Florida Marlin? You did? Well, I did too, but I'm here to remind you! Here goes. Enjoy! P.S., Mom, if you ever read this...ewwww.

How was he acquired? Mike Piazza was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Todd Ziele to the Florida Marlins on May 14, 1998, for Manuel Barrior, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson and Gary Sheffield.

1998 Fleer Ultra Pizzazz Mike Piazza #485

Well, that's it for the latest installment. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed going down memory lane. I have a few more of these posts lined up, so I hope you guys keep reading and digging it.

Until then, thanks for reading!

Turn Back The Clock: Shipy shipped back to Russia

It’s fantasy hockey time once again and it reminds me of my biggest draft day blunder of all time. Some of you don't know the name Vadim Shipachyov...and why should you? His NHL career only lasted 3 games. Well, if you don't know about this guy, I will tell you, his story. Shipachyov was an elite playmaking center in the KHL (Russian League). In 456 games, he totaled 137 goals and 276 assists for 413 points. If you don't know, the KHL is a league where goals and points are hard to come by. Before the 2017-18 NHL season, he was the big free agent that teams in the NHL were looking to sign to a contact. After the Vegas Golden Knights signed their first free agent in Reid Duke, their focus quickly turned to Shipachyov. 

With Vegas being the expansion franchise, then General Manager George McPhee looked to make a splash when he signed Shipachyov to a 2-year deal with an annual value of $4.5 million. Surely with that kind of cash being assigned to a player who never played in the NHL, the Golden Knights were hoping their new playmaker would help put buts in seats. Now that their new franchise center was signed, the Golden Knights front office looked to add to their roster heading into the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. They soon added more depth at center with selections of Erik Haula, William Karlsson and Cody Eakin. 

Training camp of 2017 rolled around, and Vadim was placed on the top line between Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault. When preseason hit, Shipachyov couldn't adjust to the smaller NHL surface, clashed with coaches, wasn’t defensively responsible and didn't really gel with his teammates and rumors had spread that he didn't enjoy his time spent in North America. 

On opening night, the Golden Knights scratched Shipachyov from the lineup in the game vs. the Dallas Stars and quickly decided to send him to the AHL. However, Shipachyov never reported to their AHL affiliate (Chicago Wolves). Later on, in the month of October, he was called up for his first NHL game against the Boston Bruins on October 15th, 2017. In the 2nd period of this game with 2:14 left, he would pot his first NHL goal against Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask. 

He would play in 2 more games for the Golden Knights before being sent back to the AHL again once Jonathan Marchessault returned from an injury. This time, Shipachyov would report to the Golden Knights AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. However, he would only participate in 1 practice before leaving the team for good. This led to a suspension from the Golden Knights, and he demanded to be traded.

George McPhee tried to locate a trade partner for the disgruntled Russian center, but there were no takers from any of the other NHL teams. In a weird turn of events, Shipachyov decided to retire from the NHL in order to have his contract voided by the Golden Knights. He ended up going back to the KHL where he currently plays for Minsk Dynamo. 

Why do I care about this guy enough to post on my blog? Well, I play in a hardcore fantasy hockey league. It's very involved and it's also a keeper league. We keep 6 players every year and there are trades involving multiple players, draft picks, with a lot of smack talk in between. In the previous season of 2016-17, I was the league champion and also had three 3rd round draft picks from previous trades. One of those was spent on Mr. Vadim Shipachyov. He did get me 1 point that season in 3 games played, but it turned out to be a wasted pick. I wanted so bad for this guy to be good, but it never happened. 

My league mates and I have an open chat and last night one of the guys asked, "Does anyone remember when Bryan took Shipy in the 3rd round of our draft?" After a lot of smack talk back and forth at my behalf, I actually thought about Shipachyov for the first time in a long while. This led me to this rabbit hole in the paragraphs above. I did have a bunch of Shipachyov cards that season, and actually kinda collected the guy. My collection sometimes is a lot of oddball stuff, but I am a bit of an oddball myself. One of the better cards I had of his was a SP Game Used Green Storm RC 1/1. When my wife and I were building the house, we currently live in, I did let it go when someone offered me $150 for it. I would have been stupid not to at that price. It can currently be seen on eBay for the low price of $499.99. Woof!

Oh, what could have been had Vadim Shipachyov lived up to his NHL potential. Maybe the Golden Knights would have won the Stanley Cup their first season rather than losing in 5 games to the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final? And maybe, just maybe I would have been a back-to-back champion in my fantasy hockey league. It is what it is I suppose. So, for now, you get this blog post. Not the usual post from me, but a post, nonetheless. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I had fun recalling this strange turn of events from his 3 game "tryout" in the NHL. 

For your viewing pleasure, since this is after all a sports cards blog, the one Vadim Shipachyov that I still own and will probably own forever. It is his best card possible, and the first time I have ever really showed it off to anyone, so enjoy:

2017/18 UD The Cup Vadim Shipachyov Black RC 1/1

Thanks again for reading folks.

100

I can't believe I have posted 100 times on this blog! 

When I started it, I wasn't even sure I would keep it going, but someone out there must like it because the number of reads/views it gets have been pretty impressive. THANK YOU to everyone who reads this thing! 

In the many emails and comments, I have received from readers of this blog, and I apologize if it has taken me a long time to get back to all of you who have said something to me: good or bad, thanks go out to you as well. Although you may not post a comment, the email still finds me and gives me something to think about, smile about, or put me in a bad mood for an hour or two.

With this post, I wanted to show off some of my favorite cards since my hobby journey began. Since this post is #100, well, why don't I show off 100 of my favorite cards? Let's go!

#100 - 1991 Action Packed Rookie Update Todd Marinovich 24-Kt. Gold RC #23G

I feel like this was my first "big" card, or maybe a card that every kid I knew wanted from me. Well, I ended up keeping this card for 33 years after I pulled it and now NO ONE wants it from me. That's ok. I'll keep it. I still remember pulling this card in my dad's old truck on a trip home from Dunham's Sporting Goods back in 1991 and screaming with excitement. For that, this card lands on the list. 

#99 - 2000 Topps Chrome Chris Samuels Refractor RC #233  /150

When 2000 Topps Chrome was released, I bought a few packs from the small card shop about 10 minutes from my house. They always liked seeing me stop in and were delighted when I opened my packs that day. In the first pack I pulled a Rob Morris RC. In the second pack, I landed this. Two rookies in two packs, not too bad, and with one of them being a refractor, heck yes! That certainly was a day to remember. I had a feeling about Samuels so I packed this thing away for safe keeping and I'm glad I did. One day, I hope this guy gets into the Hall of Fame. We'll see.

#98 - 1986/87 O-Pee-Chee Wendel Clark RC #149

My parents took my brother to a lot of card shows in the early 90's since they were usually about 8-10 minutes away at an old Howard Johnson hotel banquet hall, and it would occupy us for hours. In one of those trips, I had an idea to buy up all the rookies of the top players in the NHL. The first purchase I made that day was for a OPC Wendel Clark Rookie. I think I paid either $3 or $4 for this thing. Nowadays it goes for around $40-$50 in this kind of condition. Glad I had this bright idea when I was 8, and also glad I held onto this. 

#97 - 2010/11 Donruss Fans of the Game Michael Ontkean Auto #4

When my wife and I were dating, a lot of times my nephew would want to tag along with us on adventures. This was all fine and dandy because at the time, my wife was actually a nanny for a wealthy family in a neighboring town and she loved being around kids. One afternoon, we decided to take my nephew to Toys R' Us. I think I ended up buying him a remote-control millipede, and I bought a weird cube of hockey cards. I saw there were a few Donruss packs in the cube, so I decided to buy it. In one of the two packs, I hit this card. I actually couldn't believe my eyes. When my brother moved out of my parents' house when he was 21 and bought his townhouse, I would frequently go over there to have beers (as long as I slept on his couch) and watch cool movies. One of the movies we would like to watch was "Slapshot". What a hilarious movie! Anyways, if you have ever seen the movie, this Michael Ontkean fella should look familiar. That movie will always remind me of my brother and some good times!

#96 - 2014/15 Black Diamond Rookie Gems Joey Hishon Quad Diamonds RC 1/1

This card was not pulled by me. I think this card may have been part of a redemption for a lottery that happened online. Anyways, eventually this went up for sale and I bought it on eBay. I really wanted Hishon to be a good player, but concussion issues derailed what would have been a decent career, I think. This card is beautiful in person and this scan doesn't do it justice whatsoever. When I bought this a while ago, I thought it was one of the coolest things in the world. It had 4 real diamonds on the card! Now, it seems this idea has been overdone and maybe this card would land higher on the list had it not been for the overuse of this idea. Anyways, enjoy #96, Mr. Joey Hishon.

#95 - 1996/97 Black Diamond Patrick Marleau RC #103

In 2003, from a single pack of Black Diamond hockey I purchased off of eBay I pulled this card. What are the freaking odds? With this card being the 2nd biggest card in the set, it was pretty wild that in the 1 pack I purchased, this thing was there. Well, idiot me ended up trading this card to a guy on a trading card forum. A few years later, luckily, I was able to snag it back from him via eBay for $12. Crazy how this card ended up back with me again.

#94 - 2006 SPx Rookie Jersey Auto Reggie Bush Gold RC /99

I just like Reggie Bush. USC has been the team I rooted for even before the Leinart-Bush days. At one point in time, I had an old USC shirt that I would sleep in all the time, and I wore it so much there was a gigantic hole in the armpit. When I was out with my friends one night, it mysteriously disappeared never to be seen again. Anyways, I bought this card once his career was winding down. This was one time I waited to buy a card I wanted instead of buying it when the hype was high. When I purchased this, I got it for a fraction of what they were going for back in 2006. I'm happy to own it and it's not going anywhere (for the time being) unless my wife gets rid of this too (haha).

