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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Blogging Perks

Last week, Mario posted a once coveted Bowman Chrome card of Kerry Wood and asked his readers what card that once topped Beckett's Hot List would we want to pick up now that the bottom has fallen out of the market for older cards. My response was the 1985 Topps Mark McGwire Olympic card. I didn't buy many packs of '85 Topps and never pulled a McGwire. I had a change to buy a rack pack with Mark showing on the front back then, but I passed it up for a rack with Oddibe McDowell on top instead. I regretted my mistake, but passed the card over again in college when a new card store opened up and offered the card for $10. Mark was kind of sucky in the early '90s so I passed again. Then he bulked up and hit almost 300 home runs in 5 years and you couldn't even find a pack of '85 Topps for $10. Now everyone hates McGwire for tainting such a pure and unblemished sport and you can probably find cards of Marky Mark on the cheap.

I posted the comment, promptly forgot about it, and then on Monday I got this note in the mail...

Reader Todd sent me a story:

It's June 1984 and the Mets have the first pick in the draft. They narrow it down to two choices:

A) Mark McGwire - a college first baseman from USC
Or
b) Shawn Abner - Multi-talented outfielder from Mechanicsburg Area Senior High*

They chose B and he goes on to do pretty much nothing. The next spring 13 year old Todd gets these cards in a 500 count vending box where they become part of the collection for 24+ years. Now I can set them free!

Behold:



My long national nightmare is over. I finally have a Mac! I needed the Abner card too for the set, interestingly enough. I'm two cards closer to completing a set I can probably find discarded on the side of the road! WOOOOOOO! Hey, it's the journey that's important, not the destination. Thanks Todd! (but seriously, do not send me hundreds more '85 Topps, I'm covered)

*Also from Mechanicsburg: Todd and Bret Michaels from Poison.

8 comments:

SpastikMooss said...

Nice fun fact. I love Bret Michaels.

Sharpe said...

It truly is about the journey. Have you nabbed the other stars from this set?

I've contemplated the 83 and 86 sets myself, even though we could find them roadside, as you put it.

Sal said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
night owl said...

Believe me, nothing taught me more that collecting was all about the journey than the 1985 Topps set. I bought the '85 Topps set in '85 because "I didn't have time to collect." Because I bought it all at once, I still don't know what half the cards look like in that set.

Sal said...

The 1985 Topps Baseball set was the first sports card set I ever bought packs of as a kid.

To this day, it remains my favorite baseball set--and is one of the few "non-hockey" sets in my collection.

Good luck on getting the last 2 cards you need.

Steve Gierman said...

Ahhh, a card of Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern-schplenden-schlitter-crasscrenbon-fried-digger-dingle-dangle-dongle-dungle-burstein-von-knacker-thrasher-apple-banger-horowitz-ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-grumblemeyer-spelterwasser-kurstlich-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gutenabend-bitte-ein- nürnburger-bratwustle-gerspurten-mitz-weimache-luber-hundsfut-gumberaber-shönedanker-kalbsfleisch-mittler-aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm.

Very nice!

Anonymous said...

Poor Abner. Almost 25 years after you get drafted in the first round, and your legacy is to get labeled a "douche" with a ball-point pen on a piece of masking tape. I kinda feel bad for him.

deal said...

uhm. I don't have any idea what all this means, but I spent a few of my elementary years in the M-burg School District.

The fact that Mr Abner and Mr Michaels were there in roughly the same era is very frightening.