Trick or Treat - The Opening

It's All Hallow's Eve, so it's finally time to share the Trick or Treat package I received from Tribe Cards. I went trick or treating dressed like Little Alex from Clockwork Orange and I may have gotten a little rambunctious and might have accidentally rolled David's yard with a roll of toilet paper. Or maybe 10 rolls. No more than 24, certainly. They don't sell packages larger than that. Anyway, David took that good, clean fun in stride and sent me a Trick or Treat package anyway.

As you can see, I got the one with the quizzical witch. David has always sent me some good Braves stuff, so this should be fun to open. Here's the first card in the box:

1989 Score Sandy Alomar Jr. card. That's pretty cool, I'm a Score fan and I like Sandy. Good, solid catcher for a ton of years and not a jerk like his mock-chopping brother. Let's check out the next card.

1989 Score Alomar Jr. Hrm. Next?

Eight more Alomars. Heh, David tricked me back! Heh, that's all good. Some doubles to help fill out the box. Fun stuff! What's next?

1989 Upper Deck Sandy Alomar Jr Star Rookie. Five of 'em. Looks like we have a theme going on! Wait, what the-

AAAAH! He's Evil! Run away!

Oh man, what's going on here? Oh, well this isn't too bad. a peaceful scene with Sandy and his brother.

What what what?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

What is this?? What kind of package did David send me? 1990 Fleer?? C'mon man, it was just toilet paper! How was I to know it was about to rain?

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! No! Get away from me!!!

Don't give me that look! You're a monster!

Stop laughing at me!

STOP LAUGHING!!!!!!!

Oh thank God... Bruce Hurst! What in the world is up with Sandy? He's acting really strange! Bruce, why are you running Bruce?

OH GOD NO!!! BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCE

Red! It's so red! Red like BLOOD. I've got to get out of here now!!!

This is horrible! Just Horrible! I can't believe this is happening to me!

No! Sandy, put down that ax! It was just a joke, I'm sorry!

JEFF! Oh thank goodness! Look, we gotta get out of here, Alomar's gone nuts! Completly mad, I say! He freaking ATE Bruce Hurst! Oh wait... what is THAT?

Wh- why is Sandy smiling like that? What can he be up to? And how did he become a Rated rookie in both 1989 and 1990... That's just weird- OH NO! JEFF LOOK OUT IT'S A TRAP!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FRENCHY!!!!!!!

Oh, not Frenchy! This is terrible! He'll never walk again! Not that he walked all that much before, but that's not the point. QUIT LAUGHING AT ME YOU PSYCHO! What more can you do to me?

NO! NOT ROBBIE! ANYTHING BUT ROBBIE!!!

Ugh, I can't take anymore... He's catching up to me, I'm not going to make it.... Oh LOOK!

Chipper to the rescue!

That's right sucka! Your days of evildoing are over! CHIPPER'S HERE!

BATTLE!!!

Hooray! We are the winners!

Thanks to Chipper Jones, once again the day (and the box) was saved! The Menace of Sandy Alomar Jr. will not bother us again. Time to kick back and watch It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on TV in peace, knowing that the nightmare is over.

OR IS IT?????????

Final Tally of the Trick or Treat Box from Tribe Cards:

3 1989 Bowman Sandy Alomar #258
9 1989 Bowman Sandy Alomar Jr. #454
36 1989 Donruss Sandy Alomar Jr #28
10 1989 Donruss The Rookies Sandy Alomar Jr. #21
14 1990 Donruss Sandy Alomar Jr. #30
13 1989 Fleer Sandy Alomar Jr. #300
8 1989 Fleer Like Father - Like Sons Superstar Special #630
20 1990 Sandy Alomar Jr. #150
14 1989 Score Sandy Alomar Jr. #630
3 1989 Score Sandy Alomar Jr. Young Superstar Glossy #1
4 1990 Score Sandy Alomar Jr. #577
45 1989 Topps Sandy Alomar Jr. #648
6 1990 Topps Sandy Alomar Jr. #353
5 1989 Upper Deck Sandy Alomar Jr. #5
17 1990 Upper Deck Sandy Alomar Jr. #655

1989 Upper Deck Bruce Hurst #792
1991 Donruss Roberto Alomar Diamond King #12
1992 AAA Pre-Rookie Randy St. Claire
2008 Upper Deck First Edition Jeff Francoeur Green StarQuest #SQ-47
2008 Upper Deck X Chipper Jones #7

TOTAL SANDY ALOMAR JUNIOR CARDS:
207.