#93 & 92 - 2011/12 Upper Deck Young Guns Tim Erixon Printing Plates RC's 1/1 (Yellow and Magenta)

The Magenta plate on the left has been in my collection for years, the Yellow on the right is a newer edition to my collection. Since I have had the magenta plate, I've been wanting to grab all 4 since I liked Tim Erixon. The search continues for the Cyan and Black plates. If anyone sees either of them, by all means let me know! One day I will complete this plate set and when I do, I'm sure you will see the completed plate set. 

#91 - 1992 Topps Gold Brien Taylor RC #6

Yep, a card that bothered me as a kid is one of my favorites. This card just brings up a lot of memories. At one point in time, I had 3 of the base versions of this card. Everyone at school and in my neighborhood was after me for trades and I turned down every single one. As you have probably read in my previous post here, I pulled this thing in 1996, well after the Taylor hype was gone. Well, I still own it. Didn't trade this one either haha. 

#90 - 1986 Fleer Update Wally Joyner XRC #U-59

Have you ever seen one of those vending machines where you can get baseball cards for 50 cents? In 1989, I was on vacation with my family in North Carolina when my brother and I spotted a vending machine that gave out baseball cards. My mom gave us each $1 in quarters and my brother went first. He received a Fleer Update card of Stan Javier, the next card came out, it was a Fleer Update card too of Tommy John. So, I put my quarters in next and I got Tracy Jones. The next two quarters went in the machine, and I prayed for the Jose Canseco. When the card came out, I was actually really happy! Wally Joyner was a good one! What my brother and I figured out was that the owner put the Fleer Update set in chronological order, so my brother wanting to be first was actually bad. The owner of this machine probably bought the Fleer Update set, took out the Bonds, Canseco, etc. and put the "leftovers" in the machine. If Wally Joyner is a "leftover", I'll take it!

#89 - 2012/13 UD The Cup Sven Baertschi Black RC 1/1

I definitely overpaid for this card. At the time, he was an up-and-coming rookie in the league, and I was pumped for it. After a few injuries/concussions, his career in the NHL was over. He bounced around through the AHL and NHL with the Flames, Canucks and Golden Knights organizations before heading to Switzerland to end his career back home in 2023. My wife always liked saying his name around the house and I enjoyed watching him play when I could. Last time I would see him play was in an exhibition game before the NHL season in 2022. His Swiss team played Nashville; I think. Well, good ol' Sven potted 2 nice goals. Take that NHL! 

#88 - 1973 Topps Alonza Bumbry / Dwight Evans / Charlie Spikes RC #614

This card isn't in the best shape, but that's ok with me. I bought this when I was 9 at a card show in 1991 for $2. It had a $5 price tag on it, but the older gentleman selling it asked me if I was a Dwight Evans fan and I said, "You bet I am!" So, he sold it to me for $2. To be honest, I like this card the way it is, and I doubt I'll ever upgrade it. So, it lands on my list for a fun memory when I was 9.

#87 - 2004 SPx Roy Williams Spectrum Jersey/Ball Auto RC /25   #217

I looked for this card for a LONG time. The 3 that I had located were in awful condition. The windows for the jersey were creased, the corners were wrecked, so I did what most of us do, I set an eBay alert. 10 years later, I finally landed this card. It was crazy because at the time I had totally forgotten about this thing. Roy Williams was no longer relevant, but when I saw it, I wanted it again. Williams was one of my favorite college receivers and 2004 SPx was one of my favorite football sets ever. I haven't seen another one of these Williams Spectrums in better shape yet.

#86 - 1992 Fleer Rookie Sensations Jeff Bagwell Insert #4 of 20

Besides the Frank Thomas in this set, the Jeff Bagwell was the "consolation" prize. The Foodland grocery store near my house sold the 1992 Fleer Cello packs that the Rookie Sensations cards could be found in, but at $2 a pack, it was a hard sell with my parents. One day after church, I went into the Foodland with my mom so she could pick up a few things to make dinner that night. While in the checkout line, I ventured over to the Fleer Cello packs and picked one up and just set it near the groceries. When my mom finally spotted the pack next to the groceries, she laughed and thought it was cute and bought it for me. Well, this Bagwell was in that pack. Thanks mom, and thanks Foodland (RIP).

#85 - 2001 Topps Chrome David Terrell Black Refractor RC /100   #260

I talked about previously when I first was hired at my first real job out of college how I went ballistic and bought a bunch of David McCarty's from Beckett Marketplace. Well, I also bought a few hobby boxes. It was in 2002. I bought a few hockey hobby boxes and a box of 2001 Topps Chrome football. The Topps Chrome football box, however, was a hot box! I pulled 7 Black Refractor's in that box! It was the only time I've ever bought a hot box in my entire life. The David Terrell you see here is the only card I still have from that hot box. Terrell was a guy I wanted to be great because he was on my fantasy football dynasty league team at the time. Since he was one of my rookie picks, I had the pleasure (or displeasure) of having him on my team for 3 years (without the possibility of cutting him). So, I obviously followed this guy's career, through mostly "downs" and very few "ups". My dad even bought me his jersey in his rookie year (which I got a hot sausage stain on - sorry, dad). Anyways, this card will always be my reminder of the hot box I bought after my first paycheck from a real job. 

#84 - 1999/00 Upper Deck Rico Fata UD Exclusives Gold 1/1   #29

If you were to say "X-Generation" to someone around Pittsburgh, 9 times out of 10 someone will know exactly what you're talking about. For those that are unaware, the "X-Generation" was what the Penguins called their team from 2002-2004. It was basically another name for "Bad Rebuild". The Penguins dismantled their team and took it down to the "studs" so to speak. Rico Fata was a guy that just reminds me of that point in time. He was supposed to provide somewhat of a scoring punch, but his hands never caught up with his feet. He could skate like the wind, but just couldn't score like a former 6th overall pick should. I was there in the old Civic Arena for a lot of those games and saw firsthand. Although he didn't really produce huge numbers for the Penguins, you couldn't hate the guy. He honestly tried his tail off and I loved him for it. He did put up a career-high 16 goals in 2003, and I think that's pretty awesome. Fata will always have a soft spot in my heart, so that's why when I saw this thing pop up on eBay last year for $50, I snagged it right quick. X-Generation 1/1 for $50, I'll take that all day.

#83 - 2016/17 Fleer Showcase John McFarland / Denis Malgin / Brent Renger / Shane Harper White Hot RC /5   #108

John McFarland was a big deal at one point in time. The Sudbury Wolves of the OHL would have agreed as well back in 2008 when they made him the 1st overall selection in the OHL Priority Selection Draft. However, after being drafted in the 2nd round in the NHL Draft back in 2010, McFarland would only play in 3 NHL games going pointless. When McFarland was a big deal in the OHL, I saw him play a few games on my brother's crazy rabbit ears TV thing he had at one point in time and tried to follow his career as much as I could. When I heard he was going to have a card in the Fleer Showcase set, I made it my goal to get all 3 of the cards (including parallels) and I did! Surprisingly this was the easiest one to get. Cost me roughly $9. The hardest one to nab was his Red Glow /25. One was tossed up on eBay for an auction, but I was busy that morning as my youngest son was being born. Finally, in July of 2022, I completed my John McFarland Rainbow by snagging the Red Glow /25 on eBay for a few bucks. The White Hot is still my favorite. This card looks beautiful in person.

#82 - 2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects Kyle Parker Superfractor RC 1/1   #BCP197

I feel like this is turning into good cards of bad players, I apologize for that. I had high hopes for this guy. Kyle Parker was a 2-sport athlete (football and baseball) in college for the Clemson Tigers. He was the starting quarterback and an outfielder. I saw him play plenty as the quarterback there and thought this kid was a decent athlete. When the Rockies selected him towards the bottom half of the first-round back in 2010, I had my eye out for his Superfractor. In 2015, it surfaced, and I think I might have paid $60 for it within an hour of it being listed. Well, sadly, baseball didn't work out for him, and he ended up being a bust. He now serves as an assistant coach for the Clemson Tigers football team. Although he didn't really pan out, I still love this card!

#81 - 1979 Topps Ozzie Smith RC #116

The Wizard was not a popular player in my neighborhood growing up. The kids I grew up around liked home runs and we all know Ozzie didn't produce those. When I was 7, I went to a Pirates game vs. the Cardinals and saw him play. He must have dove for the ball at least 3 times that game and made a spectacular fielding play. After that day, I had a newfound respect for this man. Unfortunately, I never got to see him do a backflip in person. Only on TV, but still pretty cool. I obtained this card in a trade with my cousin. Like I said before, he wasn't popular in my neighborhood, and I think I probably got this for next to nothing. The fact that I can't remember what I traded for it should tell you that it was almost free. It's off-centered, yeah, but the corners are pretty decent. I could probably sell this off and upgrade, but then it wouldn't be the card I traded for when I was 10, so this one stays with me and lands on my top 100 list. 

#80 - 2018/19 Upper Deck Ice Premieres Jesperi Kotkaniemi Black RC 1/1

Am I a fan of Kotkaniemi? Hmm...maybe? I just love the look of the UD Ice Black 1/1's. That's why I bought this in the first place. I found this gem on eBay one morning and bought it from a person who lives 2 towns over from me. Pretty wild that this thing was so close to where I live. I could have drove there to get it, but I opted for the mail route. I should message that eBayer and see if he wants to trade sometime...or is that weird? It's hard to find people around here that share the same interest. Anyways, I have 2 Ice Black Rookies, and both are on this list for how beautiful they are in person. This is one of my favorite parallels on the planet, so I hope you find it visually pleasing as well.

#79 - 2000 SPx Rookie Stars John Abraham Spectrum RC /25   #109

Fact: A lot of people have stolen or tried to steal cards from me. 

Fact: This card was stolen from me at one point in time.

True story. Not this exact card, but the John Abraham SPx Spectrum RC that I pulled myself back in 2000 was stolen. I set up at a small card show in an old library about 30 mins from my home back in 2001. When I was talking to this young kid about hockey, I'm pretty sure his dad stuck my card in his pocket from the right side of my table. I never confronted him because I wasn't 100% sure, but he was floating around in the general direction where this card was at and when I was packing up, I noticed it was gone. Well, a few years ago I saw this at a card show and I told the guy the story about mine being stolen and he wanted to give me this card. He said he bought it on eBay for $12 and it wasn't worth much to him, but I paid him $15 and was on my way. So, I now own this card again and it's not for sale/stealing. 

