Fleer Retro Hockey is meant to appeal to collectors who fondly remember the 1990s: a time where gold and silver foil, holograms and chromium ruled the day. Each box contains six autographed cards and tons of 1990s-themed insert cards. A 20 pack box (5 cards per pack) costs around $115. Here are the results of the box I opened:
What you missed at the 2013 Blackhawks Training Camp Festival
So successful are the Chicago Blackhawks that they will sell their fans everything and anything they can. All the games sell out, as does the annual summertime Fan Convention. Three years ago, the team started holding an annual Training Camp Festival, which includes a 5K run and dealers selling hockey memorabilia, and culminates in a scrimmage. The Fest, at $5 a ticket, sells out too. Blackhawks fans will pay to see the team practice!
This year’s scrimmage was pretty epic. The last time I went to a Training Camp Fest — in 2010 — the team had the players work on drills, then play three casual scrimmages, where players skated on more than one team throughout the day. But this year, the team went super-oldschool, and played what fans have called “The Red-White Game.”
(FYI, my first “Red-White Game” was way back in 1990. Read about it here.)
The players weren’t wearing practice jerseys; they were decked out in full Blackhawks uniforms, with one team wearing the red home jerseys and the other team wearing white road jerseys. Where else but in a video game can you see two full teams of Blackhawks going at it?
To those who didn’t make it to Monday night’s fest, here are some of the highlights you missed. Continue reading “What you missed at the 2013 Blackhawks Training Camp Festival”
2012-13 SP Authentic Hockey Box Break
The 2012-13 SP Authentic Hockey set was released just as the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals were getting underway. A 24-pack box (5 cards per pack) currently sells for around $125 online. SP Authentic boasts “3 Autograph Cards” per box. Even better, there are no silly jersey cards. Another draw is that “update cards” for 2012-13 Upper Deck Series One are found in SP Authentic. Come for the autographs, stay for the update cards. Or something. Anyway, onto the box break. Continue reading “2012-13 SP Authentic Hockey Box Break”
Card of the Week: The Card I Had to Have
It was summer of 1989. I just finished 8th grade and got my first pair of hockey skates as a graduation present. Every Friday that summer, my mom took me to ice skating lessons. Afterward, she’d take me to a local card shop. One day, I spotted something awesome in the display case: a 1981-82 Topps Hockey card of Tony Esposito.
Even though I had only been a hockey fan for a half a year at that point, I was no stranger to Esposito’s career accomplishments: Calder Trophy winner in 1970, record for most shutouts in one season, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and one of only four Blackhawks at the time to have his number retired.
And here, in this display case, sat a card of Tony-O, clad in red ‘Hawks sweater and his plain, workmanlike mask, glove hand outstretched as he goes to make one of the countless saves he made throughout his career. It was one of the coolest cards I had ever seen. But there was a catch: it was part of a stack of cards, wrapped in clear plastic and labeled “50 Topps Hockey Cards for $2.50.”
Well, I was too smart to fall for that game: obviously, the card on top is nice, while the other 49 are dogs. I didn’t want to spend a whole $2.50 for one card that I wanted and 49 I didn’t. Keep in mind that it was 1989, when 50 cents could get you a pack of new cards, and that I was only 14 and with no job. I decided to spend my money on five packs of newer cards that could help me finish off a set.
I regretted my decision as soon as I got home. The more I thought about that 1981-82 Topps Hockey card of Tony Esposito, the more I wish I had bought it. But my mom wouldn’t take me back to the shop; I would have to wait until next week after my ice skating lesson. (In all fairness to my mom, though, I probably spent all my money anyway.)
And so I thought about that card all week. I probably lost some sleep over it too, dreaming that some other kid would get that awesome Tony-O card and that I’d be left wishing for it.
