2010 Topps Football - - My first packs

Now that the 2010 Topps Football has permeated it's way through all the store shelves and all the blogs, I decided enough was enough and I wasn't about to get left behind.  I finally took a stab at a few packs.

I decided about a year or so ago that since I build sets and I need the most bang for my buck, retail shelf rack packs were always my best bet.  Some argue that these are the worst because the odds are different for the "hits" but you get the most for your money out of these packs because of the sheer number of cards and price per card.

Feel free to disagree as I know many of you will but when you have very little access to a card shop and means out of my own control preventing ordering hobby boxes online, retail is sometimes your only option.  Since I can't bring myself to trust loose packs on the shelf or those nifty gravity boxes because of all the pack searchers, I keep returning to the rack packs.  Sure, blaster boxes can get you some guaranteed hits as well as some increasingly fair collation over the last few years.  But the cost per card is higher than a rack pack and I'm really not interested in anymore of these "hits" that contain plain white swatches of bench players (regardless of sport) or prospect autographs of guys that will never get off their minor league islands.

Did I mention I picked up a few packs?  Well I did.  10 to be exact.  At $4.99 a pop, that was a nice piece of change until I realized all the trading cards were an additional 30% off.  Sweet, $3.50 a pack!!  There were only 10 or else I would have picked up a few more.  At any rate, I'll get this out of the way real quick...there were no autos, no game used, no super short prints, and no rookie variations.  Instead there were tons of base cards that put me well on my way to putting the set together, 10 Gridiron Lineage cards, 10 Topps Attaks/Toppstown cards, 10 Peak Performances, 2 Topps Gold /2010, 3 75th Anniversary Draft cards, 10 '52 Bowman reprints, and 2 55th Anniversary reprints.  Plus, out of 10 packs, I pulled 7 Gridiron Giveaway cards.

These are what I wanted to focus on because everyone out there has already seen the base and the inserts a hundred times.  Not being one to allow anything to sit more than 10 minutes, I immediately logged into the TGG site, surprisingly using my same ID and PW for the TMCG site.  I checked their "transmogrifier" for any recent trends in new vs. old and noticed it was a pretty even mix so I figured why not?  Here they are in no particular order...

1988 Jim Covert

2006 Doug Gabriel

1979 Lenvil Elliott

1979 Raymond Clayborn

1959 Joe Fortunato (R)

1984 Garry Cobb

1999 Travis Hall

This was a pretty interesting mix.  Better variety than the over-abundance of 1985-1989 on it's baseball counterpart.  I unlocked 2 cards from the 70s, 2 from the 80s, 1 from the 90s, 1 from the 2000s, and my one and only card from the 50s that I own that isn't a Pittsburgh Steeler.  Joe Fortunado's rookie card, as it appears to be, is probably still a common by all other standards but since I live in the Chicago area, he's at least a guy I have heard of.  Playing 12 seasons for the Bears, he made the Pro Bowl 5 times and is considered one of the top 300 players of all time.  He was named to the All Decade team of the 50s.  

I have already sorted my base cards but I haven't made a list of what I need yet.  That will go to my set needs page as soon as I have an opportunity.  I also pulled a small pile of doubles and a few triples surprisingly so if anyone else is putting this together, let me know.

I know, I know.  I said I wasn't picking up anything new for awhile a few posts ago but the urge to bust wax overcame me and I caved.  It won't happen again...today.

Trade Post (sort of) - - Under the Bridge

If the first thing that came to mind was the Red Hot Chili Peppers song, they you are 100%, absolutely WRONG!!

This is a Troll post.  And not just any Troll post...a package from Troll post. 

Once upon a time in a far away land, there lived the Collective Troll.  At one point sometime ago, he called out for participation in a group break of epic proportions and all you needed to do to get a spot was...well, I don't remember exactly what we had to do.  It had something to do with buying our way in with cards or something of that nature.  At any rate, this all went down sometime last millennium and I think everyone had forgotten about it until a few weeks ago when we were all reminded that there were packages awaiting arrival at our doorsteps. 

I knew I had the Pirates in the break and after jogging my memory by reviewing many old posts on the Troll Blog, I got a pretty good idea of what I was going to expect to see.  What arrived was so much more, though.

There in my mailbox sat a 330 count box of wonder and amazement.  Not only were the cards that came from the break in there, but there were unopened packs, older Pirates cards, some roller derby stuff (which is always awesome!!), and even some Steelers items.  I was blown away by everything that was in there so I thought I would share some of it with the world. I'm not posting everything, nor am I posting much from the actual break.  I am going to post some of what I think are the highlights.

1994 Stadium Club Andy Van Slyke

I post this card, not for its value or scarcity.  No, this one sums up the Pirates existence from the date this card came off the production line until today.  This is exactly how Pirates fans feel.  Exhausted? Tired? Exasperated? Frustrated? Confused? Angry?  The answer to all of these questions is YES!!  This has to be my vote for the greatest modern era Pirates card of all time.

