Blog Bat-Around: Top 5 Pack-Pulled Cards

A few weeks ago, Diamond Jesters initiated a fun blog bat-around where he shared his top 5 pack-pulled cards. 

 

Shortly thereafter, Night Owl stepped up to the plate. 

And then Cards over Coffee joined in. 

Next up, The Diamond King had a go at it. 

Then Joe Shlabotnik took a swing. 

After that, Chris The Collector picked up the bat. 

Then Mr. Fuji kept the line moving.

 

And those are just the posts I've happened to notice! (If you're a blogger and you don't see your name on the list, feel free to add a link in the comment section below.)

Since then, I've been finding time here and there to compile a list of my own. And now I'm ready for my at-bat. 

 

Keep in mind that I'm not a collector of modern cards, so you won't be seeing any fancy relics, autographs, or 1/1 serial numbers here. But you will see some great vintage cards, along with a few notable rookies. Here we go, starting with my #5 ranking and proceeding to my #1.

 

 

(5) 1980-81 Topps #250, Wayne Gretzky

 

For those of us who spent a number of years away from the hobby after our childhood or teenage years, there are usually a few experiences we can cite that rekindled our interest. For me, one of those experiences occurred around 2013, when I came across much of my childhood trading card collection in the attic at my mom's house. Among the collection, there were a few sealed wax packs from the 1984 and 1987 Topps baseball sets. For whatever reason, seeing those sealed wax packs was huge for me. And as my zeal for trading cards returned, I found myself buying more sealed wax packs from the '80s and '90s. (Back then, vintage wax packs were much more affordable than they are now.) 

 

My strategy was pretty simple: 

 

(1) Buy a few packs from a certain year and brand

(2) Set at least one pack aside to keep sealed in my collection

(3) Open the other ones for that sweet dose of nostalgia 

 

The Wayne Gretzky second-year card shown above was one of the big hits I pulled from a few packs of 1980-81 Topps hockey I purchased at that time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) 1981 O-Pee-Chee #113 George Brett, #254 Ozzie Smith, #136 Tim Raines RC

  

These cards all came from the same wax pack, also purchased during those years around 2013 or 2014 when I was getting back into the hobby. Even with a few very roughly cut edges, typical of 1980s OPC, I've got to fit all of these cards into one entry at #4. It was a heck of a pack, especially considering each pack only contained 8 cards.

 

 

 

 

 

(3) 1997 Pinnacle X-Press Melting Pot #19, Derek Jeter

 

In 1998, I spent a brief time back in the hobby. I was a college student, working at a sports collectibles store in a nearby shopping mall. Along with jerseys, other apparel, and autographed memorabilia, we sold plenty of wax packs from all sports. Occasionally, packs that just hadn't sold well during the year were chucked in a bargain basket, and that's where I picked up a bunch of 1997 Pinnacle X-Press. This Derek Jeter melting pot insert is numbered 209/500. That doesn't seem like much now, but back in '98 it was a bigger deal—especially to someone like me, who was just learning about all the inserts and parallels that one could find in these newfangled "modern" sets. It was the lowest serial-numbered card I'd ever pulled, and I'm pretty sure it still is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) 1978-79 O-Pee-Chee #115, Mike Bossy RC

 

This one goes back a bit further in time, to my young collecting years in the early '90s. At a card show in a VFW hall, I came across a dealer who had wax boxes displayed from previous years, and was selling individual packs from each box. One of the boxes contained packs of 1978-79 O-Pee-Chee hockey cards (Mike Bossy’s rookie card was the big draw). At $3.00 a pack, my dad said I could have four. 

“Pick your poison”, the dealer said, and held out the box. I chose four packs from various spots in the box and didn’t buy much else at the show. When we got home, I opened a pack. Dave Taylor rookie card. Not bad. Second pack? Not much. Third pack? Not much.  

I'd thought about saving that last pack, and maybe just never opening it. But after some mental pacing back and forth, and despite feeling some regret, I peeled open the wrapper that same night. The result?

A Mike Bossy rookie card.

 

 

 

 

 

(1) 1983 Donruss #586 Wade Boggs RC and #598 Tony Gwynn RC

 

Believe it or not, I actually pulled both of these iconic rookie cards from the same 1983 Donruss wax pack. If I hadn't jotted down the event when it happened about 10 years ago, I might not believe it myself right now. I actually still have these two cards right next to each other in top loaders, surrounded by a few other stars from the 1983 Donruss set, as a fun way to remind myself of that amazing pack.

So that's my top 5 pack-pulled cards. (At least up to this point.)

If you haven't taken your turn, why not go for it? Might be a fun trip down memory lane.

Thanks for reading, as always!