Buyback Franken-set: Chris the Collector Contributes!

Recently I was the recipient of a great PWE from Chris, who does excellent work over at the aptly named blog, The Collector.  In the latest example of just how generous folks in this hobby are, Chris went out of his way to pick up a few buybacks for my franken-set project while shopping on COMC recently!

Before we get to those though, let's take a look at a few of the other cards that accompanied them in the envelope.  Like this pair of '84-85 O-Pee-Chee cards of Gordie's son Marty Howe...

...and the Whalers leaders card.  This is one of the few O-Pee-Chee sets of the '80s that I've actually completed, though I have at least a handful of cards that I need a condition upgrade on.  The two that Chris sent here are in damn fine condition, I haven't had an opportunity to check yet but I'm relatively sure both of these are condition upgrades that will find their way into my set.  Speaking of condition, Chris is actually attempting this set himself, but in a grade of PSA 9.  Wow!

Rounding out the Whalers portion of the envelope, a great '86-87 Topps Mike Liut.  This is actually one of my favorite cards from this set, just because of the fact that it wasn't all that common to get an action photo that included the puck back in this era.  I've completed this set as well, but like the O-Pee-Chee cards above this may be a condition upgrade.  If not, I certainly know where I can send it to give it a good home!

There were a handful of Red Sox cards in the package, not surprising given that Chris collects the team just like I do.  A few of them were dupes (already on their way to a good home!), but this Cecil Cooper from 1976 Topps...

...and this '94 O-Pee-Chee Otis Nixon increased my count for this team collection on The Trading Card Database.  This is actually the first time I've ever seen a 1994 OPC baseball card in person.  Very cool that they had their own unique design rather than mimicking Topps as was done most years.

Now let's take a look at the buybacks.  Chris grabbed four of them for me in total...

1991 Topps #82 - Tom Glavine

Coming out strong here with a HOF hurler from one of my favorite Topps sets ever!  Not only that, but I love when a buyback comes from a set that represents a particularly good year in a player's career, and that's certainly the case with this one.  Tom had arguably his best season in 1991, winning the first of two career Cy Young Awards, hitting the 20-win plateau for the first time, and pitching 9 complete games!

I can't imagine there are too many buybacks, especially at a relatively obscure card number like 82, that will keep this one from the binder.  I do have one in slot 82 already...

...and it's Bob Hendley rocking an insanely level flat-top on his '66 release.  You could practically use that thing as a level for hanging a shelf or a frame at home.  If you've read my blog for very long, then you know my feeling on cap-less players like this.

Glavine wins in an absolute route!

1968 Topps #245 - Tony Gonzalez

Next we've got Tony Gonzalez on a very clean-looking 1968 Topps card.  This is actually now the oldest gold foil Rediscover Topps buyback that I've accumulated to date.  Tony had a few very good seasons, even garnered MVP votes on more than one occasion, but 1968 wasn't one of them.  I do like the aesthetics of this particular card though, a classic pose from Tony and the Phillies colors really pop against that much lighter green and brown backdrop.

Already have this '72 Tommie Agee in slot 245.  This is one of those cases where I like the card almost because it's so ugly or odd.  I just like that Tommie looks tired, and didn't bother to remove his jacket for the photo here.  Not only that, but I prefer '72 Topps to '68 as far as design goes, so...

...Gonzalez loses in a close one.

1968 Topps #91 - Jim Ollom

Next up, "Chinless" Jim Ollom (not his real nickname, just made that up).  This one's actually got career stats on the back, as the 1966 and 1967 seasons constitute the entirety of Ollom's MLB career.  While he might not have amounted to much at baseball's highest level, I truly adore the Heritage box-topper buybacks.  They're actually my favorite type of buyback card, and I will absolutely give every single one of them a good home in my collection.  Will that home be in the franken-set binder though, or the rejected box?

Tough draw for Jim, as this '73 Dodgers team card already resides in slot 91 of the binder.  I love a good team card, in fact I wish we still had them in the flagship set.  This one features a sport coat to boot!

Tough luck, Jim.

1961 Topps #90 - Jerry Staley

Finally, here's a 1961 Topps Jerry Staley (typically spelled Gerry).  Amazingly, this is now the oldest silver foil Rediscover Topps buyback that I've landed to date.  Crazy that with all the buybacks I have at this point Chris did that twice among this grouping of four.  What's even more amusing is that this exact buyback has been in my cart more than once on COMC, just never pulled the trigger on it.  I recognized it immediately and it certainly made me smile.

Gerry made his Major League debut all the way back in 1947, and wrapped up his 15-season MLB career in 1961.  I love the close portrait of the grizzled veteran on this one.  Perhaps the best thing about this buyback though is that it's the first #90 buyback that I've encountered, thus makes the binder by default and knocks another number off the list!

Chris, it was so nice of you to seek out some buybacks on my behalf, thank you so much!  Even the two that didn't make the cut for the franken-set are beauts, and the Glavine and Staley cards really strengthened up the binder.  I'm notoriously slow, but will try to have your return cards in the mail this coming week.

My next Buyback Franken-set post will also contain buybacks that were gifted to me by a fellow blogger.  Stay tuned!

Franken-set Progress: 640/792 (80%)
1990 Topps Buyback Set: 106/792 (13%)
"Rejected" Buybacks: 568
Total Buybacks in Collection: 1,314