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Cardboard appreciation: cards 31-35

(I have had to turn off the TV in order to avoid watching teams celebrate championships twice now in the last week. This postseason is not being kind. It's practically like the 1990s again. Yuck. So when the right teams don't make the Series, I turn to my cards for solace. Time for Cardboard Appreciation):

The 1975 Topps juggernaut cannot be stopped! The Rollie Fingers card won the sixth Cardboard Appreciation vote-off, and the second-place finisher was a '75 card, too! Meanwhile, the '75 Topps blog keeps clicking along here. (Another blatant plug. Will I stop at nothing?)

Here are the vote totals as I add another card to the top 10 Cardboard Appreciation finalists:

1. Rollie Fingers, 1975 Topps: 17 votes
2. Cecil Cooper, 1975 Topps: 9 votes
3. Steve Avery, 1989 Topps, 8 votes
4. Jose Rijo, 1993 Score Select, 4 votes
5. Lee Smith, 1992 Topps, 4 votes

Time to turn to Cardboard Appreciation vote-off #7. To see the original posts, click on the links.

1983 Fleer Rick Mahler: A salute to Fleer's attempt to show the everyday life of a ballplayer. They did it before Upper Deck.

1975 Topps Steve Yeager: Don't laugh. Do you have the first card that you ever pulled from your favorite team? Because that's what is showing here.

2009 Topps Roy Campanella Turkey Red insert: Turkey Red done right, because there are a few examples of Turkey Red done wrong.

1968 Topps Bob Gibson: Gibson was my kind of pitcher. He even made the "burlap set" look tough.

1992 Donruss Coca-Cola Nolan Ryan: Whenever I feel like I'm being a little rough on the Mets, all I have to do is look at this card and they get a small (very small) amount of sympathy.

So now it's time to vote. Poll is on the sidebar. Come on, give it a try. It'll take your mind off that horrible spectacle of Alex Rodriguez celebrating (*shiver*).

Comments

Campy looks like he could walk off that card any second. Can you imagine facing either of the last two guys...Gibson or Ryan? No way am I standing in that batter's box. I'm throwing my vote to Gibson who is definitely a badass. That is cool that you have the first card you ever pulled of your favorite team.
AdamE said…
Maybe he is already there, but if not, Gibson needs to be on your badass player list.
Matt Runyon said…
This really was a tough vote. All of the cards have something going for them:

Mahler - pre-Upper Deck quirky photo. Loses a few points because it's a non-Topps card.

Yeager - 1975 Topps and extra points for being an original from your childhood. Loses a few points due to him being an LA Dodger.

Campanella - what can I say? It's Campy. I read It's Good to be Alive (and saw the movie) in my formative years and Campy ended up being a favorite of mine. Loses a few points due to newness.

Gibson - 1968. Bad dude. Loses a point or two because 1968 is one of Topps' weakest designs, but a great card nonetheless.

Ryan - Nice-looking card. Too new to vote for though.

I'll go with Gibson in a close vote over the Yeager card. Although his career was pretty much done by the time I started paying attention to baseball, I agree with AdamE that he should be in the club.
Mr J Mel said…
The Uniform, the beard, the boxes of balls! Mahler gets my vote!
Unknown said…
The Gibson shot needs to be chiseled on Mt. Rushmore.
Hackenbush said…
1968 Gibson. Good stuff. And yes, he did have bronchial asthma. (y'all get that one?)