post holiday post of pre-holiday card show cards

it's been over two months, and i haven't posted cards from the december 2025 twin cities club card show. i thought about skipping it, as i went to the february show and found some fun cards that i want to post about, but remembered some of the cards i picked up in december were also post worthy so here we are.

one of the regular sellers at this show always has a couple of dime boxes tucked under his table. i always stop and take a look, even though it requires some effort as his table tops is jammed full of shiny stuff and you have to squat and dig under the table. most of the time, it's been worth it. here are some of the cards i found in december

2013 panini golden age evel knievel playing card insert

big nostalgia hit there. evel knievel was a big part of my childhood for a year or two. we had the toys and his snake canyon jump had my neighborhood talking for sure. i've never looked to see if he has any other cards but i am sure panini has put some out.

2025 panini donruss prince fielder rockets parallel

knievel literally jumped over sharks, while panini has done so metaphorically with some pretty ridiculous parallels.

2017 topps gypsy queen matt kemp purple parallel

there were about 10 of these parallels in the box. they are numbered to 250. even as a brave, i can't quit matt kemp.

2017 topps gypsy queen francisco lindor blackless parallel

there were a few of these as well.

2011 bowman chrome clayton kershaw

i picked this one up for my name/number on the back collection

and this 2020 topps chrome jonathan villar sepia refractor

goes into my double play collection, and this 2017 panini donruss 1983 ozzie smith insert

goes into the dodger stadium collection. that glove in the photo belongs to mike scioscia or mike piazza, or carlos hernandez or a number of other dodger catchers. ozzie looks a bit too old for it to be steve yeager though.

the most surprising cards to find in this dime box were some oversized topps big box toppers from 2023 topps update. included in these cards were nolan arenado and vladimir guerrero jr

as well as none other than clayton kershaw!

usually when i find cards like these, the dodgers are nowhere to be seen. not this time.

there was more from that seller, but you get the gist. now on to the primary seller i visit at these shows. he's the guy with quarter and dollar boxes but always gives a great deal when you pull a lot of cards. this time, i took a look at his $2 boxes and found a few cards, including this 2006 fleer (upper deck) flair showcase greg maddux hot gloves die cut

these have a print run of just 150 copies. there are no comps that i could find - i couldn't even find one of these in comc's database. i didn't know all that when i pulled the card - i just thought it was different and i hadn't seen one before. cesar izturis has a card in the set that i will likely seek out.

as for the quarter boxes, they yielded some fun stuff, like a 2011 topps heritage adam dunn green tint parallel

and some topps heritage chrome parallels, like carlos beltran's 2005 issue

and eric gagne's from the same set

those are numbered to 1956 as seen on the back

i found a david wright chrome refractor from 2005 topps heritage 

in the dollar boxes. those are numbered to 556

it seems like more often than not, i find a legends parallel in this seller's boxes, and this was no exception. here's a 2009 topps babe ruth short print

i already have one of these in my retired number collection, but i couldn't leave george herman behind.

i don't always go for political inserts, but i did grab the gold parallels of the 2008 topps presidential nominees - john mccain

and barack obama

it's hard for me to wrap my head around what has become of the republican party since mccain (or even mitt romney) was the nominee. mccain famously defended obama on the campaign trail when a woman referred to him as something that he was not, and that sort of thing just isn't happening from the gop today.

now for some dodgers that i found - here's a 2016 topps heritage high numbers corey seager rookie performers insert

that's missing the rc logo. that logo is present on alex verdugo's 2018 topps finest card

which was the last base card i needed to complete the team set.

these boxes always have a bunch of parallels, so i have a few to show. from 2024 topps, here are a couple of rainbow foil cards

and from 2024 topps update, here are a couple of silver crackle foil cards

bobby miller and emmet sheehan both had silver pack chrome cards

from 2024 topps update and 2024 topps, respectively, while teoscar hernandez' is from 2025 topps

there are so many inserts these days, as you know, and so i was not surprised to learn that i did not already own this freddie freeman insert

from 2023 topps archives. same goes for this 2025 topps summer superstars insert of blake snell

and then there are the 2025 topps series two 1990 all-star inserts. blue and red versions, and this mookie betts card i pulled

was also a need. in fact, i didn't have the blue one of betts, either.

