Night Owl Cards

  I feel like I need just one more 1985 Fleer-related post before moving on to other hobby matters. Between this and the '85 Fleer Traded set, it's the only major set-completing I've done this year. It deserves at least two posts. The 1985 Fleer set -- I think -- marks the end of a three-year Fleer experiment with cojoined cards. The very well-known and appreciated Super Star Specials that filled out the back of most '80s Fleer sets included cards that continued onto the next card in 1983, 1984 and 1985. (Maybe there are other later examples but my Fleer knowledge starts to fade after the '80s). 1985 contains the final two examples of these cards, starting with card numbers 635 and 636. These are a whole lot of fun. But you need both cards in order to put them together like a puzzle and appreciate what you have in your collection. One card isn't going to do it. By itself, it looks like an off-center card -- drastically off-center with no left border.    I would ...

I've never been a star-chaser. I don't stand in lines for autographs or thrust balls at famous people to sign. I don't go to Broadway shows, tour Hollywood homes, or even watch many movies. As for cards, I think I established the kind of collector I am way back when. I don't need a map to the stars. Star cards are only slightly more interesting than "common" cards, and I'd rather have a card of that forgotten long reliever than a second card of an all-star. But we don't live in that collecting world anymore and haven't for some time. I'm going to go ahead and blame Fleer's SuperStar Specials. OK, that's a little unfair. Fleer didn't activate the star-worshipping that we now know all by itself. It had partners in crime in Donruss, Upper Deck, Topps, Sportflics, Score, etc. And before I get too high on the horse, I'll remind everyone that my beloved Kellogg's 3-D Super Stars was almost nothing but star players. Bu...