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matfanofold
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- Aug 10, 2008
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I've decided to Make a top 10 list of my Favorite cards of the past 20 years. Hopefully you will get some enjoyment from reading what and why these cards stand out from the rest from the last 2 decades. I'd like to say I'm sorry for my spelling up front as I just type away and rarely spell check anything, and I am just sniping photo's from e-bay for refrence, so if I have taken one of yours, please let me know if you wish for it to be removed.
I'll add them as I can, and update them in to the first post.
Thanks for your time, and enjoy!
10. 1992 Bowman Mike Piazza.
Back in 1992, Bowman released it's fourth re-incarnation of a dead brand, Bowman. Both 1989 and 1990 were well recieived, but despite perhaps 2 of the greatest RC crops in modern times, niether really cought on with mainstream collectors. The 1989 Bowman was too big for 'current for the time' protection, and although was conceived to rehash the concept of vintage bowman, just came off as odd and uninteresting to most collectors. 1990 Bowman tried to rectify the mistakes of 1989 and resized the cards to normal size/shape, and even added a bit of 'modern' color/design to it, but it also never was really well received. 1991 Bowman took another few steps towards acceptance with a much better design than the previous 2, and a healthy crop of impact RC's made this a solid product, but still fell short of the major 3's hobby presence.
So now we were given 1992 Bowman. Brighter colors, a new shiney coat, and a different photo concept, and a gold foil subset made this an interesting set from the get go. With Zero factory sets, and large odds of pulling any one perticular card, they were welcomed by pack/box busters much better than previous years. But little did anyone know at the time that it's growing demand, and relative short supply would fuel an explosion for 1992 Bowman. After only about a year or so of these cards being released, they skyrocketed from about $1.00 a pack upwards to $10 a pack, and hand collated sets were flying off the hobby store shelf for ~$500. And although there were many $10-$20++ cards to be had, no one card was or has been more so collected than perhaps the most dominant catcher to ever play the game, #461 Mike Piazza.
Piazza was a long shot, just like Bowman back then. And also just like bowman, the next 10 years would see them both atop of their respective games. It was a card that stood out among the rest, and was 'the' cornerstone of any collection durring the hobbies downward spiral. It was cards like the 1992 Bowman Mike Piazza RC that help kept this hobby alive durring it's darkest time, and thus has earned the #10 spot on my list. The irony of this is that I have never actually owned one, and despite busting many packs/boxs and having it on a short want list for a long time, never has it been part of my collection.
9. 1993 Stadium club Murphy Derek Jeter
I think back to the 1991 Stadium Club cards and remember just how ground breaking, and sought after they were! And although value never poured in to subsiquent releases, the Stadium Club cards remained very popular throughout the 90's. Having said that, the novelty of the 1992 Dome, and the 1993 Murphey sets were never really appreciated by collectors. Perhaps it was the packaging that turned them off, I really do not know..? But I always liked the sets and the cards offered within.
When the 1993 Murphy was released, I can remember buying them just for the USA and AS cards, basicly throwing out(or giving away) the rest. And was not until the late 90's and the popularity of Jeter did I consider revisiting the Murphy set for collectability. Fortunately, every card shop seemingly had a case or so of the sets readily available for peanuts! I've always coveted the quality, and respective limited nature of the Murphy Jeter card compared to other Jeter RC cards of the time, including the SP, and so it was always the choice of mine when it came to a Jeter RC.
Heck, it was as late as 2008 that I could still pick up these factory sets for $15 at the local LCS, but thoes times are long gone. It seems that over the last year or so many have come to understand, as I have always thought, that the 1993 Stadium Club Murphy Derek Jeter RC could quite possibly be the Jeter RC to have. And because of my early love for this odd ball card that has now found it's way to main stream recognition, it finds it'self as #9 on my top 10 cards of the last 20 years.
8. 2001 Topps Traded Ichiro/Pujols
In 2001, both of these players were instant impact players and value has always been there. But how many times in the last 20 years, or the last 100 years, has a card featured 2 of the greatest players of the game on the same card in a RC season? I suppose I know this is not a true RC, but it's still a 2001 card featuring 2 of the most deserving HOF caliber players in modern baseball. I often think back to when I was a kid, and how cool it would be to have a 1985 topps Gooden/Clemens card. Or a 1987 Donruss Bonds/Palmerio card. Or heck, even a 1951 Bowman Mantle/Mays card?
So, like most cards I want/like, I have never pulled it nor have I ever owned it. But as mose time passes, I look to this card as a reminder of how cool cards could be. Some day, I'll probablly try and chase down the card and hopefully it will remain a distant second fiddle value wise to it's individual Ichiro/Pujols counterparts, because if this card ever gets the attention I believe it could/should, the oppertunity to get one of these for a song could come to an expensive end!
