1989 Press Photo find

A random FF search turned up a 8x10 press photo that caught my eye.  I knew I had seen that picture before!  I rifled through my stack of 1989 newspaper photocopies and found it.  From the February 5th, 1989 Syracuse Sunday paper.  The photo also appeared in syndicate papers across upstate NY.  Nice to see the writer's name on the back too.  I reached out to Bob Snyder and he recalled the article and mentioned his brother still has their baseball card collection from the 60s-70s. 

Black Box rack pack

Picked up a nice square side Black Box rack pack.  All 3 cards facing the same direction!  Cheap addition.

A few new pickups

3 new additions this week. 

1)  Square edge Black Box with a large autograph.
2)  Badly off centered Loop Scribble w/ Saw-Cut.  Makes the cut seem even longer!
3)  FF with a longer far left cut.  Probably the furthest to the left cut I've seen.

No new versions but something different for the collection.

Fleer case numbers revisited

Thanks to Mike for reaching out to me about sealed factory case he owns.  The case is a 8 box cello case with all the standard markings but has an odd date code.  11089.  Doing some Googling I found pictures of other similar cases.  One has the exact same code. 

These cases appear to be very late run (Spring 1989) Grocery Store Display cello cases.   Supposedly inside is a Gary Carter cutout for display.

I can't explain the 5 digit codes on these but they do appear to be 1989 Fleer baseball.

Recent Pickup. Black Box with Dots

New pickup this month.  A round Black Box version with a print dot on the small letter N, a Red/Yellow dot on the bill of the hat and a white swirl mark on the back.  Not a new version, but a nice new variation of a standard Black Box card.

New Pickup - Scribble w/ F sawcut

Something new.  A regular Black Scribble w/ F with a Saw-Cut.  I picked it up because the slit runs through the #7 on the jersey.  Probably the farthest right I've seen a cut on a scribble card. 

New Pickup - FF w/ Print Dot

Picked up a nice FF with a unique yellow/red print dot on the left sleeve.  Something new.....

New Adult cards found

Thanks to Donovan for sending me links to these 2 newer 'Adult' cards. 

1) 2019 George Springer Topps Luminaries Hit Kings "5 HIT" game. 
2) 2014 Ronda Rousey Topps UFC "1st in HER CLASS".

Love it!

Beckett Magazine Top 10 List!

New Beckett Magazine is out.  Nov 2019.  They listed the 10 Most Impactful cards of the past 50 years.  Coming in at #10 - the FF!  Thanks Kevin for the picture!

New FF pickup

Finally replaced a pack I mistakenly let go some time ago.  It's a Square Edge Black Box on the top of a cello pack.  Collection hole filled. 

New Baseball card shop?

Saw this across the street from a hotel I stayed at recently.  Yes, I was curious....  Nope, not a card shop.

FF Sawcut Pickup

Picked up this nice (badly off centered) FF Sawcut.  Has a little of the bottom white border on the back exposed.  Nice addition that goes with a similar one that is more top to bottom miscut than this one.  Thanks Lenny!

Gummy Arts

Resisted picking up one of these for months.  Until now....  Produced early this year by Gummy Arts.  Fun addition related to the FF.

FF w/ Blue Offset ink PSA 8

Not a new card but couldn't resist picking up another.  FF version with a nice blue ink offset.  The PSA grade is a plus.

New FF pickup

Picked up a nice FF version with an odd black ink smear on the front. 

2019 Topps Kershaw - open fly

Saw this mentioned online and got a chuckle.  Kershaw's 2019 Topps card shows his fly open!  😅

New Puckface Beer from RaR Brewing

A new Beer introduced from RaR Brewing in Cambridge, MD.  Haven't tried it, but will want a can in the future!

https://rarbrewing.com/beer/puckface-cherry-limeade/

A nice addition to the previously released PuckFace:

https://rarbrewing.com/beer/puckface/

YouTube Video for 1989 Fleer

Link - Pack Geek - 1989 Fleer

Saw this posted on Blowout.  Nice video opening '89 Fleer wax packs.  Love it!

New Rack Pack

Another June Pickup and another Rack Pack!  First time getting a pack with the #616 (Black Box) and Randy Johnson (full black scoreboard).

June Pickups

Picked up a couple additions recently.  First is a Black Box with a 'middle - left' print dot on the bat knob.  Unfortunately, after comparing it to my other cards, I already have this exact example.  Even the black box has a nice off set look to it.  Oh well.  Second is another rack pack with a Kirk Gibson along side the #616 on top.  The Ripken is a rounded Black Box plane with straight upper left white stripe. 

Custom Bobblehead and SLU figures

Patricks-Custom-Painting

Found Patrick's facebook via eBay.  He does great work at very reasonable prices!  His attention to detail (even the knobs of the bats) is amazing.

The bobblehead I used was the 2018 Hagerstown Suns Ripken.  Perfect addition to my collection.

Black Box card with print overlay?

Picked up this Black Box version several months ago - because something looked different.  After looking over all the uncut sheets, I'm pretty sure this extra ink on top is from card #43 - Roger McDowell.  McDowell's card is found on a separate sheet from the Ripken but in the same spot.  Another neat addition to the collection.  👍

Future Man Cave material??

I was looking for YEARS to find an authentic late 80s Orioles road jersey.  The search ended late last year and I got it customized to my liking 😀.  Hope this will end up on a wall in the near future.

Another Scribble w/ F 'Swirl' marks?

Joey R found a Scribble w/ F with the same or similar extra marks around the main area.  It's the first time I've seen another example of this.  Not quite as many marks - but the pattern is the same.

Above are pictures of the new card, my card and below is a GIF file showing the transformation (1.32MB file).

New additons via a trade

Made a nice trade for a few oddball type FF cards.  Here are a few:
1) Black Box with a small print dot in the lower right corner of the bat knob.
2) Black Box with a print dot on the letter N.
3) FF Saw-cut with the cut hitting the left side of the bat knob

April Pickup

Found this Black Box PSA 8 with a nice print offset.  Unfortunately, I already have the exact same card.  Oops!

March 2019 recent pickups

Picked up a couple new additions this month.  The first is a Scribble w/F rack pack with Kirk Gibson on top.  Coming out right after his memorable HR in 1988, this card was a keeper in 1989.

The 2nd is a badly off centered Black Box card.  Nothing special - just different.

2019 Deadpool card by Upper Deck

Big thanks to Joey R. for sending me this link to a new Beckett.com article:

LINK - Click Here

Always fun to see another officially licensed FF Parody.  These cards are inserted in new 2019 packs of Marvel's Deadpool produced by Upper Deck.  The '89 Fleer parody is one of 12 Sport Ball inserts.

SB Nation story on the FF card

SB Nation (Sports Blog Nation or sbnation.com) ran a great piece on the FF card.

SB Nation LINK

Thanks Grant Brisbee @GrantBrisbree

LONG LIVE THE FF!

New FF Rack Pack

Not sure if I've seen another '89 Fleer rack pack with one of the cards reversed.  Especially nice to see one with a FF on top too!

New Pickup - FF Sawcut w/ 2 cuts

Recently picked up a nice FF with what looks like 2 sawcuts side by side.  Nice addition to the collection.  It also has a nice print dot on the letter B.

New FF related item pickup

Always looking for anything related to the FF!  Found this ticket from the Orioles/Red Sox series in June 1988 (The weekend the card's photo was taken).  The Sox scored 7 in the bottom on the 8th to win 10-3.  Billy was 0-3.