I've had the same set of living room end tables forever. They're the kind with doors that open to storage inside. I recently opened one of them and discovered a forgotten stash of card sets that have been in there who-know-how-long?
Some of the sets are complete, others aren't. They hail back to the 90's; back when I first got into collecting. The sets aren't worth much monetarily, as they are mostly overproduced product from the junk wax era.
Since today was a lazy Sunday, I decided to dig into the boxes while watching football, and take a look at these cards, some of which haven't seen sunlight in - believe it or not - two decades!
I was pleasantly surprised at the beauty of this old cardboard, and I'd like to share some of my favorites with you.
First up is 1997 Upper Deck.
Upper Deck was considered one of the high end sets in those days, with its full bleed photos and shiny, glossy finish splashed across absolutely everything.
The base cards used photography that varied from studio poses to Spring Training and game action shots...
The Kid was perhaps the most popular face on cardboard back then. I think The Big Hurt was a close second.
One of the amazing little details in this set is found on the front of each base card, a caption explaining the photo, and the date it was taken.
Take a look at this great play at the plate shot...
Dig the catcher's mask flying amid the dust and the blood.
Thanks, Buster Posey, for making this essential part of baseball virtually disappear.
Oh, there were abominations as well...
Here's what the card backs look like. I love UD gave us career stats...
I hate to see Fernando as anything but a Dodger, but the rear photo shows him batting...I'll take it.
There are plenty more jewels to come from 1997, so join us next time for the inserts.
Aloha!
That Macfarlane card is a classic.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a great shot. I dropped that right into the binder.
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