not your normal ebay 1/1

let's start the new year with some nonsense, shall we?

several months ago, i purchased this 2021 topps archives signature series steve garvey buyback autograph card on ebay

i was, of course, enticed by the fact that it is his 1978 topps card which is near and dear to me. the fact that it was an actual 1/1 didn't really factor in to my decision to purchase it, other than the scarcity drove the price. the fact that it is an actual 1/1 is just arbitrary shenanigans on topps' part. i have a 1978 topps garvey auto buyback from the 2016 archives signature release that is numbered to 6.

anyway, it is a 1/1 and not the "ebay 1/1" idiocy that some sellers actually use as a selling point for cards numbered 99/99 or whatever. what makes this one different for me, however, is that it was the first time that i purchased a card that was subjected to ebay's authentication process. i previously showed my 1963 topps ken mcmullen rookie card that also went through this process, so it's not new in terms of this blog, but i purchased the garvey before the mcmullen.

because of the authentication, the card comes wrapped with a couple of stickers.

i will probably remove the card from the bag since the card is already authenticated by topps and i doubt anyone is counterfeiting these cards - the foil stamps on the front would be pretty tough i think. i will admit, however, that i have considered how fantastic it would be to be able to replicate topps buyback stamps and apply them to all of my junk wax cards to make them more desirable on today's market.

as for these particular buybacks, i picked up another 1/1 last year

i couldn't resist adding another shawn green autograph to my collection, especially when it's his 2003 bowman chrome card with the tommy lasorda mural in the background.

i used to be more interested in adding garvey autos from these sets, but have tempered my approach. still, i have added a few to the collection, including this 2016 card of garvey's 2011 topps reprint of his 1985 topps base card

i added it because the price was right and i didn't have a similar representative in my collection already.

i also wanted to have a representative from the 2022 set, so i picked up this 1987 topps buyback for a very small sum

and later added a 1983 buyback for good measure

it was one of 14 copies that garvey signed, and topps dropped that number to 12 in 2023. i know that because i also purchased the 2023 buyback auto of his 1983 card

why? i guess i couldn't help myself. it's been a few months now and i don't quite recall. i do know that i vowed to only consider cards that i didn't already have in buyback autograph fashion, and so this 1982 drake's card 

makes more sense to me. still, if there is a 2024 version of this release i plan to be pretty standoffish, unless more 1978 cards are involved.

the most recent garvey buyback auto i have purchased is his 1974 topps card

that was included in 2023 topps heritage as part of the "1974 mvp autograph edition" offering (jeff burroughs' 1974 topps card is similarly included). this is an actual 1974 topps card as opposed to the "real one" autographs that are reprinted homages to the originals.

this is the red ink version of the "real one" for this year

and you can easily spot the differences between it and the original. both are numbered to 74

so one is not more scarce than the other, although i have seen far more red ink versions for sale than buybacks.

i took a run through my garvey collection, and from the 2004 topps originals set through the 2015-2023 topps archives signature series sets (and 2023 topps heritage, too), i have the following garvey cards in buyback auto format:

1974 topps (2023 heritage mvp buyback autograph /74)

1975 topps (2004 originals 1/1)

1978 topps (2016 archives signature series /6, 2021 archives signature series /1)

1979 topps (2004 originals /26, 2015 archives signature series /16, 2021 archives signature series /12)

1981 o-pee-chee (2016 archives signature series /6)

1981 topps (2015 archives signature series /33, 2021 archives signature series /63)

1982 drake's (2023 archives signature series /28)

1982 kmart (2015 archives signature series /38, 2021 archives signature series /99)

1982 o-pee-chee (2016 archives signature series /21)

1982 o-pee-chee in action (2016 archives signature series /23)

1982 topps (2004 originals /122, 2016 archives signature series /37)

1982 topps in action (2016 archives signature series /50, 2021 archives signature series /87)

1983 topps (2004 originals /19, 2016 archives signature series /35, 2021 archives signature series /52, 2022 archives signature series /14, 2023 archives signature series /12)

1983 topps traded (2015 archives signature series /7)

1984 o-pee-chee (2016 archives signature series /49)

1985 topps (2015 archives signature series /99)

1985 topps glossy all-stars (2015 archives signature series /65)

1986 topps glossy mail-in (2016 archives signature series /24)

1987 topps (2016 archives signature series /52, 2022 archives signature series /69)

1987 topps tiffany (2021 archives signature series /19)

2002 topps traded (2015 archives signature series /30)

2011 topps 60 years of topps (2016 archives signature series /11)

i suppose there are a few gaps on that list that i wouldn't mind filling. we will see what 2024 brings. 

happy new year!

bill mazeroski is in my hall of famer collection

time for another latecomer to my hall of famer collection, and this time it's bill mazeroski. he's represented in the collection by this card:

that's a 2022 topps archives signatures retired player edition 2001 topps card numbered 65 of 76. here's the back:

the golden moments subset in 2001 topps is pretty sweet, with lots of significant home runs from the history of baseball represented, among other notable moments. this card, of course, shows mazeroski making his way around the bases after hitting the series ending home run in game 7 of the 1960 world series.

just like with edgar martinez, i was on the fence about including mazeroski in my collection when i first drafted the list of members. i decided that for him to be included, i needed a card depicting this moment because this is the play that i know him from, having seen this image countless times in print and on cardboard. thankfully, topps acquiesced. 

i was finally able to see the footage of his homer when mlb network played the game a few years ago after the reel was found among bing crosby's possessions, and it was glorious. it's great that this iconic photo was able to be cropped so as to only show mazeroski and third base coach frank oceak, and not the fans who stormed the field and mobbed mazeroski just after he rounded the base. 

while mazeroski was highly regarded for his defense (he won eight gold gloves), his election to the hall of fame by the veterans committee in 2001 was met with some controversy as you can imagine when a guy whose career on-base percentage was .299 is given a plaque in cooperstown. i am sure his home run is celebrated in cooperstown along with kirk gibson's and joe carter's, and those guys aren't going to be inducted, so i can understand the issue here. but, defense is part of the game and excellence should be recognized and taken into account, too. 

still, i have to believe that if he hadn't hit that home run, he wouldn't be in the hall of fame, and he for sure wouldn't be in my hall of famer collection. but, he did hit that home run and here we are!

as a reminder, you can see all the cards and members that make up my hall of famer collection here.