Last week I bought a blaster of 2024 Topps with the cash that I didn't spend at the card show that I went to at the start of the month.
That doesn't sound like the smartest of moves -- save that cash for something vintage you want! -- but I've been living my card-purchasing life online for the last month-plus and it's getting tired. I needed to buy in person.
I had planned to add some Heritage but it wasn't there. I could have missed it because there were two guys dominating the space talking about their next Magic thingy and I had to squeeze past them. But I was happy with the '24 Topps.
Some of the highlights, there were others that I needed, too. There were also many, many dupes, so I won't be getting any more retail. It's all about Heritage now anyway. (If I was MLB commish, I would reinstate real extra innings first and ban public displays of unnecessary ballplayer yelling next).
I did pull my first autograph of the year.
This was appropriate as the Dodgers were playing the Blue Jays at the time, and Varsho was smacking himself against walls to deny my team their rightful hits. So this won't be in my possession for long. It will be headed to Sportscards From the Dollar Store as he's like the fifth person who is sending me 2024 Heritage needs.
My latest look at 2024 flagship also reminded me of my yearly Define the Design post in which I try to come up with a catchy name for the latest set, along with some past sets.
The last couple of Topps designs have been fairly easy to name and nothing is easier than 2024 Topps -- it's one of its many good points. It's now officially the Neon Sign set.
I'll make sure to update that on the Define the Design page. I promised to do that with the sets I named last year and went a whole year without doing it. They're updated now though, and I changed one of the names because I liked a commenter's suggestion better.
1983 Fleer is now the "coffee stain set." It describes the border color perfectly and the border is what I think about first rather than the previous name I had, which was the "team logo" set (but what about the "Super Star Special" cards?).
That's sure to be a controversial switch, but no one else is doing this.
For other past sets to name, I focused on some Donruss sets for a change. I'm always dismissing Donruss -- for good reasons -- but it was a card company, too.
I've made my vigorous dislike for this set known in the past, but 1992 Donruss still needs a name before you throw the cards in the trash. "Blue Painter's Tape Set" was already taken by 1984 Fleer. This is more of an electric blue streak, so let's call it the "Double Electric Blue Streak Set" until someone comes up with something better.
Ick.
Sorry, Paul, not you. I just have that reaction to 1991 Donruss. And I'm not sure what to call it either. Lots of angled, slashy rectangles on these cards. Plus tire treads (a name already taken by 1987 Donruss). To me it looks like a card you'd pull out of a kids' play set -- not the one where they have a fake stethoscope to pretend to be a doctor, but one with a tiny plastic glove and bat and a protective cup as they learn how to be a ballplayer.
That's only me though.
Maybe name it the "Half Blue, Half Green Set"? Because WHO DOES THAT??
Nothing's coming to me, so I'll move on.
1984 Donruss is the "Team Wave Set." It's actually the element of the design that's toughest to see, but it's the most distinctive thing about the cards -- other than the scary ghost faces in the stands on some of the cards.
1981 Donruss is another toughie. All of the team names are in yellow, but I don't think "Yellow Team Name Set" is good enough for Donruss' first set. "The first Donruss Set" works but isn't exactly descriptive.
The other names I can think of are derogatory. "The Error-Filled Set" sure works. So does "The Note Card Card Stock Set". I don't know if anyone knows what note cards are anymore but they sure did in 1981. They are bendy.
Something about card stock I think I would like. If you know, shout it out in the comments.
Finally, book-ending things with Topps. 1978 Topps is the only '70s set I haven't named and it's pretty easy as well. It's the "Script Team Name Set."
I'd like to do this again before 2025 Topps comes out but you know how that goes. If I actually update the DTD page, I'll feel like I've made progress.
Comments
92D The Electronics Ad Set
That's a mighty nice Varsho. I'm sure Cards from the Dollar Store will like it.
The start and stop of the red line on the 1981 Donruss set reminds me of that old computer game where you have an ever-growing tail and don't want to run into it. Atari 2600 put out a version called Tape Worm. [https://youtu.be/HT15xYj8lc8] Maybe it could be "The Tape Worm Set"?
At the time, I called it the cursive set, as if cursive were used to label each team.
81 Donruss I think of as the “Beginners Set”
1991 Donruss is 2021 Topps’ evil granddaddy.
Unfortunately, the set itself was quite underwhelming. The blue bars were so monotonous. The photography was badly cropped. The card stock still felt flimsy. No Diamond Kings, they were now an insert set. And, stop me if you’ve heard this before, grossly overproduced. With all that said, I always think of “police lights” when I think about this set.