Let's open some 33 year-old wax packs.
I earned enough eBay bucks to shop for some set fillers - but not enough for a vintage card. One seller had packs of 1987 Topps football for $3 apiece, discounted to $2.55/ea if you purchase four or more. After using my eBay bucks this lot cost $4 total, which works out to a buck a pack ($1 + $3 shipping.)
The first football cards I saw on store shelves were 1988 Topps, and I bought several packs at the time. I can't say that this purchase was an attempt at "buying back my childhood" because I never saw '87 Topps anywhere. So this is the first time I've ever opened any football packs older than '88.
Obviously with the Jerry Rice RC in 1986 Topps I couldn't pick up any unopened wax to boost that set build. There aren't any high-value cards in 1987 Topps but there are still some key cards I need including:
- Jim Kelly RC
- Randall Cunningham RC
- Charles Haley RC
- Herschel Walker RC
- Doug Flutie RC
- Walter Payton sunset card*
- Joe Montana
- Jerry Rice 2nd year
- Dan Marino
- Steve Young 2nd year
*Payton had a Record Breaker card in 1988 Topps but not a proper base card
Pulling any one of these cards would be a win. I'll also note any Hall of Famers, stars, and Packers.
Let's get 'rippin. Here's pack 1:
Off to a great start here with a second-year Bruce Smith and a Boomer Esiason. Mossy Cade will go in my Packers binder since I already have one in my set. J.T. Smith was one of my favorites as a kid. And I was just telling my wife how much I love the old Falcons uniforms, specifically the red helmet.
There are 16 cards in each pack so I'll have to break these up into two scans. Here's the second half:
I'd forgotten about the 1000 Yard Club glossy cards. Four more chances to pull HOFers like Payton, Rice, Eric Dickerson, and Steve Largent. The Donnie Shell (HOFer) has a dinged edge and the Steve Jordan is wrecked. I knew at least one card would be gum-stained, but I wasn't expecting surface bubbles.
Pack 2, first half:
Here's one of the three HOFer rookie cards in the set: Gary Zimmerman. Charlie Joiner also has a bust in Canton. James Wilder was a childhood favorite because he appeared to be the only decent player on the Bucs and I liked the orange creamsicle uniforms.
Second half:
I remember Joe Morris from his Starting Lineup figure. (I think I had a Marcus Allen, too.) Sadly the Allen card is the bubbled one in this pack and has to be discarded. Mark Lee with Christmas colors is interesting. All the other Packers in the set have a properly yellow background behind their name.
Pack 3, first half:
Doug Flutie RC 😎 That's one I can cross off the Top Ten wantlist. Super Bowl cards kicked off the 1987, '88, and '89 Topps sets. Half a Jerry Rice card is better than none, especially when he shares it with the host of Touchdown Trivia.
Second half...aww, sh!t:
Dave Jennings hot pack. Including the Brian Hansen that's three punter cards. When was the last time it was even possible to pull three punters from a pack? That's not why I'm annoyed. You see that card at the bottom right? That's one of the three HOFer RCs in the set. One of the Top Ten keys...
..and it's wrecked. I don't mind a little gum stain but this card (like the Allen and Jordan) have surface bubbles on the front. They're hard to see in the scan but you can see the gum damage on the front underneath Haley's name:
That's the risk of buying 33 year-old wax packs. Oh well :/
Last pack. Let's see if the third Hall of Famer RC is hiding in here...
Two Hall of Famers in Andre Tippett and Kellen Winslow. Mark Malone took over for Terry Bradshaw in Pittsburgh, but that was before my time. I remember him from ESPN. Which blogger collects cards of players on a phone?
Second half:
Another Joe Morris insert. Figures. No HOFers here, though I do have a bit of a Neil Lomax PC. Also, I'm very relieved that the bubbled/gum stained card in this pack was a checklist.
Overall this was a fun rip. I got 42 new cards for my set build, plus some glossy inserts and a handful of traders.
Now.. who would like to eat this gum?
Anyone? There's a Charles Haley rookie card in it for ya.
Oh.. I see we have a volunteer. Jon, do the honors:
Thanks for reading!
~
Ha. It just dissolves. Like immediately. I've sampled as far back as 1981. So 39 years old.
ReplyDeleteRon Brown won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. 4 x 100 relay team in track.
I opened zero football cards during the '80s. All of it looks new to me. Not particularly impressed with the late '80s Topps designs.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on the Falcons unis. Steve Bartkowski was a favorite based strictly on the uniforms Atlanta wore in the late '70s.
I opened my box of 1990 Topps football a couple of months ago, and found the same problem with the gum cards, bubbling and all. I can't really remember the details at this point, but I think that there was only one 'good' card that was affected. I love the 1000 Yard Club design for this particular year. I tried to bid on the Dickerson one, as well as Flutie's rookie recently, but didn't win either one of them. Price-wise, it seems like you got a pretty good deal on these packs, and getting so many needed cards for so little is always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteAnd Brian (HSCA) is the phone collector that you're looking for.
If you ever plan to toss the Haley... I'd gladly take it off your hands. I've actually grown to appreciate wax/gum stains. They're rarer than the other cards since only on card can have a wax stain... and two could possibly have gum stain damage. But the real reason I enjoy them is that they add character to the card. I was pretty stoked when earlier in the year, I finally added a wax stained Tony Gwynn rookie card to my collection. The only thing that would have made it cooler is if I had pulled it myself from a pack.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Love the Curt Warner card. He was my favorite running back back in the days when he was lining up in the Seahawk backfield.