When Mainstream Baseball Cards (Almost) Went International

In 1992, Ace Novelty (the maker of those ugly looking trolls) was primed to compete with Topps, Fleer, Donruss, etc. and go even further, by expanding into international markets. A small prototype set was made to show them.  The minuscule run of cards was handed out to a little league team that one of the guys at Ace was involved with.  Ultimately, the MLB rejected giving them a license at the 11th hour.  The actual cards that got out in the public appear to be a great big ... "oops!", and were given out with the assumption that the MLB

Story Time Tuesday

Story time Tuesday! Ahhh, that first time I saw a Topps buyback! It was, I believe, around the end of 2015 ... 1988 Topps, a little off center. I was AMPED! Then another popped. Then another. Then another. About a week into the release, it was clear that buybacks were no longer "rare". Topps was grabbing piles of base cards, having players sign them, while they stamped and slabbed them. At the end of my supercollecting journey, I amassed 115 different Topps Archives Signature Series Canseco cards ... MANY of them being numbered to 5 or less. When I sold out,

How Baseball Cards Were Made in the 19th Century

I have loved the game of baseball (and cards!) since I was little.  Nothing has captivated me quite like it.  Well ... maybe when I first learned of dinosaurs.  I guess that's why 19th century baseball - and its artifacts intrigue me so much.  Each time I learn something from that time period, I savor it.  Doing an "online archaeological dig" brings up many things about the sport I love so much that I never knew about.  The online community is captivated by the likes of Trout, Acuna and Soto, but many cannot name a single player from before 1900