The best part about opening cards from Ryan (@ryansvintagecards on IG and @RyansVintageCA on Twitter)… well, obviously opening cards from Ryan.
The worst part about opening cards from Ryan… trying to find the time to post about it. I know, I know, first world problems.
Seriously though, I’ve been having so much fun with these offers from Ryan since I finally got into it in the late summer. But while it takes but a moment for the opening in the grand scheme, I’m terrible about doing my posts for it. But I’m terrible about posting lots of things that aren’t my daily TTM posts. A lot of that comes down to work time getting in the way. But also laziness… lots of laziness.
But on to the good part. This was another great time. This was an offer he had in November and was his standard 20 packs for $95. Packs are pretty much a few cards from somewhere between the 1950’s and 1970’s, more from the 80’s, more from the 90’s and then maybe something from this century. But on top of that you are always guaranteed an autograph in each pack. He also has offers for less packs and less money.
If you want to check out the other purchases I’ve made from him check out these posts:
I’ve tried to do each post about the cards I’ve gotten a little differently, but I think I like this version right now and I might do it on my next purchase post too (which I already opened but you know, haven’t written up yet). This time I’m going with a pattern for each pack of: the oldest card, the autographed card, the most interesting card, and the wild card, then some comments.
Let’s dig in!
Pack #1
The Oldest Card: 1958 Topps Hobie Landrith
The Autographed Card: 1989 Upper Deck Luis Rivera
The Most Interesting Card: 1990 Topps Debut Todd Zeile
The Wild Card: 1998 Topps Matt Williams
I’m going to use this Hobie Landrith card as my first good example of why I like these cards from Ryan. I really don’t have many cards before 1968. So these packs are a great resource for things before that. Of course it’s not like I’m growing my collection a lot in this are, but this certainly fills the holes of not having things at all from years like 1958. I could probably use this comment for a bunch of the packs below. The Luis Rivera card is a good example of a guy I don’t have an autograph from, so that’s nice to get.
Pack #2
The Oldest Card: 1963 Topps Johnnie Wyatt
The Autographed Card: 199 Topps Mike Lansing
The Most Interesting Card: 1984 Topps Andre Dawson
The Wild Card: 1991 Pacific Nolan Ryan
Another thing I’ve found from these types of packs is that Mike Lansing seems to have an autograph in each of the sets of packs I get. I actually am wondering how Ryan makes sure he doesn’t duplicate autographs in each of the 20 packs someone gets. At least I haven’t yet. But Mike Lansing autos seem to be prominent for me so far. Andre Dawson is the “interesting” card for me because I’d love to get some ink on that thing.
Pack #3
The Oldest Card: 1960 Topps Carl Furillo
The Autographed Card: 1991 Bowman Jody Reed
The Most Interesting Card: 1975 Topps Bill Robinson
The Wild Card: 1984 Donruss Willie Wilson
Willie Wilson is my “wild card” in this one for a similar reason to Andre Dawson in pack two. I’d like to get that one signed. But my “interesting” card in this pack goes to Bill Robinson. That’s probably not interesting to others, but Bill Robinson has a special place in my heart. I’ve told this story a lot but he gave me a bat during Ulti-Met week when my Dad played with his team. He liked my Dad and gave me a fungo bat and I was in on Bill Robinson.
Pack #4
The Oldest Card: 1961 Topps Sammy Taylor
The Autographed Card: 1986 Topps Ron Davis
The Most Interesting Card: 1978 Topps Carlton Fisk
The Wild Card: 1993 Upper Deck Roger McDowell
How could I not choose Roger McDowell as my “wild card”? But it’s not just any Roger McDowell card. Of course he has to be in what I assume is a joke t-shirt for “Lasorda University”. Roger was someone who used to sign TTM when he was a coach and I wish I had gotten him to sign that one.
Pack #5
The Oldest Card: 1964 Topps Ken Boyer
The Autographed Card: 1984 Topps Tom Herr
The Most Interesting Card: 1982 Topps Joaquin Andujar
The Wild Card: 1990 Donruss Best Bip Roberts
Joaquin Andujar might have been the first player I like to root against. Back in the mid-80’s when the Cardinals were really good and the Mets were getting better that was such a great rivalry. And I was really just getting into rooting for the Mets but I remember not liking Andujar as an opponent. I watch replays of old Mets v. Cardinals games in recent years and was reminded of it then. The “wild card” of that Bip Roberts card from a set I don’t think I’d ever seen was a perfect one to put in that spot.
