Sometimes it's what's on the outside that counts

 

I received an unexpected quick flyer in the mail last week from reader Grant. Of the variety of items in the envelope, very few were cards.

 

Just two, in fact. One was this 2025 Topps Cosmic Chrome Josh Allen card. I consider it good luck because the package arrived on Thursday, mere hours before Allen and the Bills beat up on the Lions defense. (I know, not difficult to do).

 

This was the other card, a Heritage buyback, a.k.a., someone/something stamped Rick Auerbach's 1976 Topps card.

 

This is just my second '76 Heritage buyback, as only 1975 cards get the collecting treatment in this house. But I certainly will take any stamped Dodgers, no matter the year.

 

And that was it for the cards.

 

But there was more and I consider it the highlight of the envelope.

 

 

Those are wax pack wrappers -- from my prime collecting time -- and a couple are from sets that I never collected as a kid -- because I never saw them for sale.

 

For information purposes, the wrappers are, clockwise from top left, the 1976 Topps Autos of 1977 set, the 1981 Donruss baseball set, the 1977 Topps Cloth Stickers set, and the 1983 Topps baseball set.

 

I have just about all of the cards from three of the sets.

 

 

The exception is the Autos of 1977 set. That's all I have. These were sent to me by another reader a few years ago. I haven't tried to pick up any others though I love the look of them.

 

 

I never saw the cloth stickers set sold near me but I was aware of it about a year or two later and I added the whole set to my collection earlier this year. There are still the puzzle pieces but I don't know if I'll ever try to finish those.

 

 

1981 Donruss has been complete for a little while and inside a binder. But this is why I was happy to see these wrappers. I can add the '81 Donruss wrapper (18 cards!) to the front, like I have for a few other sets recently.

 

I already have a 1983 Topps wrapper that fronts that set in a binder. The '77 cloth stickers set is in the back of my 1977 Topps binder, but I'll throw in a page for the wrapper. I'm not sure where the Autos of '77 wrapper will go -- those cards are mixed in with other sets in my nonsports binder -- but I'll figure something out.

 

I was a little slow to realizing how key wrappers are to a collection. I have a few now, but there are others, like for most of the '70s Topps sets, that I'd love to own. Those sets are complete, but I need that wrapper. Sometimes it's what's on the outside that counts!

 

There was one other item in the envelope.

 

Yes, an iron-on transfer.

 

Everyone who grew up in the '70s knew what these were. They were everywhere, and on everything. I saw them during commercials while watching cartoons. They were advertised on the backs of cereal boxes. My mom ironed on a few when we begged her. They were a way of life.

 

"For best results, apply to POLYESTER CONTENT MATERIAL" In case you didn't know this was from the 1970s.

 

This Bill Russell is from 1976 and from a transfers set that apparently was advertised by Quaker Oats, though they're sometimes called "Mr. Softee Iron-Ons" because I guess you also could buy them through the ice cream man (my ice cream truck when I was a kid sold only ice cream).

 

TCDB happens to list these so I was able to find out that Bill Russell is the only Dodger. It's an odd shape but I think it'll fit in a two-pocket.

 

I like to say I'm just about the cards, but sometimes I can be persuaded into liking card-adjacent stuff. This package is the perfect example.

 

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OK, I'm sick of staring at these on my desktop. It's been another week of waiting and I haven't received an email response so I'm going with the runner-up entrant for these six cards from the 6,000 posts post.

 

 

Congrats to Tony Hudnell, you are now the winner!

 

I need you to email your address to nightlite77@yahoo.com so I can get you the cards. I'll wait a week to hear from you. Or further down the list I go!