Will Clark Collectors Thread

[dd316]

One really interesting (and equally confusing) area of my player collection is the team-issued postcards. I have a bunch of them, but there are some for which I can't identify a maker or year of issue. I'm assuming those without sponsors are team-issued cards that would be inserted responses to fan mail and the like, but I'm not really sure.

Does anyone have any more information on the issues I haven't identified? I think most of the Rangers cards are blank-backed, but I need to check that. If I remember, one of the Orioles postcards has "2000" written in pencil on the back. I'll need to check that, too.

(I may give this its own thread too, as I'd love to see if any Rangers or Orioles collectors can help identify those team issues.)

Anyway, here's what I have:

15. Unknown

Drew, I have one just like this that I received as a response to an auto request in 1996 or 1997.

That one looks the most familiar to me as well. I'm gonna have to look though and see what I have, I might have a couple if memory serves. I've never really pursued them, but if one fell in my lap for next to nothing I didn't pass it up.

 

[ajw]

Just a random post. Picked this one up maybe a year ago. Not exactly sure if it's a promo or what, but they don't surface too often. (Cracker Jack 4 in 1)

 

[tpeichel]

Just a random post. Picked this one up maybe a year ago. Not exactly sure if it's a promo or what, but they don't surface too often. (Cracker Jack 4 in 1)

I was just looking at this recently in SCD and they said the sheets were stolen from the printer and then cut down.

 

[ajw]

Just a random post. Picked this one up maybe a year ago. Not exactly sure if it's a promo or what, but they don't surface too often. (Cracker Jack 4 in 1)

I was just looking at this recently in SCD and they said the sheets were stolen from the printer and then cut down.

Huh. That's interesting. Not too surprising, I guess. Still, it's an interesting little oddity...

 

[ajw]

Here's another random card. I picked this one up recently... Pinnacle Inside Diamond Edition #24:

 

[ajw]

Here's a random card on a random Wednesday...

 

[dd316]

Finally, a certified Topps Clark auto on the horizon! http://twitter.com/#!/toppscards/status ... 16/photo/1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[clarkfan]

Finally, a certified Topps Clark auto on the horizon! http://twitter.com/#!/toppscards/status ... 16/photo/1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I like it. I wonder if he'll have variations as well or just the 1 style!

 

[ajw]

Great looking card! He looks really thin in that picture - it must be from his first couple seasons, I'd think...

Also, there's a relatively uncommon postcard listed on Ebay right now. Not sure if anyone else cares about the postcards, but I've only seen a couple of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CLARK-SAN-F...529?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519c5ad559

 

[Mark McGwire Museum]

I was just looking at this recently in SCD and they said the sheets were stolen from the printer and then cut down.

This is true. I have one of the sheets. I have removed the "4-n-1" from my card list because of this. I own a 4-n-1 and can tell it has been hand cut.

 

[Jack Straw]

I was just looking at this recently in SCD and they said the sheets were stolen from the printer and then cut down.

This is true. I have one of the sheets. I have removed the "4-n-1" from my card list because of this. I own a 4-n-1 and can tell it has been hand cut.

Why did you remove it from your list?

 

[clarkfan]

Great looking card! He looks really thin in that picture - it must be from his first couple seasons, I'd think...

Also, there's a relatively uncommon postcard listed on Ebay right now. Not sure if anyone else cares about the postcards, but I've only seen a couple of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CLARK-SAN-F...529?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519c5ad559

Thanks for the link Andrew. I could have sworn I had the one, but I can't find it, so I went ahead and picked it up. I thought I had an unsigned one, but it escapes me.

 

[ajw]

Here's today's random Will Clark card. 1987 Fleer:

This was one of the hottest cards in the hobby in 1989 and 1990, hitting a peak of $35. I had stocked up on them in 1988 and early 1989, setting a limit of $1.00 each. (I actually remember buying three that cost me a total of $3.75, but that was the most I ever paid for them.) It was likely in 1990 that I packed a couple dozen of my Fleer rookies together and shipped them to a dealer who advertised in Sports Collectors Digest (man, I sure miss that magazine). I used the money for a brand new pair of Air Jordans (the IV, for anyone that's curious), which I still consider to be a great trade.

So, this might be a common card today, but at the time, it was one of the couple hottest cards around. The great rookie card mantle went something like this:

Don Mattingly to Dwight Gooden to Jose Canseco to Will Clark to Bo Jackson to Ken Griffey Jr. There were some other great rookie cards in that mix, but those were some of the biggest names.

Anyway, I'm sure many of you have fond memories of this card, as well...

 

[saucywombat]

Yea I remember I had set a goal of saving up $35 for a Clark Fleer RC (since I had the other prime cards - Bonilla and Bonds) but some how could never make it that far.

I think primarily because you could get a box of Topps for $17.50 at Revco.

When I first got really interested in baseball it was because of Kevin Mitchell's big 49 hr 1989 season and the popularity of Will Clark - even had the Giants cap for a while.

 

[theplasticman]

Here's today's random Will Clark card. 1987 Fleer:

This was one of the hottest cards in the hobby in 1989 and 1990, hitting a peak of $35. I had stocked up on them in 1988 and early 1989, setting a limit of $1.00 each. (I actually remember buying three that cost me a total of $3.75, but that was the most I ever paid for them.) It was likely in 1990 that I packed a couple dozen of my Fleer rookies together and shipped them to a dealer who advertised in Sports Collectors Digest (man, I sure miss that magazine). I used the money for a brand new pair of Air Jordans (the IV, for anyone that's curious), which I still consider to be a great trade.

So, this might be a common card today, but at the time, it was one of the couple hottest cards around. The great rookie card mantle went something like this:

Don Mattingly to Dwight Gooden to Jose Canseco to Will Clark to Bo Jackson to Ken Griffey Jr. There were some other great rookie cards in that mix, but those were some of the biggest names.

Anyway, I'm sure many of you have fond memories of this card, as well...

One of my personal favorite Clark's. I have an embarrassing quantity of them now :lol:

 

[ajw]

Here's a random card for tonight.

1998 Score Rookie & Traded Artist Proof

 

[ajw]

Here are two that look great together. 1993 Donruss and 1993 Donruss Preview

 

[ajw]

Here's today's random card. 1992 Upper Deck. I'd say that Will is in the Top 10 of players known for their eye black. Him and John Randle, I guess...

 

[ajw]

Not sure if anyone cares, but I have fun with this, so I'll keep adding some random cards every now and then.

This is a nice two-card panel with 2001 Topps Retrofractors of Will Clark and Billy Ripken's brother.

 

[dd316]

Not sure if anyone cares, but I have fun with this, so I'll keep adding some random cards every now and then.

This is a nice two-card panel with 2001 Topps Retrofractors of Will Clark and Billy Ripken's brother.

I see a lot of these 2-panels show up on Ebay, but this is the first Chrome Retrofractor I've seen.

Anyone know the story behind these two-card panels? Aren't they printed on full sheets? Is someone trimming them down to these two cards, or are these some kind of proofs?