#78 - 1984 Topps Eric Dickerson RC #280

When I was in college, I was in a pop punk band. It was a lot of fun, we played shows in different states, got to meet a lot of cool bands, but eventually it came to an end. I played bass guitar in my band and when I bought my first bass, I decided to put some stickers on it. It was plastered with some band stickers, but I found a cool Eric Dickerson sticker and I put it right behind the strings on the pickguard right in between the pickups of the guitar. We were playing a show shortly after that in Pittsburgh when a kid in the front row was talking to me all show, but I couldn't understand him. So, I did what any bass player would do, I got up to the mic after one of our songs had ended, pulled him up on stage and said, "What are you asking me?" He got red in the face and said, "Uhhh...is that Eric Dickerson on your bass?" The crowd laughed and we all had a good chuckle. We played several shows after that around town, and we finally had our own show where we headlined. We sold over 150 tickets ourselves for this show as we had gained popularity. After the show was over, I was packing up my stuff and that same kid was asking the bouncer if he could talk to me. I told the bouncer to let him in as I recognized him and he said to me, "Here you go dude, every time I see this thing, I think of you, so it's yours!" He hands me an Eric Dickerson Rookie Card in a sleeve and toploader. I said, "Thank you so much! This is awesome!" Well, kid who gave me an Eric Dickerson Rookie back in 2001, I still got it, and again, THANK YOU!

#77 - 1975/76 Topps Moses Malone RC #254

When I was a kid, my parents didn't take us to very many garage/yard sales because our church had a huge flea market once a year and my parents and my brother and I were always heavily involved. My brother and I usually worked with my parent's serving food and drinks to people and setting everything up. During one of those times, I was helping a woman from our church set up the sale and was putting stuff out on tables when I stumbled upon an old basketball book. It was so old it smelled, and the pages had all turned a yellowish color. I asked her who donated this book, and she said she didn't know. Well, I was placing it on a pile of books and this card fell out of it. I quickly put it back in as it appeared to be used as a bookmark. After we were done setting everything out, she asked if I could help her by pushing the pricing gun button and handing her price tags. One by one I was slamming that gun and spewing out deal after deal. We got to the pile of sports books, and I asked her how much she was going to sell the pile of books for and she looked at me and said, "Do you want these books?" Me being 9 years old and a sports fanatic I quickly said, "Of course I do!" She told me she was going to put a $1 price tag on them and then gave me a look. So, I ventured over to the food window and saw my parent's cooking food and asked them if I could have $1. My mom said, "Of course you can." So, I bought the stack of old sports books. Each one had a card in them used as a bookmark and each one was a pretty decent player. I still have no idea who donated these books but thank you! So, that's how I got a Moses Malone Rookie Card for next to nothing. 

#76 - 2023 Panini Prizm Puka Nacua Silver RC #357

Amazon gift cards are not something I necessarily like to receive as a gift. I usually always ask someone else if they need anything from Amazon like my wife and kids and use it on them. It's just not for me. This year for Father's Day, my parents gave me a $25 Amazon gift card. I thanked them for the gesture. When it came time to spend the gift card, I asked my oldest son if he wanted anything. He found a bundle of Pokemon cards on Amazon, and I was about to buy them when my wife stepped in. She said that my son still had a $25 Target gift card he had received from his birthday and why didn't we just trade? My son jumped at the idea of the trade, and I was ok with it seeing as I could probably get an Upper Deck hockey card blaster, so we did the trade. When I went on to Target's website, I had noticed that the hockey blasters were out of stock. I did see there was a 2023 Prizm Football Blaster for $24.99 and me not really being excited about that decided just to buy it. When the blaster arrived, I opened it, and this card was in the last pack! Not a bad haul that came from a gift card exchange with my 6-year-old son! 

#75 - 1993 Topps Gold Willie Roaf RC #441

Back in 1993, this guy followed me everywhere. I couldn't get away from him. It seemed every pack I opened had a Willie Roaf in it. Eventually, I just started a collection of him. At one time I had 3 of these Topps Gold Willie Roaf cards. When my wife eventually moved into my condo, I decided to purge a lot of my cards to make room for her stuff. I had a trunk full of cards and I made a craigslist post for $100 take all. The stuff was worth way more than $100, but I just wanted my wife to have a little more space for some of her stuff. One afternoon a young kid came by, and he and his dad sat on my couch and were sorting through the cards for a bit. The kid was telling me about how he got hurt playing ice hockey and was trying to find another hobby. That was enough for me, and I offered the entire trunk to him for free that day. They put the cards back in the trunk and I lifted that thing up and hauled it down the million steps and put it in their car. They were so thankful for it. When I got back in my condo, I noticed a card was laying on the couch where the dad was sitting. It was this, Willie Roaf. So, I decided to keep it and glad I did. Eventually, Roaf would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

#74 - 1986/87 Fleer Isiah Thomas RC #109

Growing up I was an Isiah Thomas fan by accident. In Pittsburgh, basketball isn't that popular due to the fact that we don't currently have a team. In 1989 at our church auction, a plastic cup caught my eye. It had a Detroit Pistons logo on it along with the entire team's fake signatures. I was enamored with this 25-cent cup, that as soon as the flood gates opened and people were allowed to shop, I snatched that thing right up. My parents thought it was weird that a 7-year-old kid wanted a plastic cup rather than the used toys that were laying around everywhere, but that is who I am I suppose. From age 7 until the year I moved to California, that cup stayed with me. I even decided to follow the Pistons a bit and made Thomas my favorite player for a while (until I found out he wasn't very nice). When I moved out to Cali, I was leaving my plates and such for my tenant who didn't have much, and I forgot to grab my Pistons cup. While out in California, I stopped at a flea market and I saw this Thomas Rookie Card for around $12 and I couldn't resist. It reminded me of home and my beloved cup. However, when I moved back and I was checking out my condo, I noticed my Pistons cup was on the windowsill with brown liquid in it. When I got closer to the cup, I realized that my jerk of a tenant left me a prize. A cup full of smoked out cigarettes. I had to throw my Pistons Championship Team cup away that day. When I met my wife a year later, I had told her about that 1988 Pistons Cup. She thought it was silly, but that Christmas, somehow, she found me another one. I still have the new one now, but our dishwasher had taken a few of the signatures off of it, so I use it sparingly. So, this Isiah Thomas card kinda reminded me of my Pistons cup and of home one day when I was feeling homesick, and I won't forget that.

#73 - 1998 Upper Deck Star Rookie Jason Peter UD Exclusives Gold RC 1/1

It's wild how card remind you of places, things, or even people you know. This card definitely reminds me of a person I knew. Her name was Diane. Diane was a nice older lady I worked with for a while. When she drew my name for a Secret Santa gift one Christmas, she knew how much I loved sports books, so she set out to find me a book about someone who played professional sports. What she came up with was a book written by former NFL player Jason Peter called; "Hero of the Underground: My Journey Down to Heroin and Back". A year after receiving this book, I would set out for my journey to California. I ended up reading this book while I was out there, and by the time I moved back home, Diane had passed away. I never got to let her know that I really enjoyed the book she had given me. It really sucked not knowing that she passed while I was out in California. I definitely would have paid my respects. One day about 3 years ago, I had just put my youngest to bed (at the time he was a baby) and I was putting some things away and I saw the Jason Peter book that Diane had bought me, and I did an eBay search and found this Jason Peter 1/1 looking back at me for an astronomical price. I sent an offer that was pretty low in my opinion, but the seller accepted it! I couldn't believe it. So, when I look at this card, I remember Diane and all the recipe's we used to trade and the talks about the fun stuff she would do with her grandkids, and I would do with my nephew, and it makes me happy.

#72 - 2019/20 Upper Deck Young Guns Zach Hamill Buybacks RC 1/1

I think I have 30 total 1/1's of Zach Hamill. If you didn't know, he is one of my PC guys. When I lived in California, there wasn't a lot of hockey to watch, so my roommate and I decided to get this satellite dish cable TV package where we got all of these ridiculous sports channels. Seriously, there were over 400 sports channels alone. The installers were friends with my roommate, so we may have gotten a hook-up, but I wasn't the one paying the cable bill, so I'm not sure and I just went with it. We didn't get a lot of NHL games on this sports package, but we did get WHL games for the Everett Silvertips. I watched this guy play A LOT. Then, when he was drafted, I followed his career. I low-key collected him for a while, but when COVID hit, I tracked down a guy who had a monster collection of Hamill and bought the whole darn thing. This was the first 1/1 of Hamill that I had purchased since buying his collection (I had 2 others previously). If it wasn't a buyback gimmick, I would have maybe had this higher, but it lands in the 70's. I tracked this card down on Upper Deck E-Pack. A Bruins collector and I struck a deal for this and I'm happy to own it!

#71 - 1995 Select Certified Curtis Martin Mirror Gold RC #117

Never leave the last pack in a box at a card shop. NEVER. One day in 1995, I was at the card shop with my mom grabbing a few packs due to having a decent report card. She said I could get 2 packs. I looked around and I saw a lone Select Certified pack and knew that my mom would only buy me 1 pack if I was going to ask for that pack (since it was over $5). So, I asked the owner for that last pack, and he asked if he would prefer if he opened a new box. I thought about it but decided to just take the lone pack and be on my way. On our way back home, my mom had to stop at Rite Aid to grab something, I decided to stay in the car, listen to the radio and rip that pack open. I remember Darnay Scott was the first card in the pack and then in the middle, I noticed a different color than the rest of the cards. I flipped threw a card or two more to see this card staring at me. HOLY CRAP! When my mom came back, I showed her the card, but she had no idea what she was looking at. I remember calling my friend John to tell him about it and the next day he came over with a stack of stuff trying to pry this thing away from me. Well, sorry to John, but I kept it. A little reminder that at one point in time, I had a decent report card...haha.

