…and It’s Not Even a Hockey Card
Hello, fellow Puck Junkies. I’ve got some great news to share. I recently got the BIGGEST HIT I ever pulled from a pack. No, it wasn’t a card of some guy named Gretzky, or Lemieux, or McDavid. It wasn’t the Pro Set Stanley Cup Hologram, either. Heck, it wasn’t even a hockey card.
The biggest hit I got happened late last month when I opened a pack of Transformers: The Movie trading cards by Upper Deck, and pulled this amazing card…
That is a card of Optimus Prime, leader of the heroic Autobots, autographed by voice actor Peter Cullen. He voiced Optimus Prime in the original Transformers cartoon (1984-1987) as well as Transformers: The Movie (1986). He also voiced Optimus Prime in later Transformers animated series and video games, as well as the live-action Transformers movies.
In other words, Cullen is THE definitive voice of the most-iconic Transformers character.
Cullen sadly passed away about two months ago. Not long after, Upper Deck released a set of Transformers: The Movie trading cards for the film’s 40th anniversary. The cards were sold exclusively at Target for $20 per hanger pack.
Cullen signed 11 total cards that were inserted into about 36,000 or so packs.
The release of this set and the timing of Cullen’s passing sent TF fans into a fervor. I’ve seen fellow Transformers collectors post on social media that they’ve bought many, many packs – sometimes as many as 40 packs – and not pull a Cullen signed card.
I wanted to buy a pack or two and try my luck. Each pack has the full 10-card set plus two bonus cards – either inserts, parallels, or the elusive autograph. I checked my local Target three times a week on my way to work for over a month.
Finally, about two weeks ago, the Target store in downtown Chicago had about 10 or so packs of Transformers cards just hanging there. I told myself I’d limit myself to two packs. I saw one pack hanging on a peg by itself and grabbed it. The other peg had nine or so packs. I grabbed the one at the front and started to walk away.
Then I stopped, doubled back, grabbed the second pack that was hanging on that peg, and then put the first pack back.
Now, I don’t know which pack had the autographed card – the pack that was by itself on the peg, or the one I doubled back for.
But it doesn’t really matter, right?
This was purely random luck, and I’m OK with that. I just happened to go to a Target store that is near my work on a weekday afternoon and grabbed two packs. It doesn’t get more random or lucky than that.
Transformers was a big part of my childhood. I played with the toys, read the comic book series, watched the cartoon every day after school, and cried when Optimus Prime died. (And cried even harder when he was brought back to life and then killed again before finally coming back for good in 1987.)
Before I got back into hockey card collecting, I was a big-time Transformers toy collector. Even though I don’t collect Transformers toys anymore, I still consider myself a part of the Transformers fandom. And I’m a card collector, so buying Transformers cards just made too much sense.
I don’t know if I will ever top this hit – and I’m OK with that.
Note: This article is an updated version of an editorial that originally appeared in Volume 4 – Issue 44 of the Puck Junk Newsletter. For stories like these, plus news and updates about hockey cards and collectibles, subscribe to the newsletter here.
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