Night Owl Cards

I wish every set was as easy to name as the 1990 Classic baseball set. Not only is it easy to name but it has a name that describes its era perfectly. That's what I want for every set -- to have a name that evokes a period in pop culture history. Cards produce memories, of a time, of a place, and a name for a set would help capture that period easily and forever. But, unfortunately, most sets aren't as easily labeled as 1990 Classic. With its wild, bright colors and its crazy, zig-zag, tiger patterns ... ... there is really only one name for this set. The "Saved By the Bell" set. I think almost everyone agrees with that. Even someone like me who was in his mid-20s when kiddies were watching Zack, Kelly, Screech and Mr. Belding. Such an easy set to name. Other Classic sets? Not so easy. I don't know what to name the 1989 Classic set. "Silver-to-Magenta Gradiant Set"? It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. And that...

When collectors talk about sets in which the card back looks better than the card front -- and I've actually heard people mention this a time or two -- the set I think of is 1993 Leaf. The card fronts aren't bad. They're the definition of an early 1990s "high-end" set. Full-bleed borders, sharp photos, lots of gloss. But the backs are unlike anything I've ever seen. Skylines from the team's city?? Are you kidding me? That is genius! I don't even care that the card back violates two of the cardinal rules for card backs -- readability and a lack of player statistics. When you have that great of an idea, you pretty much make up your own rules. I love city landscapes and I love landmarks and '93 Leaf delivered both. Also, a lot of the backgrounds featured the skylines at night, which is always appreciated on this blog. Leaf even used two different skyline/landmark photos for each team, which is another fascinating thing a...

Look at this card. It's a disgrace. It's an affront to any self-respecting Dodger fan on the planet. I can't look at it without getting a dull pang in my stomach. Gooden rounding third? Dwight GOODEN rounding THIRD? Look at the scoreboard. The Mets are leading the Dodgers 7-3. In the third inning . And the pitcher is rounding third. I'm sure if I was watching this game, I changed it to "Bowling for Dollars" at this point. I looked the game up. It took place on July 21, 1991 at Shea Stadium. The Mets won 9-4 on the strength of their six-run third inning. Gooden went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored. Dodgers pitcher Bob Ojeda gave up eight runs in 2 2/3 innings. And I've got to relive it every time I look at this card. You know what Stadium Club did to me by issuing this card don't you? They peed on my rug. They peed on my f-ing rug. Yeah, this is one of the cards that I pulled from the many packs of early '90s wonderfulness that Mike...