Finally, the next Friday rolled around. After class, we stopped at the card shop. I remember hurrying through the store – the glass case with the hockey cards was all the way in the back – and being both excited and relieved that the stack of “50 Topps Cards for $2.50” was still available. I even remember removing the clear plastic wrap on the car ride home to look at the cards I just bought.
The cards under the Esposito were also from the 1981-82 Topps set – basically, the entire “National” set (1 to 66) minus Wayne Gretzky, Jarri Kurri and a few others. Guy Lafleur was in the stack; I recall my mother, who was a huge fan of The Flower back in the 1970s, correcting my botched attempt at pronouncing his name. Marcel Dionne was in there too, though that card had a crease along the bottom.
But all that didn’t matter. I had the card that I wanted – that my 14-year old mind fixated on all week.
Like any good collecting story, things came full circle. Last year — more than 20 years since I purchased this card — I worked out a trade with a collector named Shane, who has a blog called Shoebox Legends.
He offered to trade me a very unique item that he purchased from the Topps Vault: the match print photo used for the 1981-82 Topps Tony Esposito card. It is bigger than the card, measuring 3.5″ by 5″. It is also uncropped, meaning that we see Tony-O’s full glove hand, and there are no borders or text interfering with the picture.
Of course, I really wanted this picture, given my obsession with this card two decades ago. But this time, there was no week-long wait on pins and needles. After hearing my tale, Shane was more than willing to trade the Esposito photo to me, telling me that it belonged in my collection.
One point of interest about the photo: it’s been touched up.
On the surface, someone sprayed a little black paint between the top of Esposito’s stick and his left shoulder. This was to cover up the face of a spectator. Topps did that sort of thing a lot in the 1970s and 1980s. You don’t really notice it on the card so much because the painted area looks dark green.
And now you know more about this card than you thought possible.
In The Game Decades The 90s Box Break
Do you remember wearing flannel shirts? Can you still sing all the words to Ice Ice Baby? Do you dream about the days when hockey cards were 50 cents a pack? Then Decades The 1990s — released today by In The Game — just might be the card set you crave.
If you are around my age, then you probably have fond memories of the hockey card explosion, playing NHL ’94 on your Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis and watching the “glow puck” on FOX (unless you are in Canada, where the pucks don’t glow). Ah yes, the nineties were a great decade for hockey, and worthy of their own set.
Like In The Game’s previous “era” releases — 1972 The Year in Hockey and Decades 1980s — Decades The 90s focuses on a specific time in the sport: 1990 to 1999. There are 14 cards in the box. Considering that a “box” is really a “pack,” 14 cards feels like the right amount, as many packs of the early 1990s contained 12 to 15 cards each.
OK, enough reminiscing. Onto the break (after the break): Continue reading “In The Game Decades The 90s Box Break”
2005-06 Beehive Hockey Box Break
The 2005-06 Beehive Hockey set is one that I’ve long wanted to build. So when I found a sealed box at the National earlier this month for $50, I snapped it up. The set contains 180 standard-sized cards and 70 oversized cards — the latter resembling the old “Beehive Photos” kids collected during the Original Six Era. Each pack has four regular cards and one large card, and the box has 15 packs. Here’s what I got: Continue reading “2005-06 Beehive Hockey Box Break”
Review: 2013 Upper Deck Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup Box Set
To the victors go the trading cards
When Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland scored 17 seconds apart in Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals, the Blackhawks clinched the Stanley Cup. That victory also earned them a special boxed set of hockey cards from Upper Deck, commemorating the team’s second Stanley Cup in four seasons. Released at the end of July, the set contains 31 cards that no die-hard ‘Hawks fan should be without. Continue reading “Review: 2013 Upper Deck Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup Box Set”
Cards I purchased at the 2013 National
Truth be told, I did not enjoy the 2013 National as much as I enjoyed the 2011 National.This was because I had less money to spend this time around. However, there was far less hockey this time around too. So, I had less to spend — and less to spend it on. I couldn’t be impulsive and had to carefully weight anybig purchases, but I dug around and still found a few treasures for bargain prices. Continue reading “Cards I purchased at the 2013 National”
Autographs I got at the 2013 National
Two weeks later, and I am still wading through the stack of cards and other assorted goodies that I got at the 2013 National Sports Collectors Convention. I’ve busted boxes, found many cool singles and acquired a lot of new autographs for my collection.
