Completed Set - 1989-90 Topps Hockey

I would have to say that 1989-90 Topps (or O-Pee-Chee) hockey is probably my single favorite hockey set of all time. It's not the best set design ever, it's seriously over-produced, and there aren't any rookies (or any cards at all for that matter) that are worth anything. The reason the set holds significance for me is that these are the very first hockey cards I ever collected as a kid.

My two brothers and I each had a white 3 ring binder full of 9 pocket sheets, and a couple of nights each week my dad would arrive home from work with a brown paper bag containing a few packs of this stuff. I have fond memories of sitting at the kitchen table and opening packs, sorting the cards into our binders by team, trading our doubles, etc. Those were the days. Looking at almost any card from the set brings me back to that kitchen table in Connecticut, but let's look at a few of my favorites:

#1 - Mario Lemieux - Pittsburgh Penguins - The Penguins really developed into a powerhouse in the early 90's, but the 80's were tough for the team, and 1989-90 was no exception. Lemieux put up impressive individual numbers as usual (45 goals, 78 assists, 123 points), but the team floundered and ended up 5th in the Patrick Division.

#7 - Lanny McDonald - Calgary Flames - This is Lanny's final base Topps card.

#11 - Peter Sidorkiewicz - Hartford Whalers - One of the cards I remember most vividly from the set, which is why it's been in my banner for a few months now.

#15 - Cam Neely - Boston Bruins - Cam had one of his best seasons in 1989-90, notching career highs in goals with 55, and points with 92. 12 of those goals were game-winners, and when you tack on 117 penalty minutes, that's a hell of a season by any standard.

#17 - Patrick Roy - Montreal Canadiens - 1989-90 was another stellar year for Roy. He led the league in save percentage, and was tied for league lead in wins and goals against average. The Canadiens were ousted in the second round of the playoffs by the Bruins.

#32 - Pat Verbeek - Hartford Whalers - Verbeek also had a career campaign in 89-90 with career highs in assists and points (45/89). There was some horrendous air-brushing taking place during this era, and I think this Verbeek card may be an example. He spent his career with the Devils prior to 1989-90, and the folds in that Whalers jersey just don't look right.

#41 - Dino Ciccarelli - Washington Capitals - Dino was one of my favorite players growing up, and I had to include at least one Washington Capital because the jersey is classic.

#60 - Pat LaFontaine - New York Islanders - LaFontaine amassed 50+ goals and 50+ assists in 1989-90, a feat he would accomplish again a few years later with the Buffalo Sabres. LaFontaine always seemed to manage at least decent offensive numbers, but was plagued by injuries. He suffered a career-ending head injury in 1998, and had 3 seasons before that in which he managed to appear in fewer than 25 games.

#61 - Kirk McLean - Vancouver Canucks - McLean was the NHL's busiest netminder in the 89-90 season. He led the league in games played, shots against and saves. Unfortunately he also led the league in goals against and losses. I love the Canucks jerseys from the late 80's early 90's. I see quite a few Canucks games every year on NHL network, but I've never seen them bring these back. Anyone know if the team's worn these in recent years?

#63 - Randy Cunneyworth - Winnipeg Jets - Another horrible attempt at air-brushing, probably the worst in the whole set. The logo looks like it was drawn by a 5th grader, and even the stick and glove look fake. I could've sworn Sal at Puck Junk wrote about this card at some point, but I couldn't seem to find it? If you have send me the link Sal!

#65 - Mark Messier - Edmonton Oilers - This was a huge season for Messier as he finished second in scoring and led the Oilers to another Stanley Cup, this time sans Gretzky!

#70 - Ray Ferraro - Hartford Whalers - Ray is now broadcasting for TSN in Canada.

#74 - Doug Gilmour - Calgary Flames - This card has always stuck out to me because it's so odd. You can clearly see a teammate's face in the background, but why it's washed out in green is beyond me.

#83 - Steve Yzerman - Detroit Red Wings - Here's the first of the 4 recent Hall-of-Fame player inductees, all of whom are featured in this set.

#88 - Luc Robitaille - Los Angeles Kings - And here's the second!

#92 - Sean Burke - New Jersey Devils - I included this scan for one reason only. Look at the size of that net! That just doesn't even seem right.

#97 - Mike Liut - Hartford Whalers - Old school Whalers jersey and brown goalie pads. What's not to like about this one?

