What's your favorite junk wax?

[D. Bergin]

Lately I've been reminiscing about my childhood collecting days. I was always a bit of an oddball myself so I was more attracted to the oddball baseball card releases when they found their way to my local convenience store or card shop. Never thought I'd revisit those days, but recently I've found myself drawn back to the early 80's and often catch myself scanning the bargain blowouts at Krukcards for an inordinate amount of time. Can't believe how cheap some of this stuff still is (or became), so I decided to have a little fun and pick up a bunch of bulk on the cheap.

This is my absolute favorite. Reminds me a bit of the '77 Topps Cloth stickers which is another oddball favorite of mine from the 70's.

1981 Fleer Star Stickers. I remember being blown away by them as a kid. Full size card stickers, not those stupid team stickers or tiny Topps stickers. Thick stock, more attractive and far harder to find then the regular Fleer cards.........at least in my area anyways. Absolutely loaded with stars (and they came with gum). I had them plastered all over my walls and mirror. Boy, did my mom hate that.

Decided to pick up a few boxes, just for the hell of it. Can't believe these are nearly 30 years old now.




Another favorite of mine was the Giant Donruss Action All-Stars. What's not to like about them? Attractive, giant photo cards WITH Stats on the back, and came with a decent amount of them per pack. Also, as the box states, the unbelievably rare Mickey "Mantel" puzzle pieces.







Anybody else have any favorite Junk Wax?

[JasonL]

I agree on the Donruss All Stars, circa 1985.
And my fave version of the Fleer Star Stickers are the 1986, I think - (the burgundy bordered ones)

other than that, I loved the 1984-87 Fleer boxes...

[mintacular]

I love Kruk cards and some of the huge junk wax lots they sell...I bought a case load worth of '89 Donruss at a show at something like .25/pack and was planning on reselling it. When that didn't work, I decided to bust the packs out of boredome and loved every minute of it. Got a few nice Griffeys Shillings Johnsons Greg Vaughn (remember him?) Sheffields Smoltz etc. That was the heart of my childhood/teen collecting period and I always loved that card design and still do

[4815162342]

For some reason I've always liked 1984 topps.

[teetwoohsix]

This one's for you Pat Got it from a local card shop in a "mystery box",,usually filled with junk,but he throws a couple of decent things in there too........

[HRBAKER]

Hey it's John Kruk before he looked like Meatloaf.

[teetwoohsix]

And,that's his "Bat Out Of Hell" he's holding too

[ArizonaGoat]

1987 Topps - wood grain goodness! These cards are so ugly I don't know why I love them. I have a factory set + a 5k box full of them + a bunch of rak-paks and cell-paks with cool players on them.

[JasonL]

The Wood Grain Goodness of the 1987 Topps rivals the Toasted Oat Goodness and Whole Grain Goodness of this nation's favorite breakfast cereals!

I remember hauling home a box of rack-packs, and sitting down in front of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday afternoon that year and dissecting the packing patterns so that I could decipher what cards were in what packs.

Good Times.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by JasonL

The Wood Grain Goodness of the 1987 Topps rivals the Toasted Oat Goodness and Whole Grain Goodness of this nation's favorite breakfast cereals!

I remember hauling home a box of rack-packs, and sitting down in front of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday afternoon that year and dissecting the packing patterns so that I could decipher what cards were in what packs.

Good Times.

Ah, the "packing patterns". Reminds me of buying supposed unopened boxes of 1984 topps rack packs at shows, only to discover the dealer had already searched the packs and pulled the Mattingly's already.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by JasonL

I agree on the Donruss All Stars, circa 1985.
And my fave version of the Fleer Star Stickers are the 1986, I think - (the burgundy bordered ones)

other than that, I loved the 1984-87 Fleer boxes...

I think I had grown out of the "sticker" phase by '86, but yeah..........the Fleers of that era, '83 to around '89, had always been my favorite regular issue. The designs just seemed to be cleaner.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by mintacular

I love Kruk cards and some of the huge junk wax lots they sell...I bought a case load worth of '89 Donruss at a show at something like .25/pack and was planning on reselling it. When that didn't work, I decided to bust the packs out of boredome and loved every minute of it. Got a few nice Griffeys Shillings Johnsons Greg Vaughn (remember him?) Sheffields Smoltz etc. That was the heart of my childhood/teen collecting period and I always loved that card design and still do

HaHa!! They made sooooo many of the 88' and 89' Donruss. You can still pick up a case for almost nothing. I remember during a move in the late 1990's I ended up throwing out monster box after monster box of them.

