Thursday, May 5, 2016

Before they were stars! Plus, an anti-climactic update.

I'm not usually one to purchase already completed sets, but in certain instances it just makes more sense (and cents) to do so.

A couple of months ago I got the complete 45 card set of 1989 CMC AAA All-Stars for a whopping $3. It was definitely more cost affective to buy this set, because there was no way I was going to find all of these singly for anywhere near 3 bucks.

I know that after looking at these, some of you might find the title of this post a little misleading as most of these guys never became household names. But, a few of them did, and "before they were stars" sounds a lot better than "before a couple of them were stars".

So let us travel back 25 years or so, and see who was tearing up the minor leagues:







It seems a little strange to me to think that a minor league set from only 1989 could have two guys in it, that are already in the hall of fame, and another fellow who will probably be going in as the first player at the position he would later be identified with.


Now, on to the not so exciting update to my last post regarding the 1995-96 Mystery Finest cards that still had the peels on them. Well, I now know why they were in a ten cent box in their unpeeled state...(insert drum roll)... it was because the peels seem to be permanently stuck to the fronts. I don't know if it's some sort of chemical reaction or what, but after over twenty years of being affixed to the card, these peels are almost literally fused to the front. I tried every thing I could think of, short of destroying the card in my attempt to peel them.

So I guess these truly will live up to their name of Mystery Finest:
They are going to be far from the most attractive cards in my collection, but probably still not the most unattractive either!


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.

8 comments:

  1. If I were to start putting sets together again, I would probably focus more on buying lots and if possible the whole set on eBay. The sp's just make it so expensive to try and build card by card and/or opening boxes.

    Sorry about the Finest cards...

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    1. Usually I like to start with lots if possible, and then go from there. I don't get very much joy from the cards if I buy someone else's collated set.

      Well, I'm only out twenty cents, so it's not like it's a big financial loss. And to be honest, even if I knew before hand that the peels were permanently stuck, I probably still would have got them.

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  2. Great looking set. I love collecting minor league sets. Buying sets and lots is my main strategy wether buying on line or in person.

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    1. Thanks, Mark! I too, am a big fan of minor league cards. For me, starting with a good lot is usually the way I like to start a set. Except when it comes to the really old stuff, like for example the '33 Goudey's, I certainly couldn't afford to start that set with a 50 card lot. So I just have to pick up cheap singles when I can find them.

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  3. It's a bid odd, and appealing, that you're looking at Johnny Paredes and Dorn Taylor then suddenly BAM! Randy Johnson. Great set!

    I think the Mystery Finest cards are really of Spinal Tap.

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    1. I was wondering if anyone was going to mention Dorn Taylor! These kind of sets are always fun.

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  4. Stinks about the finests. I just got a juwan Howard card from the 1996-97 set a couple of weeks age, still unpeeled. Not sure if I will even try. The good thing is that because they are not autographed or relics you should be able to find all 3 versions on comc or eBay for not too much- not that I've really looked...

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    1. With the peels permanently stuck on, they make for interesting novelty items. If you do try and peel your Juwan Howard I would be interested in hearing how it went. It would be nice to know for future reference if any of the older ones are able to be peeled, or if just certain ones that have been stored under certain conditions. I saw a couple unpeeled cards listed on eBay which I originally thought were being sold as such because of there minimal value in unpeeled condition, but now I think they were being sold that way because the owner couldn't get peel off.

      I'm not for certain, but I think the John Stockton gold refractor still has some value. I'm guessing the same can't be said for Tim Hardaway.

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