A gallimaufry of cards

I learned a new word today.

A "gallimaufry" is "a confused jumble or a medley of things." So, in other words, my brain is a gallimaufry.

I stumbled upon this word while trying to define the assortment of cards that came from the big box that Jonathan sent that didn't fall under "vintage" or "major night owl collection themes." It was a little bit of this and a whole bunch of that. All of it was interesting but not everything is stuff I collect.

Several cards covered my set-collecting missions. items created more recently than in the '50s and '60s.

This 1973 Topps Lou Gehrig all-time  leaders card for example. I'm still lacking most of the cards from the subset because people hold on to the legends in the '73 and '76 sets like the guys are still playing. It's not a 1933 Goudey, dudes. Leggo!

These are all needs from my 1980s Fleer collection quests. Lately (including today), I've received a bunch of cards for the 1982 Fleer set, which I'm very happy about. I will probably enjoy completing that set more than any of the other outstanding Fleer sets.

These may appear to be common 1976 Topps team checklists.

But, oh no, they are not. They are flimsier with lighter backs than what is in the '76 Topps set, and that can mean only one thing! These were cut off a sheet of team checklists that you could receive in the mail if you just paid attention to the information in the gray box on the back of the cards!

I suppose these cards should be considered variations. We didn't know what the heck a variation was back then. Thank goodness.

These two cards are not as they seem either.

The Chambliss card is from the '79 Burger King set. The Mickey Rivers card interests me just because the copy that I have -- which came out of the 1978 Yankees yearbook, features a blue box and blue print, not black-and-white. More '70s variations!!!

Getting knee deep into oddballs now ... swell! The Swell sets don't get enough credit for paying homage to past players, whether they were stars or not. Where are you going to find a card of Mark Littell after he's retired?

A few more. Vern Ruhle and Matt Keough. I bet that got the kid collectors fired up back in the late 1980s.

Moving on to '90s oddballs. They don't do it for me like '70s and '80s oddballs, but that's still a fun layout.

Now we are talking! TCMA! I've seen the Expos and Astros all-time team sets online but these are the first that I have owned. Same goes with the '69 Mets set. Meanwhile, up in the top corner is Marvelous Marv Throneberry.

Jonathan also sent some of the quirkier cards of the early 1990s, such as these Pinnacle Sidelines cards. The Bob Tewksbury card beats the snot out of the other Sidelines cards if you ask me.

The Chicken! Send me all of The Chicken cards!

I'm also more of a '70s minor league cards collector than the sets from the late 1980s, but I just love the colored borders of the Star and Pro Set minor league sets from that time.

Future Dodger Lenny Harris on a Hills card.

Jonathan also sent a small assortment of nonsports TV and movie cards. Here are two Texas-sized Texas traditions.

And a charming E.T. card.

How about some relics? Yup, those were in the box, too. That Zach Wheeler card will come in handy, but someone better come for the Carlos Quentin card quick before I punt it off the front porch and into the street and let vehicles run over it all night.

Here is a selection of autograph cards that came out of the box. It really makes you think about how quickly the value of an autographed card disappears. Out of the group, I think only Neil Ramirez, Alex Blandino and Ryan Vilade are plugging along.

Several more. A number of autograph cards are pretty pathetic, using the excuse of a signature to wipe their hands clean of any design effort whatsoever. I'm looking at YOU, top row.

Jonathan also sent some unopened packs. I already opened the 1995 Fleer pack on the blog and a rack pack of 1990 Fleer as well. But I think I've reached the point in my collecting life where I might be able to start building a stash of unopened packs for rain day purposes. With the way cash flow has been going for the last several months, it sounds like a solid idea.

However ...

Let's open this pack of 1987 stickers, just to take the edge off.

OK. Those are your five stickers.

Stickers went downhill in the '80s. The first two years (1981 and 1982) were great. But two unrelated players sharing the same piece of card? That's weak if you're the non-sticking type.

So, that, officially, is what's known as a gallimaufry of cards, all from the same big ol' box.

And, yes, I am STILL. NOT. DONE.

More on the big box later.