Pack #6
The Oldest Card: 1965 Topps Les Narum
The Autographed Card: 1991 Topps Stadium Club Mike Morgan
The Most Interesting Card: 1983 Fleer Rick Rhoden
The Wild Card: 1996 Pinnacle Aficionado Greg Colbrunn
The Greg Colbrunn card is a another great example of what you might find in packs from Ryan. Not that set specifically, but I know he tends to get collections of cards from people so a lot of times there’s themes to sets that you see more of in his packs. This Pinnacle Aficionado set is definitely something I saw a lot of in this set of packs. I also love that Rick Rhoden card for how interesting of a photo that is.
Pack #7
The Oldest Card: 1967 Topps Eddie Watt
The Autographed Card: 1992 Fleer Tom Gordon
The Most Interesting Card: 1982 Topps Steve Carlton
The Wild Card: 1982 Kellogg’s 3D Super Stars Bill Buckner
I’ve been thinking about sending a Steve Carlton card out to get signed and I didn’t really have anything worthwhile to send so this one might be a good candidate. Bill Buckner on the other hand is a great example, like the Aficionado cards of things that can appear more in packs. There were a lot of early 80’s Kellogg’s cards in these packs which was definitely fun. You’ll see more of those in the next packs.
Pack #8
The Oldest Card: 1964 Topps Joe Torre
The Autographed Card: 1991 Topps Stadium Club Scott Terry
The Most Interesting Card: 1987 Leaf Benito Santiago
The Wild Card: 1983 Topps Bo Diaz
Love that old Joe Torre card. I think that was one of the best of the old cards in these packs. I can’t believe how young he looks there because I only thought of him as an old manager. But my favorite in this bunch is the Benito Santiago. Always nice to see a Rated Rookie of a good player, but I think it’s more interesting with the Leaf logo up there rather than the Donruss logo. Maybe not more valuable (that said I’m not one for value as top priority with how I collect), but definitely more interesting.
Pack #9
The Oldest Card: 1974 Topps Lou Piniella
The Autographed Card: 1992 Fleer Chuck Crim
The Most Interesting Card: 1975 Topps Cesar Cedeno
The Wild Card: 1993 Studio Mike Piazza
Lou Piniella might have been my “interesting” card if I didn’t have to put it in the oldest category for this pack. I just can’t get over the position he’s in on this one. Is this a strikeout? Seems like it.
Pack #10
The Oldest Card: 1974 Topps Jim Holt
The Autographed Card: 1991 Donruss Felix Jose
The Most Interesting Card: 1992 Studio Marquis Grissom
The Wild Card: 1981 Kellogg’s 3D Super Stars Ben Oglivie
Here’s another example of those Kellogg’s 3 D cards I was mentioning earlier with the Ben Oglivie card. But I think my favorite of this bunch is the Marquis Grissom. Not really for the card, but for that uniform. I feel like that was an underrated era for the Expos. I actually had an Expos hat from back in that time period that I really loved.
Pack #11
The Oldest Card: 1974 Topps Boots Day
The Autographed Card: 1993 Leaf Eric Young
The Most Interesting Card: 1977 Topps Bobby Bonds
The Wild Card: 1983 Kellogg’s 3D Super Stars Bobby Grich
I love that Boots is my oldest card but it probably would have been my most interesting because of his name. But Bobby Bonds is a guy I don’t have a lot of cards of. I always think of him as a guy who is probably better than most of us remember… not that I got to watch him play, but it always seems like that to me. Not that he was the greatest but definitely overshadowed for different reasons. When you do look at his stats its funny to see how much he struck out… compared to Barry’s walks.
Pack #12
The Oldest Card: 1957 Topps Ken Boyer
The Autographed Card: 1989 Mike Felder Upper Deck
The Most Interesting Card: 1982 Donruss Jerry Koosman
The Wild Card: 1992 Upper Deck Eddie Murray
This is the second Ken Boyer card I got and it’s one of those opportunities for me to learn more about a player. I recognized the name but given that I got two cards it made me want to look up more about him. Can’t go wrong with a former MVP, 11-time All-Star, 5-time Gold Glove winner and World Series winner. How about that Eddie Murray card? Of course it’s from the Upper Deck offerings of the late 80’s early 90’s where they did that sort of thing every once in a while.
Pack #13
The Oldest Card: 1959 Topps Jerry Staley
The Autographed Card: 1988 Fleer Larry Sheets
The Most Interesting Card: 1985 Donruss Joe Morgan
The Wild Card: 1986 Donruss Rick Surhoff
A Rick Surhoff Rated Rookie! But of course! I have to admit though, Rick is not the “wild card” I picked for this one. It’s actually his handlebar mustache that did it.
