Wade Boggs Rookie Trifecta Complete!

Last month I decided to dedicate a very small chunk of my hobby budget to an '80s single that had been on my want list for entirely too long:

Wade Boggs was one of the greatest hitters to ever wear a Red Sox uniform, and for $6 with free shipping I can finally say that his 1983 Fleer rookie card is all mine.  I'm sure I could have tracked this down for less had I really spent a lot of time on it, but this copy's in great shape with good centering and from an eBay seller that I trust and have purchased from many times in the past.

I realize that it's not the world's most exciting card, but as a Red Sox collector it does fill a huge gap in the decade of the '80s.  Even better, it was the final Boggs rookie I needed of the big three.

The '83 Fleer can now join my personal favorite, the '83 Topps, in my monster box of Sox cards that are nice enough for toploaders or magnetic one-touch cases.  To me, this is the quintessential Boggs RC, as the '83 Topps design is light years better than its Fleer and Donruss counterparts.  Plus, it features both a portrait shot and a base-running photo on the same piece of cardboard.

Right next to those two sits the Donruss RC, to which I'd award the silver medal out of these three.

On second thought, I might rank the Fleer above this one since the Donruss back is an atrocious color and is devoid of minor league stats, something both Fleer and Topps included.  Knocking off this trio felt pretty good, I may have to do this with Roger Clemens next (shudder).