1995 Collector's Sportlook Magazine

 Thanks to Donovan for sending a page from the January 1995 edition of Collector's Sportlook.  It has a 'Trivia' page mentioning the FF!  Added it to the Articles page as well.

1985 Daytona Islanders XRC Billy Ripken

 Not related to the FF in anyway but picked up a 1985 Daytona Islander team set with Billy's first ever (I think) card.  Cheap fun!

October 2020 pickups

 Picked up a couple nice cards this month.  

1)  Mickey Mantle FF Parody card for $1 (Love seeing these parody cards)

2)  1985 Fleer Sticker with an early Billy signature for $5  (something Fleer related signed by Bill)

Instagram Baseball Art from @modernbaseballart

 This was posted last month on Instagram.  Like seeing all these creations.  Long Live the FF!

Shout out to @modernbaseballart on Instagram.

Article from Down Under

 Had a writer from Australia contact me this month about a short piece for his weekly column.  Nice to see the FF is far reaching!

Nathan Jolly - September 12th, 2020

Weekly Posts 

Real or Fake?

 In 2020, the question I get asked the most is - "Is this card real or fake?"

While I like seeing all of the parody cards floating around (licensed or not) - I'm also concerned at the amount of fake "reprint" cards out there.  One person makes a cheap knock off and sells it for $3.  The next person tries to sell it as an original or get it graded/authenticated for a huge payday.  For someone that has handled thousands of 1989 Fleer cards over the years, the fakes are easy to spot.  For someone else that is new to the hobby or looking for a 'steal' - it can be difficult.  Technology is always getting better and detecting these fakes in the future will be tough.  These aren't photocopies on cheap paper.  Be careful out there!

I recently picked up a fake/"reprint" White Scribble version to examine.  I've seen a few of these being sold online as 'Original'.  The fakes (so far) are fairly easy to see.  Here are 2 picture showing side-by-side comparisons.  The fakes are on the left.  The closeups were scanned at the same time with 1200dpi.

Random FF sightings

 Just another one of those random FF moments.  I checked in at my hotel and realized the room number was familiar.  #616.  Long Live the FF!

Trickeration Podcast does a FF story!

 Big thanks to Matthew Waxman for doing a "Trickeration" podcast for the FF card!  It turned out great.

August 24th, 2020 edition.  My part starts around the 10:00 mark.  The Padres Twitter part at the beginning is fun to listen to also.

iHeart Radio Link

 

Custom Art / Custom Cards via Instagram

 Found another cool creation on Instagram.  Custom cards are everywhere!  Unique and fun to see!

Thirddanart - Instagram Link

 

July/August Saw-Cut Pickups

Couple of summer pickups to post. 

1)  FF w/ Saw-cut - looks to be a double, side-by-side cut.  Something different.
2)  White Scribble w/ Saw-Cut under the #7.  Possibly the farthest right side cut I've seen on the White Scribble.

More Custom Art of the FF

Justin Cousson (@cousscards on Instagram) created this beautiful FF piece.  Notice the corrections in the background?  White circle, Black Scribble etc.  Great work!

His work can be found at:  https://www.justincousson.com/trading-cards

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/cousscards/

Custom Art on Instagram

Great custom creation by David Lizanetz I found on Instagram yesterday.  Nice work!

Link:  Instagram Link for Sourapplegallery

July Pickup - White Scribble!

Big thanks to Nate H. for contacting me about a White Scribble he pulled from a pack.  And thanks for the deal.  It has to be one of the shortest saw-cuts I've seen on this version.  Nice pack fresh look too.

June Pickups #3

Thanks to Joey R. for sending over a couple oddballs.
1)  Black Box with a nice print dot on the letter O.
2)  Black Box with a doubled ink back and a discolored orange bar on the front.

TSN (ESPN Canada) FF Video

TSN (ESPN Canada) released a nice short (5:26) video on the FF today!  It turned out great!

CLICK HERE:  YOUTUBE VIDEO

June Pickups Part 2

A couple more cheap June pickups.
1)  Black Box with a yellow/red print dot on the jersey #7
2)  Black Scribble w/ F with a sawcut through the batting glove.

June Pickups!

Couple new additions this month:
1) "No F" Black Scribble that appears to have been hand cut from a vertical strip of a full sheet.  Card has a wavy top and it a tad long with part of the white outer border showing on the bottom.
2) "Loop" or Partial F Black Scribble that is nothing more than severely off centered L to R.  Probably the most off centered scribble card I've seen.

Fudge Face art by Brian Callaghan

Newly finished by artist Brian Callaghan.  This is a beautiful piece!  Prints and other items are available for purchase.

Check out his Instagram:
HERE
Check out his online shop:
HERE

New Pickup - FF Double Die sheet

Nice pickup this month.  A near full 132 card sheet with a unique FF card on it!  It has a nice and (new to me) different Double Die pattern.  Lots of color shifts going on there.  Big thanks to Andy H!

Tuff Stuff Magazine March 1989

Thanks to Kevin W. for sending me pictures of the March 1989 Tuff Stuff magazine.  Lots of great info from the early days of the FF craze.  Clicking on the article - you should be able to read it.  I also added the full size image to the "Articles" section.