#70 - 2012 Panini Prizm Andrew Luck Silver RC #203

I know my scan doesn't show it well, but this is in fact the silver version of this card. It refracts the color wheel, but my scanner doesn't want you to see that. This is going to sound nuts, but I forgot I had this card for the longest time. Back in 2012, I bought 2 packs of Prizm Football on my lunch break from work. I remember opening the packs, but also being in a hurry because I ended up talking too much to the manager at the card shop about people we went to high school with. So, when I got home that night (which was a Friday night), I put the cards in my football box and went out for an office friend's birthday and forgot about them. When my wife and I built the house, we currently live in, our move in date was February 14, 2020. However, we had the house painted before we started moving things back in. Our stuff had been in storage for almost a year while this house was being built and I honestly couldn't wait to look at my cards again, but I knew it would be a while before I got to them. So, by mid-March that year, COVID hit, and I was now working full-time at home and doing massive amounts of overtime, which meant cards were on the backburner for a bit. That summer, I finally got to unpacking some of my cards that I hadn't seen in over a year at this point, and I found the 2 Prizm packs I bought that one day on my lunch break 8 years prior. When I saw this card, I then knew exactly what it was. I don't think I knew back when I originally had purchased these packs. I just thought it was a lower-end Andrew Luck Rookie worth a few bucks. I had this thing sitting in a box for YEARS. Well, I'm glad I went on my lunch break that day to the card shop or I wouldn't own this thing. It's definitely a keeper in my book!

#69 - 1988 Topps Brian Bosworth RC #144

If you have read my blog in the past, you know why this lands on this list. This card will always remind me of my dad. If you want to read the story, you can read it here. 

#68 - 2018 Panini Prizm Rashaad Penny Gold Prizm RC /10 SGC 9

Rashaad Penny was so much fun to watch in college. When I knew San Diego State would be playing on TV, I made it a point to watch it somehow. Whether that was with my friends in PA or texting back and forth with my buddies out in California. We all loved him. I grabbed this for $25 on COMC. I have a bunch of Rashaad Penny cards, but this is my best. Should I crack this thing? Is SGC a decent grading company? I have no idea. Anyways, even though Penny didn't have a great career in the NFL, I still tried my best to watch when I could. Sadly, Penny retired this year before the season even started with the Carolina Panthers. 

#67 - 2009/10 UD The Cup Tyler Myers Black RC 1/1

Christmas 2015 is when I received this card as a gift from my wife. It was listed one night on eBay around late July-early August, and I was freaking out. A few hours later, I had checked eBay again and it was gone. I was pretty bummed, but I had forgot about it a few weeks later. Then, when we were opening presents on Christmas day, my wife asked if I had checked out my stocking. So, I took it off our fireplace mantle and noticed there was a sealed envelope that was thick in my stocking. I had honestly no idea what it was, then I started to open it and I saw the Sabres slug logo and knew what it was. My wife had been the one who bought this that night months before Christmas on eBay and waited to give it to me for 4 months. What a great gift. I still love this card. 

#66 - 1985/86 O-Pee-Chee Mario Lemieux RC #9

This should be rated higher, but when I was writing down the cards to rank in my notebook and I got to #66, I thought of my Lemieux Rookie. How couldn't I? Anytime I see the number 66, I think of Super Mario. In 1993, at the last card show at the Howard Johnson hotel before they tore it down, I saved up my money so I could buy this exact card. It does have a bad corner, but it didn't initially when I purchased it for $75 back then. During the pandemic, I decided to scan all of my PC cards, and I dropped this card on the upper right-hand corner on the carpet. My wife came downstairs to our basement at that very moment, and she knew something was wrong. She said my face turned white. I told her what happened, and I was so mad at myself. Anyways, it's still in great shape, but I would've preferred it have been in the exact condition I purchased it in back in 1993. 

#65 - 2005/06 Fleer Hot Prospects Mike Green White Hot RC /10

This card took me 11 years to find. You read that correctly, 11 years! Thankfully one finally popped up one night in 2022 on my eBay alerts. Why Mike Green? Well, Mike Green was a staple of my keeper league fantasy hockey team. He was a part of my 4 of 6 championships that I won. Green was an awesome offensive defenseman during his playing career, and this is one of his better cards available. The Fleer Hot Prospects White Hot cards from 2005/06 is one of my absolute favorites ever. Mike Green is the best of the 5 White Hot's I own. Enjoy this cards beauty!

#64 - 2007/08 UD The Cup Martin Hanzal/Peter Mueller Dual Shields RC 1/1

Hanzal was always a cool player to me. Great on the faceoff dot, big body, wicked shot. When I first spotted this card on eBay, I threw a watch on it and let it sit for a few days before I decided to throw out a low offer. It was accepted! Later on, that day, I lost my job. This card is a reminder of that day. What a weird day that was. I had a lot of people I worked with who reached out to me that night, my brother-in-law came over for dinner for his birthday and I was in still in complete shock. Little would I know; this would be a blessing in disguise. I have since accepted a position at my wife's mental health private practice and I love what I do!

#63 - 2001 Pacific Private Stock David McCarty Game Used Bat #86

David McCarty is one of my PC players since I was a 10-year-old kid. During the game used craze, I bought this card for $12 and to purchase this card, I had to sign up for eBay. Pretty wild that I still own the first card I ever bought on eBay in 2001. 

#62 - 1996 Topps Finest Keyshawn Johnson Refractor RC #225

I still love the design of 1996 Topps Finest. What a beautiful set. I did not pull this card or purchase this card at all. My friend Doug pulled this back in 1996 and traded it to me. I posted about this card in the "This used to be a really big card" post back in April. You can read it if you want here.

#61 - 2002/03 SP Authentic Future Watch Rick Nash RC Auto /999

Like Lemieux, when I think of anything #61, I think of Rick Nash. What a legend. This guy could do it all. When Nash had a down year, I bought this card for $50. What a steal that looks like now. It rarely ever sees the light of day as it sits in my PC box, but I actually scanned it for this blog post and realized how much I really do love this card. Back in 2003, I tried like hell to pull this card. I probably purchased 3 boxes of this stuff, but the best card I pulled was the consolation prize of Jason Spezza. Thankfully years later I was able to add this to my collection, and this is where it will stay. 

#60 - 1984 Topps USFL Herschel Walker RC #74

By far my best $1 box find. In 1992, I was looking through a $1 box at a card show when I came across a bunch of USFL cards. Not really knowing many of the players' names that I was looking at, I came across Walker. Of course, I knew who that was. So, I pulled it out of the pile and an older guy next to me tried to take it from me, but I used my hockey sense and put my butt in his way when he tried reaching for it to block him and paid the lady who was at the table a crisp $1 bill and was on my way. I didn't know what I had until sometime after college in 2002 or 2003. Not bad for a $1 eh?

#59 - 1987 Donruss Barry Larkin RC #492

Some cards remind you of when you were a kid, and this one is definitely one of those for me. When Cecil Fielder hit a homer on the roof at Tiger Stadium, my neighborhood was obsessed with hitting towering home runs in my front yard over our massive pine trees. We were so enamored with towering home runs that we had our own neighborhood home run derby. The older kids in my neighborhood put up prizes that were baseball cards because none of us younger kids could win, right? Well, I proved those fools wrong by hitting a blast of a homer probably 10 feet over the pine trees. To my amazement, I won the pine tree home run derby of 1990. My neighbor ended up giving me the top prize which was this Barry Larkin Rookie. Not bad for a day of hitting dingers!

#58 - 2022/23 SPx Rookie Autograph Jersey Shane Wright RC /75

A newer release that ends up in my Top 100? Whoa! Well, I was really excited that Wright was finally getting drafted in the NHL. There was a lot of hype around this young man before being drafted and some thought he would be the 1st overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. Somehow, he slipped down to 4th overall and the Seattle Kraken nabbed him. I pulled this from Upper Deck e-Pack in one of the only packs of this product I bought. I figured I'd go out on top. When it arrived in the mail, I just fell in love with the card, so here it is, high up on this list in the 50's. Crazy, but true.

#57 - 2014/15 Panini Prizm Jabari Parker Gold Pulsar Prizm RC /10

I think about this card every so often and how much it was worth at one point in time. In my previous post about a big COMC purchase located here, I got this for $26.01. If this was purchased originally after being pulled in 2014, I can only imagine how much the buyer paid for it. Cards are crazy. Anyways, I feel lucky to have this even if he isn't playing in the NBA anymore. 

#56 - 1974 Topps Dave Winfield RC #456

Ok, I know, everyone has one of these nowadays, but I bought this from the weirdest place possible. Out near where my grandparents live in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, there is a small gas station. Inside this gas station, it's pretty rugged and there is a clothesline behind the register with cards in toploaders (no sleeves) with prices on them. I had purchased a few cards at this place (the owner of the gas station still has them priced at the prices from 1991, so you can find a deal or two). When I was 23, my family went out to visit my grandparents and I decided to tag along. When we were there, my grandma asked me if I could take my parents car out to get her some milk for her mashed potatoes, so instead of the grocery store, I decided to drive an extra 15 minutes to the old card store gas station. I looked at the wall of cards that seemed to be dwindling in selection and I spotted this Dave Winfield for $15. I told the older gentleman ringing me out that on top of the milk I was buying that I'd also take the Dave Winfield card. After paying for my items and talking baseball for a few minutes with the man, the card was given to me where I've had it ever since. When I got back, I just put the card in the front pocket of my suitcase and kind of forgot about it. Five years later when I was packing up to move to California, I packed up my suitcase, when I went to put a phone charger in the front pocket, I noticed it was a bit tight of a fit. Puzzled, I reached into the pocket and this card was staring back at me. Whoops! I had forgotten all about it, but I'm happy to have it now. I don't care that it's off centered and the corners aren't fully mint because it's mine. I definitely know that I own this card now, I assure you!