Kept my stack of 100 Mike Campbell Rookies though.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by HRBAKER

Hey it's John Kruk before he looked like Meatloaf.

On BaseballReference.com they list him as being 170lbs.

I'm pretty sure he came out of the womb heavier then that.

Damn good "professional" hitter though.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by ArizonaGoat

1987 Topps - wood grain goodness! These cards are so ugly I don't know why I love them. I have a factory set + a 5k box full of them + a bunch of rak-paks and cell-paks with cool players on them.

Man, I hated that set...............but I loved that Bo Jackson card. Bo was that rare athlete, like Jim Brown, Bob Gibson or Mickey Mantle..........that had the look to somehow make any card he was on, the nicest looking card in the set.

[D. Bergin]

Who can forget the 1985 Topps Rub Downs?

Well I certainly did, until I decided to pick up a box selling for less then the cost of shipping it.

I don't even know if I love these or hate these, but they were certainly more fun in an age when there weren't 300 different sets coming out in the same year. Too bad Easter is over. I could have decorated a bunch of eggs with them.




Not sure why anyone would grade one of these...........but here it is.

[GrayGhost]

The Donruss pop up giant all stars with pop up insert. Cards and a pop up..who can beat it. I had the Ripken on my desk here, till it fell off the desk and it got stepped on. Great memories.

[ArizonaGoat]

Originally Posted by mintacular

I love Kruk cards and some of the huge junk wax lots they sell...I bought a case load worth of '89 Donruss at a show at something like .25/pack and was planning on reselling it. When that didn't work, I decided to bust the packs out of boredome and loved every minute of it. Got a few nice Griffeys Shillings Johnsons Greg Vaughn (remember him?) Sheffields Smoltz etc. That was the heart of my childhood/teen collecting period and I always loved that card design and still do

I've been buying junk 80's-90's stuff a lot lately. I just bought a bunch of 89 Donruss boxes - I opened 2 of them so far and haven't gotten a single card from 300-400. lol, the mixer must have broke on that case.

[JasonL]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

I think I had grown out of the "sticker" phase by '86, but yeah..........the Fleers of that era, '83 to around '89, had always been my favorite regular issue. The designs just seemed to be cleaner.

Yeah, you know, I never really bought the stickers at the time, either. But the 86 Star Stickers with the (Ron) Burgundy borders are my favorite. Particularly the Ozzie Smith. I have just about every one of Ozzie's cards, and it is 1986 Fleer Star sticker that is my all-time favorite of his issues!

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by JasonL

Yeah, you know, I never really bought the stickers at the time, either. But the 86 Star Stickers with the (Ron) Burgundy borders are my favorite. Particularly the Ozzie Smith. I have just about every one of Ozzie's cards, and it is 1986 Fleer Star sticker that is my all-time favorite of his issues!

Fleer made tiny stickers one year to. 84' or 85' I think. I even liked those. They were on much thicker stock then the flimsy Topps stickers of the period.

Actually looking it up, they made them 83' through 85'. I don't even remember the 1983's or the 1985's. Just the browish bordered '84's. They seem to be a lot less common then the larger sized Star Sticker Cards.

[GrayGhost]

I support this thread. fun stuff.

[JasonL]

that I just picked up a box of my 1986 star stickers on the bay!
can't wait to open them!!!

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by JasonL

that I just picked up a box of my 1986 star stickers on the bay!
can't wait to open them!!!

HaHa! Nice. Got my '81's in yesterday. Haven't succumbed to ripping them open yet. I kind of like the way they look in the Unopened boxes for now.............if that makes any sense.

Brought myself back down to earth and picked up one more B18 Blanket common to go towards my very slow pursuit of a player set.

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Bo was that rare athlete ... that had the look to somehow make any card he was on, the nicest looking card in the set.

The antithesis of that sentiment would be Craig McMurtry.

[rhettyeakley]

That's funny Rob because when I first saw that card posted I thought to myself "How did DeWolf get on a card from 1985? and for the Braves? Then I saw it was McMurtry.
-Rhett

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Rob D.

The antithesis of that sentiment would be Craig McMurtry.

You know, at some point in the 80's, somebody, somewhere, was walking around with a Craig McMurtry tattoo on their arm..............or other unmentionable body part.

[GrayGhost]

Nobody put those stupid ruboffs on themselves. or worse the tattoos. I put some on books back in the day and realized how dumb that was.

Keep the replies going. Fun thread to just enjoy and not fight over a half a grade of card or 1/10000 of inch trim on a card.