Now that's skeery! Happy Halloween, everbody!

If you want to see some real Halloween cards created by PunkRockPaint, go HERE and prepare to be amazed!

RIP Studs Terkel

Chicago author and broadcaster Studs Terkel passed away at his home today at the age of 96. Baseball fans will recognize him as Hugh Fullerton, the reporter in the movie Eight Men Out, and from his many appearances in Ken Burns' Baseball.

Topps Acknowledges My Existence!

I just got an e-mail from a guy named Patrick who claims to edit videos for Topps. He sent me a link to the Topps Connections channel on YouTube. Now, the e-mail is from a gmail account and I can't really confirm that Patrick is who he says he is, but the fact that someone even claiming to work for Topps in a peripheral fashion has really brightened my day! Hey, I'm human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does. Anyway, in my malaise towards the card industry in general over the past few months I've managed to not find out about these videos before now and I'm glad they were pointed out to me. Thanks Patrick!

Here's a preview video from the only Bowman product I care about now that they killed off Heritage:

2008 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects

I've learned three things from this video:

Assistant Brand Manager Jim McKenna has a full display of those 21-cards-and-a-stick-of-gum packs in his office and I am jealous.

Gordon Beckham has a card in the set in a photoshopped White Sox uni.

Jason Heyward has an AFLAC All-American card in the set!


So go check out the videos while I finish up my Halloween post. Ot if you're still old school, go check out the sell sheets (PDF). I wonder when the 2009 Topps video will be up...

More Cards from Daniel

Danny from Saints of the Cheap Seats sent out an unexpected package that arrived yesterday. I just keep getting stuff from this guy! This is the third package he's sent and I am very appreciative. Eventually, I will get around to posting the stuff he sent before. When you see it, you will, um, you'll do this. Just without the werewolves. The cards Danny sent are seemingly in pairs, so that's how I'm going to post them.

Two Kleskos

A Stadium Club and Donruss Elite card, both from 1997. I liked Ryan as a player and I miss the big ol' moose swinging like there's no tomorrow.

Two Chippers

I like getting oddball and insert Chippers where there's a chance I don't have them already. One is a 2002 Fleer Maximum card, a very forgettable set, the other a 2006 Ultra insert covered in bling.

Two A&G minis

One a short printed Tom Glavine mini, the other of Oriole outfielder Adam (Not Pac-Man) Jones. Glavine goes toward my A&G mini collection, Adam has a shot to grab a slot in my A&G minis binder.

Two Classic '70s Braves

Danny checked out my half finished 1970-1985 Braves wantlist and found a couple of beatues off my list. A '77 Buzz Capra replete with wax stain and a '78 Pat Rockett who hits a fly out on the game on the back of his card. These are completely awesome as I woefully have not completed most of these sets from the '70s, the singles are hard to find in modern card stores and there's no way I'm paying three bucks shipping on a Buzz Capra card off of eBay.

Two cards that made me say YES!!!

First up, a Manny Ramirez short print from 2007 Goudey. I really want to complete this set, but Short prints are a bit tough to find. Every little bit helps.

Finally an incredible 4-player Braves insert card from A Piece of Archives History. Chipper, Big Mac, Frenchy and Greedy all on the same card. Awesome.

Thanks again Danny, I've got your want list on standby!

Public Service Announcement

A few quick notes...

You have a little under two days to vote in the polls up there on the top right. Something's happening on November 1st, make sure your voices are heard.

There are three '80-'81 mini cards left, although there may be fierce battles for some to get their choice. Claim 'em if you want 'em. All have been claimed. Keep an eye out for future contests and giveaways!