#55 - 1975 Topps Robin Yount RC #223

Now that I got the card store gas station story out of the way with the Winfield Rookie above, here is another card I bought at that same station when I was about 15 years old. It's not in perfect shape, but it isn't creased, the corners aren't rounded and there's no gum stain on the back. All of this for $8. When I bought it, I thought to myself that it was a shame that everyone in my neighborhood had grown up and moved on from collecting cards because this would have moved my collection up to "legendary". I remember showing it to my brother and he thought it was pretty cool. Well, I think it's pretty cool too bro.

#54 - 2023/24 Upper Deck Extended Series Adam Fantilli Young Guns Deluxe RC /250

This card is beautiful. I love this card. In mid-August I was supposed to attend a card show. However, I got sick, my family got sick, and we were all mostly miserable. I had to let the few friends I knew that were also attending that I couldn't make an appearance. The whole reason I wanted to go is because I wanted to buy or even pull an Adam Fantilli Young Guns card. The money I had saved up wasn't much, around $150, but I decided since I couldn't go to the show, I'd just buy a nice Fantilli Young Guns card. When I looked at the Young Guns Exclusives, they were outrageous. We're talking $600-$700. Way outside of my price range, but then I stumbled across this Young Guns Deluxe card. Boy am I glad I did! The blue of the Deluxe foil just meshes well with Fantilli's Blue Jackets jersey. That's what makes this one of my new favorite cards. Someday, I hope my kids like it.

#53 - 1981 Topps Joe Montana RC #216

The Fantilli gave a little break between gas station card store cards. This card was also purchased from that gas station in Eastern Pennsylvania. I spotted it when I was 12, but I didn't have the $30 that the guy was asking for it. Also, I had just missed out on trading for a Joe Montana Rookie in class that year when my Montana trade stack was confiscated by my teacher (and never given back I may add). The next summer, when my family went back out for our family reunion, my parents didn't make a stop at this gas station. They stopped at the new Sheetz in town. I was panicked because in my pocket was $30 ready to make a purchase of a Joe Montana Rookie Card. I kept bugging my dad the whole day to make a stop there and he said the same thing, "We'll see." After the reunion, we went back to my grandparent's place and later that night my grandfather asked if anyone wanted to go out to grab some teaberry ice cream. I said I'd go and so did my dad and brother. We all packed into my pap's Mercury Grand Marquis car and headed out towards their general store. Now, I don't feel good about what I did, but I asked my grandfather if he could stop at that old gas station that was 5 or so minutes away from the general store. I knew my grandfather would stop there for me and he said, "Of course." When we got there, my brother finally saw what I had been talking to him about. There were vintage cards behind the counter hanging from a clothesline. I spotted the Montana, and it was finally mine. This thing is in awesome shape. Corners are perfect, the centering is "ok" and no gum stain in sight! $30 purchase, not too shabby. I haven't been out to that gas station since 2005, and I wonder if it's even still there. Next time I'm out that way, I may try to find it again.

#52 - 2010/11 SP Game Used Zach Hamill Gold Spectrum RC 1/1

#52 is #52 Zach Hamill. I purchased a huge collection of Zach Hamill a few years ago from a nice guy named Jeremy. This was one of the treasures in that collection. Since Hamill is one of my main PC guys, of course this will fall on the list. Not all of my 30 Hamill 1/1's will be on this list though, only the ones I love the most. 

#51 - 1963 Topps Nate Oliver/Tony Martinez/Jerry Robinson/Bill Freehan RC #466

This card is in FANTASTIC shape for a 1963. I should probably grade this (if I knew how to do it). Anyways, Freehan was one of my favorite players on the NES game Legends of the Diamond. The guy could hit! When I saw this at a card show that I attended by myself in Ohio one weekend in 2007 for $25, I thought it was a bit low for a Hall of Famer. When I returned home and did a deep dive on Freehan, I noticed he isn't a Hall of Famer after all. It appears I'm not the only one who thinks it's ridiculous either. If you do a search, there are tons of websites where fans are beside themselves that this guy isn't in. He's in a Nintendo game called Legends of the Diamond along with many Hall of Famers, but I guess he's not considered one, but whatever. Well, I own a rookie card of a guy who most consider a Hall of Famer who actually isn't and it's a special card to me. 

#50 - 2009/10 SPx John Tavares Spectrum Patch Auto RC /25

5 years ago, this card might have been in my Top 15. Tavares was one of my favorites since his rookie year in the NHL. When I took over an orphaned fantasy hockey keeper league team in my buddy Dan's league back in 2011, the best player on my roster was Zach Parise. Somehow, I turned that roster into a powerhouse, and it started with Johnny T. I made a great few trades to bolster my roster and in 2013, one of those moves involved me trading Alex Galchenyuk for John Tavares. A complete one-sided deal now, but at the time Galchenyuk did appear to have potential. For the past 10 years I have had Tavares on my fantasy team. Through wins and losses and trades and roster moves, I've kept loyal to my boy Johnny T, but this season, I am cutting him loose. The end of an era. I do still love Tavares. He's a great player and from what I hear a decent human being, but his production has dipped too far for me to keep his Center position on my roster. This is probably the best card of Tavares I own. I also have his Future Watch Auto RC, but this card is the one that pops into my head when I think of Tavares, so he lands at #50. Good luck this year Johnny T!

#49 - 2019 Panini Prizm Terry McLaurin Silver RC #353

You may not know this, but I used to be a Dynasty Fantasy Football Analyst. I was darn good at it too. The reason I quit was because of Terry McLaurin. Before the 2019 NFL Draft, the man who I was writing for asked me to scout 5 Wide Receivers from the draft class. So, one night after my son was in bed, I scoured YouTube watching boring video after video of Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Kelvin Harmon, N'Keal Harry, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Miles Boykin. So, when I reported back about these guys saying I didn't see anything special, he was infuriated at me. He told me to find a Wide Receiver that I thought was a diamond in the rough and get back to him by the end of the week with a write up. So, I looked at the receivers who were not projected to be 1st Round Picks and I came across a 7-minute video of McLaurin. I was blown away. He became my #1 target in my Dynasty Free Agent/Rookie Draft, and I wrote a pretty lengthy article about him. I was so proud of what I wrote, but when I turned it in the next day the owner of the site I wrote for said that I had to write about someone who was a little more popular because McLaurin didn't have much college production, he felt that he wasn't going to translate to the NFL and it was a waste of space on his site. I stood my ground and said he needed to publish it before people have their Dynasty drafts so they can see what I see. He refused. Well, that was the end of my writing career in a nutshell. I stood by Terry McLaurin, and I still do and to be honest, it worked out for my Dynasty team when he became a great player. Back to the card, during the pandemic, I was at a Walgreen's at a neighboring town, I picked up a re-pack that had 2 unopened packs located inside. One of the packs was a 2019 Panini Prizm pack. I was lucky enough to pull this Terry McLaurin card. When I saw it, I honestly kinda laughed. It was fitting that I would pull a Terry McLaurin Rookie from a re-pack. Right now, I don't watch very much football, but if I had to and I had to pick a favorite player, it would definitely be Scary Terry. 

#48 - 1994/95 Topps Finest Glenn Robinson Refractor RC #166

I pulled this card back in 1995 from my LCS that has since gone out of business. This card was talked about in the "This used to be a really big card" post. At the time of pulling this card, it was a pretty big pull. It has since cooled down and I'm pretty sure you could buy one yourself for around $25. Doesn't matter to me though, I love this card and always will, however, this isn't even my favorite Glenn Robinson card that I own. Stay tuned!

#47 - 2014 Panini Golden Age Historic Signatures John Schneider Auto #JSC

You know the story; man accompanies wife and kids to Target. Man picks out baseball card repack box. Man pulls Dukes of Hazzard autograph. Wait, what?! That's where I got this thing. Pics or it didn't happen man! Well, you can see the photo to the left, it definitely happened. I still have no idea what to do with this card. I love it since my brother and I were HUGE Dukes of Hazzard fans growing up, but that's when I was like 4-7 years old. I've had people send offers on Twitter once I pulled it, but I just was never able to part with it. So, for right now, I own this, and yes, it's rad! 

#46 - 2012/13 Panini Contenders Derrick Williams Black Auto RC 1/1

College basketball used to be a staple with my friends and me. Then one day, it wasn't. I don't know what happened, but we just quit going over to each other's houses once there was a big game, and it was the same with college football. When we did enjoy watching college basketball, we all loved watching Arizona. Derrick Williams was my favorite in 2011. When I saw this pop up on eBay in 2018, I couldn't believe how cheap it was and couldn't hit Buy It Now fast enough! It's the only Derrick Williams card I own, and I feel like it's a pretty decent one to have. 

#45 - 2020/21 Upper Deck Ultimate Kieffer Bellows Shield Auto RC 1/1

This is a card I have been drooling over on COMC for 2 years now. It was always overpriced though (in my opinion). A few months ago, though I noticed the price had dropped significantly. When I was lucky enough to hit 2 Connor Bedard Young Guns from ePack in 8 packs that I opened on consecutive nights. I decided to sell one of them on COMC for the simple fact that selling one could get me this card. Once I sold a Bedard, this thing was mine! Sure, Bellows hasn't quite carved out the career that most thought he would, but I am still a fan of his from his World Junior Championship days with Team USA. Still bummed about that bronze back in 2018, but oh well. I have a pretty extensive Bellows collection, but this one is the top dog. Hopefully this year he gets a chance to play in Nashville. I'm definitely rooting for him!

#44 - 1992/93 Upper Deck World Juniors Chris Pronger RC #591

The first time I ever got to pick my own number was in JV hockey in 8th grade and I chose #44 for Chris Pronger. Pronger remains my favorite defenseman of all time. Remember, I was a big St. Louis Blues fan growing up, but before he even put on a Blues sweater, I was already collecting him. Pronger being traded to the Blues was just the icing on the cake for me. I didn't pull this card though. My cousin Amy did back in 1992, but she pretty much gave me the entire set! I still have most of them, but definitely still have my Chris Pronger Rookie. So, since Pronger is my favorite defenseman, he lands on my list at #44 (fitting, eh?). 