When I went to the National, I paid for a VIP ticket, which included 12 autographs from the “VIP Signers”–basically, the ex-athletes who were signing autographs for around $15 to $25. You get a sheet of tickets that have the athlete’s name printed on it. What I did on the first day of the show was trade tickets. If someone was wearing a Cubs jersey, I asked them if they would trade me their Ed Olcyzk or Murray Bannerman ticket for, say, a Jerome Walton ticket. Most people were willing to trade, and some even gave me their tickets for the ex-Hawks without wanting anything in return.
Here’s a rundown of the autographs I got at the 2013 National:
On Wednesday, former Chicago Bears running back Neal Anderson was signing autographs for free. You did not need an autograph ticket, and since I got into the show early I was able to get in and out of his line rather quickly.
I decided to get Anderson’s rookie card autographed. Not much of a decision, as it is one of the few football cards I’ve kept from my childhood, for sentimental reasons.
When it was my turn to get Anderson’s autograph, I said “I’ve had this card since I got it in a pack of cards from 1988, and I’m excited to finally get it autographed.”
“Well,” he cheerfully replied, “I’m excited to sign it for you.” He seemed to mean it too. Anderson appeared to be having a good time talking with fans and shaking hands.
I thanked him for the autograph, and for coming to the show. I can’t say I was the only one who got a football card signed, but most others were either getting Anderson’s autograph on a photo or a mini football helmet.
Thursday was the first full day of the show. Former ‘Hawks player and current TV color commentator Ed Olczyk was signing autographs. Through trades and a few “gifts” from fellow attendees, I ended up getting eight items autographed by Olczyk. You can see the rest of the items here on my autograph blog.
On Saturday, former Blackhawks goaltender Murray Bannerman was signing autographs. In all, I ended up with 11 tickets for Bannerman’s ‘graph, which was way more than I needed. I gave three tickets away and got eight items signed, including this 5″x7″ photo of Bannerman as a member of the Vancouver Canucks. He played one game — only 20 minutes — with the Canucks in 1978 before he was traded to the Blackhawks. You can also see the rest of the items here on my autograph blog.
On Sunday, I pulled this card of baseball legend Ken Griffey Jr. from an Upper Deck redemption pack and promptly traded it to another collector for this autographed card of Jonathan Toews. (You can read more about the redemption programs at the show here).
One of the dealers — all the way at the back of the room — had this 1983 Cartophilium Hall of Fame card signed by Ken Reardon, who passed away in 2008. I love this set, and could not pass up the opportunity to get this card. Plus, the price was very reasonable.
Finally, I purchased a few cheap autographed cards over the weekend. The autographed cards of Benoit Cote and Greg Andrusak were 25 cents each.The Stephen Weiss signed mini card was $4. The 2010-11 Panini Certified autographs of Bobby Butler, Justin Mercier and Brandon Yip were $1 each.
Tomorrow, I’ll share some of my cool non-autographed finds from the show.
1963-64 Parkhurst #97 – Dave Balon
Wow, has it really been eight months since I last purchased a card from the 1963-64 Parkhurst Hockey set? Yes, yes it has. I did not find any Parkies from that year back at the card show in March, and I haven’t done much eBay shopping lately.
Anyway, this “common card” of Dave Balon was $12. A little steep for a common, until I noticed how perfect the corners on this card are. The only real flaw is that bit of discoloration (dirt?) along the bottom left edge. Even the borders and back are a little less aged than usual.
And thus, I’ve taken another small step towards completing this set.
Parkhurst Percent Counter: 69%