Box Thoughts: 1990-91 Hoops Series 1

I don't remember when exactly, but sometime last year I bought a box of 1990-91 Hoops series 1. It wasn't a planned purchase by any stretch of the imagination, no, this one was all whim! Of course most of my purchases from the "copy/print/card" shop in town are, I just see something - in this case an $8 box of Hoops - and think that it would be fun to open, so I buy it, and then open it at some point.

The 90-91 Hoops set wasn't one of my favorites as a kid, although I didn't dislike it either mind you, it just wasn't one that really ever grabbed me. As such, I haven't opened up very many boxes of it over the years, two, maybe three? I know I opened up a bunch of packs when it was new, but I'm fairly certain that I didn't get any boxes at the time. The only two I can remember opening came from Kmart during the mid to late 90's, back when the store still sold $5 boxes [as a quick aside, I really miss those $5 boxes]. There was always so much to choose from back then, and I don't know about everyone else's local stores, but the Kmart that was closest to me use to get new/old boxes in weekly, so with the limited funds that I had at the time, I wasn't going to be wasting them on 1990-91 Hoops -- that being said, I did buy a box of series 1 and 2 at some point, and probably only did so because it was one of those weeks where I got there late, and didn't have much else to choose from.

Anyways, back to the present. I had absolutely no intentions of blogging about this box, or it's contents, when I bought it, but a few things caught my attention while opening it, so I scanned them, started a post, then abandoned it halfway through because I didn't think it was going to be of much interest to readers. Now some months later I'm re-looking at the draft, and deciding to give it another go, although I am deleting everything that was previously written, as some of it already feels dated (which is ironic, given the age of the box), and the rest just feels stale. So here goes my second attempt... now with 50% less starch!

Observation #1: Has it really been thirty years since this set's release?

Despite my neutrality towards this set, I do have a strong affinity for it, if only because my earliest card memory, or at least the earliest one that I can still remember, involves this set. It's not much of a memory either, just young me sitting on my bed reading the back of one of the Finals subset cards that were in series 2. Like I said, it's not much, but I'll take it, especially since I don't have too many memories left from anything prior to 1990... which was thirty years ago!?!? Now I feel old, and depressed, please excuse me while I go lie down for a bit :(

Observation #2: Cutting cards off of boxes is really fun!

In the last year or so, I feel like I've talked ad nauseam about the set collecting tunnel vision that I was possessed by in my early days, which didn't allow for things like cutting cards from boxes, because, you know, cards cut from a box aren't part of the set, so why bother doing it? However, now that I've shaken my set collecting ways, I can sit back and fully appreciate the joy that comes from cutting, and collecting, cards that were part of boxes.

Observation #3: Is this real life?

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard that a certain percentage of collectors have gone bat-sh*t insane for all things MJ in recent months, apparently all because of a television special (I would imagine that a few social media "influencer's" have had a hand in it as well), yes, a television special! Hard to believe that folks could be so easily manipulated, but it's happening. I guess I can sort of understand bandwagon collectors jumping on-board and paying ten times more for what the same cards were selling for three months ago, but I don't understand how experienced collectors, folks who know that these prices won't hold, are diving into this mud puddle as well... but it too is happening! I would very much hope that they're not doing so just so they can feel like they're being a part of something, because if so, they're going to be losing a lot of money just to be a part of this something.

For the record, I haven't seen this special, nor do I ever intend to see any of it. There's been dozens of videos and DVD's on MJ over the years, and there are probably hundreds currently on YouTube, so I don't really see the point of this new show, but that's just me. Also, I was never really a fan of his, but do collect his 90's cards (mostly just base, and lower tiered inserts), if only because few things remind me of basketball card collecting in the 90's more than cards of Michael Jordan, and I just like having his cards around to, well, remind me!

Observation #4: The Human Highlight Film.

I always loved this card as a kid, and still do. The ball crossing over into the border was a really nice touch, and not one that you'd see today in any of Panini's god-awful revived Hoops sets.

Observation #5: There's no smiling in basketball!

Hyperbole aside, this might be the best photo in the entire set. During the middle to late 80's, when Mahorn was still one of the Bad Boys, he and Larry Legend were bitter rivals - to say the least - yet here they are just a few short years later... yucking it up for all to see! This is not a card that I would've been able to fully appreciate when I was a kid, if only because I wasn't fully aware of their history together, but older me can't get enough of it, and is infinitely curious to know what was being said?

Observation #6: The rookies!