I'm still taking want lists, and Treasure Never Buried is working on a want list project as well.

There will be another blog pimpin' post on Monday, so if you want your blog pimped and linked, leave a comment or send an e-mail.

There was something else, but I forgot it. Oh, and no more basketball posts 'till next week. I've kind of flooded you with 'em lately.

Since you were kind enough to read this whole boring post, here is a 1991 Upper Deck card of Mark Lemke.

Thank you for your support.

Oh, Phillies tribute post later tonight. I'm having a helluva time finding a #$^& Cole Hamels card.

1980-81 Topps Basketball Atlanta Hawks Team Set

Here's the first team set I promised from 1980-81 Topps basketball. Yes, I'm doing 'em all, this is my basketball 'thing' this year just like the vintage college football cards are my football 'thing'. Hockey doesn't quite have a 'thing' yet, but I'm thinging about it. It's a loooong offseason. Even longer than the game 5 rain delay. Anyway the first team set is who else - the Atlanta Hawks.

#3 Dan Roundfield East All-Star
#5 John Drew East All-Star
#13 Eddie Johnson East All-Star

The first 18 cards in the set are All-Star cards, and the Hawks have three representatives in the subset. The Hawks were pretty darn good in the '79-80 season, they went 50-32 and won the Central division. They got bounced in the first round by the 76ers which is par for the course for the Hawks.

The backs of the All-Star cards act as the checklists for the set. The cards are pretty tiny so each card has only 14 or 15 players listed. Now I know what a lot of you are thinking right now... I don't care at all about these stupid little cards but dang they look familiar! Well that;s because the design is mostly swiped from the 1978 Topps set.

A little skinnier, the name and frame are both the same color and the position is moved to the bottom, but they are pretty much the same. I know Rowland Office is awesome, but back to the hoops.

#19 John Drew Scoring Leader
#20 Dan Roundfield Rebound Leader
#21 Armond Hill Assist Leader

The set is ordered by team with the exception of a few players who changed teams in the offseason. The Hawks are cards 19-29 and 126. The first three cards of each team set are team leader cards showing the leader in scoring, rebounding and assists. The leading stat is shown on the front where the position would otherwise go because the back shows a different stat:

Instead of the single season leader, Topps shows the all-time franchise in these categories. As you can see Bob Pettit was the franchise leader in scoring and rebounding while Lenny Winkens led in assists. Now to the individual players.

#22 Charlie Criss

Charlie came off the bench at guard for the Hawks, the 5-8 Criss has done a lot of color commentary on the Hawks' broadcasts.

#23 John Drew

A huge scoring talent for the Hawks, Drew was traded to the Jazz for Dominique Wilkins in 1982and ended up banned fron the league for drug violations.

#24 Steve Hawes

The uncle of Kings center Spencer Hawes, I remember Steve as the guy getting pwned by Artis Gilmore on a poster that hung in my room for years.

#25 Armond Hill

The Hawks starting point guard, Armond is now an assistant coach for the Celtics.

#26 Eddie Johnson

A great scorer who ended up completely destroying his life. Cocaine is a helluva drug, folks.

#27 James McElroy

James was a reserve guard for the Hawks, as evidenced by his extremely red warm up jacket. There are quite a few cards in this set with weird color.

#28 Tree Rollins

I was extremely impressed with Tree when I was a little kid. I asked my uncle one time if he thought the Hawks would retire his number and he said "for what? having the lowest points per game average?" I was disappointed, but still impressed with Tree.

#29 Dan Roundfield

Dan Roundfield was the first big star I remember on the Hawks. He could score, but was best known for his defense.

#126 Tom Burleson

Tom is one of those players who are stuck in another team after signing in the offseason. Note the Kings jersey. Tom was once the 3rd overall pick in the draft, appropriate since he scored 3.3 points and 3.0 rebounds a game while backing up Tree.


Last but not least, a cartoon. Everyone knows Wayne Rollins is Tree, but did you know Charlie Criss was known as Mosquito? And that's just one of his nicknames. I hardly dare to take a guess at the rest.