What could that be? The Dodgers’ second straight World Series title? The Bills’ win over the hellish Patriots last weekend? Finally eradicating the yellow jacket plague under the siding in August?
No.
As an experienced vintage collector, I saw cards in the lot that I already owned, but that didn’t stop me from going in as there were several cards that I it didn’t own, including cards on freshly created wish lists! Moreover, I could always do a competition myself with the extras.
There was so much variety in this group that it took me a while to figure out how to present it here. I’m still not sure this isn’t going to be a mess without any direction. But it’s new vintage in my collection, so I think you get the idea.
Let’s start with what struck me first.
Kellogg’s 3D. My kind of cards. I’ve written about it a few times. I’ve completed all of these, but that’s okay. Upgrades are available – these are a lot of fun – and the rest are giveaways or reserved for a few mailings I’ll do in the next month (I owe Bo a few cards).
That’s not all Kellogg cards, there were some from the first year I pulled these out of boxes of Frosted Flakes.
Beautiful orange from the 1970s, 1977. Everything with this set. But the best part of this is the Jose Cruz card.
Look how crispy clean that is. I like it even more because this is the card that cracked while it was in my collection. I didn’t treat it badly or anything and it just shattered.
A comparison. I’ve been looking for a replacement for at least a year, but can never pull the trigger. This upgraded Cruz alone was worth entering the race.
My next favorite selection from the lot are these 1969 Topps Deckle Edge cards and another reason I knew I had to enter the contest. I posted a wishlist just a week ago and updated my TCDB wishes for this set, and now I already have over half of the set!
My first association with these cards – and the 1969 set in general – was when I was sitting on the porch with my brother and our friends and this one friend had inherited some cards from his older brother. I didn’t really care for black and white cards of guys without a logo on their hat. But after all these years since, I will say they are an acquired taste.
Speaking of acquired tastes, here are some more Topps Game cards from 1968. A month ago I had one in total. Now I have eight! I think when I picked up the last pair I would have noticed that they are quite indestructible with the rounded corners, but I guess that’s not the case, don’t you, Mr. Poke a Hole in the middle of Ron Santo’s card.
I’m staying in the 1960s with a few more oddballs that I never really thought I’d collect. These are from two different sets from 1961. The top one is Fleer Greats and the bottom one is Golden Press Hall of Fame. Acquire both slowly out of nowhere. In fact, the Pie Traynor showed up in my house a month ago and here it is again. Maybe you’ll see it in the competition.
I should have grouped the cereal cards together. You see, this wasn’t easy organizing! My mail collection from the 1960s consisted mainly of Dodgers and a few Yankees. This makes me a real mail collector, I think. I hardly know who the above guys are, but Post will enlighten me.
I have to show some Topps cards or someone will get upset. Getting a Gaylord Perry rookie card is not an everyday occurrence, and neither is landing a card of Babe Ruth in a sports jacket. Throw in Ueck and Yaz and everything is wonderful.
1965 Embossed isn’t Topps’ finest hour, but they are still cards from the 60s that I didn’t have before (well, except for the Dodgers). The bottom row is not in the best shape. But good news, I have an even worse one to show you!
Presumably this is Don Drysdale (even if these cards are in perfect condition, that question is asked). My question is not only how long has this card been in someone’s attic, but also how long has the roof been leaking?
Between the Kellogg’s and the Deckles, I knew this was my kind of match, but these won it. You won’t see Fleer World Series cards from the early 1970s on any card blog other than mine and maybe Cardboard Junkie. I’ve been showing these off a lot this past year, as I completed both the 1970 and 1971 in 2025.
A few of these (1907 and 1946) are upgrades.
Good old buybacks. The only ones I collect are the 75’s and I already have both of the above.
What I loved most about this vintage lot is how random it is. Two 1981 Topps Scratch-Offs, one scratched and one not? Sure, I want them!
And this one! Totally random. One threw me, the other I immediately deciphered. That Frank Robinson Kellogg “card” was neatly cut out of the back of a Kellogg’s cereal box. The Rocky Colavito was a bummer. It appears to be from a set of unlicensed stickers from 1983. Starliner/Touchdown Decals. I’m surprised there’s an early eighties set out there that I’ve never heard of.
Handy. These are all welcome upgrades. Often I don’t even know I need upgrades until I get a few duplicates. Although there’s a good chance that the ’79 set could all use upgrades, as it was good during the period when I took care of my cards, but wasn’t quite efficient at it yet.
And finally…
Cards I already have.
Many of these will be redistributed to fellow collectors during the upcoming giveaway. I’m not sure who would want the ’79 George Brett that someone drew for Brett, but you never know – I’ve certainly learned that over the last 17 years on the blog. Others have conditioning issues, but let’s focus on those twin Don Mattingly rookies for a moment.
A very fun and generous giveaway — and that goes for all giveaways — from Kevin at The Diamond King. I hope he still has some cards left for his collection.
So I’m going to do a giveaway in the fairly near future, probably after the holidays, because things are just a little crazy right now (festivities, weather, work, vehicles, medical junk, cat hunting, etc.). But it’s nice that people like The Diamond King plan ahead. I love a good blog contest.
#Biggest #win #year