Everyone knows that I don't really care for rookie cards, but even so, it's hard to open up a box like this... and not notice the rookies! If memory serves, the rookies in series 1 were all guys that had already been in the league for at least a year, but were just finally getting their first cards; while series 2 contained all of the top picks from the 1990 draft.

Observation #7: A tough act to follow.

I'm fairly certain that I did not know who George Gervin was back in 1990, so his kid brother's rookie card wouldn't have even registered with me at the time, but is mildly interesting to see now. Derrick, who was ten years younger than George, wasn't able to follow his brother's success in the NBA, as he only ended up playing for two seasons -- but did go onto make a name for himself overseas, primarily in Israel, where he would become an MVP, and twice lead the Israeli league in scoring (Brother George knows a bit about leading a league in scoring too).

Observation #8: Refs in the back!

If you're on the Twitter, and you follow @RefsInTheBack, then you know just how contagious his collection can become. If you're not on the Twitter, the short version is that there's a fellow called Randy, who collects basketball cards with referees in the background, and after following him for even the shortest amount of time, you will begin to notice referees in the background of literally every single card that has one... and it's terribly annoying (I say this with love though)!

Observation #9: I know what you did last season.

I liked it when card fronts acknowledged a players achievements from the previous season, wonder if anyone else felt the same?

Observation #10: It was a good run.

Caldwell Jones played seventeen seasons of professional basketball, three in the ABA, and fourteen in the NBA. Most of his career was spent on teams with already proven scorers, so points weren't needed, or expected from him, as such, he focused, and excelled, on the defensive side of things. His career totals aren't likely to wow anyone, especially anyone looking at them through modern eyes, but his abilities were well respected amongst his peers, and his retirement after the 1990-91 season saw one of the last players to play in the ABA call it a day (Moses Malone was the last when he retired in 1995). This is a really great card, it's just unfortunate that Hoops couldn't have included all of his stats on the back, but by this point the NBA had a weird thing going where they were trying not to acknowledge the ABA's existence, so obviously they weren't gonna draw attention to his having spent three years in that league shall not be named by showing stats from his time there.

Observation #11: These guys knew a bit about the basketball.

Having the two most iconic coaches (Chuck Daly and Pat Riley) from the 80's together on one card is pretty special, young me wouldn't have appreciated this either.

Observation #12: Stockton takes a play off?

It's not very often that you see/saw John Stockton lagging behind with hands on hips, but what could perhaps be the only instance of him ever doing so was captured here for all to see (top right). Oh, and Jim Paxson was an absolute stud, a fact that (sigh)... very few seem to remember!

Observation #13: Gold is good.

Like rookies, All-Star cards have never really been my thing either, as more often than not, they just end up feeling like filler. That being said, the gold bordered All-Stars from this set are easily my favorite such cards of all-time -- which is funny too, because I don't usually like this shade of gold on cards, but for whatever reason it just works for me here, it's probably just nostalgia though.

Observation #14: I'd be rich if I had opened up this box around this time last year!

Remember the whole "famous people in the background" craze that caught fire last year? Feels like it was a lot longer ago though doesn't it? Hard to believe that even a year later, this card still routinely sells for a couple of bucks, one would've thought that everyone who wanted one, would have it by now, but what do I know? Well, actually, one thing that I do know, that you might not, is that there are even reprint/counterfeit copies of this card out there now. Seems pretty crazy considering how many copies of the genuine card are still floating around (millions!), but apparently there was some need for fakes, probably during the height of the fervor, because they were made, and people knowingly bought them.

Observation #15: I'd be rich if I had opened this box thirty years ago!

Or at least that's what Beckett wanted everyone to believe at the time. I remember them hyping this "error" (with heavy quotes around error) so hard, so hard in fact that I can't help but wonder now if someone working at Beckett had some extra sheets made, and were hoping to drive up the price before selling (it's not as far fetched as it sounds). I'm sure a lot of folks remember the story behind MJ wearing the #12 jersey, but for those who don't, it really wasn't that interesting; The Bulls were at Orlando for a game sometime in 1990 (yeah, I'm not looking up the date), Jordan's jersey went missing before the game, and apparently the team didn't travel with extras at that particular time, so His Airness had to wear a nameless #12 jersey for one game, and one game only. Oh, and for the record, I didn't bother to check if this card was part of the current fad of overpaying all things MJ, I couldn't imagine that it would be, but who really knows anymore, amirite?

I opened a box of 1990-91 Upper Deck football (low series) not too long after this one, and some cards of note were scanned from that box as well, so if I'm feeling froggy, I might just do another one of these posts for that box too.


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