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O Bash Brother, Where Art Thou?

Have you ever been in this situation before?  You go on a collecting "purge" to move things you aren't in love with, only to find out you wished you never sold one or two of the pieces in the first place. That's what happened to me when I gave up what I now consider to be the ULTIMATE Bash Brothers baseball card. A little background ... As you probably know, Canseco & McGwire made waves during the 80s and early 90s as the premiere slugging teammates.  Depending upon what your favorite team was, they were either superheroes or supervillains, and

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YASSSS!!!! I Unexpectedly Captured a Unicorn!!!

Twenty years ago today, Jose took his last swing in the majors. It is hard to believe that two decades have passed since we have been able to enjoy his handiwork at the plate!  It also is crazy to think that he has been retired for longer than he played (1985-2001).   If you read this previous article, you know how special patch cards of Jose Canseco that were created during his playing career are to me.  There are very few - only two official releases.  The 2000 Upper Deck Game Jersey Patch (STILL gives me goose bumps!) ... ... and 2001

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1915 Cracker Jack Ty Cobb – A Historical Art Piece from World War 1

"Buy me some peanuts and..." A year and a half ago, I picked up this beautiful 1915 Cracker Jack Ty Cobb. While we 80s babies had to deal with wax stains, World War 1 era collectors dealt with caramel stains from Cracker Jack packages. The staining on this copy is an unobtrusive reminder of its journey - a journey I can only dream about. Imagine a child over a century ago sitting in the stands at a Tigers game holding a package of Cracker Jacks with his favorite baseball player coming up to bat. Between pitches, he digs into the

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Canseco’s FIRST Official Auto Patch Card – 2002 Leaf Certified Fabric of the Game /10

What is Canseco's first official A's patch card? What is Canseco's first official auto/patch card? What is Canseco's first official A's auto/patch card?   You are looking at it! Months after Jose announced his retirement, 2002 Leaf Certified Fabric of the Game was released. Though Canseco hadn't played for the A's for five years, Leaf decided to create a card of him on the team he was best known for. This version, though serial numbered to /33, gave something extra special to the first /10 holders: a signature! Out of those /10, some had patches embedded, while others had white

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My Honus Wagner Rookie Turns 122 Years Old Today!

As we all know by now, the rightful spot of the #1 highest selling card once again belongs to a T206 Wagner which just sold for $6.6 million dollars. Days prior, Nicholas Cage sold his house for $6 million.  It is amazing to think that someone paid more money for a little piece of cardboard than a beautiful massive mansion owned by an A list celebrity.  (That would TOTALLY be me to go for the cardboard!) While it is the most expensive and famous card on the planet, did you know, the T206 is not Wagner's rookie?  His rookie was

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Canseco’s 1988 World Series Grand Slam Cards

10-15-88: Kirk Gibson did something big. I don't quite recall, but that's not important. Blah. Earlier in that game, the legend of Jose Canseco grew when he hit his first ever grand slam on the biggest stage in the world of baseball: Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. The Home Run wasn't run of the mill, either. It was a 400ft line drive missile to straight away center field, and actually dented the NBC camera it hit! (Here's a video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxLrDqpwYn8 ) In 2003, Topps commemorated this missile grand slam by creating a Canseco card for it.

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Using Baseball Cards as Memory Markers

Many of my childhood memories are attached to baseball cards.  I remember one late morning in 1989 going to the house my parents just bought.  We were about to move, and while I don't remember much about that day, I do remember being in the passenger seat with a box of 1989 Topps, and a handful of packs from the movie Eight Men Out.  I was on cloud nine - it is one of my earliest memories being happy.  I remember sitting at the table later that day opening it with my uncle watching the progress.  My gosh, how I

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The Incredible Story of 2010 Upper Deck Exquisite

On October 6, 2001, Jose Canseco played his last game in the majors, wrapping up an injury riddled career at the age of 37, while racking up several awards:  Rookie of the Year, 4 Silver Sluggers, 6 All Star Game appearances, 2 World Series rings, and MVP. During his playing career, collectors only had a couple options for picking up a game used patch card of his, as these types of cards were new to the hobby.  Over the next few years after he was out of baseball, companies really started ramping things up, and Canseco collectors were treated to

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134 Year Old Treasure Hunt Yields an Exciting Discovery!

Here is a link to the audio from my podcast if you'd like to listen instead, though I do hope you read the article and check out the pictures! https://anchor.fm/tan-man-baseball-fan/episodes/My-134-Year-Old-Discovery-e13sbv8 What I stumbled upon feels like the baseball card version of the Da Vinci Code and Indiana Jones all wrapped up into one. Everyone loves a good treasure hunting mystery, and I guess that's why I love baseball card collecting so much.  As a 9 year old, nothing would excite me more than when mom & dad would bring me home a pack of 1989 Donruss or take me to

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Unlocking the Secret of 2011 Goodwin Champions Using 1/1 King Kelly

In 2011, Upper Deck once again resurrected the 1888 Goodwin Champions name a second time to launch a new set in the same theme from its 123 year old predecessor.  The King Kelly is known to many as the most beautiful baseball card from the 19th century, ever.  It has been said that the artist used a stormy background to go along with Kelly's stormy personality.  The Kelly is the 7th card shown in the pic below: 2011 Goodwin holds a special place for me, as well as a good mystery.  First, as far as I know, it is the

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