It's time to play the latest (and first) edition of everyone's favorite Night Owl Cards game, "While I Was Away ..."
A lot can change in a hobby in 10 years. I certainly found that out upon my return to collecting after being AWOL since 1994. I've been struggling to catch up and am getting there slowly (Chrome good, Opening Day bad). With the help of the informative folks at Blog Community College, I know much more about cards than I ever did, and I'm closing in on that card collecting degree!
But armed with all that new knowledge, I still puzzle over tiny changes that have been made during my absence. For example, this:
What is the deal with the fences? Were players ashamed of their legs? Was Topps catching ballplayers making obscene gestures like school kids do in yearbook photos? Did Topps reach an agreement with the United Fencing Workers Union? Why did they ruin team cards (and my initial thrill at finding out that they had brought team cards back) with such pointlessness?
I'm guessing someone has written about this before. I tried to do some research, but got hungry and gave up after 10 minutes. So I'm asking you, why the fences?
The first person who can give me a satisfactory answer gets a super minor prize: I promise I will buy the winner a junk wax pack of my choosing at the card show I'm going to at the end of the month.
My only other promise is that wax pack will not be 1988 Donruss. I wouldn't do that to you.
A lot can change in a hobby in 10 years. I certainly found that out upon my return to collecting after being AWOL since 1994. I've been struggling to catch up and am getting there slowly (Chrome good, Opening Day bad). With the help of the informative folks at Blog Community College, I know much more about cards than I ever did, and I'm closing in on that card collecting degree!
But armed with all that new knowledge, I still puzzle over tiny changes that have been made during my absence. For example, this:
What is the deal with the fences? Were players ashamed of their legs? Was Topps catching ballplayers making obscene gestures like school kids do in yearbook photos? Did Topps reach an agreement with the United Fencing Workers Union? Why did they ruin team cards (and my initial thrill at finding out that they had brought team cards back) with such pointlessness?I'm guessing someone has written about this before. I tried to do some research, but got hungry and gave up after 10 minutes. So I'm asking you, why the fences?
The first person who can give me a satisfactory answer gets a super minor prize: I promise I will buy the winner a junk wax pack of my choosing at the card show I'm going to at the end of the month.
My only other promise is that wax pack will not be 1988 Donruss. I wouldn't do that to you.
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