#43 - 1965/66 Topps Phil Esposito RC #116

This card is something I bought with my first bonus I ever received at work. One Friday, (before I had direct deposit), my manager handed me my paycheck. I looked at it and about fell out of my chair. There had to be a mistake. This was almost double my normal pay. So, I went over to my boss and said, "Uhh...Rick, something is wrong with my paycheck." I showed him the paycheck and he said, "Nope, it's all there. I gave you the biggest bonus for being the top producer for the past 6 months. I didn't tell anyone we were going to give out bonuses and just let everyone work. You never slacked off; you deserve every penny." I'll never forget that. It was a pretty proud moment in my life to be honest. That night, I went to my LCS and told the owner who was working that I wanted this card. It was $250. That was in 2002, so I've had this now for 22 years! If I knew how to grade something, I probably would grade this one. It's a pretty nice card!

#42 - 1982 Topps Bob Bonner/Cal Ripken Jr./Jeff Schneider RC #21

Cal Ripken Jr. wasn't really a favorite of mine or anything, but this card had hype around it when I was younger. One afternoon in 1988, I was with my aunt and cousin at a Woolworth's and my cousin, and I were checking out the repacks they had. They always had the best repacks around. Then I saw it. A repack with the Ripken Jr. Rookie showing on the front of it. My cousin and I wrestled down to the ground for this repack. I pinched the skin behind his knee, and he dropped the repack in agony. I had won! My aunt let us each buy a repack and I got the Ripken Rookie! Do I feel bad about owning this? Maybe a little bit, but being one of the younger cousins, you had to fight for everything you got back in the day. This is just how it was. Also, my cousin did pull a nice Lee Smith Rookie and a nice Wade Boggs 2nd year Topps out of his repack, so he wasn't that upset. 

#41 - 1999 Playoff Contenders Speed Red Cade McNown RC Auto /100

I always said I loved the name Cade. So, when my first son was born, it was fitting that we named him Cade. This is the 2nd best Cade McNown I've ever owned. The first one is a Stadium Club Dual Auto with Jon Kitna, but it's in my son's room. I gave it to him one day when he was in my office since he loves his name so much. He has a little Cade collection in his room right now. He does know that he was named after a "crappy Bears quarterback." It doesn't bother him. He thinks it's pretty cool. Back in the day, I did think McNown was going to be good, but obviously we know that never happened. I had sold off most of my McNown's, but I kept 2 just in case I had a son named Cade one day. Well, that day has come and one day, I bet my son takes this card from me too. For now, though, it's one of my treasures.

#40 - 1977 Topps Gary Alexander/Rick Cerone/Dale Murphy/Kevin Pasley RC #476

Just like the Moses Malone RC above, this was found in a book I purchased at my church flea market back in the 90's. It's not in mint condition or anything, but I think it's a cool find. It was in a Baseball Stars of 1969 book (with Denny McLain on the front). In every book, someone had used a decent card as a bookmark. It was crazy! This card was my favorite of the cards I found in these books. The cards that didn't make the list were a 1978 Topps Ron Guidry and a 1982 Topps James Brooks card. 

#39 - 1983 Donruss Frank Viola RC #382

Yeah, you could probably buy this card for $1, but I traded a ton for it when I was 8. Viola was cruising that year to his 2nd 20-win season, and I had made a trade package so big for this card it would make your head explode. I filled an 800-count box with stuff to trade for this card. Luckily, my cousin Jason was up for the trade and made the trade with me. The only card I can remember in that stack of cards I gave away was a Jagr Pro Set rookie, so I think it's still a decent trade. He took mainly base cards of decent players like Bonilla, Larkin, Sabo, Fielder, etc and other cards to fill his sets that I had (mostly commons). I could never trade or sell the cards I traded for as a kid for some reason. I always put them away. This card is sentimental to me for that reason. Also, my cousin Jason doesn't really talk to anyone in the family, so I never get to see him anymore. He doesn't have any beef with me, but now all I have are mementoes of him, with this being one of them.

#38 - 2005/06 Upper Deck UD Masterpiece Alexandre Daigle Magenta Plate 1/1

For the life of me I can't remember how the heck I got this thing. I usually know how I obtained everything in my collection, but occasionally a few cards fall through the cracks, I apologize. I do know it's never leaving my possession. Alex Daigle was a player that most kids growing up in the 90's wanted to succeed. Sadly, he never really lived up to that hype. Didn't matter to me, I still liked him and still do to this day. I still have my "The Iceman Cometh" Daigle poster from when I was 11. My wife framed it one year for my birthday and it's hanging in my office. Since Daigle doesn't have very many 1/1's, I'm honored to own at least one of them, even if it's a printing plate. These were the nicest printing plates out there in my honest opinion. 

#37 - 2018/19 UD Ice Premieres Michael Dal Colle Black RC 1/1

Like I said for #80 on this list, these cards are BEAUTIFUL in person. This was my first Dal Colle 1/1 I ever received. I traded someone on a hobby forum for this. I had 11 Dal Colle cards when I picked this thing up, since then I have added 93 more! For a long time, this was my favorite Dal Colle in my collection. It has since been replaced, but it's still a great card to have! Why Dal Colle? Well, when he was drafted, they did a nice piece on him and this guy has overcome a lot of adversity. Between his mom having cancer and his autistic brother, he said everything he does, he does it for his family. Go ahead and read anything about this guy and you won't find a single bad thing said about him. Even when things didn't go his way in New York with the Islanders, there are teammates coming out saying that he never complained once. He's just a good teammate and sounds like an even better person. It just makes me want to keep collecting him, even if he's not in the NHL. Keep doing good things Mr. Dal Colle!

#36 - 1993 SP Drew Bledsoe RC #9

Another of the cards from the "This used to be a really big card" post of mine. When I pulled this back in 1994, the owner of the LCS actually took my picture and put it on a bulletin board on their wall to the left of their doorway. It was a pretty cool moment that I shared with my mom. 

#35 - 2005/06 UD The Cup Corey Perry Patch Auto RC /199

Here is another card I bought from COMC once I purged the other Connor Bedard Young Guns cards I pulled. This is a card I have been after for a good 15 years. Perry plays his butt off and at his age still can chip in offensively. The past few years, I have been chipping away at my hockey want list and it's almost completed. This is just another one off the list! Thankfully, I grabbed this at the lowest price I've seen it at in years. 

#34 - 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson RC #482

This is a card I always wanted when I was a kid, but I couldn't ever find one at a price below $100 in my area. The LCS that my mom's best friends' brother owned, he had one for $110 the entire time that place was open. No one bought it. I felt they were always overpriced everywhere I saw them. In 2019, after listening to a 30 for 30 on Rickey Henderson, I decided to scour eBay to find this card. I paid $27 shipped for this one eBay and glad I did. You couldn't touch this card for that price now. It always feels good getting a card you have wanted since childhood, especially at a decent price!

#33 - 1991 Action Packed Rookie Update Stan Thomas 24-Kt. Gold RC #21G

My grandparents on my dad's side never really treated the grandkids like grandkids. It sounds weird typing it, but I have come to the realization that it is what it is. They didn't buy any of us things, they were more interested in using us to do work they needed done around the house. I can't tell you 1 time where they actually said they loved me or anyone else for that matter. One night in 1991, my parents needed their help to watch my brother and me, and my mom told me years later that they tried to get out of doing it, but I guess they caved, and we ended up staying the night with them that day. We had to go to a mall near our house with my grandparents that night for something they needed. At one of the stores, I knew not to ask for anything, but when I saw packs of Action Packed Rookie Update, I couldn't help myself. I asked my grandfather if he would buy me a pack. After rolling his eyes, he said, "I guess. Make sure your brother picks out something too. I don't need any fights tonight." So, after opening the pack, I got this Stan Thomas card. It's not worth much, I know, but it's pretty much the only time my grandparents bought me something at a store. They have since passed on, and after my grandma passed, I was living in California. Apparently, my aunts and uncles took everything and anything they needed. There wasn't a funeral, we were just having a family get together a few days later, so I booked a flight home. When I finally got back to PA after a few days, I asked my dad if I could just go over to their house. I walked in, I smelled that familiar smell, and I sat down on the green carpet, and I cried. I felt like I never really knew these people. They just kinda filled my life with extra work and I never got to hear them say they were proud of me, they loved me or if they even cared about me. I know I loved them. My dad consoled me with a hug after I cried for a few minutes, and he asked me if I wanted anything from the house. I took a look around, not seeing much and just shook my head and said, "No, I'm good." Since this day, I have looked around for anything I have that might be from them, or even a photograph of them, but all I really have is this stupid Stan Thomas card. I couldn't tell you much about them to be honest and it all just really sucks. If you're reading this right now, ask your grandparents (if they are still around) about their lives. Record it if you have to. Get to know them more. I wish I had done that before it was too late. Now, I just post about a Bears Tackle who reminds me of grandparents who have passed on.

#32 - 2006/07 UD The Cup Marek Schwarz Black RC 1/1

This might be one of the most pleasing looking cards I own. Schwarz was a standout in the 2004 and 2005 World Junior Championships for the Czech Republic team that both won bronze. Due to his incredible performance in 2004, the St. Louis Blues thought they had their goaltender of the future when they drafted him 17th overall in the 2004 NHL Draft. After another solid performance in 2005, a lot of people believed the hype. Well, after he was drafted, he moved to North America to play in the WHL for the Vancouver Giants. He played pretty well, but he would play the next year in Czech Republic before coming back to North America to play in the AHL. After 3 seasons of bouncing around between the AHL, ECHL and NHL and only 6 NHL games to his credit, he went back to the Czech Republic to play. He has since retired in 2022. I was a believer in Schwarz and had many of his cards at one point in time, but this is the only one I currently still own. I really thought the Blues had something in this guy, but not every goalie drafted in the 1st Round of a draft pans out. Luckily, I didn't pay too much for this. I think a little over $100 back in 2010 or so. I have been offered $250 for this at one point and turned it down, so I love this card. 

