Things That Go Bump In The Night

On Halloween, I like to take a moment to reflect on what the holiday once was for me.

Watching horror movies with my mother all day leading up to Trick Or Treating. Every year wearing a silly funky smelling Friday The 13th hockey mask and having my parents drive me around door to door to get candy in my McDonalds bucket, while my sister sat in the car frightened from the one time experience she had going to a friend of the family's door and them jumping up from behind her. Playing pretend with some of my favorite horror characters with friends, yeah I was a young horror buff,  like Michael Myers, Jason, Chucky and Freddy Kruger. Then there was also the one time I went to a Halloween party just to play football outside and act like some of my favorite players from the 90's.

I know that last one doesn't sound Halloween-ish, but if you grew up then, you knew there were some scary players on the field. It was a different time in the game. A time where the game was played and not throwing out yellow flags for tapping a Quarterback on the shoulder. A time when big hits and unexpected plays weren't controlled by reviews and referees.

You had chilling names like Ronnie Lott, John Randle, Randall Cunningham, Steve Atwater and Derrick Thomas that got under your teams skin. I bet players and teams are still having nightmares about facing these guys.

In 1994, Coke celebrated some of these Monsters on the field with a special Monsters Of The Gridiron set. 31 of the NFL's scariest were monster-ized on cardboard and given names for their monster. I have just recently started adding some of these frightening pieces to my collection as I don't have a full set yet.

The set was distributed at a special Super Bowl card show in Miami but also in 12-packs of Coke.

 In this photo you see players like Jesse Tuggle as a Tarantula and Sean Jones as a Ghost.

Or Tom Rathman as Psycho or Maro Coleman as a Cobra and Ray Childress as a freaky scarecrow

Steve Atwater is The Bandit coming for your footballs....or just your candy.

 Derrick Thomas is right behind you as an Attack Cat!

It's a fun off-the-beaten trail set of cards you just don't see everyday anymore. It stood out to me as soon as I saw it. I just need to finish putting together the rest of the set. I am also curious how many of you collected these, still have them or now want to collect them.

I hope all of you have a Happy Halloween. Please be safe if you are taking your kids out and make sure to keep an eye on them and check their candy afterwards. You simply just can't trust everyone today. If you are going out yourself, please make good decisions especially if you are going to a party and have to drive home afterwards. And if you are just sitting at home handing out candy and cards, please be considerate and kind to the kids who come to your door. Set a good impression.

Also make sure that Steve Atwater isn't around, you don't need The Bandit running away with your stuff.

The Origins Of A Cardboard Addict:The Great Pumpkin!

My mom celebrated Halloween in the 90's like it was her birthday, and sometimes when I was younger I could see that. She could be a witch some days.

Believe me.

Then there was the non stop horror movies we watched together even when I was 8 and under like it was Sesame Street. We watched Halloween, Friday The 13th, Child's Play, The Howling, Killer Nerd, Children Of The Corn, all Stephen King, and many, many others.

I was writing horror stories of my own in 3rd grade using characters from the movies in my stories in which I am sure worried some teachers. But, here I am today. Not wielding a machete like Jason. Even though I watched stuff on TV, I wasn't stupid like some kids are today to try it out. It's amazing the stuff people will do to get a few hits on YouTube.

Anyways, there was one thing that didn't involve killing that we would also watch every Halloween. That, well, It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

 

And unlike today where I have the DVD of it, I had to wait til CBS put it on TV to watch. You had to keep track of the TV Guide to make sure you weren't going to miss it and even put it on your calendar.

The story involves Linus who believes in The Great Pumpkin, that is believed to be a Santa type character that brings toys to the children who believe. So every year he sits in the Pumpkin patch believing that it will be the year The Great Pumpkins arrives....but doesn't. He never gives up though and will continue yearly to do so. I think at this point it’s just to prove his friends wrong.

All of his friends don't believe him and go out on their own Trick Or Treating instead of waiting in a pumpkin patch all night. i will say however, my favorite part of the special is watching Charlie Brown continuously getting a rock at each house. I crack up every time I hear him say, “I got a rock.” While the other kids of course get candy.

This is one of two specials every year I try to continue on tradition to watch. The other, Garfield Halloween. Absolutely love that one and can pretty much quote it on que.

I no longer watch the special with my mom as we aren’t as close now, getting older and moving out will do that, but I still wonder if she watches it.

Either way, I won't stop.

How about you guys? Do you remember watching these on TV? Do you still view them now?

