"Purple Horseshoe" Black Box print dot

Fun, cheap addition earlier this year.  I have a few of these purple print dots on the upper orange bar.  This one has a unique "Horseshoe" shape to it.

 

Custom FF Parodies

Here are a couple new FF inspired parody cards from 2025!

From Ecto Selecto (Chris Ecto) - a Horror themed Zombie FF (Instagram Link)

and from Mal's Custom cards - a 1/1 Charlie Brown FF.  (Instagram Link) 

Love seeing these creations!

 

Early Signed FF

Recent pickup of an earlier - playing days - signed FF.  Not too many of these around.  This likely came from a very small group of FF cards that were signed for dealer Don Lapore in early 1989.

 

Dot, Dots and more Dots!

 

I've always been interested in print dots on or around the knob of the FF bat.  Black Box cards etc.  Once I found out that every letter in Billy's name had examples out there with dots - I wanted to find them all.  The fun is in the hunt.

Recent pickup - the letter K completes my project!  It's also the only Glossy/Blue Back example I've seen with one of these dots (I'm sure there are more - I've just never paid attention).  It's also a 'double dot'?  Stupid, cheap fun stuff to collect.  Another fellow FF collector also completed this side project this month!  Like me, the letter K was his last card to find.

Black Scribble w/ F saw-cut thru the knob

Recent pickup this year.  Black Scribble version with a nicely placed factory saw-cut thru the right side of the bat knob.  The knob was not the target of the saw-cut placement but it's always nice when they meet up.

 

2024 Lunch Box Leftovers Ripken FF Parodies

2024 Lunch Box Leftovers (similar to Garbage Pail Kids) parody of the Ripken FF.  Made by the Super Secret Fun Club.  These are the two 'base' versions.  Cards #86a and #86b.  "Home Ron" and "Sluggin Duggan" posing with the "Funk Face" bat.  Designs inspired by the 1979 movie "The Warriors".  Other serial numbered variations of these are out there to collect as well. 

Also added SP card #86c "Fury Murray" with his "F@%K FACE" bat.

White Scribble (cut from sheet)

New pickup in 2025!  Pretty rare to find '89 Fleer factory scraps.  They surface from time to time but it's normally the original FF version.  It's extremely rare to find anything out of the ordinary for the White Scribble version!  Poor condition but that really doesn't matter for this piece.  The hand written three digit numbers must have been done at the factory as part of some sort of quality control.  Employee ID number or simply counting the discarded sheets.  Other versions of they sheet cut cards have been seen with three numbers written on them.

 

2025 FF cardart by Ermsy

New for 2025.  From well known popular Paris based artist Ermsy.  Contributor to Project 2020 and Project 70 issues.  Crazy tribute to the FF!  These were available in different versions as well.  Regular (white) #/60, Black /20, Silver Auto /20, Gold Auto /5, Hand Customized fronts /7 and even a few different, unique signed 1/1 versions.   The artist even sent me a personally customized Black version - signed on the back too.  A 'one-of-one' with a personal touch!

www.ermsy.com 

Instagram - Ermsy 

 

 

Circle Scribble (CS3) pickup

New pickup from a couple months ago.  Another Circle Scribble (CS3) saw-cut example - but with a twist.

I have always believed CS3s and CS4 are basically the same but with different levels of blank ink coverage on the knob.  This new card has a cut that matches a CS4 I've known about for nearly 20 years.  Same cut - just more or less ink on the knob.

 

Black Box cards with print alignment marks

Looking at a full uncut 132 card Black Box only sheet, there are a few 'print alignment' marks on the middle row of the sheet.  Here are a couple examples of mostly centered BBox cards that must have been located in the middle of those sheets - each displaying one or two horizontal print alignment marks.  The horizontal marks can also be found on the top of off centered cards from the row beneath.  Cheap fun.  Anything related to the FF!

FF Art creations

 

Recent 'FF Art' additions from late 2024.  Love seeing all of these new creations!  Check out their work!

1) From hardlyhardart on Instagram.  Pink, Gold Foil version.  10 made but not individually numbered.

2) From reelbraddavis on Instagram.  Numbered to 25 on the back.

 

 

Jackson Holliday 1/1 Bat Knob

Announced late last month by Topps - The 2024 Jackson Holliday 1/1 Fun Face Bat knob has been pulled.  The Fun Face was a great idea and I'm glad Topps included a few dual autos of Ripken and Holliday together.  Anything and Everything related to the FF!

FAKE ALERT! Bogus Black Box Saw-Cuts.

FAKE ALERT!  I knew this would happen eventually.  Dishonest sellers are creating and moving Black Box corrected commons with "saw-cuts".  Especially now that grading company SGC began 'authenticating' '89 Ripken "saw-cut" cards in 2024.

To date, I have only ever seen ONE Black Box card with a factory authentic saw-cut.  ONE.  I've handled hundreds and hundreds of other 'real' saw-cut / slits and can tell these new creations are indeed - FAKE.  Scammers are taking $1 common cards and adding a vertical cut and selling these for 10-200x more.  Not to mention the fakes that have already been 'authenticated' by SGC.  I have seen at least one of these already.  There will be more to come.  Buyer beware!

Black Box vertical strip

New Pickup late 2024.  I've been looking for one of these for years!  Black Box (square edge) version on a vertical strip w/ the color bar attached at the bottom.  There are four main Black Box varieties - Square edge, Rounded Edge, Rounded Edge w/ Jagged upper white line and the Rounded edge Glossy/Tin.  Cheap fun addition!

1989 Fleer Treadway w/ Target

I haven't owned a 1989 Fleer Jeff Treadway "w/ Target" version in over 20 years.  That changed last week with this most recent pickup.  I like the addition of two horizontal print alignment marks on the upper corners.  Something different!  Off centered top to bottom (in this example) is a plus!

The 'Target' is a print registration or alignment mark used for one of the colors (blue/cyan) in the process.  Obviously, something got messed up and the symbol wasn't removed before printing.  Probably just a quality control issue at Fleer (surprise!).  These 'error' cards were actually a mid to late print run defect and not an early 'error' issue - like the FF or Randy Johnson cards.