Pack #14
The Oldest Card: 1968 Topps Jose Santiago
The Autographed Card: 1994 Upper Deck Electric Diamond Milt Thompson
The Most Interesting Card: 1982 Fleer Rod Carew
The Wild Card: 1981 Donruss Earl Weaver
I think we can all agree that Earl Weaver was a wild card and should be my “wild card” of this pack. And who’s got made hits? Rod Carew has mad hits. But this card features his fielding.
Pack #15
The Oldest Card: 1958 Topps Felix Mantilla
The Autographed Card: 1978 Topps Tony Perez
The Most Interesting Card: 1986 Topps Ernie Camacho
The Wild Card: 1983 Topps Lonnie Smith/Joaquin Andujar
A Tony Perez autograph is the highlight of this pack. While I wish it was him in a Reds uniform, I’m not going to complain. That’s a great one to add to the collection. You probably are thinking, “why is Ernie Camacho the ‘interesting’ card?” Well, is it me or does he always appear with a warm up jacket? I feel like I have a few cards of his and he always has the warm-up with him.
Pack #16
The Oldest Card: 1964 Topps Jack Lamabe
The Autographed Card: 1993 Donruss Willie Greene
The Most Interesting Card: 1982 O-Pee-Chee Aurilio Rodriguez Insert Poster
The Wild Card: 1967 Topps Joe Pepitone
The Aurilio Rodriguez poster is my favorite of this pack. I kind of dig it when there’s something quirky in these purchases. I don’t need or want that in every pack, but it adds to the fun of opening all this stuff up. As for why Joe Pepitone makes it up here, I just always like his name. For some reason I remember someone talking about him as a kid and I thought it was a fun name.
Pack #17
The Oldest Card: 1960 Topps Jim Gilliam
The Autographed Card: 1994 Fleer Ultra Jeff Blauser
The Most Interesting Card: 1993 Topps Stadium Club Jeff Tackett
The Wild Card: 1974 Topps Detroit Tigers
Jim Gilliam is a great old card to get. This is another guy that I learned more about – he was the 1953 Rookie of the year, 4-time All-Star, and 4-time World Series winner. The Jeff Blauser card is a great autograph, although the quality of it is not as great. Jeff Tackett is a potential TTM and that’s a great card picture. And lastly, I don’t think I have very many of these team cards from 1974. A good selection all around in this one.
Pack #18
The Oldest Card: 1967 Topps Dick Howser
The Autographed Card: 1991 Topps Stadium Club Steve Decker
The Most Interesting Card: 1974 Topps California Angels Team Checklist
The Wild Card: 1975 Topps Eduardo Rodriguez
The most “interesting” card is what I think is a 1974 Topps Team Checklist for the Angels. I say I think because I never understand if these are 1974 cards or 1975 cards. I can never figure it out. I always thought this card with the facsimile signatures on it and only them was odd. As for my “wild card”, I have to pick a guy with the plastic warm up under his uniform.
Pack #19
The Oldest Card: 1959 Topps Bob Friend
The Autographed Card: 1989 Score Howard Johnson
The Most Interesting Card: 1975 Topps Al Hrabosky
The Wild Card: 1986 Donruss Joe DeSa
This pack is all about the “wild card”. There seems to be a lot I could pick about Joe DeSa. First, his name is really interesting. It’s short but it has the “De” in the front too which just makes it seem like its a typo. But the thing that sticks out to me most is… let’s see. What is it again? Oh yeah, possibly the most insane mustache I have ever seen. That thing is impressive. I kind have a feeling it has it’s own name. Probably signed its own autographs back in the day too.
Pack #20
The Oldest Card: 1957 Topps Dave Pope
The Autographed Card: 1986 Donruss Steve Bedrosian
The Most Interesting Card: 1984 Fleer Jeff Newman
The Wild Card: 1998 Bowman Milton Bradley
This is the second Steve Bedrosian autograph I’ve gotten from Ryan. Not in these packs but going back to a previous purchase. This is a different uniform though and I love that. The Jeff Newman is a TTMer that I don’t have yet (for that card). And you know Milton Bradley is a “wild card”. There’s that Expos hat I like again.
Another Fun Rip!
And of course it was another fun rip from Ryan. Like I said I already dug into the next one and I think I’ll use the same structure for that post. Definitely give him a follow and make a purchase, he’s doing some good stuff.
Cool that you got to meet Bill Robinson. I always thought that he would have been a good major league manager, but never got the chance. (I think racism had a lot to do with his not getting the chance, frankly.)
Can’t go wrong with a Tony Pérez auto and vintage Ken Boyer and Joe Torre cards. And as a Mets fan the HoJo auto is great too.
Totally agree regarding Robinson. I was just a kind but I remember him seeming really nice (of course he was giving me something so I would think that) but really like impressive, like he had a presence about him. Could be just me being a kid, but I think you can kind of tell who could be a good leader.