The Weirdest Card I Own

 As far as oddball cards, and a "Sure, why the hell not?" kind of theme, I don't know if it could be any more accurate of a description than for the weirdest card I own, a 2012-13 Pamini Prime Prime Ties card of Chay Genoway.

This was from an era where Panini was trying to make their mark by using EVERY part of a "player worn" jersey, including pieces that quite literally pop off of the cardboard. These, as you could imagine, are 1/1, and feature the shoelace tie at the neck of the jersey. 

I was lucky enough to pull this one from a pack of Prime, only I didn't have the actual card in my hand right away. These cards were one of the rare examples of a non-autographed card being a redemption, since the cards were just too thick to be included in packs. At least with these redemptions, though, you knew they had the cards in-hand and ready to ship.

Genoway had a fantastic college hockey career at the University of North Dakota, just an hour and a half from where I live, as he became the fourth highest scoring defenseman in UND history. He went undrafted, but signed a contract witht he Minnesota Wild upon completion of his college hockey career, and in April 2012 would play his only NHL game, as the Wild took on the Phoenix Coyotes. He would eventually be traded to the Washington Capitals, but became a free agent when his contract expired, and went to play hockey overseas. He is currently with EC Red Bull Salzburg of the Austria-based ICEHL.

A less than remarkable NHL career, sure, but I do love that he has a somewhat local connection. It is pretty ironic, too, that the box containing the 1/1 Prime Ties card of a University of North Dakota Standout found its way to a card shop in Fargo, ND. Still, I'll take my luck where I can get it, and I still have this card proudly displayed as a big part of my collection.

Matt's Most Wanted: Two Panini Prime Captain's Cloth Cards

Well, for this post, I'm putting two of my most wanted together, because they are from similar sets and I want them for the same reason.

When Panini released their Prime hockey product in 2011, they took out to focus a hockey product on the memorabilia side of the hobby. Now, of course, autographs would pe a part of it, too, but it took its name from a jersey swatch unique to hockey. For Panini, at least, a "prime" jersey swatch isn't quite a patch, but more than just a plain piece of fabric. In most cases, "prime" refers to a seam of a jersey, and in most cases with hockey, involved two different-colored fabrics, giving it a very unique look. 

When I was heavily into box breaking, Prime was a somewhat regular break of mine, and I did pull quite a few interesting pieces of fabric-on-cardboard, but with these two, they came from purchases. The Captain's Cloth cards are limited to just two each, and feature half of a player's "C" for captain or "A" for alternate captain

Being a Pittsburgh Penguis fan and collector, a Sidney Crosby card like this is FAR out of my price range, but Brooks Orpik wasn't. He was named alternate captain for the team in 2008, following an injury to Sergei Gonchar, and held the designation until 2014, when he signed with the Washington Capitals.

There are so many things to like about this one in particular. It's great that they were able to include a photo of him on the side of the card without taking away from the swatch itself. As far as the fabric goes the colors are great, there's a cool texturing of the black fabric, and I love how the shoulder seam goes through the letter. And whether intentional or not, I love how it's the same version of the jersey depicted in the photo.

Next is the same type of card, from the year before. This one is of Zach Parise from 2011-12 Prime. While I became a big fan of Parise during his time with the Minnesota Wild, this is from his time with the New Jersey Devils, where he served as alternate captain from 2008-2011 and captain for the 2011-12 season. 

Like the Orpik card this one features the top half of the "A," but that is where the similarities end. the fabric itself is a little more plain, and no shoulder seam. This jersey could have been from before a design change. It also feature his time with the New Jersey Devils, which even though an important part of his career, isn't the team he was with when I became a big fan during his time with the Minnesota Wild.

Really, even just getting one of these would be huge, and make for an awesome hobby display. I haven't been the most dilligent in looking for these the past decade, so who knows if these are even for sale? They could have been tucked away in someone's closet, or maybe even still in unopened packs! Still, I plan on keeping my eyes open, just in case.

Meeting Barry Sanders

I had a rare opportunity to meet an NFL legend last weekend when Barry Sanders came to Minneapolis for an autograph signing with FanHQ.

It has been quite a few years since I have made the trek to Minneapolis for a signing event, but this is one that I felt warranted the extra effort. After all, how often does one have the opportunity to exchange pleasantries and ink with one of the all-time greats at their position? I made plans far in advance, because it would take a certain amount of money for this, and in this situation, I wanted to go big. 

A signed card or photo simply would not do. I wanted a full-sized helmet. 

I did my research, mainly by looking at ebay auctions, to see which helmet version I would like. The decision came down to either a traditional silver helmet, similar to what the players wear on game day, or a colored modern version that works with their alternate uniforms. I ended up deciding on the modern blue, and boy, does it look fantastic!