one more item of interest, to me at least. 

that's a 2018 topps holiday starling marte relic card. it was in the $2 box, and i grabbed it because it features a piece of the pirates' 2017 memorial day camoflauge jersey. i know that's not the holiday this set is celebrating, but i thought it was sort of meta having a holiday jersey piece in a holiday insert. 

that's a wrap on 2025 card shows, and as i mentioned, i have cards to show from my first 2026 show - stay tuned!

i maeda trade

the first person to reach out and let me know that they could help me with my 2024 topps series 2 set completion was ryan from "o" no another orioles blog. he sent a nice stack of needs, including old friend kenta maeda

and i tell you what - i really like how the tigers' home uniforms work with the 2024 topps design!

that wasn't the only maeda card in the package - ryan also sent this 2016 topps update walmart exclusive rookie card

and, ryan included some other 2024 topps goodies such as chris taylor's rainbow foil parallel

beyond that, there were a host of dodger needs, such as a 2021 topps corey seager green foil parallel

and a 2022 topps allen & ginter jackie robinson mini a&g back parallel

those two guys represent the dodgers' most recent and first rookies of the year. i think it's a good bet that seager remains the dodgers' most recent roy for another year as paul skenes seems like a lock for the award this year.

finally, perhaps my favorite card of the bunch was this one

it's a 2005 upper deck espn insert of eric gagne. similar to the fleer sports illustrated cover inserts from earlier in the decade, this one is from an issue of espn the magazine. i didn't buy too many issues of that periodical, although i think i did have a subscription one year. i hadn't seen this issue before, but it looks good on cardboard!

thanks ryan!

color me back

when i posted the 2023 panini donruss duke snider cards the other day, i was reminded about another recent case where i had a parallel in hand well before i landed the base card. the card i am referring to is eric gagne's 2006 topps bazooka card, which i had in gold chunk parallel form

months before i picked up the base version. i actually added the base to my most wanted list, and wound up with two copies so i could put one in my names/numbers on the back collection. i was a fan of the no names on the backs of jerseys in the early 2000's, by the way.

putting this card away with the others, i noticed that topps took the time to color match the backs. here's derek lowe's gold chunk card

and the back

definitely a gold parallel all around.

here's hong-chih kuo's blue parallel

which is also blue all over the back

now here's gagne's base card with white borders

but a gray back

so close!

super premium?

we are past opening day, but tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of opening day, 2004. it's a date noted on this 2004 fleer authentix eric gagne card

i wasn't there to see the dodgers lose to the padres at chavez ravine - instead, i was at the metrodome in minneapolis watching joe mauer make his big league debut. now that i have verbalized that, i realize that i should track down the twins' cards from this set to add to my "games i have attended" collection. although the cards don't relay any information from the game itself, referencing the date and opponent is good enough for me to add them to the collection.

what i noticed about this card to prompt the post is actually on the back

fleer added an advertisement for their showcase set, which they refer to as "the original super-premium brand". showcase debuted in 2000, beating topps tribute (the first set that came to my mind) by a year. here's gagne's 2000 fleer showcase short print card

that completed my team set. the cards sure are shiny, but the more i thought about it, the more i felt like flair was the first brand that i thought was super-premium. i remember paying $3.99 for a pack at a convenience store in newport beach in 1993 and being struck by how fancy it was. fleer refers to flair on the backs of some of the '04 authentix cards as "mlb's finest with a touch of class". seems a bit like a shot at topps, who were actually issuing cards as "finest" since 1993 as well.

what set do you consider to be the original super-premium release?

i took it as a sign

first there was the 1,041 day old ttm request, and then i found a signed 1978 adrian devine card for a buck at a west coast card shop and i figured it was the collecting universe telling me i needed to track down some more signed cards for my 1978 topps autographed set even though i am not really trying to complete the set.

