Five Bucks and a Quarter Box

Today I've got the goods from a very quick stop at my new favorite card shop, Central Sports Cards in Pawtucket, RI.  Since I didn't have much time to pick last time I was there, here's just $5 worth of cards I quickly grabbed from the quarter bins.

I didn't start collecting again until 2007, so anything from 2006 Allen & Ginter is foreign to me.  The cards are beautiful though, and I don't get a lot of chances to pick up Josh Gibson cards.  In fact, my records tell me this is my first.  About time.

I've seen these Draft Night inserts posted on a couple of other blogs.  I'm sure like a lot of Bowman sets the majority of the players will never amount to anything, but for some reason I like the concept.  This card was actually laying in a pile on top of the display case, but the shop owner John said I could have it for a quarter.  Sold.

Everything I just typed above regarding Josh Gibson, ditto for Sam Jethroe.  I've also been trying to add more Boston cards to my collection that fall outside the realm of the Red Sox.

I grabbed a few hockey cards as well.  Any time I see cards from the 1994-95 Parkhurst Missing Link set in a quarter or dime box I grab them.  I think I'm about a quarter of the way to a set now.

Never heard of this set in my life, but there was no way I was leaving this photo of Ed Giacomin behind for someone else to scoop up.

There were a small number of these 1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated World Series Fever cards.  I grabbed all four that featured past SI covers related to the World Series.  I really like this concept.

This one, which represents the 1958 World Series between the Yankees and Braves, might be my favorite.  I love the artwork.

One of my favorite cards from the 1995-96 Upper Deck hockey checklist is Chris Chelios.  The photograph is framed so well, with Chelios handling the puck in front of a bench full of Red Wings and a giant Little Caesar's ad.  I also love how Darren McCarty appears to be the one player not paying attention to the game, but instead staring at a fan (hot chick, perhaps?).  I jumped at the chance to add the Electric Ice parallel version of this one to my hockey collection.

What can I say, I guess I really gravitate towards retired stars.  In fact, other than that Draft Night insert towards the beginning of the post, every other card here features a player whose career is already complete.

Fleer made some gaudy sets in the mid-'90s, but they strike a nostalgic chord with me.

Normally not a fan of unlicensed sets like this one, but Mark Fidrych interests me enough that I felt it was worth a quarter.  I have a really cool Fidrych card to feature sometime in the near future...

The 1996-97 Metal Universe cards looks amazing in person, much better than they scan.  This is another of those sets where I will grab any card I don't already have at a quarter or less.

This might have been the most satisfying pick of the day.  I completed my 1992-93 Upper Deck hockey set long ago now, but I've never tracked down a copy of this Gordie Howe Selects Patrick Poulin insert.  It had been on my Whalers want list for quite some time, a very satisfying discovery.

I try to grab Scotty Bowman cards whenever I run across them.  Greatest coach in hockey history.  I would love to bust a box of 2006-07 Parkhurst sometime.  The design is simple, the photos are great, and there are some killer on-card autographs on the checklist.

My most surprising baseball find of the day had to be this 1981 Kellogg's Steve Carlton.  In mint shape without any chipping or cracking no less!  I wish there had been more of these in the bin, maybe next time around...

A nice, shiny 1994-95 Stadium Club Finest insert.  There is no doubt what decade this design came from.

I used to love Juan Gonzalez as a kid, and the 1990 Topps set was the first baseball set I can remember collecting in bulk.  This particular card is from the 1990 Topps 1989 Debut set though, which I never had a single card from until this pick-up.

Last, but certainly not least, another Electric Ice parallel.  You might be able to find a hockey card with a mullet as impressive as this one, but I doubt you could find one better.  Combine that with the great look at one of the worst (or best, depending on your perspective) logos in NHL history and you have a "so bad it's good" classic on your hands.

Well, there you have it.  I think I'd take those cards over another rack pack of 2015 Topps any day.  If you're ever in the area I highly recommend stopping by Central Sports Cards in Pawtucket, RI.  The inventory is constantly changing, the owner is a great guy, and odds are there's something there you'll enjoy.