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

That's funny Rob because when I first saw that card posted I thought to myself "How did DeWolf get on a card from 1985? and for the Braves? Then I saw it was McMurtry.
-Rhett

I'm requesting a standing eight count.

[JasonL]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

HaHa! Nice. Got my '81's in yesterday. Haven't succumbed to ripping them open yet. I kind of like the way they look in the Unopened boxes for now.............if that makes any sense.

Brought myself back down to earth and picked up one more B18 Blanket common to go towards my very slow pursuit of a player set.

what player collection are you working on with a blanket common??

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by JasonL

what player collection are you working on with a blanket common??

Sorry for the confusion. I'm going for 1 of each player in the B18 set. I'm not concerned about the variations or a master set at this point.

I'm only at about 25 right now, so I still have quite a ways to go.

[slidekellyslide]

I went to an auction a few months back that had tables full of unopened boxes. I ended up buying about 70 boxes of 80-90s stuff for just a couple of bucks a box. Remember the Ted Williams card company??..I also have a nearly full case of 89 Topps..every once in a while I just give my kid and his friends some packs to open.

[JasonL]

70 boxes!?
holy smokes!! That's a nice stash to crack into ...anytime you're bored, you can sit down and saydecide to open a box just to satisfy the urge!

I am awaiting delivery of my $8 box of 1986 Fleer Star Stickers...actually really looking forward to it...ah, the simple pleasures!

[slidekellyslide]

My son and I cracked open a box of 1993 Upper Deck the other day and it took some effort to get the cards apart from one another...that shiny stuff sticks them together. Wonder what this will be like in another 20-30 years?

This particular auction was all sportscards...I went there in the hopes of grabbing up the older Topps baseball lots, but they all went for WAYYYYY over ebay prices for ungraded cards and ended up buying craploads of boxes and factory sets...I was snagging 1980s-90s Factory sets of all 4 major sports from Donruss, Fleer, Topps and Upper Deck for less than $5 each..and in some cases for only $1 each. I don't know if the owner of the stuff was at the auction, but if he was he was probably getting sick watching tables full of stuff sell for that cheap.

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

My son and I cracked open a box of 1993 Upper Deck the other day and it took some effort to get the cards apart from one another...that shiny stuff sticks them together. Wonder what this will be like in another 20-30 years?

I remember Upper Deck, Fleer Flair, Leaf, Topps Finest, Stadium Club, all that shiny stuff having trouble "sticking" together even when they were released in the '90s.

[JasonL]

I think in 30 years, they will be sold as "bricks" and the value will be determined by the combination of the front image of the top card and the back showing on the bottom of the brick. The best possible outcome will then be a pack that has a HOFer on the top and bottom of the stack.

Maybe there will be the emergence of modern wet sheet transfers if anyone can pry apart any of the individual cards, and the layers peel in any unique ways...?

[JasonL]

My box of 1986 Fleer Star Stickers arrived on Friday, just in time to have some fun ripping open some packs! Of course, my sons (ages 4 and 8)caught me in the act and immediately demanded (in a nice way) in on the fun....so I had to hop on the Bay and order 2 more boxes because I was ticked that my 8 year old pulled all of my favorites from that year (pictured here), while I was stuck pulling doubles on folks that you wouldn't even think would make it into a "Star Stickers" set...players like Scott Garrelts and Damaso Garcia!! ugh.
Here are some of my faves...along with a Pre-war tie-in (the team stickers have pre-war era trivia on the reverse)...

Happy Memorial Day!

[slidekellyslide]

Good stuff! But don't rip on Damaso...he played a heckuva second base for about a 5 or 6 year stretch in the 80s.

My son and I ripped open a 1993 Ted Williams box yesterday...we put together two near sets...only missing Rocky Colavito (#33) in one set and missing 6 out of a second set. Today we ripped open a box of 1994 Topps Series 2 and got 45 Gold cards...one Black Gold winner redemption, and a Todd Van Poppel Topps Finest insert. My kid pulled both of the "biggies."

[GoldenAge50s]

I've go a #33 for you if you want it. What are the other 6 #'s--maybe I have them also.

[JasonL]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Good stuff! But don't rip on Damaso...he played a heckuva second base for about a 5 or 6 year stretch in the 80s.

Yeah, I suppose you're right...after all, Rick Reuschel is in the set too!

[D. Bergin]

Nice. Makes me want to pick up a box or two of those now. When I was a kid I used to stockpile 81' Topps Damaso Garcia rookies. Always the oddball, I never went after the obvious guys. It was always the guys I thought I could pick up cheap and was flying under everybody else's radar. It rarely ever worked out for me, LOL!!!

