Shoebox Legends' Sunday Smorgasbord

I actually had a decent amount of free time this weekend, but I spent it in the sun on the ocean eating lobster and drinking beer rather than sorting sports cards.  So, in place of anything more structured or well thought out, here's a handful of scans that have been sitting around in my draft folder waiting to see the light of day...

Still loving these '92-93 Ultra buybacks from the 2016-17 Fleer Showcase set.  They're tough little buggers being numbered to just /25 copies each, but I scoop them up any time I can find one I don't have yet for just a buck or two.  I was beyond excited to land this Patrick Poulin, both because it represents a fairly rare new Whalers card (of which there are fewer and fewer these days), and because it contains the infamous gold foil "Rookie" ribbon that I loved as a kid.

Every time I show one of these I'm obliged to mention just how much better the card backs were than 90% of what's being produced even today.

Here's one more, again I obviously targeted this one to increase my serial-numbered Whalers count by one.

This pair brings my total to 9 of these, plus I have 3 of the autographed versions I've shown off, bumping me up to a dozen.  I've got a couple more in queue for future posts, including a pick-up from this past week that hasn't even hit my mailbox yet!

Here's a nice graded '64 Marichal.  Not much of a backstory behind this one, I'm always on the lookout for '50s and '60s stars to strengthen my vintage collection.  Marichal is one of those guys whose cards can be had for surprisingly cheap, as was this case with this well-centered beauty from one of my favorite sets of the decade.

Think I grabbed this one a while back on COMC, just to feed my addiction to these Bubbles Refractors from 2014 Bowman Chrome.  Just 99 copies of each card out there, but they're right up there with the 2011 Topps Chrome Atomic Refractors and the 2014 Finest X-Fractors in terms of my favorite shiny baseball cards to debut since my second swing through the hobby (beginning in 2007).

Ripped another pack of Topps Kids recently from the wax box I picked up a while back.  My favorite two cards in the pack were Roger...

...and this Ozzie Smith.  Of the handful of different designs in this release, the ones that feature the photograph of the players head paired with a cartoon body and backdrop are my favorite.  Sort of a nod to the 1938 Goudey set, I guess.

Can't show Topps Kids cards without showing a back!

Why did I buy mid-grade copies of 1954 Topps Mel Parnell...

...and Johnny Sain cards?  I'm not really sure to be completely honest with you, but I guess I'll keep these around for now in case I ever decide to chase the set later in life.

Next up, a pair of legends from COMC.  First, this one-per-box Yellow parallel from 2009-10 Champ's hockey.  If you've been following my blog for some time then odds are you've seen these before.  Chasing this 100-card parallel set seems like a fool's errand, but it's one I've been chipping away at nonetheless for close to ten years now.  Howe is obviously one of the biggest names on the checklist, being one of the biggest names in the history of the sport period, so crossing this one off the list feels good.  53 out of 100 now in hand!

Here's a recent addition that showed up in my last shipment.  I've mentioned before that I'd love to collect the entire 100-card 2014 Finest set in X-Fractor form and display them all in a binder.  When I had an opportunity to snag future HOFer Albert Pujols for less than a dollar I pounced.  This is my 10th X-Fractor, so still a long way to go in this pursuit.

Lastly, how about a couple of oddballs from the 1988 Classic Red/Blue set?  I grabbed an entire set of these for cheap coin at my local shop years ago.  Cracked them open and a bunch got sent out in trade, but I kept a few select cards for myself including Bo Jackson...

...and the late great Tony Gwynn!

Well, that's a wrap.  Pretty good sampling of just how all-over-the-map I am with my collecting.  Hopefully you saw at least one card you found interesting, thanks for stopping by!