#110 - Ray Bourque - Boston Bruins - I wonder what Ray's thinking in this picture. Probably not that it would be another 10+ years before he would finally take home a cup.

#113 - Joe Sakic - Quebec Nordiques - This is probably the card from the set that collectors chased most back in the day, Joe Sakic's rookie. The Nordiques jerseys were fantastic, I really hope the NHL ends up with a team back in Quebec someday.

#122 - Dale Hawerchuk - Winnipeg Jets - Here's another Canadian team that no longer exists. I always felt bad for the folks in Winnipeg, as a Whalers fan I can certainly relate.

#124 - John Anderson - Hartford Whalers - The current head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers. I'm a big fan of bench shots on hockey cards.

#128 - Larry Murphy - Minnesota North Stars - I always liked this card because it looks like there is a trail of stars going from the North Stars logo up the side of Murphy's pants.

#134 - Dave Tippett - Hartford Whalers - Here's another former Whaler who's also a current head coach. He's done a pretty decent job so far, his Coyotes are sitting at 8th in the West at 11-8.

#136 - Brian Leetch - New York Rangers - Here's the third of four 2009 Hall-of-Fame inductees. This is actually Leetch's rookie card and was probably the most sought after card in the set aside from the Sakic rookie.

#138 - Joe Nieuwendyk - Calgary Flames - Joe must've been on top of the world in 1989, after winning the Stanley Cup at age 22! He recorded 50 assists for the only time in his career this season.

#147 - Brendan Shanahan - New Jersey Devils - I'd say Shanahan is done for good, but it's not completely inconceivable that he'll suit up for somebody making a playoff push in the second half of the season. If he did I think he'd be the only player from this set still active in the NHL.

#151 - Marc Habscheid - Detroit Red Wings - Habscheid has one of the worst air-brushed cards in the set. Did they think they were fooling anyone with this?

#156 - Wayne Gretzky - Los Angeles Kings - Not one of Gretzky's finest cards, but it's his first base Topps card that shows him on ice in a Kings jersey. While the OPC card from the previous year shows him donning the Kings sweater, the Topps card simply has him in a shirt and tie holding it up in his hands.

#163 - Mike Vernon - Calgary Flames - It's amazing to me how much smaller the goalies seemed in this age. The players and the pads were just so much smaller back then.

#170 - Clint Malarchuk - Buffalo Sabres - Clint is now the goalie coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets. If you don't know how close Malarchuk came to dying in the 1989 season when his neck was slashed by a skate, it's an amazing story.

#174 - Chris Chelios - Montreal Canadiens - You gotta love that this guy is still hanging on!

#175 - Ron Francis - Hartford Whalers - Just a couple of years after this photo was taken Francis was dealt to the Penguins in one of the worst trades in NHL history. The Penguins became a powerhouse in the NHL and the Whalers franchise was done within a few years.

#184 - Walt Poddubny - New Jersey Devils - Another unfortunate air-brushing. Sadly, Walt passed away far too soon earlier this year.

#186 - Brett Hull - St. Louis Blues - Here's the final member of this year's Hall-of-Fame class sporting an insane mullet.

#189 - Guy LaFleur - New York Rangers - One of Guy's final cards. He's sans helmet of course, as he was grandfathered in when the helmet rule was enforced.

This set will always be a classic to me, it was so much fun scanning in all the cards and taking a trip down memory lane. One of my collecting goals is to complete every hockey set from 1980-81 through 1989-90, and this is a good start.

Saints of the Cheap Seats - 2nd Case Break

The other day I received my package in the mail from Dan at Saints of the Cheap Seats' second case break. Once again 2007 Ultimate baseball was the product of choice, except instead of dividing the cards up by team, the list of participants was randomized and the hits were dispersed based on the list. This way, everyone in the break was guaranteed two hits. Here's what I got...

Ultimate Star Materials - Chris Carpenter - St. Louis Cardinals - Carpenter has been plagued by injury since winning the Cy Young a few years back, but he overcame most of that this year and finished an impressive 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA!

Ultimate Star Materials - Joe Mauer - Minnesota Twins - Another guy who had a fantastic year. Lead the AL with a .365 batting average to go along with 28 Home Runs and 96 RBI. Not bad for a 26-year-old who also plays catcher! Will the Twins sign him to an extension in the off-season?