The Origins Of A Cardboard Addict: Halloween

**insert music from Halloween as Michael Myers approaches....

I watched a ton of Halloween movies growing up. My mother would rent 7 movies (VHS tapes because that's how we rolled) for $7 for 7 days. It was a great deal and gave us plenty of entertainment for a week.

So my mother would fly over on a broom to the Horror Movie section and pick out a bunch of different films. From Night Of The Living Dead to Childs Play to Halloween to Friday The 13th to Killer Nerd to IT to well, all. We watched every VHS tape in that store. I can't remember all of the  names as some of them were the cheap flick films, but would remember the films once they start playing today.

And when I say growing up watching these, I was roughly 6 when she put those movies on for me to watch with her. It was my Sesame Street I suppose.

Despite my age, I wasn't ever scared of the films. I actually grew to liking them and wrote stories and acted as some of the characters with my friends. No, not in a "I am going to kill you" way. Growing up when I did, you could watch any type of movie and play any type of video game and not act it out. We weren't idiots. We also didn't have YouTube to be idiots on for "hits".

Enough with me ranting on today's generation, I could go on and on by the way, let's go back to the Origin story.

Growing up my favorite holiday was obviously Halloween. Candy and dressing up as some of my favorite characters, awesome.

We had some great masks back then. Some were crispy plastic while others had this odd candy corn scent to them and were made out of rubber. My parents were always cost efficient when it came to picking out a mask, so every year, I got to wear the iconic hockey mask of Jason Vorhees. You know the hockey mask wearing, knife wielding killer from Friday The 13th.

When I was at Walmart recently, I went to the mask section to snap a pic for this post and noticed how sad the masks have gotten since I needed to wear one.  There wasn't a lot of variety and most weren't even Halloween related characters. Isn't that what the holiday is all about?

But, seeing that Jason mask brought me back to those Trick Or Treating days. We would only go to a few houses of people my parents knew and one we didn't. More on that one in the next paragraph.. One of them I will always remember. It was an older husband and wife couple, she would always open up the door and serve the candy while her husband hid around the corner outside, played dead on the porch or was there to scare you in some other way. He got me a few times. One year he scared my sister so bad she wouldn't ever go back on that porch. She sat in the car and made me request the candy for her. It was funny for me, but scarring for her.

Another house we would always hit up, even though my parents didn't know them, was known as the "money house." They would give you huge handfuls of  change and full size candy bars. If that wasn't money I don't know what is. The only thing that could have been better would have been if they handed me some sports cards. Which I never once came across.

I don't remember the age I quit Trick Or Treating but pretty sure it was long before I was a teenager. It seems today's generation has changed the way you do Halloween. Many don't even go house to house anymore, my wife and I gave out candy for five years and had a total of five kids in those years. Many do this Trunk Or Treat thing when you decorate your trunks and have candy out of the back of them while setting up at a park with many other families. Doesn't seem the same to me. While many others do Harvest Parties or get together not based on Halloween. Or the parents just buy the kids candy and stay home.

It may also depend on the area you live in as some of you may notice things differently. This is just my perspective from where I am.

Every year I think about handing out candy again and adding in some card treats, but after many years of no kids coming I figure it would be a waste of time.

As for my Halloween now, even I have changed. I no longer watch scary movies since I got with my wife. I do watch some Halloween movies but we will see those tomorrow's post. I also don't write horror either anymore despite having a book long word document that I almost sent to presses I did years ago. It still sits on a pin drive. However, the one thing I do still enjoy is my candy. Every year we buy a big bag of chocolate and I also snag a bag of candy corn. Not everyone's favorite, but I do enjoy a little.

As for my mom, she still watches horror and gore. I didn't expect that to change ever. My sister watches it with her now instead of me.

Where I live now is not very far from where I grew up and Trick Or Treated. Sometimes I am very tempted to test fate and see if that guy still hides on his porch on Halloween or if he has moved on or passed on. It would be more scary knowing he has passed and still on the porch.....

Too Hot To Handle

It's been two years since @oriolesrise and myself pulled off a trade and after seeing a few tweets from him recently, I knew the next was coming.

It was a simple tag of a Rodney Hampton item that helped me uncover so much more I may have usually missed on his Twitter account. I sometimes will miss lots of stuff on there from gaps of not being on for hours at a time. But, I am glad I didn't miss this one.

He had bought an Auction House lot with tons of NY Giants included and there was so many signatures I needed for my collection, I jumped on trying to make a deal. And a deal was made. Cliff is very easy to work with on trades and that's great when you can make both parties happy.

Let's check out what I traded for.