#31 - 1983 Topps Traded Darryl Strawberry RC #108T

When I moved back from California, a lot of people must have missed me as a few friends I hadn't seen in over 10 years reached out to me to hang out. One was my friend Stacy from high school. She went to a different school back then, but we would occasionally hang out and she was a lot of fun. One Saturday afternoon, I helped her set up a garage sale at her parent's old house in a large housing plan. She and I decided to take a stroll up the street to look at some of the different items for sale. One guy probably my age had a shoe box of cards set out for $15. It looked like it was a lot of commons, but I spotted a 1990 Topps Traded Cecil Fielder, so I decided to buy it. When I got home, I found this in the stack of cards. It's in mint condition too! I'm sure glad Stacy reached out to me back then or I wouldn't own this. This past week, I actually grabbed Darryl's book, "Turn Your Season Around - How God Transforms Your Life." I'm about 93 pages in so far, but I really like how Darryl shows how God and Jesus' stories relate to baseball. If you're into that sort of thing, I think you should check it out. 

#30 - 2009 SPx Knowshon Moreno Spectrum Gold Shield Auto RC 1/1

Knowshon Moreno was my favorite running back during his playing days. I loved watching this guy! His career didn't last very long, but he was fairly productive during it (when healthy that is). When I saw this for sale a long time ago, I had to have it and well, I have it now! I didn't pay much at all for this gem. Knowshon's career was just about over when I obtained it. To this day I still have a Moreno Broncos Jersey in my closet.

#29 - 2010 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks & Prospects Matt Harvey Gold Refractor Auto RC /50

When I pulled this in 2011 in a single pack that I bought, Harvey hadn't yet debuted. The shop owner told me he knew a guy who would want this card. Instead of entertaining that idea, I kept it. Sometimes when I pull a nice card, I'd just like to keep it. This card is beautiful in person, and I really like it, so I've kept it all these years. I have had a few offers on it in years past, but I still decided to keep it. It's not really a card I have shown off in a while because it's in my PC box and that's where it's staying for the time being. It's always more special when you pull a card yourself in my opinion.

#28 - 1994/95 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Gold Signature Glenn Robinson RC #266

Back in 1994, I could buy Collector's Choice basketball cards whenever I had a $1 extra laying around at our local Rite Aid. Also, the Rite Aid was a 15–20-minute walk from my parents' house. So, with little coercing, I could get my neighbor Jim to walk to Rite Aid every single week with me. I bought so many packs that year trying to pull this very card. I did pull a few Gold Signatures that year, but not the card I was after. One day, I was on Sportlots and I saw this card for sale for $3. Three bucks? I couldn't buy this card fast enough. I finally had the card I had been after since 1994. You can read about my Sportlots buys here.

#27, 26 & 25 - 2015/16 SPx Rookie Jersey Jack Eichel Rainbow Dual Jersey RC /399, Red Dual Patch RC /50 and Green Spectrum Quad Patch RC /10

It took me forever to complete this as no one was willing to get rid of their Green Spectrum /10 (at a decent price that is). However, I finally nabbed one when Eichel was in surgery limbo and not playing and got it for a great price to complete the Rainbow. I pulled the /399 and /50 myself, so after doing that in 2015, I decided to keep my eyes peeled for the Green Spectrum /10. One was listed on eBay in 2016, but someone paid over $300 for it, and at the time, it was out of my price range. Waiting was the right thing to do in this case. One of my 3 complete rainbows of cards that I own, but this one is the best by far!

#24 - 2005/06 SP Authentic Mark Giordano SP Limited RC /100

This was found on Sportlots just like the Gold Signature Glenn Robinson. This was also purchased for $3 on Sportlots in 2022. It's still crazy to me that someone sold this to me for that little. Also, a bit wild that no one found this before I did! After I bought this and it was actually in my possession, I sold off my regular Future Watch Giordano for $25 and it sold within an hour on social media. I'd rather have this one anyway. This is one of Giordano's best rookie cards out there believe it or not. I'm happy to own it!

#23 - 2003 SPx Carson Palmer Spectrum Jersey Auto RC /25

I'm a USC fan. I have been since the mid-90's. So, when Palmer was a rookie, I was after this card (if you haven't noticed - I love SPx!) Once I obtained it, I had it for a few years, but then my wife and I decided to build a new townhome in a new development, so I sold it. 9 years later, after we had sold that townhome, built another home, I bought it back again for a fraction of what I sold it for previously. Is it a win? I call it a win. This will not be changing hands again until I'm dead and gone. Then my kids can figure out if they want to get rid of it. This was one of the cards from "The Under Appreciated Pile" series I did in 2022.

#22 - 1996/97 Black Diamond Joe Thornton Triple Diamond RC #160

This card is SO HARD TO FIND. It's true. I've wanted it since 1996, and I didn't even obtain one until 2023. Once they're up for sale, they don't last long. A friend of mine on social media had one, but his sold, so I picked this one up on a hobby forum for $180. I felt guilty paying such a low-price, but at the end of the day, I believe I helped out the guy I bought it from since he and his wife were having their first baby. The scan doesn't do this thing justice, it's a beauty!

#21 - 2018/19 SP Game Used Green Storm Michael Dal Colle RC 1/1

This card was almost lost in the mail. It sat in a USPS warehouse for almost a month with no movement. One day, I got sick of waiting and I called that warehouse up. I spoke to a lady who said, "Oh, yeah, I see it, it's right here in a pile next to me. Your name is Bryan correct?" I about fell out of my chair. It was just sitting in a pile at USPS. I asked why there wasn't any movement, and she said she wasn't sure but would put it out in the mail as soon as we hung up. 3 hours later, I checked the tracking and BOOM! Movement. The seller and I were sweating on this one, but I finally got the card after waiting for almost 2 months. 

#20 - 1989 Score Barry Sanders RC #257

A card is always more special to you when you pull it, right? Back in 1994, I pulled this from 2 packs I bought from the overpriced LCS that was in the neighboring town. They always had older packs that the LCS I liked going to didn't have. I paid $3 a pack for these then. Glad I spent that $6! With all the house moves I have had in my lifetime and wheeling and dealing of cards, I always kept this thing in my personal collection. I showed it to my oldest son once and asked if he would want this card someday and his response was "Yes daddy, I like the green border on it." So, it's pretty much his someday. Until then, I'll enjoy it just like I did back in 1994.

#19 - 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. RC #1

I was lucky enough to pull this card. When the LCS I loved growing up was going out of business in 2001, I stopped by to buy up some of their stock. When I got there, there wasn't too much left. They had some 1989 Upper Deck High # Series packs hanging around for $3 each. I bought 5 of the 8 packs left and also grabbed some singles, supplies and stuck around to talk for a bit. After 10-15 minutes of chatting, the owner asked if I was going to open those Upper Deck packs I had bought. I figured what the heck, so I ripped them open. In the 4th pack, I hit this Griffey Jr. The owner was so thrilled with my pull and gave me a snap tight case to take it home in. This was my last purchase from that store, and I'm still upset that they closed down, but they couldn't compete with the selection from the shop about a mile down the road. This is my last memento from that place that has since turned into a headquarters for a deck building place. Ugh. 

#18 - 1973 Topps Ron Cey/John Hilton/Mike Schmidt RC #615

When I was 15, my brother and I had just gotten home from our 2-hour hockey practice and our parents were out bowling in their bowling league. My brother who can't cook asked if I would make him scalloped potatoes as he had a craving. At the time, I was a dishwasher at a local restaurant, and the head chef had taken me under his wing and shown me how to cook plenty of things, so I said I would make them for my brother from scratch, but he had to drive me to the card shop at some point in time. He agreed. Well, after the timer had gone off and I took them out of the oven, my brother asked me to brown the top of them a little more, so I turned on the broiler. After a few minutes, I decided to take them out, so I grabbed 2 potholders instead of oven mitts and lifted the potatoes up and broiled the skin above my right thumb. I still have a scar to this day as a reminder of the time I made my brother these stupid scalloped potatoes. The skin instantly pulled away with ease and it was a deep burn. After taking care of my burn, my brother knew he owed me one. He took me to the card shop the next week and I decided to try to trade for something instead of buying. So, I took a stack of stuff I knew the owner would want. Mostly Penguins, Steelers and Pirates higher end stuff that he could easily get rid of. When we got there, my brother said whatever I wanted to trade for, he'd also give $15 cash on top of it. The shop owner tallied my trade pile up to about $120 worth of stuff. I looked around and he had this Mike Schmidt Rookie priced at $125, so I asked if he'd do the trade since he had 3 of them in his case and this was the least expensive. He said, he'd do an even trade since I was a loyal customer, and my brother was pumped he didn't have to pitch in his money, so I left with this Mike Schmidt Rookie Card. Pretty crazy that some Pittsburgh cards and scalloped potatoes got me this, but it did!

#17 - 2007/08 Upper Deck Ultimate Rookies Rob Schremp Shield Auto RC 1/1

This card was my first HUGE purchase on COMC. It had been for sale on there for quite a long time at the hefty price of $1,000 and then sometimes it was on sale for $800.60. Neither of those prices were worth it. This card sat in my cart for years. One day in 2022, I saw it was $200 and I lost my mind. I was so happy that I had over $200 in my paypal account that I could transfer over, and I couldn't buy this thing fast enough. I was a huge Schremp fan back in the day. This guy was a magician with a puck. Look him up sometime on YouTube, and you'll see what I mean. I love this card!

#16 - 1992 Upper Deck Top Prospect David McCarty TTM Auto #75

RIP David McCarty. In 1994, I sent this card to David McCarty c/o the Minnesota Twins and he sent it back to me. This was for a class project, and I won a gift certificate to Eat N' Park and a pizza party for my class that I was unable to attend. It's crazy, but I wish I would have met this guy to tell him this. I also wonder if he would have gotten a kick out of it. It's something I will never know now. I wrote about my favorite McCarty cards and this card was my #1. You can find it here.