There are very few base cards in Ultimate, and since I didn't get any, Dan was gracious enough to include this:

2008 Topps Finest - Finest Moments Green Refractor - FM-CB - Clay Buchholz - Awesome! This card is numbered to 199 and pays tribute to Clay's no-hit performance against the Baltimore Orioles towards the end of the 2007 season. I really think this guy is going to have his break-out year in 2010. Everyone agrees that he has the stuff, but he hasn't been able to string together a solid season so far in his young career. This is definitely my favorite out of the 3 cards I received.

Well, I didn't make out as well as I did last time, but those are the breaks! It was still a fun break and I hope Dan hosts another one at some point. If so, I am definitely in! Thanks for putting that together Dan, and thanks for the Buchholz card too!

Card of the Month - November 2009

I haven't been doing very well with posting a "Card of the Month" this year, in fact I've managed to post only 4 in the first 10 months. With all the hoopla surrounding the Yankees winning the World Series last night, I figured a Yankees card was appropriate for November. I could've written a long rant about my dislike for many of the current Yankees players, but I doubt I could do a better job than this. I briefly debated presenting a few of my many arguments regarding the need for a salary cap and floor (yeah I'm talking about you Pittsburgh Pirates) in baseball, and I guess I will in a sense, but who really wants to hear my whining. I decided instead, and yes this is coming from a Red Sox fan, to focus on the positive.

My anger and disappointment over the Yankees winning the Fall Classic isn't directed at the Yankees, it's directed at the sport of baseball, the players union, the commissioner, greedy players, agents like Scott Boras, and anyone else who is responsible for the lack of a salary cap and floor in baseball. While I firmly believe that the sport will be somewhat tainted and unfair until a cap and floor system is put in place, it's not the Yankees' fault that it isn't. In fact, I'll go one step further and say that the Steinbrenner's would be bad owners if they didn't use their extra capital to their advantage year in and year out. Any good owner, general manager, or coach will use absolutely everything at their disposal to put themselves in a position to win, and large bundles of cash are certainly no exception. In fact, I would argue that owners of teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates are as much a problem for the sport. If you don't know why, read this. On the other hand, you'll see why the sport needs a cap when you look at the Yankees' numbers.

I know it's not all about money, but to me it's like a poker game where one player starts with $1,000 in chips, another starts with $500, and a third starts with $100. Sure, it's not completely inconceivable that the guy with $100 could win, but the odds sure as hell aren't in his favor. Teams like the Royals and the Marlins are the guy with $100. Anyway, enough is enough, this is supposed to be a positive post and the point is the Yankees are actually a pretty great franchise. When you think about the history of the team, the records, the World Series titles, the Hall of Fame greats, and even the heartache they've caused so many other teams (Bucky F'ing Dent), it's hard to argue that any other franchise holds a more important place in baseball history. Isn't a large part of what we love about baseball its history, maybe more so than any other sport? Imagine baseball history without the Yankees. That being said, here's November's card of the month, from a time before inflated salaries, instant replay debates, and steroids...

1952 Bowman - Casey Stengel

Casey Stengel is without a doubt one of the past Yankees who is most entwined in baseball's great history. Stengel devoted his life to the sport, from his playing days in the early part of the 20th century, to his 7 World Championships with the New York Yankees, to his stint as manager of the "Amazin" Mets teams of the early 60's. I mean this guy had to be told to step down as Yankees manager at age 70, that's a love for the game!

When I was watching those final outs last night I wasn't happy for Mark Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez. I was thinking about Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra and Casey Stengel. If baseball is America's pastime, then the Yankees must be one of America's greatest teams. If you're not sick of this debate yet, I'd love to hear any comments, especially from Yankees and Pirates fans (are there any?)...

Filling in Gaps - 1967-68 Topps Hockey

Recently I posted a couple of 1965-66 Topps hockey cards I had picked up only because I had none in my collection. About a month or so ago I did the same thing with 1967-68 Topps hockey, a set that was not represented in my collection either. I got two cards for a pretty reasonable price, especially given that they are in absolute mint condition with sharp corners, good centering and no creases...
#36 - Fred Stanfield - Best known for winning two Stanley Cups with the Bruins in the early 70's, Fred actually opened up a successful office furniture business after retiring from hockey. I couldn't pass this card up at $1.99. I like the design of this set much better than the 65-66 set, the cartoon backgrounds vaguely remind me of the Topps Kids baseball releases from the 90's.