In some ways it was an easy decision, but in other ways, not so much. I was tempted to go the traditional route. Not only is the silver and blue an iconic look seen in every photo taken of Barry Sanders, but the logo itself is a little different, with the lion being more of a solid silhouette. But for me, it came down to what I see as eye appeal, meaning, I want someone from across the room to see it and know exactly what it is, and boy does that silver POP off of the blue helmet. 

It has been quite a long time since I went to a signing at FanHQ. Looking at my old memorabilia blog, Not Pulled From Packs, it has apparently been almost six years, when I made the trip to get autographs from eventual Baseball Hall-of-Famer Joe Mauer and former American League MVP Justin Morneau. Even in the time has passed, a lot of the FanHQ staff has remained the same, and the event was run with the same efficiency and professionalism as all the others I have attended. 

Sanders was incredibly generous with his time, meaning that he took the time to not only meet the customers' specific requests, but also gave a friendly greeting, shook their hand, and had a short conversation with every single person. As an added bonus, he had a guy with him who would take your phone and snap photos of the interaction. As one FanHQ staffer told us, he doesn't want people to be overwhelmed trying to get photos of him signing, and wants them to be able to enjoy a full interaction and experience. 

Now, I have a cousin who is a life-long Lions fan. Just on a whim, I sent him a text the night before, just to say, "Guess who I get to see tomorrow!" It didn't take long for him to respond with a "Get me one!" Even when I told him the price, he Venmo'ed me the money a few minutes later, and he ended up with a helmet, too! Although with his, I made the call to go with the more traditional helmet, and it looks fantastic as well!

It was a fantastic experience overall, and Sanders really gives people the most value for their money spent. As soon as I get my hands on a decent case, and figure out where to put it, this will absolutely be one of the cernterpieces of my collection. 

An Old Lesson in Regret

I've been collecting cards and memorabilia for years, and while the intensity has wavered over time, I have never really quit entirely since coming getting fully immersed in the collecting world back in 2010, after two decades of inconsistency dating back to my childhood. 

The first giant or huge or "epic" pull I ever had came the following year, with 2011 Topps Heritage. I don't know why, but the wood-grain sets always appealed to me. Despite almost having no value, I still love the 1987 Topps set, and in the same way, the 1962 set (much bigger value). So, of course, when that set was reimagined in 2011 in their Heritage run, I went all-in. 

If memory serves me right, which it usually doesn't, I did buy a couple of hobby boxes with ok results. Nothing major, but I ended up striking big with retail. Not with a blaster or retail pack, though, but rather with a special value box that mixed a couple of different Topps baseball products. For the low price of $14.98, certainly low by today's standards, you got five packs of Topps Series 1, two hobby packs of Heritage, an exclusive chrome refractor card, and two Diamond Giveaway codes.

Anyway, the big hit that was designed for their hobby product that found its way into a retail value box ended up being a dual-signed relic card of Frank Robinon and Giancarlo (then-Mike) Stanton, numbered 2/10. The Robinson swatch isn't really a patch, but does have a seam wunning through it, and the Stanton swatch features a multitude of colors from the Florida Marlins logo.

I had quite a few epic pulls in my pack-ripping days, but this was my first of this magnitude. Seeing something so huge, while being on a limited budget, my thought immediately went to selling this card, to try and turn a profit on what I spent. I had no vision or goal of what to spend that money on, but I got a big thrill out of potentially having a field day on Ebay with a large pool of funds. 

I ended up selling it for a number I was content with at the time, and after the money hit my Paypal, I started shopping. The issue, looking back on it, is that I ended up finding stuff to spend my money on, but instead of one big purchase, it ended up being a few smaller ones, and truth be told, I can't even tell you what any of those cards were. So, in a weird way, although not technically true, it "feels" like I got rid of an amazing card and got nothing in return.

As time would go on, I would have other major pulls, like autographed rookies of Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Bryce Harper, among others, and I would sell those in the same way, but it doesn't have the same sting. For one, those were sold to help pay for family vacations once the kids got a little older so it defeinitely went to a good cause, and two, they are all high-numbered enough (or not numbered at all) to where I could replace those cards at any point. The Robinson/Stanton has basically disappeared, as I have since then never come across any of the 10 produced, and who knows if I would even be able to afford it if it does.

I did take this lesson to heart, though, as further down the road, I hit another fantastic pull, with a Jamie Benn 1/1 skate logo card from 2013-14 Panini Prime.

