Night Owl Cards

This is the most sentimental day on the calendar for me. It doesn't have anything to do with baseball (although I did take a tour of old Busch Stadium in St. Louis on that same weekend in 1987). So I avoid slipping into mushy thoughts here by putting a baseball spin on the day. Last year I celebrated a milestone moment for this day by opening a rack pack of 1987 Topps. And in previous years, I've talked about my fondness for the city of St. Louis because of Oct. 29, 1987. But since that time, I've soured on the St. Louis Cardinals, the media there, and some of their fans. In 1987, I rooted for the Cardinals against the Twins in the World Series and turned off the TV in disappointment when Minnesota won. But if the same two teams were involved today, I'd be rooting for the Twins. I'm not sure why I rooted for the Cardinals that year anyway. It was two years removed from Jack Clark, Ozzie Smith, Whitey Herzog and GOD, I hated that team. So what possessed me...

I don't understand the reverence for '89 Upper Deck. I do understand that it was a game-changer: exceptional photography (for its time), different card stock (which I'm now sick of), premium-priced packs (ooooh, now there's a bonus for the consumer), and "anti-counterfeit" holograms (I was going to say I don't think anyone was trying to counterfeit late '80s cards, but judging by how many are still floating out there, maybe they were and still ARE). I think some collectors who were kids at that time are looking at the set in a haze of nostalgic bliss, much like I look at sets from the 1970s. But there was no 1989 Upper Deck at the drug store where I bought monster piles of '89 Topps just out of college, so I can't tell you what I thought of UD in '89. I view the set with no nostalgic attachment. However, I can tell you, years later, that the card backs were definitely something worth noticing: People who are stridently anti-Uppe...

(The list of appreciation days continues: hairstyle appreciation day - April 30, boss appreciation day - Oct. 16, national meatloaf appreciation day - Oct. 18. I still think we can squeeze a baseball collectors appreciation day in there somewhere. It's time for cardboard appreciation and another one of my all-time favorites. This is the 12th in a series): A lot of people like this card. But find me a person who doesn't like it. You can't. Because it's amazing. It's a play at the plate, with Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk waiting for the throw as Cecil Fielder barrels down on him, and some other Tiger (Travis Fryman, maybe?) tells Big Daddy to GET DOWN! Throw in the fact that it all takes place in old Comiskey Park, with its yellow police tape seat railings, and you have a card worthy of appreciation. But the reason I'm pulling this card out again is because I'm noticing how much 1991 Topps has grown on collectors over time. If you went back in time 18 ye...