 Certificate for the autographs

 Will Allen auto on a game day magazine.

Carlos Emmons auto

 Jeff Feagles, great punter.

 Harry Carson

 Ottis Anderson

I have been wanting a Fassel autograph for years. He led the Giants to the Super Bowl in 2000 but got butt whooping from that Ravens defense.

And yes, this was the conversation piece that started it all. I was just going to trade for this, but when I saw the rest, had to make that happen. But this piece will be an excellent add for my Hampton PC.

 Most of the Super Bowl 42 squad. Well, minus the big stars.

Bill Parcells among a couple other signatures. This is a 1983 media guide which is before Parcells led them to Super Bowl wins. Makes it a really nice piece for my collection.

Thanks to Cliff for the great trade and the new adds. Now I just gotta find a way to display all of it without having any of the autographs fade over time. I must also add that Cliff sent along a surprise few Griffey Jr items as well that I will post another time.

CARDBOARD REVIEW:2019 Topps Triple Threads

As I am typing this, the Nationals lead the Astros 2-1 in the World Series. I can't believe that but it's what I want. First time winners is where it's at after the team you wanted to win gets out and the other teams you dislike are already out as well.

Just hoping the Nationals keep it rolling like Topps and their late season releases.

The latest release is one of my favorites, despite my past no success with the product. I just like the cards themselves.

Let's take a look at how I did in a box of 2019 Topps Triple Threads

In every master box of 2019 Topps Triple Threads, there are two mini boxes. Each mini box has it's own version.

Mini Box Version 1

• 1 Autograph Jumbo Relic or Rookie Autograph (/99 or less)
• 1 Triple Relic (/36 or less)
• 3 Base Cards
• 2 Base Parallel Cards

Mini Box Version 2

• 1 Autograph Triple Relic (/99 or less)
• 1 Jumbo Relic (/36 or less)
• 3 Base Cards
• 2 Base Parallel Cards

Full master boxes currently run around $210

BASE CARDS: 

The base set is built up of 100 cards of veterans

 

And legends. No not hit rookies are found in the base set which is a tad disappointing for me. The cards have a very simple but elegant design with extremely thick card. The foil on the card has a rainbow touch to it. I like it and would expect it to be this way for a high end product.
 

PARALLELS

Here is an overall look at the parallels,
Amethyst /299, Emerald /259, Amber /199, Gold /99, Citrine /75, Onyx /50, Sapphire /25, Ruby 1/1, and Printing Plates 1/1.

 

Amethyst /299

Amber /199

Gold /99

Sapphire /25, I like the look of this one!

HITS

 Triple Threads relic /27

 Single relic Gold /9

Base Rookie and Future Phenom autograph relic.

 Autograph single jumbo relic emerald parallel /50

OTHER HITS NOT FOUND IN MY BOX INCLUDE,

• Rookie Autographs Checklist
• Triple Threads Autograph Relic
• Triple Threads Autograph Relic Combo
• 150 Years of Baseball Triple Autograph Relic
• Pieces of the Game Autograph Relic
• Jumbo Plus Autograph Relic Book
• Letter Plus Autograph Relic Book
• Windows into Greatness Autograph Relic Book
• Deca Autograph Relic Book
• Deca Autographed Relic Combo
• Cut Above Cut Signatur
• Dual Cut Above Autograph Book
• Triple Threads Relics Legend
• Triple Threads Relics Combo
• 150 Years of Baseball Triple Relic
• Pieces of the Game Relics
• Windows into Greatness Relic Book
• All-Star Patches Set
• All-Star Jumbo ASG Patch Book
• All-Star Jumbo ASG Patch Book
• All-Star Laundry Tag Book
• All-Star Majestic Logo Patch
• Bat Nameplate Book
• Bat Knob Book
• Jumbo Plus Relic Book
• Letter Plus Relic Book
• Jumbo Letter/Number/Logo Book
• Jumbo Letter/Number/Logo Book
• Deca Relic Combo Book

Other checklist information can be found HERE.
 

NPN info and odds

OVERALL THOUGHTS: High end products are tough on me. They look great, but my hits are never superb. And it's not like you can expect one Mike Trout autograph per box or a 1/1 logo patch, it's not how the hobby works. Every part of it is a gamble and this is just a higher one. 

For me personally, I wouldn't ever take a gamble on a box even though it was fun to rip. I am just not a risk taker.The product and its hits though can be amazing as I have seen some of them.

If you want in on a box break without paying box prices, I suggest Midwest Box Breaks as they pull fire as they already did with Triple Threads.