[jb217676]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Nice. Makes me want to pick up a box or two of those now. When I was a kid I used to stockpile 81' Topps Damaso Garcia rookies. Always the oddball, I never went after the obvious guys. It was always the guys I thought I could pick up cheap and was flying under everybody else's radar. It rarely ever worked out for me, LOL!!!

Hey, at least you didn't invest in his successor's RC cards (legendary Blue Jays 2nd baseman Nelson Liriano)

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Good stuff! But don't rip on Damaso...he played a heckuva second base for about a 5 or 6 year stretch in the 80s.

My son and I ripped open a 1993 Ted Williams box yesterday...we put together two near sets...only missing Rocky Colavito (#33) in one set and missing 6 out of a second set. Today we ripped open a box of 1994 Topps Series 2 and got 45 Gold cards...one Black Gold winner redemption, and a Todd Van Poppel Topps Finest insert. My kid pulled both of the "biggies."

HaHa! Todd Van Strasburg?

[FUBAR]

Mine would be the Conlon Collection. Ive only ever seen series 1, but it still remains one of my fav sets today and the main reason i got into vintage collecting

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by JasonL

Yeah, I suppose you're right...after all, Rick Reuschel is in the set too!

Rick Reuschel was a great hitter.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by GoldenAge50s

I've go a #33 for you if you want it. What are the other 6 #'s--maybe I have them also.

Hey Fred, thanks for the offer. We only "need" the one Rocky Colavito card. We don't need two sets. I already told my son he could disperse the doubles as he sees fit amongst his friends. There are a lot of "vintage" superstars in that set.

[JasonL]

and a very nice guy as well. One of my good friends was family friends with the Reuschels and I got to tag along to Wrigley with them on a day when Rick was going to start for the Giants...Rick led us into the park at 8:30am through the front office entrance, where he stopped to say hi to the staff (having been a longtime Cub, he knew everyone), and we got to sit in the visitors dugout and watch warmups, etc. After the game, we hung out well past all the fans were allowed to stay, and while walking out, we passed Ryne Sandberg in street clothes on his way out...All I could muster was a simple "Hi"...and it was funny, because I think he appreciated the normalcy and lack of drooling admiration. I got a practice ball signed by Brett Butler and Candy Maldonado. Rick was easily the most down-to-earth MLB player I could possibly imagine...still to this day. Another reason I guess it seems funny tro me that he would be in an All Star card set!

[nationalchicle]

Originally Posted by FUBAR

Mine would be the Conlon Collection. Ive only ever seen series 1, but it still remains one of my fav sets today and the main reason i got into vintage collecting

I agree, the Conlon Collection is my favorite also and it was probably the first time I realized there WERE vintage cards. I still bang my head against the wall for spending all that money on Pro Set and Score cards (all I could afford back in the day) when I could have been buying vintage for cheap.

[Doug]

I'd have to say 1985 Topps since those were the first baseball cards I ever had as a kid. I'm not sure if they would qualify as "junk wax" since wax boxes apparently still bring around $50, but after the McGwire/Clemens steroid stuff that's a far cry from the $300 or so they were bringing back in 1998 when I got back into baseball cards.

[FUBAR]

no doubt i wish i had avoided the early 90's stuff and bought vintage instead. I think i bought every box of proset football and UD baseball costco carried( not literally)... crazy (they were half price of my local card store)

I remember going way overboard on proset hockey thinking how cool they looked.

[T206Collector]

I recently was having a vivid recollection of the pleasant aroma that 1987 Donruss cards used to give off when opened from a pack. 1987 Donruss were hard to find around me growing up, where everything was 1987 Topps, which I also adored at the time.

1987 Topps was my "gateway drug" so to speak. So I will always have a lot of respect for that set, including Kal Daniels, Cory Snyder, Pete Incaviglia, Danny Tartabull and Mike Greenwell, all of whom were going to be worth tons of money in the future.

[David W]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

I recently was having a vivid recollection of the pleasant aroma that 1987 Donruss cards used to give off when opened from a pack. 1987 Donruss were hard to find around me growing up, where everything was 1987 Topps, which I also adored at the time.

1987 Topps was my "gateway drug" so to speak. So I will always have a lot of respect for that set, including Kal Daniels, Cory Snyder, Pete Incaviglia, Danny Tartabull and Mike Greenwell, all of whom were going to be worth tons of money in the future.

I traded 55 All America football cards of the 4 Horsemen, Don Hutson, and Red Grange for numerous Cory Snyder, Greenwell, Eric Davis and Todd Worrell rookies circa 1988.

Do you think I made a good trade?