first, i sent a good old fashioned ttm request to amos otis. unfortunately, i received a yellow return to sender sticker in exchange for that effort. undeterred, i took a look at some online sources and added quite a few cards.  

let's remember some guys...

garry templeton

templeton is the guy who was traded straight up for ozzie smith. i still think of templeton as a cardinal, but i also think of ozzie smith as a cardinal. that is the power of the 1978 topps set to me.

terry harmon

harmon's not the oldest looking guy in the set, but he looks older than the 32 or 33 that he was when the photo was taken.

ron blomberg

blomberg was the guy who was the first designated hitter. that's not a bad airbrushing job to be honest.

billy smith

smith was the guy the orioles signed as a free agent from the angels to take over for bobby grich (who signed as a free agent with the angels) at second base.

ron jackson

jackson was the guy who replaced rod carew at first base for the twins in 1979. he later rejoined the angels and became a teammate of carew's. 

larry parrish

parrish is a guy who i remember from the 1979 all-star game - the seminal midsummer classic of my youth. he got in the game for the bottom of the ninth, replacing ron cey at third and could have sat on the bag for the entire half inning as he didn' t figure into any of the plays.

ellis valentine

valentine was the guy who wore half of a football helmet face mask to protect his face for awhile, as seen on his 1981 topps card.

clint hurdle

hurdle is the guy who managed the colorado rockies to their lone national league pennant.

glenn adams

adams was a guy who had four home runs after his first 14 career games, but it took him another 140 games or so before he hit his fifth.

mike anderson

anderson was a guy who got to pitch an inning in a 1979 game and struck out the first two batters he faced.

jeff byrd

byrd was a guy whose big league career was over by the time this card was released. at least he spent his lone season with a bird-themed team.

steve dunning

dunning is a guy who i tried to have sign via ttm without success. i believe his post-baseball career was spent lawyering in orange county.

bill fahey

fahey was a guy who was to jim sundberg what johnny oates was to steve yeager, in terms of catchers in the 1978 set.

pete falcone

here's another guy who is properly playing for a bird-themed team. he's also a guy probably better remembered for showing off some 1981 fleer on his 1982 fleer card.

ralph garr

garr is a guy who hit .300 exactly in both 1976 and 1977. he's a sneaky lifetime .300 hitter and a 30 steals/200 hits guy that comes in handy on the immaculate grid from time to time.

ross grimsley

grimsley is a guy whose big hair is probably the second thing you know about him. he's also the guy who was the  only 20-game winner in montreal expos history.

jerry grote

grote is a guy who signed for me via ttm back when i was going after all the 1978 topps dodgers. for the set, it was cheaper to buy than to send to him with his fee.

ike hampton

hampton was a guy who, in 1978, was to brian downing as jerry grote was to steve yeager in 1977. third string catchers, unite.

larry haney

haney is a guy who was part of the a's dynasty in the early 1970's but won his first ring as a member of the 1966 baltimore orioles. he managed to have a 12 year career (some years he appeared in just a handful of games) as a backup catcher.

jim hughes

hughes is a guy who never pitched for the white sox as he was signed and released between the 1977 and 1978 seasons. the airbrushing on his card is more obvious than on blomberg's.

dave johnson

johnson is the guy who is not the dave johnson that you remember. both were included in the 1978 topps set.

joe kerrigan

kerrigan is a guy who i remember from the 1978 o-pee-chee set because he was "now with" the orioles after a december 1977 trade.

rick langford

langford is a guy i followed during his "billy ball" years. he threw 28 complete games and 290 innings in 1980.

jon matlack

matlack is another guy i knew best from the 1978 o-pee-chee set thanks to his inclusion in the big bert blyleven/al oliver four team trade.

george medich

medich is a guy who went by "doc" but also chewed tobacco like a pro. i will admit that i did not realize that this card was airbrushed until i was preparing for this post - he spent 1977 with the a's, mariners, and mets.