An absolutely beautiful card, and really, I don't know if I fully intended on selling it at first, but after posting my box break on a Facebook hockey card page, I struck a deal with someone who would appreciate the card more than me. Now, learning my lesson from earlier, I set out to find one card from this set that I could spend theentire sum on, treating it like more of a trade than a sale, and boy did I find it, with the Zach Parise card from the exact same set. 

Now, yeas, I did have to add a little bit of money to make that purchase, but it wasn't a whole lot, and in my eyes, upgraded the card to not only a bigger player, but a player I have a small PC of. A year later, I would meet Parise at an autograph signing, and get quite a few other items signed by him, but this card is one I still not only have in my collection, but featured prominently in my display case.

Lesson learned, when selling cards to fund your collection, be intentional and make sure what it goes toward improves your collection more than simply just adding to it.

Matt's Most Wanted: 1954 Topps Ernie Banks

One of the things I didn't really do with my former blogs is compile a list of the cards or items I am really pursuing, but I am going to do it here. For one, it puts it out in the universe and you never know what will cause something to come across someone's radar, but also, with proper blog formatting, the list will hopefully be something that every blog reader sees every time they visit, as a reminder, just in case.

A criteria of this is list, though, is that it has to be things that can be within my reach. Of course, everyone wants a '52 Mantle and a T-206 Honus, but until I win the lottery (which I don't play), that ain't gonna happen. These may not be cheap items, but they are all things that I feel I could actually one day obtain.

Anyway, as a way to create content during times when my content supply may be running low, I figured that not only would I publish what those items are, but why those items are (or will be) special to me. Some (like this one) may be obvious, while others, bight not be so clear.

Number one on my list is an obvious card for any Cubs fan: a 1954 Topps Ernie Banks rookie card. 

For me, and any other self-respecting Chicago Cubs fan, this card is the standard-bearer, and the top card of one of the most-beloved players in franchise history. Not only did he play his entire career for the team, and remained in Chicago after his playing days were over. His catchphrase of, "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame...Let's play two," exemplifies his boyish love for the game and his desire to be on a ballfield as often as possible.

Not only is it his rookie card, but it is a beautiful card visually. Many cards from that year have a color background, but the white background of the Banks card really makes the red and the blue of his hat pop off of the cardboard and further highlights his boyish grin. Well-conditioned copies of this card can be quite pricey, though, so I will likely have to settle for a rough-looking raw card and a slabbed card with a 1 grade.

Meeting Buff Bagwell

Living in the Fargo/Moorhead area, seeing the top pro wrestlers live and in person used to be a rare occurrence. Back when WWE was running their house show schedule, we'd see a stop in North Dakota maybe once every three or fours years. Now with the company being owned by TKO, which is drastically cutting down the live events as a cost-cutting measure, I don't know if they will ever make a stop here again.

Luckily, we have a fantastic independent wrestling organization that was started three years ago, known as Below Zero Wrestling. They run shows throughout the state, but mostly in its home base of Fargo, and I am always sure to buy a ticket to all the shows I am able to attend. The most recent one took place back in August, and they brought in as a special guest, former WCW Tag Team Champion Buff Bagwell.

(Note: Buff is also currently a member of the New World Order, because as we all know, "When you're nWo, you're nWo 4-LIFE!")

Bagwell's mobility was limited, due to complications from a 2020 car wreck that would lead to his right leg being amputated above the knee just weeks before his appearance. Any in-ring work, of course, is out of the question, but he was able to do an interaction to open the show, in support of BZW co-owner Nick Stokke against dirtbag manager Sylvester Fox and his client, BZW Champion Tommy Lee Curtis, a.k.a. "The Jacked Jesus Who Always Pleases."

At intermission, I was sure to stop by Bagwell's meet-and-greet table. I also wanted to tell him about the last time he was in Fargo. In the Fall of 1999, WCW came here for a taping of Thunder, and while we were living in Houston at the time, my dad was up here for work, and took my cousin to the show. Now, my dad knows next to nothing about wrestling, other than what it is. He's heard of Hulk Hogan, but has never heard of Kevin Nash or Scott Hall, and he thinks Sting is the bass player for The Police. To this day, though, he talks about how much this kid in the nearby seats hated Buff Bagwell and was screaming his disdain at the top of his lungs. I told this to Buff, and he laughed and said, "Oh man, I LOVE IT!" After all, what better compliment can you give a heel than a 70-year-old man still remembers your name because of how much you made a kid hate you 26 years ago!

I brought a card with me to get signed, and purchased an 8x10, along with the posed photo. He used his own purple paint pen for the signatures, which looks awesome. He took up plenty of real estate on the photo without covering up the image, and the purple really stands out against the black background. The card turned out great, too, and is a nice companion piece for the photo.