#38 - Glen Sather (RC) - The other card I grabbed was Glen Sather's rookie card. This one cost me a bit more, but it was still less than $4. Not a bad price for a rookie card from the 60's of one of hockey's biggest names (albeit as a coach rather than a player). Yes, that is the same Glen Sather who coahed the Oilers to all those Stanley Cup championships in the 1980's and is the current GM of the New York Rangers. Didn't know he played for the Bruins? Don't feel bad, neither did I!

Sunday Vintage

I'm not big on dressing up for Halloween, but my fiance and most of her friends are, so I reluctantly attended a "costume required" party last night dressed as a fully functional keg. Needless to say I'm nursing a severe hangover this morning. The Patriots also have their bye week, so it's shaping up to be a nice lazy Sunday.

I'm a little low on energy, but I kind of mailed it in this week (one 3-word post, come on!) and wanted to get a post in to start November right. So, here are the results of a recent hobby shop run. A few weeks ago I found myself with a free weekday, which doesn't happen very often. I'd been wanting to check out a hobby shop in Connecticut that I remembered going to when I was a kid with my Dad and brothers. It turns out the place was still open but had moved to a different location one town over. I found the shop pretty easily and walked in with $20 in my pocket to see what I could find.

The store was pretty disappointing to be honest. There was virtually no hockey (not that I expected much). A lot of what the guy was selling were modern baseball and football wax boxes, but at about 20 - 30% more than you would pay online. These shop owners don't do themselves a lot of favors. I go out of my way to try to support local hobby shops, but it's very difficult to justify the added expense. Let me see, should I buy a pack of Goodwin Champions for $5.50 or maybe an Allen & Ginter pack for $6? No thanks.

There was one thing that caught my eye though, a 1600 count box full of 70's cards in penny sleeves. There were some commons, but actually a lot of stars as well, and most of the cards were in decent shape. Here's what I got. The first 5 cards were $1 each...

1974 Topps #306 - Earl Weaver (Manager) - OK, so maybe you think $1 is too much to pay for this card, but pickings were slim at this shop. Besides, Weaver's managerial skills got him a spot in Cooperstown, his number is retired by the Baltimore Orioles, and this is only the second Weaver card in my collection.

1972 Topps #169 - Vida Blue - You'd think Vida would look happier here, coming off of a 1971 season in which he went 24-8 and won Cy Young and MVP awards at age 22. Although his career numbers will never get him into the Hall of Fame, he had some of the most dominant stuff in his era, and his 2,175 career strikeouts are good for 53rd all-time.

1975 Topps #530 - Gaylord Perry - "Spitball" Perry was a no-brainer for $1. I'm ashamed to admit that this is only the 7th 1975 Topps card in my collection. If anyone's got any doubles or extras looking for a home I'd love to trade!

1972 Topps #250 - Boog Powell - Another Baltimore favorite and another 1972 Topps card I needed. The pose makes Boog's bat look incredibly small doesn't it?

1974 Topps #634 - Eddie Mathews (Manager) - I know it's a manager card, but to grab an older card of a member of the 500 home run club for a buck seemed like a good deal. Eddie still looks like he could pick up a bat and step into the box. This was the final $1 card, I paid $2 for the next 4...

1972 Topps #241 - Rollie Fingers - This is before Rollie took the hair from between his eyebrows and planted it below his nose where it would eventually become one of the most fabulous mustaches in baseball.

1974 Topps #201 - Carew/Rose - Batting Leaders - You can't go wrong with Rod Carew and Pete Rose on the same card. These guys each had over 200 hits in 1973, with Rose coming in at 230!

1974 Topps #212 - Rollie Fingers - Another Fingers card. This is one of those players I don't actively collect, but will always pick up when I stumble across them.

1972 Topps #93 - Jenkins/Carlton/Downing/Seaver - NL Pitching Leaders - This is probably my favorite card out of the bunch. Three Hall-of-Fame Cy Young winners and the guy who surrendered Aaron's 715th home run all on one card! It goes nicely with the AL Home Run Leaders card I got a while back.

1972 Topps #38 - Carl Yastrzemski - This is one of two cards I ponied up and paid $3 for. This one was a definite as I'm a huge fan of the In Action cards, and I already have Yaz's regular card from the set. Here's the other $3 card...

1971 Topps #65 - Howard/Killebrew/Yastrzemski - AL Home Run Leaders - I'm a sucker for league leader cards. I would've purchased this one based on Yaz alone, but having Hondo and Killebrew on there just put it over the top.

Not a bad haul for $19 in my opinion. OK, I'm going back to bed...