rick miller

miller is another guy with whom my ttm request went nowhere. i had hoped he would sign this card and the red sox team card, since he is one of the floating heads on that one.

sid monge

monge was a guy who was also at the 1979 all-star game, but he didn't get to make an appearance.

tony muser

muser is a guy who hit one of his seven career home runs off of jesse jefferson, and a year after that happened they were traded for each other.

jerry royster

royster was a guy who started his career with the dodgers in 1973 and then was sent to the braves in the dusty baker trade a couple of years later. good thing, because garvey royster russell lopes doesn't sound quite right to me.

bob shirley

shirley is a guy who you could call shirley and he couldn't get mad or tell you to stop. better yet, he was drafted by both the dodgers and giants but didn't sign until the padres took him in the first round in 1976.

gene tenace

tenace is a guy whose first name is fury. that's pretty badass.

jason thompson

thompson is a guy who joined the angels during the 1980 season around memorial day and still wound up leading them in home runs for the season. that team was a far cry from their 1979 version.

jim todd

todd is a guy with three first names. his middle name is richard.

butch wynegar

wynegar is a guy i associate with the 1977 topps set. once i began collecting cards with a passion in 1978, his was the first 1977 topps card i acquired (i already had a pack's worth thanks to my uncle giving me my first taste of ripping wax the year before).

tony armas

armas is a guy that i followed for awhile when he was with the a's and again later when he joined the angels. he signs through past pros, but it was cheaper to buy third party.

i did use past pros for a few players, however, including these next few players:

alvis woods

woods is a guy who made his big league debut in the very first game in blue jays history. he promptly hit a pinch-hit home run.

fernando gonzalez

gonzalez is a guy who actually looks like a pirate

gil flores

flores is a guy whose 1978 topps card always intrigued me. it's not often we get a dugout shot of a guy stretching. plus the player behind him (dan briggs?) is mesmerized by the baseball in his hand.

ruppert jones

jones is the guy who was the first mariner all-star ever. he got to pinch hit in the game, flying out against don sutton.

jerry morales

morales is a guy who i would guess gets sent his 1974 topps card most of the time.

denny martinez

martinez is the guy who threw a perfect game in 1991 against the dodgers in what was probably the most anemic weekend for the dodger offense in team history. in addition to martinez's perfecto, the dodgers were no-hit for nine innings by mark gardner but won the game in the 10th when they hit back-to-back-to-back singles for the game's only run. i am misremembering a bit, because i just saw that the game in between those two was a 7-0 blowout by the dodgers in which bob ojeda threw a shutout.

keith hernandez

hernandez is the guy who got all-star cards in 1985 and 1986 even though steve garvey started the 1984 and 1985 games for the national league.

so those are the cards i picked up, and then i received this

a signed manny trillo card that i had sent out a long time ago. when i went to mark it as received i saw that i already had a fulfilled ttm request from trillo. i first sent to him on september 14, 2015 but received no response. i sent another 1978 topps card to him on july 25, 2018. i received one card back on december 15, 2018 and assumed it was the second card i had sent. now i am thinking it was probably the first, and now - on february 1, 2024 - i received the second. either way that's at least five and a half years in the waiting.

there was one more past pros request i sent out...

i mentioned in a post earlier this year that i bought a nice looking 1978 topps dodger team card and i decided to send it to steve garvey to sign

i didn't expect him to sign over the dodgers' name, but i don't mind.  i also sent him his 2022 topps chrome platinum anniversary card

and his 2023 topps allen & ginter card

i should have asked him how he decides when to add the "6" to his signatures. i didn't ask for any inscriptions, but got his number on one of the three cards i sent.

i also reused the sase that i had sent to otis and mailed a request to eric gagne who signed and returned a 2004 topps card 

in short order. gagne has been fairly present in recent years in terms of showing up at dodger stadium on occasion. i'm glad he's still connected because the "game over" thing was a lot of fun.

with all of the 1978 cards i added, i am up to about 64% of the set completed. i will probably make a run at two-thirds at some point, i guess. there are more guys out there.