Card Show Top 20 - #19 Blue MadDog

At the show there was one seller that was either completely insane or was a Wizard from another dimension. While 90% of the tables were pretty straightforward, some vintage here, some Mojo there, maybe some wax boxes, this guy had a treasure trove of completely random ephemera. Postcards, magazines, photo slides, toys, tchotchkes, even a few actual cards. He had his stuff set up by tables. One table was ten bucks a pop, another 5 bucks, yet another was 3 and the table piled the highest was a buck each for everything on the table. Right square in the middle was the Dollar Box From Dimension X.

EVERYTHING was in this box. You could not get a more random selection of cards if you were given a million dollars to travel the world and pick out the strangest collection of stuff imaginable. 10% of the box I didn't even know what the hell it was. Strange leather cards, playing cards, stuff that looks like it was cut off a box, complete weirdness. Some of the stuff I did recognize included tobacco era cards, oddball inserts from the '60s and '70s, a bunch of old non-sports issues from the '50s to the '70s, British tobacco cards and Topps Heritage buyback Vintage cards with the foil stamp. Mixed in with that were some random packs including an Empire Strikes back pack that I passed up because I would go crazy trying to decide if I should rip it or not and a piece of MLB gum which apparently has a baseball player comic inside. Them mixed in with all the awesome is a bunch of dreadfully boring star cards from the junk wax era. Then there was absolute insanity like an old Fleer Ultra basketball card that a) looked like it had been run over by a truck and b) had a weird holographic foil on it that makes me think it might have been a 1/1 platinum card. I looked around and could find any indication of what it was, but it sure wasn't a normal Ultra card. Eventually I picked out about 13 bucks worth of stuff. Eventually I had to walk away because by brain was too boggled. Turns out, 7 of those cards are in the Top 20. Including number 19...

2004 Cracker Jack #124 Greg Maddux Blue Parallel

When I think about the insanely oddball stuff I passed up to grab a parallel card from 2004, I feel kind of foolish. HOWEVER... It's Maddux. Greatest pitcher of his generation. From a set I really really like. On a parallel I really really like. The blue parallels are numbered out of 50 in the 2005 set, but I don't think these are nearly as short printed as that. Man, I wish the entire Cracker Jack set could have had blue backgrounds instead. I know the originals were red, but that red hurts my eyes. I don't even mind that Maddux is a Cub on this card. I JUST FRIGGIN LIKE THE CARD OK.  I got a nice card I liked and I left the rest of the oddball for the next guy at the card show. And if no one picks it up, the next guy can be me! I wonder if I can get to the card show and back on my lunch break?!?

The Top 20 List:

#20 Reds' Heavy Artillery

#19 Blue MadDog

#18 Lil' Jimmy

#17 Real Fake '52

#16 First Topps

#15 Bogus Boog

#14 V103 Tree

#13 Sertoma Rico

#12 '55 Finishers

#11 Hey Shiny

#10 What the Dickens

#9 '60 Spahnnie

#8 Lonely '53

#7 Super Chief

#6 Original Frank

#5 Hoops Inspiration

#4 Rocket Robin

#3 Wizard Off Kilter

#2 Shenanigans Were Called

#1 The Holy Grail of Commons