7. 1992 Upper Deck 'Traded' Shaquille O'Neal
I bet you thought you were only going to see baseball here, right? Well... Wrong! Remembering back to the early 90's, there were several hot products. OPC Premier Hockey, Classic cards, anything 'Rocket' Ismail, Christial Laettner, and that behemoth of a man out of Louisiana State University taking the basketball world by storm! Before he was an actor, before he was a rapper, before he was a rookie of the year or an MVP, he was a freak of nature. A throw back to the days of paint domination of Wilt the stilt. Every kid I knew was busting everything they could to get a card of his!
For me, it was the tri-photo 92' UD 'Traded' RC that posed the biggest challenge to get, and looked the best to me. Remember, back in the early 90's UD was still ground breaking with their 'high end' cards, and the 92 UD set was considered a masterpiece at the time. I scoured friends collections, local card shops, and card shows for this card but it was always just out of my reach because even as a 17 year old, I was pretty broke...
But now, when I see and think of this card, it reminds me of the impact Shaq had on the sport, the hobby, and the future of the NBA. It reminds me of Team USA and he not being on it. But most of all, it reminds me of the good times I had trying to trade for what I wanted, in person - face to face with others just like me. No texting or PM's. No E-bay or message boards. Just me and a binder of cards, a mission to own a Shaq RC, and the good times I had along the way..
6. 2003 Bowman Chrome Willie Mays Auto.
Ever since I heard about this massivly short printed card coming out of the 2003 Bowman Chrome product, it has been the 'golden ticket' of pack breaking for me. If I were to ever label a card a 'White Whale', and lock a card away in the PC forever, this would be it! The design of this set is perhaps my favorite of all the Bowman products to date, and the concept of the card is just breath taking! Everything just seems to work. The photo, the colors, the on card auto, the Chrome, ect.. It's masterpiece!
I know I'll probablly never put out the coin to pick one of these up, and even if I would, they are so far and few inbetween that it would be a godsend to just find one for sale. It still blows me away that this card, which incorporates the best of 2 worlds, is not worth much, MUCH more. If only Bowman did this with each years set, perhaps we could of had a Bowman Chrome auto of Koufax, or a Ryan, or a Aaron by now..
Oh, a boy can dream!
5. 2001 SPx Ichiro Auto / Jersey RC SP
Boy oh boy, looking back on to 2001... My pack busting and collecting was in full swing, and coming off what i consider a lack luster 2000 for the hobby, things were looking up! All the news was about this ~28 year old hitiing machine from Japan. The media and fans could not get enough as the hype machine was at full tilt! However, within the hobby, it was somewhat of a enigma for many I talked with. Seldom before had a proven professional talent come from Japan(or anywhere else) and made a splash in MLB. Many people were questioning the long term desirability of such a player, his validity as a RC, and if indeed he could perform at the MLB level.
Well, shortly after the begining of the 2001 season, all these questions were being answered, and 10 years later, there is not no doubt. Ichiro was the real deal. His RC status translated just fine with collectors, and he is sought after as much as ever! Which brings me to my #5 pick. Since 2001 I considered this the holy grail of Ichiro cards, and even had a chance to buy one early on for a small fraction of what they are worth now, but I balked. I admit, I was hesitant on buying in to him. But now, when I see this card, it reminds me that anything and everything can be overcome by just hitting the ball. And hitting the ball, over and over, and over he did!
I believe in time, Ichiro will go down as one of the best hitters ever to play the game world wide. He has shown that the universal language is hitting, and when the arm of the Hall embrace him fully, this is the card I will think of anytime Ichiro is mentioned. And mentioned he will be, every time the greats of the game are discussed.
4. 1992 Topps Brien Taylor Auto Gold.
In 1992 certified autographed cards were still a oddity, and prospecting was a growing, but still new concept to most who did not live and breath baseball cards. Which is why this card places so high in my ranking of the top 20 cards over the last 20 years. Despite this card never panning out due to his best impression of Sonny liston vs Ali (2 points to anyone who can truely understand the relevence of this refrence), it still remains a icon of the times and in my opinion was the precursor to the RC Auto card(s) we all cherish today. Only available in gold factory sets, and accompanied with a coa(some debate this), this 19 year old pea shooter with comparisons to Dwight Gooden(which at the time was a very good thing) sported a Yankee hat and a look of determination.
It seemed the sky was the limit with this card, and it was on everybody's radar. Gold factory sets were being busted left and right. I'm not sure just how many gold sets remain un opened, but with an estimated print run of 12,000, I'm sure they are far and few inbetween! Infact, I remember searching for one for years and never seeing a sealed set once! But, as of right now there are 2 on e-bay with what I consider reasonable prices.