1985 O-Pee-Chee George Hendrick and Lee Mazzilli

These are the first two OPC Pirates cards I have in my collection from the 1980s.  Although, George is still a Cardinal but we will let that slide.  This was a shocking discovery since I have so much 1980s stuff.

2008 UD Baseball Heroes Roberto Clemente and 2008 Stadium Club Honus Wagner

Here are two modern cards with vintage players.  Not just any players but two of the greatest Pirates of all time.  The 1971 World Series MVP and the man with the most famous and recognizable baseball card of all time.  Reprints, tributes, and retro cards are the closest I will ever get to owning a real Honus Wagner.

1978 O-Pee-Chee Dave Parker/Rod Carew Batting Leaders

Another OPC only this time, an oldie.  When I started collecting, I really didn't even know that OPC was had a card set.  In fact, until I started collecting hockey cards back in the late 80s, I didn't know OPC existed at all.  What an awesome duo to have on a card, though.

1976 Topps Duffy Dyer

There really isn't anything all that special about this card.  Dyer didn't have what you would call a stellar career.  He was Manny Sanguillen's backup for most of his tenure with the Pirates until Manny was dealt to the A's for Chuck Tanner (yes, the manager).  He came back the following year but by that time, Dyer and Ed Ott were well entrenched as the 2 catchers.  What I thought was cool about this card is that Dyer is the name of the town directly west of where I currently reside.  I doubt Troll knew that, or maybe he did, but what a coincidence.  I wonder if Duffy's family tree goes back to mid-1800's Northwest Indiana?

1998 Topps Roberto Clemente Commemorative Set #300

This card comes from a 19 card commemorative set issued back in 1998 which was the 25th anniversary of Roberto Clemente's death.  I have seen this set going from anywhere between $50 to $100.  Now I have a card from it.  It looks like the original, it is glossy, and it is foil stamped. 

A variety of Topps Steelers cards from 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1985. 

These were very unexpected since this was a baseball break and these are clearly not baseball.  They are much cooler though.  4 Steeler greats of the past.  Lambert and Blount are both in the HOF.  Larry Brown played on all four Super Bowl teams in the 70s first as a tight end and then as a tackle.  Mike Merriweather played for the Steelers from 1982-1987 and made the Pro Bowl as a linebacker in 84, 85, and 86. 

2009 Allen & Ginter Ryan Doumit Relic

This is my third A&G relic of a Pirate.  It's Ryan Doumit.  While it's a cool card, I don't know how I feel about Doumit.  Is a catcher, first baseman, outfielder?  Who knows?  It could change on a whim.  He did hit a homer tonight in a losing effort to the Mets.

1987 Fleer Johnny Ray Autograph

I have no idea how he got this autograph, all I know is it is now in my collection.  Johnny Ray, one of the all time best Pirates 2nd baseman, was a personal favorite of mine (in the pre-Bonds era).  The other great thing about this card...look what he is swinging there.  Here's a hint...It's not a bat.

Thanks again Troll.  You are a gentleman and a scholar and a real class act in this hobby.

Pack Break - - 2006-07 MVP Hockey Retail

(This was already posted over at A Pack To Be Named Later but I thought I would post it here too for posterity sake.)


2006-07 MVP Hockey Retail.
8 Cards/Pack

I really have nothing to say about these. They are a typical MVP type release with the focus of the card around the silver foil signature of the player. The rookie cards have the name stamped rather than in script. If anything, it is definitely a good way to gauge signatures of some of the more popular players. Especially with all the fraudulent stuff out there. I'm looking your way Ebay...

Nothing too shocking in this pack. Each one contains an insert card, either a rookie or insert set. I pulled an Eric Staal Clutch Performer. Here is a sampling of what is to be found...



#243 Steve Bernier


#177 Sergei Brylin
I like when players use their numbers in their signatures.  It makes it more personal.


#96 Jussi Jokinen
Jokinen is having a pretty good year so far.  I think over the weekend he extended his point streak to 9 games.  I don't understand why he isn't on Finland's Olympic roster.

#48 Chuck Kobasew
I just pulled a Kobasew auto out of my box of 09-10 ITG.  They look the same.


#73 Marek Svatos


#CP11 Eric Staal - Clutch Performers
This is one insert set that I can honestly looks much, much worse than the base cards.

#157 Alex Kovalev
The strange thing about this one is that I used to have a 8X10 autograph of Alex when he was with the Penguins.  His signature looked nothing like that.  I wish I still had it to prove my point.


#71 Jose Theodore

Pack Break - - 2006-07 BeeHive Hockey Retail

2006-07 BeeHive Hockey Retail
4 Cards/Pack

(This is almost the same post as over on A Pack To Be Named Later. I added some things.)

BeeHive is one of those brand names that has a long history in the world of collecting. With its roots in card sets back in the 30s and 40s, BeeHive has put out some of the most sought after cards in all of hockey, featuring the Original Six teams.