Please make sure to take a minute out to thank Topps for providing this box for me to review and to add more cards to a future giveaway I will be hosting. Please follow me there to enter @SportCardCollec. Also follow Topps on all social media sites and visit their SITE, as well 

Rodney's Cardboard:1996 Topps Chrome 1,000 Yard Club Refractor

Back in 1996, something magical happened in the hobby, more than just my increased enjoyment of it. It was the release of Topps Chrome and it would forever change me.

I have tried Topps Chrome for every sport since then. One of my favorite lines out there. Of course today's Topps Chrome doesn't match what it once was as everyone is chasing the autographs and not the refractors like the old days.

We didn't have 22 refractors of one player that were easy to acquire. We had one. One parallel and one that only fell 1 in every 12 packs or two per box. Yeah, those were good times chasing those.

One of the final two needs for my Rodney Hampton 1996 Topps Chrome chase was a refractor to his 1,000 yard club card. Well, one finally popped up and I snagged it pretty cheap as a guy was breaking up his complete set and selling them off. COMPLETE SET. That must have been amazing to had owned.

 Here it is! Looks more amazing in person.

The card back where the word refractor is just above the number. I tried to do a close up but my phone wouldn't focus in that close.

I am just glad to finally have this one behind me now.

Blast From The Past:1996 Topps Football Pack Break

In 1999, a flick with Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone called Blast From The Past came out. It was about a scientist named Calvin Webber who was played by Christopher Walken, that took his pregnant wife in a deep underground fallout shelter in 1962 when he thought a nuclear war was imminent. During that time, their son Adam played by Fraser (who seemed to had been in every late 90's movie) was born and was exposed to only the culture of 1962 in the shelter such as the music and TV shows of the time. Life was accustomed to not being at the surface. 

Fast forward 35 years later, their supplies and food was running low so someone would have to come above ground and take a risk to get new products. That was supposed to be Calvin, up until he was ill from stress from his one visit to the surface. So his son Adam would have to venture out in a world he had never met.....

This segment takes a look at products that may have been hidden in a underground fallout shelter for over 20 years and now just coming back out to be rediscovered....by me. Guess you can call me Adam even though my name is Matt. These are products I opened when I was first collecting and is a Part Of My Past, but may not have a memory or a Origins story to attach to them. Most products I post on here will, but some won't and those will be covered in this new segment.These products will be between the years of 1995-1999 only.

Let's just hope my experience with these breaks is better than Adams first visit to the surface.

So let's take a Blast From The Past with a one pack break of 1996 Topps Football!

I busted a ton of this stuff back in 1996 which almost made this more of a Origins post than a Blast From The Past. But, here we are.

This was the 40th Anniversary Edition of Topps football and it had a lot of great stuff within. Especially it's inserts. I am chasing many of them for sets including Broadway's Reviews (I finished this one) and Turf Warriors which I need a lot of help with (hint hint readers!!)

I paid about $1 for this pack hoping to land some insert help!

Here are the odds on those inserts.

Let's give this pack a rip ( to shorten this post some I posted the names I knew best from the pack)

Mike Mamula played for the Eagles for five seasons. Was a pretty decent LB and was also the person I pulled my first autograph card of.

Bernie has no spent more time as a assistant coach and coach then he did in his time in the NFL.

Cook didn't make it too far in the NFL only lasting 4 NFL seasons. But, he did get to don the Oilers jersey so that's pretty cool.

Mark Carrier played for 10 seasons and 3 teams.  He was also a three time Pro Bowler.

Pepper played for four teams in twelve seasons most notably with my Gmen.He was a two time Pro Bowler and two time Super Bowl Champion. Then of course as coach he added another three rings.

I always loved the 1,000 Yard club subsets but mainly the 1995 and 1996 editions. Brett Perriman was a Detroit Lion to me. Even though he had four teams in 9 seasons.

Moulds played for three teams in 11 seasons. Was a three time Pro Bowler but didn't feel like he lived all of his hype up when all of us collectors were chasing him in 1996.

Sapp was a dominant player but however plagued with controversy. However, is a Hall Of Famer with a ring and seven Pro Bowls.

Mayberry played for 10 seasons for two teams.  He was a Pro Bowler in 2002.

Rice had an amazing 12 year career playing for 4 teams. He ranks right up there all time in sacks, he was Super Bowl champion, and a 3x Pro Bowler.

Duane Clemons played for three teams in nine seasons. He didn't have a bad career in that time.

Well, for a $1 it's a bargain, but looking at this overall, not the best pack in the world.

This sums up another Blast From The Past.