So, even though this card does not reside in my collection, and It probablly never will, it's stronghold on the hobby back then and the glimpse of the future it offered the hobby solidify it's spot on my list. It's funny to think about it now, but it was such a devistating blow to the hobby when he faded away and this card which was destin for greatness fell off the charts, because now it happens all the time and it's never a big deal.
I'll add them as I can, and update them in to the first post.
Thanks for your time, and enjoy!
10. 1992 Bowman Mike Piazza.
Back in 1992, Bowman released it's fourth re-incarnation of a dead brand, Bowman. Both 1989 and 1990 were well recieived, but despite perhaps 2 of the greatest RC crops in modern times, niether really cought on with mainstream collectors. The 1989 Bowman was too big for 'current for the time' protection, and although was conceived to rehash the concept of vintage bowman, just came off as odd and uninteresting to most collectors. 1990 Bowman tried to rectify the mistakes of 1989 and resized the cards to normal size/shape, and even added a bit of 'modern' color/design to it, but it also never was really well received. 1991 Bowman took another few steps towards acceptance with a much better design than the previous 2, and a healthy crop of impact RC's made this a solid product, but still fell short of the major 3's hobby presence.
So now we were given 1992 Bowman. Brighter colors, a new shiney coat, and a different photo concept, and a gold foil subset made this an interesting set from the get go. With Zero factory sets, and large odds of pulling any one perticular card, they were welcomed by pack/box busters much better than previous years. But little did anyone know at the time that it's growing demand, and relative short supply would fuel an explosion for 1992 Bowman. After only about a year or so of these cards being released, they skyrocketed from about $1.00 a pack upwards to $10 a pack, and hand collated sets were flying off the hobby store shelf for ~$500. And although there were many $10-$20++ cards to be had, no one card was or has been more so collected than perhaps the most dominant catcher to ever play the game, #461 Mike Piazza.
Piazza was a long shot, just like Bowman back then. And also just like bowman, the next 10 years would see them both atop of their respective games. It was a card that stood out among the rest, and was 'the' cornerstone of any collection durring the hobbies downward spiral. It was cards like the 1992 Bowman Mike Piazza RC that help kept this hobby alive durring it's darkest time, and thus has earned the #10 spot on my list. The irony of this is that I have never actually owned one, and despite busting many packs/boxs and having it on a short want list for a long time, never has it been part of my collection.
9. 1993 Stadium club Murphy Derek Jeter
I think back to the 1991 Stadium Club cards and remember just how ground breaking, and sought after they were! And although value never poured in to subsiquent releases, the Stadium Club cards remained very popular throughout the 90's. Having said that, the novelty of the 1992 Dome, and the 1993 Murphey sets were never really appreciated by collectors. Perhaps it was the packaging that turned them off, I really do not know..? But I always liked the sets and the cards offered within.
When the 1993 Murphy was released, I can remember buying them just for the USA and AS cards, basicly throwing out(or giving away) the rest. And was not until the late 90's and the popularity of Jeter did I consider revisiting the Murphy set for collectability. Fortunately, every card shop seemingly had a case or so of the sets readily available for peanuts! I've always coveted the quality, and respective limited nature of the Murphy Jeter card compared to other Jeter RC cards of the time, including the SP, and so it was always the choice of mine when it came to a Jeter RC.
Heck, it was as late as 2008 that I could still pick up these factory sets for $15 at the local LCS, but thoes times are long gone. It seems that over the last year or so many have come to understand, as I have always thought, that the 1993 Stadium Club Murphy Derek Jeter RC could quite possibly be the Jeter RC to have. And because of my early love for this odd ball card that has now found it's way to main stream recognition, it finds it'self as #9 on my top 10 cards of the last 20 years.
8. 2001 Topps Traded Ichiro/Pujols
In 2001, both of these players were instant impact players and value has always been there. But how many times in the last 20 years, or the last 100 years, has a card featured 2 of the greatest players of the game on the same card in a RC season? I suppose I know this is not a true RC, but it's still a 2001 card featuring 2 of the most deserving HOF caliber players in modern baseball. I often think back to when I was a kid, and how cool it would be to have a 1985 topps Gooden/Clemens card. Or a 1987 Donruss Bonds/Palmerio card. Or heck, even a 1951 Bowman Mantle/Mays card?
So, like most cards I want/like, I have never pulled it nor have I ever owned it. But as mose time passes, I look to this card as a reminder of how cool cards could be. Some day, I'll probablly try and chase down the card and hopefully it will remain a distant second fiddle value wise to it's individual Ichiro/Pujols counterparts, because if this card ever gets the attention I believe it could/should, the oppertunity to get one of these for a song could come to an expensive end!
