In March I worked the Toronto Comic Con event, part of a convention series which features a lot of different facets of pop culture — movies, TV, music, Sci Fi, games, collectibles, and even some sports. Tucked away in the corner was a small sports memorabilia dealer with displays of autographed photos and magazines among the offerings. And on one side, almost an afterthought, were three or four boxes of baseball cards, separated into $.01, $.25 and other prices. The $.01 box had a variety of cards, mostly from the 90s, but some from the 70s that looked just like the Topps cards I had collected as a pre-teen.
Only they were produced by a company called O-Pee-Chee, which for a time produced licensed versions of the Topps cards, looking similar except for their own logo and some different info on the reverse. I found some 1977 cards, the first year that I collected, in pretty good condition, grabbing a Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Ed Figueroa and some others.
Whenever I come across one of these setups, I hope they are at least organized by year, so I can take a quick look to see if there’s a Miguel Jimenez or Pete Harnisch, the two Fordham entries from my era. Luckily, I found one of each, including a ‘94 Upper Deck Miguel card. A quarter well spent, indeed.
If you haven’t seen this site by Josh Wilker, be careful… you might get lost in it. Josh has a new book out, Cardboard Gods, which will go on my list as soon as the pile of 20 or so unread volumes taunting me on my bedroom shelf is reduced some.
For a well-done piece on baseball cards and how they can help illuminate a life, check out this piece by Jason Fry on his excellent Mets blog Faith and Fear in Flushing.