It's always a question with some of these interactions as far as how much effort an individual puts into the meet-and-greets. He was conversational, very friendly, and in great spirits. He also seemed to be in great health, too, and looked fantastic for someone who has endured his self-inflicted challenges. His struggles with pills and alcohol has been widely documented, but he has been clean since 2022, and from what I could see, sobriety seems to be serving him very well.

Major Card Show Pick-Ups This Past Weekend

It has been quite a long time since I last attended a card show. Years, in fact. So long, that I can't even remember when the last one was. I've gone to a few anime and comic cons over the last few years with my middle daughter who is really into the Anime world, but as far as a straight-up sports card show, I can't even remember.

Well, this past weekend, there was a one-day show Sunday in Fargo, ND, and I wasn't scheduled to work, so the stars aligned just right to allow me to attend. Now, I will say, the advertising for this event wasn't great. In fact, the only reason I knew about this is that I just happened to drive by this particular Holiday Inn a couple days earlier to buy movie tickets. Even still, when I tried to look up more information on it, I had an almost impossible time getting any information on it, other than hours and location. In fact, I still have no idea what company or organization put it together, or even when the next one will be.

I knew this one would started at 10:00 Sunday morning, and I showed up when it opened, but it didn't take too long for it to get pretty packed, which is a great sign! A successful card show will hopefully mean there will be more in the future.

I figured the best thing to do would be to at least go into the show with a goal in mind, or at least some kind of focus. The card I would be looking for would be a 1956 Ernie Banks.

Since returning to blogging and refocusing on my card collection, I know it will take some time to get things where I would like them, but I figured the best thing would be to just start and let the organization happen as it does along the way. One thing I would like to do, is put together a top 10 Most Wanted List for some cards I hope to one day add to my collection that I feel are actually attainable. 

A big part of that list will be to complete the playing-days Ernie Banks Topps run. I had already gotten a good chunk of them taken care of, with 1955, 1957-59, 1962-64, 1966, and 1968. Even at a low grade, his 1954 rookie is out of my current price range, so next on the list would be his third-year card of 1956. I had lost an eBay auction for a low-conditioned raw card a week earlier, so I was happy to find two dealers with graded copies of that very card. 

I will say, at this point, I'm not too concerned about the condition. Of course, I don't want the corners so rounded it looks like a playing card, but I also know and accept the fact that with my budget, I will have to make quite a few concessions when it comes to condition, and I'm ok with that. I figure I can always upgrade it later if I find the right deal, so I decided to pick up a PSA 1 copy of the card from one of the dealers. As you can see from the scan, there is a crease down the middle, which obviously gave it the 1 grade, but while it looks pretty prominent on the scan, it doesn't seem as bad in person when looking at it in my display case. 

While the crease doesn't bother me too much for the price I paid, one thing I would not compromise on is the border. These cards have a tendency of being horribly off-center, and in some cases, the border on one side of the card is entirely cut off. I didn't need perfect centering, but I did need at least some of the border visible.

The same dealer also has a number of signed baseballs at an incredibly affordable price. There were a lot of Hall of Famers and stars from the past, and of course, a bunch of former Minnesota Twins players. They were at such a good price, I had to ask the dealer about them, and he said they came from an estate sale of a guy with a massive collection, but most don't have a COA, as the collector didn't choose to go that route. Many of them did have a small clipping about the signing itself, and a few had a hologram sticker on them, but I'm not sure what they specifically mean.

While there were some very big names and cool items, many of them had some kind of imperfection that greatly diminished their value, like the Whitey Ford ball that had ink so faded you could barely see it, or the Don Larsen "Perfect Game" inscribed ball that was heavily stained. I did find two, though, that were big names and looked great: Billy Williams and Bob Gibson.

The balls were $20 a piece or 2 for $35. It was the same dealer who had the Banks at $45, and when he offered me the three of them for $75, I was happy to add all three to my collection at what I thought was a great price. 

I did get one more item toward the end of my time at the card show, coincidentally from the same set as the Ernie Banks with 1956 Topps Harmon Killebrew. Growing up the son of a Twins fan, and now living in Minnesota, I've always had a fondness for the Twins legend, but I still had not, up until now, added an individual card of his from his playing days. This is a second-year card of his that I picked up from a different dealer for $40, and while I might be able find one on eBay for a few dollars cheaper, I love being able to hold it and examine it in-person and in the moment, it was a deal I was happy to make. 

In all, I spent about two-and-a-half hours browsing around until I decided I was done. It also made me consider getting a table at a future card show to try and move some of the extraneous items in my collection, but that will have to come at a later date, and after I do a lot more organization. 

Still, I would say this was a pretty good haul for $115, and I look forward to the next one!