I'm not going to get into the history of the BeeHive product but if you want to know more about them, there is a great web resource for all things BeeHive. It is called The BeeHive Hockey Photo Museum. You can find the link here. There are a lot of pictures of the images used for the card production and you can even purchase many of them at pretty good prices. If you are interested at all in nostalgic hockey collectibles these are worth a look.

As for this incarnation of the product, Upper Deck's design is very similar to the Group 3 cards of the mid to late 60s. With the wood border framing, the cards capture the vintage feel but with the modern photography that Upper Deck is known for. The backs of the cards show the last year of game play stats as well as the "Did You Know" facts section which feature a morsel of info about the player and another random fact. For instance, Did You Know that Bobby Carpenter was the first American born player to post 50 goals in a season? Actually I did know that, but I bet other people didn't.

As for production, the retail version feature rookies at about 1:8 packs. There are also five parallel sets featuring different border color variations and randomly inserted GU and Autos with the 5x7 PhotGRAPHS falling about 1:250 packs in the hobby versions. Here are some samples.


#14 Doug Weight


#31 Jason Spezza


#72 Pascal LeClaire - Wood Border Parallel


#17 Jonathan Cheechoo

Pack Break - - 2006-07 Fleer Hockey

2006-07 Fleer Hockey
10 Cards/Pack

(This is almost the same post as the one on A Pack To Be Named Later. I added more of the images on here though.)

I'm not going to say a lot about these ones. They are very similar in design to their baseball and football counterparts. The only difference seems to be in the borders, with half the picture bled to the edge. The backs have the matte finished retro feel to them but once again, in typical Upper Deck fashion, they only display five years of stats

The set features 200 regular base cards and 30 rookies including Matt Carle, Eric Fehr, Mark Stuart, Michel Ouellet, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, and Shea Weber. The insert cards fall about 1:4. There are also glossy parallels, called the Tiffany Collection, inserted 1:36 or 1:360 on the rookies. I didn't pull any of these. The GU cards in the set fall about 1:40 packs and the Autos are 1:432. Here is a sampling.


#136 Jason Spezza


#N3 Ryan Miller - Netminders


#149 Curtis Joseph


#140 Ray Emery

#118 Brian Rafalski


#185 Darcy Tucker


#41 Erik Cole


#97 Manny Fernandez


#7 Ryan Getzlaf


#104 Alex Kovalev

Pack Break - - 2009 Topps National Chicle Football

While being bored out of my mind yesterday, I decided to go visit the People of Walmart after 10 PM. What a scary, scary place. Upon discovering they had nothing in the way of any packs or boxes for that matter, I proceeded to head to the local Target.

Topps National Chicle was sitting in the Power Pack box on the bottom shelf. This had to be a mistake, but low and behold, it wasn't. They were all marked to the $1.59 price. There were only 4 packs so I picked them up as faster than a fat guy in a buffet line. I have never really been a big fan of all the retro sets that have come out. I think at this point in the game, things are getting a bit stale.

The Topps National Chicle set features artist renderings of all the top NFL players. One thing that I found kind of different (although other sets may have this, it's a first for my collections) were the artist bio's on the backs. Each card features a different artist from around the country including well knowns such as Monty Sheldon, Paul Lempa, Brian Kong, and Chris Henderson among others.

I posted a single pack break over at A Pack To Be Named Later if anyone wants to see the distribution. I can actually say that I kind of like these and their companion mini cards as well. I'm not too excited about all the parallel cards and their different variations, but I can see myself putting together a base set if I can pick up some more. At any rate, I will let the cards speak for themselves. Here are some scans of what I pulled.

Pack Busting: 2009 Playoff Prestige Football Rack Pack

Rack packs are on clearance at four different retailers. I know I said no more retail but this was part of a larger purchase I had already made.

For $2.49, 16 cards including 2 rookies. Here is what I pulled.

#186 Patrick Turner (R) - 3rd Round Pick of the Fish out of USC. He didn't see any action this year at all. This can't bode well for his career in Miami.

#18 Connections (Kellen Clemens/Jerricho Cotchery) - Really?

#54 Bernard Berrian - Xtra Points #207/300 - Could be worse for a serial numbered card I guess.

#177 Michael Oher - I think this is only my first or possibly second Oher card. Is it just me or are you sick of hearing about his stinking movie too?

#66 Kellen Clemens
#24 Jamal Lewis
#81 LaDainian Tomlinson
#41 Steve Slaton
#98 Clinton Portis
#69 Thomas Jones
#92 Earnest Graham
#50 Dwayne Bowe
#8 Willis McGahee
#56 Chester Taylor
#14 DeAngelo Williams
#71 Justin Fargas

What's with all the running backs in this set? Out of 16 cards, 10 of them are backs. Crazy collation there Panini.

As you can see by the scan, there is nothing special here. Kind of plain, actually. I'm not a fan. I won't be buying anymore of these on purpose.

Oh!! I almost forgot. Apparently this is my 100th post. When I started back in July of 2009 I didn't think I would last to 20 posts let alone 100. Thanks to everyone and everything that has inspired me to share my addiction with the world.