7. 1992 Upper Deck 'Traded' Shaquille O'Neal
I bet you thought you were only going to see baseball here, right? Well... Wrong! Remembering back to the early 90's, there were several hot products. OPC Premier Hockey, Classic cards, anything 'Rocket' Ismail, Christial Laettner, and that behemoth of a man out of Louisiana State University taking the basketball world by storm! Before he was an actor, before he was a rapper, before he was a rookie of the year or an MVP, he was a freak of nature. A throw back to the days of paint domination of Wilt the stilt. Every kid I knew was busting everything they could to get a card of his!
For me, it was the tri-photo 92' UD 'Traded' RC that posed the biggest challenge to get, and looked the best to me. Remember, back in the early 90's UD was still ground breaking with their 'high end' cards, and the 92 UD set was considered a masterpiece at the time. I scoured friends collections, local card shops, and card shows for this card but it was always just out of my reach because even as a 17 year old, I was pretty broke...
But now, when I see and think of this card, it reminds me of the impact Shaq had on the sport, the hobby, and the future of the NBA. It reminds me of Team USA and he not being on it. But most of all, it reminds me of the good times I had trying to trade for what I wanted, in person - face to face with others just like me. No texting or PM's. No E-bay or message boards. Just me and a binder of cards, a mission to own a Shaq RC, and the good times I had along the way..
6. 2003 Bowman Chrome Willie Mays Auto.
Ever since I heard about this massivly short printed card coming out of the 2003 Bowman Chrome product, it has been the 'golden ticket' of pack breaking for me. If I were to ever label a card a 'White Whale', and lock a card away in the PC forever, this would be it! The design of this set is perhaps my favorite of all the Bowman products to date, and the concept of the card is just breath taking! Everything just seems to work. The photo, the colors, the on card auto, the Chrome, ect.. It's masterpiece!
I know I'll probablly never put out the coin to pick one of these up, and even if I would, they are so far and few inbetween that it would be a godsend to just find one for sale. It still blows me away that this card, which incorporates the best of 2 worlds, is not worth much, MUCH more. If only Bowman did this with each years set, perhaps we could of had a Bowman Chrome auto of Koufax, or a Ryan, or a Aaron by now..
Oh, a boy can dream!
5. 2001 SPx Ichiro Auto / Jersey RC SP
Boy oh boy, looking back on to 2001... My pack busting and collecting was in full swing, and coming off what i consider a lack luster 2000 for the hobby, things were looking up! All the news was about this ~28 year old hitiing machine from Japan. The media and fans could not get enough as the hype machine was at full tilt! However, within the hobby, it was somewhat of a enigma for many I talked with. Seldom before had a proven professional talent come from Japan(or anywhere else) and made a splash in MLB. Many people were questioning the long term desirability of such a player, his validity as a RC, and if indeed he could perform at the MLB level.
Well, shortly after the begining of the 2001 season, all these questions were being answered, and 10 years later, there is not no doubt. Ichiro was the real deal. His RC status translated just fine with collectors, and he is sought after as much as ever! Which brings me to my #5 pick. Since 2001 I considered this the holy grail of Ichiro cards, and even had a chance to buy one early on for a small fraction of what they are worth now, but I balked. I admit, I was hesitant on buying in to him. But now, when I see this card, it reminds me that anything and everything can be overcome by just hitting the ball. And hitting the ball, over and over, and over he did!
I believe in time, Ichiro will go down as one of the best hitters ever to play the game world wide. He has shown that the universal language is hitting, and when the arm of the Hall embrace him fully, this is the card I will think of anytime Ichiro is mentioned. And mentioned he will be, every time the greats of the game are discussed.
4. 1992 Topps Brien Taylor Auto Gold.
In 1992 certified autographed cards were still a oddity, and prospecting was a growing, but still new concept to most who did not live and breath baseball cards. Which is why this card places so high in my ranking of the top 20 cards over the last 20 years. Despite this card never panning out due to his best impression of Sonny liston vs Ali (2 points to anyone who can truely understand the relevence of this refrence), it still remains a icon of the times and in my opinion was the precursor to the RC Auto card(s) we all cherish today. Only available in gold factory sets, and accompanied with a coa(some debate this), this 19 year old pea shooter with comparisons to Dwight Gooden(which at the time was a very good thing) sported a Yankee hat and a look of determination.
It seemed the sky was the limit with this card, and it was on everybody's radar. Gold factory sets were being busted left and right. I'm not sure just how many gold sets remain un opened, but with an estimated print run of 12,000, I'm sure they are far and few inbetween! Infact, I remember searching for one for years and never seeing a sealed set once! But, as of right now there are 2 on e-bay with what I consider reasonable prices.
So, even though this card does not reside in my collection, and It probablly never will, it's stronghold on the hobby back then and the glimpse of the future it offered the hobby solidify it's spot on my list. It's funny to think about it now, but it was such a devistating blow to the hobby when he faded away and this card which was destin for greatness fell off the charts, because now it happens all the time and it's never a big deal.
