When did Topps become a joke?

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heyzeus
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When did Topps become a joke?

Post by heyzeus »

I haven't collected baseball cards in a good 15 years now, so it's news to me that Topps now does "gag" cards like this. But it's still disappointing.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/b ... index.html

NEW YORK (AP) -- Rudy Giuliani, a Boston Red Sox fan?

When Topps baseball cards hit the stores this week it'll appear that way. About one in every 70 packs will include a picture of the former New York City mayor, fist raised in victory, celebrating with the Red Sox on the field after their World Series win.

Yankees fans need not worry, though. Giuliani, a self-professed, die-hard supporter of the Red Sox's chief rival wasn't really there.

But in October, the then-presidential candidate did alienate some New York fans by declaring he was rooting for Boston in the World Series -- "I'm an American league fan," he said -- and Topps ran with the idea.

"We took that and thought it would make for a funny card, since the Red Sox won," said Clay Luraschi, baseball brand manager for The Topps Co. "We thought, let's put him in the championship dog pile."

He said Giuliani's withdrawal from the presidential race didn't dampen his enthusiasm for the card.

Giuliani -- who also appeared, by himself, on a 2004 Topps card -- was not consulted about the new card, Luraschi said. Messages left Tuesday at Giuliani's campaign and work numbers were not immediately returned.

Topps did something similar a year ago, inserting President Bush into the stands and Mickey Mantle into the dugout in the background of Derek Jeter's card.

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cardinalkarp
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Re: When did Topps become a joke?

Post by cardinalkarp »

I don't know about joke cards but probably for the last 20 yrs they've had the crappiest baseball cards made.

Well that's just your standard topps card. I'm sure they have about 10 different variations that cost about $5 for a pack of 5 cards.

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Sutter'sBeard
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Re: When did Topps become a joke?

Post by Sutter'sBeard »

I also quit collecting about 15 years ago when Upper Deck, Fleer Ultra, and Stadium Club completely took the fun out of collecting. Instead of 50 cents a pack they became $2.50 and greed entered into the picture. I have over 30,000 cards and never bought an individual card. To me, the fun was opening the packs and trying to complete a set the hard way.

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Sutter'sBeard
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Re: When did Topps become a joke?

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pop_haines wrote:
Sutter'sBeard wrote:I also quit collecting about 15 years ago when Upper Deck, Fleer Ultra, and Stadium Club completely took the fun out of collecting. Instead of 50 cents a pack they became $2.50 and greed entered into the picture. I have over 30,000 cards and never bought an individual card. To me, the fun was opening the packs and trying to complete a set the hard way.
Me too. I had the complete 1969 Topps that took me forever
to finish via buying packs and trading.

Then my little brother sold off the choice cards at a card show
while I was away at college.

That, of course, is the subject of a whole new rant.
I think I would be ranting from prison if that happened to me. I would be an only child if my bro had done that.

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Maclowery
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Re: When did Topps become a joke?

Post by Maclowery »

My grandmother tossed out one of my uncle's entire baseball card collection through the fifties and sixties. When I collected my cards as a kid (passionately just like you guys! I also have about 25-30k baseball and then early nineties basketball cards), my uncle woudl tell me all the amazing cards she threw out. Multiple Mantle rookies, Ted Williams, all the HOFers. At its peak that collection would have been worth probably a hundred grand. He said he kept them in great condition, unlike his friends who used them in bike spokes, etc. Its hard to hear him talk about it.

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Sutter'sBeard
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Re: When did Topps become a joke?

Post by Sutter'sBeard »

Maclowery wrote:My grandmother tossed out one of my uncle's entire baseball card collection through the fifties and sixties. When I collected my cards as a kid (passionately just like you guys! I also have about 25-30k baseball and then early nineties basketball cards), my uncle woudl tell me all the amazing cards she threw out. Multiple Mantle rookies, Ted Williams, all the HOFers. At its peak that collection would have been worth probably a hundred grand. He said he kept them in great condition, unlike his friends who used them in bike spokes, etc. Its hard to hear him talk about it.
My dad says the same things except my grandma gave them to the neighbor kid. I'm guessing it's a story that adults tell children to mess with their heads. I obsessivley searched every square inch of my grandma's house looking for those suckers. I would have been happy to find one 50's card.

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cardinalkarp
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Re: When did Topps become a joke?

Post by cardinalkarp »

The same thing happened to my stepdad (his parents threw them away). Not sure what those old people were thinking.

Now I've got a TON of cards and they aren't worth a damn thing and never will be.

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Re: When did Topps become a joke?

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Sutter'sBeard wrote:
Maclowery wrote:My grandmother tossed out one of my uncle's entire baseball card collection through the fifties and sixties. When I collected my cards as a kid (passionately just like you guys! I also have about 25-30k baseball and then early nineties basketball cards), my uncle woudl tell me all the amazing cards she threw out. Multiple Mantle rookies, Ted Williams, all the HOFers. At its peak that collection would have been worth probably a hundred grand. He said he kept them in great condition, unlike his friends who used them in bike spokes, etc. Its hard to hear him talk about it.
My dad says the same things except my grandma gave them to the neighbor kid. I'm guessing it's a story that adults tell children to mess with their heads. I obsessivley searched every square inch of my grandma's house looking for those suckers. I would have been happy to find one 50's card.
This definately reeks of a parental tall tale.

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Re: When did Topps become a joke?

Post by Maclowery »

Uncle can go into pretty explicit detail, and all the other uncles and dad corroborate. He may have exaggerated a little about the amounts, but he really did lose a large collection of well-conditioned cards. I recall several Christmas parties where the uncles teased gramma for doin it, saying she threw out her nest egg.

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heyzeus
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Re: When did Topps become a joke?

Post by heyzeus »

Gimmick:

Image

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