#15 - 2010/11 SPx Finite Zach Hamill Spectrum RC 1/1

Another Hamill 1/1 from Jeremy. This was the first Hamill card I ever wanted really bad, but it never popped up when I looked for it anywhere. Well, that's because Jeremy had it hiding out in his collection. Thankfully, it's now in my collection. Thanks again Jeremy!

#14 - 2010/11 Upper Deck The Cup Zach Hamill Black RC 1/1

One of my most coveted Hamill cards ever. When it first was offered for sale on eBay, someone snatched it up right away. I had just pulled the listing up on my computer and it showed the item was purchased through Buy It Now. That was in 2010. On July 4th, 2020, it got listed again, I didn't let it get snatched up that time. I instantly bought this for $75 and it's my 2nd favorite Hamill I own. What is the 1st then? Well, let's find out!

#13 - 2010/11 Upper Deck The Cup Zach Hamill/Jordan Caron Dual Shield Auto RC 1/1

I had all but given up on this card. I figured it was probably out there in someone's closet who didn't collect anymore, and it wouldn't see the light of day. Then, after the National in Toronto one year, it showed up on eBay. It was priced over $1,000 though. I messaged the seller and asked what he realistically wanted for it and he said there was someone who offered him $900. Although I really wanted this card, I know that price is not realistic and told the seller of this card to sell it to that guy because it would be way more than I could pay for it. After over a year of this thing sitting and being relisted and relisted, the seller then dropped his price down to $500. So, I knew what he had told me before was a flat out lie. I let it go for a few more months before sending a $200 offer and it was accepted. After eBay authentication, it was delivered a week later. Here it is! Now if only I could find the Ultimate Shield of Hamill's, I'd be all set!

#12 - 1993/94 Pinnacle Alexandre Daigle Auto RC #236

I actually own 2 of these now. My wife bought me one at a card show we were at, and I pulled one when I was 11 out of a pack, my mom bought me at an ice rink after a hockey skating lesson. You can read about it in the "This used to be a really big card" post. If you haven't already watched it, I recommend watching the documentary on Daigle called, "Chosen One: Alexandre Daigle". It's well worth the watch.

#11 - 2007 Bowman Chrome Draft Josh Vitters Superfractor RC Auto 1/1

I saw this guy hit his last home run ever in the Major Leagues at PNC Park. Also, I have owned this card twice. True story! I'm also working on the rainbow of this card and only need the Red Refractor /5. One day, I hope to complete it, but those Red Refractors are hard to find! This card was also posted in the "This used to be a really big card" post I made a while ago. A lot of those cards still mean a great deal to me. This card being definitely one of them. If I didn't own 2 of the Daigle cards above, it might occupy this spot, but since this card is a 1/1, it gets spot 11. 

#10 - 2018/19 SP Authentic Future Watch Michael Dal Colle Black Auto RC SSP #164

This card....oh this card.. Freaking beautiful. I've also never seen another one. I've had eBay alerts for years and this is the only one that ever spiked an eBay alert for me. This is by far my favorite Dal Colle in my collection. Move over Dal Colle 1/1's, this Future Watch Black got ya beat! This is the pride of my Dal Colle PC. Enjoy looking at it just like I am right now while writing this. These 2018/19 Future Watch Black cards are the best I've seen.

#9 - 2010/11 Upper Deck The Cup Jeff Skinner Black RC 1/1

When we first built our new house, a month later COVID hit. Then, I was working at home full time and I never worked so much overtime in my entire life. Some weeks it was 70+ hours. On top of that, I was still trying to unpack, potty train our son, and try to have a little bit of a life (as much as we could during those times). When I saw the seller of this card (who initially was asking $2,500) dropped it down to $750 with a Best Offer option, I figured I might be able to grab this card finally with a nice offer from all my extra overtime money. After talking it over with my wife, she gave me the green light to do just that. I sent an offer and BOOM! The Skinner was finally mine. Skinner used to be one of my main PC guys, but after a while, I have since focused on other players. However, I still love Skinner and will always root for the guy. This card will always be in my Top 10 as it was a card that reminds me of all the hard work I put in for something I really wanted.

#8 - 1996/97 Topps Finest Allen Iverson RC #69

When I was 11 until I was 15 years of age, my parents subscribed me to Sports Cards magazine. It was a cool magazine that had price guides for all 4 sports and had a What's Hot and Cold section for each sport. I loved it until I was 16 and then I was too cool for school and asked for it to be cancelled, but it gave me 4 solid years of fun. For my 14th birthday, my mom asked what I wanted, and I knew she and my dad were kind of scraping by due to my mom going back to school to earn her degree, so I looked in my Sports Cards magazine and in one of the ads, I found someone selling 1996/97 Topps Finest Rookies. I asked her to buy me the Allen Iverson for $10 from one of the ads. This was before eBay, so my mom probably had to call this place, order this thing and give her credit card over the phone. Crazy, but 2 weeks later, I received the card in the mail. My mom rules. Thanks again, mom, I still have the Iverson you bought me for my 14th birthday!

#7 - 2023/24 Upper Deck Young Guns Leo Carlsson Outburst Red RC /25

A few weeks back, I was sick as a dog. When this happens, I still have to parent a lot by myself since my wife is a therapist. She works when other people are off work, so sometimes evenings I'm on my own. One of those nights was when I was sick, my oldest son was very empathetic and wanted to still be around me and try his best to care for me. He asked me, "Daddy, do you want to buy some cards, and we'll look at them together?" I instantly thought of Upper Deck ePack and said, "Sure, let's get a few packs of hockey cards." So, we got to the packs, and I asked him which ones he wanted to get, and he pointed to Upper Deck Series 2. Ugh, $20 a pack. I checked my hobby bank account and saw that I had enough for quite a few packs, so I said the limit was 8. So, that's what we bought. Pack #2 and we hit this! At that moment you couldn't tell I was sick. I jumped out of my chair so fast and did a dance. Then, both my boys decided to jump in with me and do a little dance and we ended up doing a dance party for the next 5 minutes. This card was probably my biggest hit of the year! Then, we went back to opening the rest of the 6 packs and we hit a Connor Bedard Young Guns! What a night that was! After opening these packs, there was plenty of dancing going on!

#6 - 1986 Donruss Rated Rookie Jose Canseco RC #39

If you're in your 40's and you collected cards back in the 80's, there is no way this card can't still be in your Top 10 cards of all-time if you own it. The first time I ever set my eyes on this card was at a card shop owned by my mom's best friend from high school's brother's shop. It was less than 1 mile away from my house and was only open for 2-3 years. He had it for sale for $110. I tried to get him to budge several times, but he never did. When I tried to save up for it after mowing lawns one summer, I had finally saved up enough money and when I got to the shop, it was gone. In 1992, it was at a card show at The Holiday Inn at a neighboring town and it was $85 there, but I had already spent my money. In 2016, I grabbed this card finally on eBay for the whopping price of $4. It's crazy how much this card has fallen in value, but with what he went through and how his career ended up, I guess it is what it is. This card is still ICONIC to me and probably a lot of guys my age.

#5 - 2023/24 Upper Deck Young Guns Connor Bedard RC #451

This card was pulled by me in March. It was a Christmas gift from my wife which was a box of 2023/24 Upper Deck Series 2. She gave me a chance to pull this, and I did it! The box I had was actually REALLY good. It had several decent cards in it. I have since pulled a few more Bedard Young Guns, but they aren't as awesome as the original I pulled from the box my wife bought me. I actually posted about it in my "Christmas in March" post. Check it out! Like I have said before in this post, it's always more special when you pull a card yourself.

#4 - 2003/04 SPx Rookie Stars Marc-Andre Fleury Spectrum Jersey Auto RC /10

You always remember a big pull. Well, this is one I'll never forget. One month in 2003, I was on a heater. I had pulled so many big cards and I was hoping my luck wouldn't run out. One Friday night, I was out with my friends, and I decided to cut out early. While driving back home, I had the itch to open a box of cards. I decided to drive to my LCS to grab a box of SPx hockey. When I got home and ripped into the box, I opened the first pack, and this thing was staring right back at me. The one corner was a little rough, but I couldn't help that, it's just the way it came from the pack, but it's still a beauty and I own it! 

#3 - 1988/89 Topps Brett Hull RC #66

This was a birthday present in 1992 from my dad. I knew it was coming and I have never actually told him this. This card was at the card shop up the road from my parent's house. It was $65 (overpriced in today's standards). When my birthday was about a month away, I asked my parents to buy this card for me. I didn't want a party, nope, just the Hull Rookie Card. So, one day while my dad was on a 5-day trip, I snooped in his room and found this card under his sombrero in his closet in an envelope. I got it out of the envelope and took it to my room and locked the door and looked at it for a long time before sneaking it back into its hiding spot. I had done this several times after that day until it was given to me on my birthday. My dad still has no idea I did this, and I acted surprised when I received it. It is something I still feel bad about, but this card still means a lot to me (even if Hull is a jerk). At the time, Brett Hull was my hero, and this was one heck of a gift to receive. Thanks again dad. 

#2 - 1989 Topps Future Stars Gregg Jefferies #233

To me, there isn't a more iconic card than this. There may be others to you, and I fully understand that, but for me, it's this card. I wrote a bunch of words regarding this card and even have a duo-tang folder of it. If you want to read that, you can read it on the "Gas Stating Fried Chicken and a Christmas Duo-Tang" post. Enjoy!

#1 - 1909-11 T206 Piedmont Doc Marshall RC PSA 4

This card is of my Great Unlce Doc Marshall. A man I have never met, but I had heard stories about growing up. From what I hear, he was a great person who loved to help people. I have also heard, he would frequently practice at a baseball field down the street from my house with Honus Wagner, who he was great friends with. Pretty crazy. I wrote a lot about this card, and I'd like to wrap this up if I could, so if you want to read that post, it's here.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading this post. I truly enjoy everyone's feedback and also hope that when you read my posts (although they are mostly lengthy), that you enjoy them. I will do my best to keep cranking out stuff for you to read if you keep coming back.

Thanks for reading and pushing me to keep this thing going everyone. Thanks for 100.