FF trash bin find

Took a chance on a super small picture.  It was low res and tiny but something caught my eye.  The gray borders appeared bigger - on all sides.  Card arrived and it was exactly what I thought - some sort of factory scrap (defect, throw away, trash bin material) cut by hand from a full or partial sheet.  FF on the front.  The back has the true defect - washed out ink.  Probably thrown out by someone in quality control and recovered by a trash bin diver in 1989.  Cheap pickup!

Passing of a FF Legend

Sad to hear the news that Leonard (Lenny) Helicher recently passed away.  He was the respected card dealer and probably the first true FF pioneer.  Lenny had some very unique and ultra rare FF items.  I always made it a point to connect with him at the National shows.  He was a friend and will be missed.
His family will be continuing to sell his collectibles on eBay under the ID justrite$.
JustRite$ eBay

Gummy Arts in Quarantine!

Gummy Arts (@gummyarts) posted this picture today.  "Stay Home"! 👍

Instagram

I joined Instagram last month!  A great way to share pictures of cards and connect with other collectors.  Long live the FF!

https://www.instagram.com/billripken_dot_com/

2019 Comic Book with a nice look

Found a picture of this online.  It's an alternate "F*ck Face Variant" comic book cover released in May 2019.  Aberrant Season Two, Issue #2.  I don't know anything about the series but love the cover!  A nice tribute to the FF.

From actionlabcomics:  

ABERRANT was perhaps the last major comic series created inside Los Angeles pop culture bastion Meltdown Comics. The geekdom landmark sadly just announced it would be closing its doors after 25 trendsetting years.

David, a U.S. Army Special Operations Commander, distraught after losing his entire unit to a superhuman attack, wages an absolutely brutal one-man war on the eccentric billionaire and former superhero, Lance Cordrey, whom he believes is ultimately responsible. That is until Nelson Little, the head of a clandestine paramilitary outfit called Article 13, provides David with evidence that Cordrey may be a patsy, and David’s men were killed as part of a vast and twisted government/military conspiracy.

Action Lab Comics 

Syfy comic link

Black Box Hobby

TeePublic.com has a user with a common interest.  This is a website to buy custom T-Shirts, mugs, stickers etc.  Love the name:  Black Box Hobby.  Best of Luck.

https://www.teepublic.com/user/blackboxhobby

YouTube Channel - Weird Explorer

Special Thanks to Jared and his YouTube channel for doing an episode on the FF card.  He has over 80,000 subscribers!  Check it out below:

YouTube - Weird Explorer - SWEAR WORDS

FF Tattoo

Thanks to Randy for sending me this picture (not his).  Someone got this tattooed.  WOW!  Looks great.  The artist is Jesse Kuzniarski (@jessek_tattoos) in Baltimore.  Amazing work!  Long live the FF!
Instagram

1988 Wire Photo

Picked up a cheap wire photo dated 4/23/1988.  It has the title "Frustration".  The Orioles started 1988 losing their first 21 games.  Manager Cal Sr. was fired after the first week and Billy began to wear his father's #7 jersey.  This photo is closely related to the 5/3/1988 cover of Sports Illustrated.  "I'm so mad.  What should I write on this bat?" 😅

Signatures for Soldiers

Outstanding work by Tim Carroll (timcarrollart.com), Signatures For Soldiers (@Sigs4Soldiers), Bill Haelig & Bill Ripken for setting this up!  8x10" prints of Tim's recent FF art piece were signed by Billy and by Tim on the back (individually numbered to 20).  These sold out within hours and benefited Military Missions In Action (MMIA) for wounded military veterans.

FF signing!

Huge thanks to Bill Haelig for arranging a recent signing with Billy with the proceeds going to the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation.  This one will be a keeper!

Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation Link

New Ripken book "State of Play"

Due to be released in February 2020.  "State of Play:  The Old School Guide to New School Baseball" by Bill Ripken.  I'm sure there will be 10 chapters dedicated to the FF.....  😎

Amazon Link

"Advanced statistics and new terminology have taken hold of baseball today, but do they accurately reflect the reality of the game? A baseball lifer states his case."

About the Author

Bill Ripken is an MLB Network studio analyst, appearing on MLB Tonight and other programs. A twelve-year Major League veteran, he began his career in 1987 with the Baltimore Orioles and later played for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and Detroit Tigers. Ripken and his brother, Cal Jr., run Ripken Baseball, which owns or operates four youth baseball complexes as well as The Aberdeen IronBirds, the Class A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They also co-founded the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, which brings baseball to underprivileged communities. Ripken lives in Maryland.

Created a GIF!

Connecting to the previous post.  I got creative and made a GIF with Tim Carroll's project and a normal FF.  His work is AMAZING!  I see so many 1989 Fleer, Topps and Donruss cards!  No reprints etc.  Truly turned Junk Wax into a masterpiece.  Love it!
8 MB file to download.....!

A masterpiece from Tim Carroll

Amazing work by artist Tim Carroll!  The FF version (20" x 28") made completely from cut up baseball cards.  See more of his work at:  timcarrollart.com