Jumping Aboard the Project 2020 Train (& Other Hobby Happenings)

Well, it took a while, but I finally went there.  My first Topps Project 2020 card arrived in the mail this week.  Since I'm on Topps' email list, I was aware of this concept right from the outset.  For the first few weeks though I really didn't see any cards that appealed to me.  Had I known the earliest cards from the set would skyrocket in price I'd have grabbed a couple just to flip and buy dream cards with, but hindsight is 2020 and I was trying to be conservative with my hobby spending during March and April due to COVID-19.

Well, more than 50 cards into the project I finally saw one that I just knew I had to have, even though it was tough to put my finger on exactly why I liked it.  It was just so...strange?  ugly?  odd?  I still don't know what to make of it quite honestly, but I knew that it was unique enough that Topps had my attention for the first time during this long-running project.

I found a seller on eBay with copies available for $17 and change, picked mine up and waited.  A few days ago this card showed up in the mailbox:

This is artist Ermsy's take on Ted Williams' 1954 Topps card (a card I still need to track down an original of someday).

What an insanely crazy and original cartoon version we have here, with the old-school Sox logo sporting a pair of phantom legs and feet, and taking a mean cut.  The ball has apparently been hit so hard that its trajectory is curving all over the place as it cuts in and out of different parts of Williams' face, while leaving a trail of smoke behind.  Throw in some random red scribbles and the small added touch that Ted appears to be signing his own card with a pen, and this one just spoke to me.

To me, that's what's cool about Project 2020, they seem to be very polarizing in terms of how collectors feel about them.  Much like any art (and I'd consider many different types of sports cards art, in a way), beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  To me this one almost fell into the "so bizarre I actually kind of like it" category, but I'm sure others will look at this same card and be appalled by the fact that I shelled out nearly $20 for it with sales tax included.

I think I would like these a lot more if the artists had done a card back for each of the entries, but I can totally understand how that may not have been practical.  Besides, it makes sense to include information about the artist in all fairness.

I don't see myself going too crazy with picking many more of these up, but I probably will grab one or two that strike me given that there are still so many left to be revealed.  A quirky addition to my Red Sox collection here, that to me is more enjoyable than heading down to Target and grabbing a blaster for about the same price.

Let's see, what else is new?  Here's one that's more run-of-the-mill than that crazy Williams, and also much more shiny!  I processed through a big stack of these Green & Orange Wave parallels from the 2018 Panini Prizm World Cup set this week, getting further along towards starting on my franken-parallel-set build.  The star of the show was absolutely this new Leo Messi.  Easily one of my best cards of the Argentinian superstar.  This one got the One Touch magnetic holder treatment, for sure!

Just a couple more cards here for today.  First up is this totally awesome '72-73 O-Pee-Chee (original) Winnipeg Jets card.  For those who aren't hockey card collectors or aren't otherwise aware, O-Pee-Chee included a high-series run in their '72-73 set featuring 51 players from the recently spawned rival league to the NHL, the WHA.

These aren't the easiest cards to come by since they were released late in the year and may not have drawn as much interest as the NHL cards, so you can expect to pay at least a few bucks a piece when you find them.  Chris Bordeleau here gives me 14 of them in my organized collection now.  Over a quarter of the way there.  Completing this WHA series is something I'd love to someday accomplish.  One card at a time though, it's a marathon not a race after all.

Wrapping it up for today, here's another beautiful '71 HOFer that I picked up in May.  After adding a handful of '71 Topps stars with the proceeds from my 1953 Topps sale a few months ago, I've been on the lookout for other bargain opportunities.  Couldn't pass up this vibrant Mazeroski with pretty good edges and corners for just $7.

I believe there are a full 47 men with both plaques in Cooperstown and individual cards in the 1971 Topps set if my count is correct, so I'll be at this project a good long while yet.

Well, that's all I've got time for today on the blog front.  I hope you enjoyed these recent additions to my collection, and thanks as always for stopping by to read my ramblings on cardboard.

I've got more great content lined up for the weekend, including the results of yet another incredible eBay flip.  Stop on by if you're bored!  Until then, stay safe!