1988 Score (the post that never was)

I recently received almost 500 cards of 1988 Score from Scott of Hand Collated. That's right, 500. And very few of them were doubles. Why did he send me so many cards from this set? Because that Scott, I tell you, he's got a mean streak, you've got to watch out for him, he ... oh, all right, I admit it. I asked for them. Moment of weakness.

You're all familiar with '88 Score, right? Score's debut set? All the pretty colors? It's the reason why I like the set so much. And when you get a box of nearly 500 of them, all lined up by color -- purple, followed by blue, followed by red, etc. -- you can't help but be inspired.

So, here is what I was going to do: I was going to present cards of each color and connect them to a song with that color in the title. I'd post the lyrics, and every time the color was mentioned in the song, I'd throw up another card. Kind of like what I did here.

But I thought better of it. First of all, I've done it before. Secondly, it's kind of too weird, even for me. Thirdly, it would take ungodly amounts of time. Keep in mind, I already have nearly 500 cards of '88 Score to collate, put in a binder and record. And then I've got to post a want list, etc. I don't want to be scanning all those cards, too.

So, if you're like me and enjoy cards and colors and music (I'm really just a big, dumb kid, people), here are the songs that I was going to select for each card category:

1. Purple: "Purple Rain" - Prince (alternatives: Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix; Deep Purple - Nino Tempo & April Stevens)
2. Blue: "Mr. Blue Sky" - ELO (alternatives: Blue Monday - New Order; Blue Sky - Allman Brothers Band)
3. Red: "Red, Red Wine" - Bob Marley (alternatives: Red Barchetta - Rush; Red Rubber Ball - Cyrkle)
4. Green: "Green Grass and High Tides" - The Outlaws (alternatives: Green Tambourine - the Lemon Pipers; Green-Eyed Lady - Sugarloaf)
5. Yellow: "Mellow Yellow" - Donovan (alternatives: Yellow - Coldplay; Yellow Submarine - Beatles)
6. Gold: "Gold" - John Stewart (alternatives: Gold Digger - Kanye West; Fields of Gold - Sting)

Some of these songs mention the color in their title 20 times over the course of the song. That would mean scanning 20 different cards per song. Yikes.

So that's what you missed. Good thing I didn't do it, huh? I don't think I'd ever blog again if I did. And if I did, I'd probably have no readers.

But I do want to show two of the cards from the set. First, Scott sent me one of those magic motion insert thingies. It's appropriate because it refers to the Dodgers:

Do I remember, Ebbets Field? No. Way before my time. And I certainly don't remember September 16, 1924. Did anyone remember that date when '88 Score came out? Anyway, it was the day when Jim Bottomley hit a record 12 RBIs against the Dodgers.

The other card is far and away the best card in the set. You all know it. You all love it, or should love it, anyway.

That is one fantastic card. No words can express how cool it is.

So, Scott, thanks for the card and practically the whole set of 1988 Score! I've got some work to do. But first I've got to catch Rickey's Hall of Fame speech.