WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!: 1950's Baseball Digests

The next edition of What's In The Box was kicked off by a 2003 World Series find then was ended by today's find. Buried in the bottom of the box was something much older.

As I mentioned in that post, I made this wooden box in graded school and since then have shoved stuff in it. I finally dug this box out to see what junk I had collected in it over the years and found some cool finds. None cooler than today's.

These 1950's Baseball Digests were in the bottom of the box and were a treasure I long forgot about. I think I picked these up at a Yard Sale dirt cheap in a stack of magazines. Of course I don't think I paid the .25 they once sold for.

I am far too young to remember magazines selling for that cheap.

I took a photo of both front and back of each magazine to let you know what the cover was and the contents inside.

This one is from September 1959.

And this one is from September 1958. This one here is almost 60 years old and is pretty mint.

 

I won't ever complain coming across forgotten treasures like this. I know I have a few other boxes that I need a What's In The Box segment as well and not sure if I will get to it. The next ones would involve more newspapers and magazines that I used to collect and maybe even a couple comic books. I have long forgotten.

Some may call this hoarding with all of this random stuff I have, but I simply call it collecting and someday I hope it all pays off.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!: Lego My Basketball

Here's the next edition of What's In The Box, graded school handmade box edition,

We look at some Legos. No, I am not a builder by any stretch. I probably couldn't even handle doing a 12 piece Lego set the right way. Not my thing.

But, 10 years ago or maybe more, my nephew had some basketball player ones with Upper Deck cards for sale at his yard sale already put together of course :0. I saw cards, which players they were and couldn't say no so I scooped them up and must have tucked them away in here as I forgot about them til I opened this box.

The three players I scooped up were Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol and Ray Allen. I have always been a fan of Duncan's and Allen isn't too shabby either.

 

I didn't know much about the items or why they did them, so I did some research on them to see.

These three-players actually came together in a set back in 2003 and the Upper Deck cards that were included were special trading cards in a Lego game that these sets were for. Each set also came with one gold foil card which explains the Allen being gold. 

 

I guess these sets also had some randomly packed autograph cards of Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce, or Kevin Garnett. How cool is that?? 

 

I think this also helps grab kids attention as it's 2 hobbies in one. Great idea by UD and Legos to combine. Maybe this aspect should be used again.

Thoughts on today's find can be left in comments!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!:Smooth Rock

The next edition of What's In The Box was kicked off by a 2003 World Series find. This time it's a bit different and has nothing to do with sports. I had a feeling I would come across some non-sport items.

As I mentioned in that post, I made this wooden box in graded school,

 

and it appears I kept an item in there from graded school as well. No, I didn't propose to anyone in graded school and no there isn't a ring inside...

 

It was a rock. And no, that's not my inner Charlie Brown from the Halloween special coming out. This is one of those science experiments in graded school we did using a Rock Tumbler. You know, one of those machines that takes a rough-edged rock and turns it smooth. Tumblers also do/create other things with rocks and jewelry.

 

So yes, I made you click on this link to see a rock. You probably could have looked outside but where's the fun in that. So I hope this post didn't disappoint and hope it ROCKed.

At least you know I am genuinely showing you WHAT'S IN THE BOX ;)

Let me know in comments your thoughts on today's find and if you have use or still use a rock tumbler

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!:World Series 2003

Well, some of you asked and now you will all receive. The newest round of What's In The Box is here!

New box, new items. This is a handcrafted box was something I made  in graded school. Nothing fancy, but the only thing I have ever made. I am far from a handyman, ask my sports I know it. Ask my to put a nail in the wall, watch out.

 

Anyways this box has been hoarding some items over the years, assumingly all sports, and I stumbled upon it recently so let's take a dig. 

Today's item is a paper Post Card that's from Radio Shack focusing on the 2003 World Series. One, that I wished I could forget as the Florida Marlins took down the heavily favored NY Yankees in six games.

I can't remember how I got these, maybe I swung in or maybe they arrived in the mail, not sure, but a pretty cool MLB authenticated item none-the-less.

Here is the front:

The back:

 

A closer look at the back with the MLB authentication sticker.

 

Thoughts today's return of What's In The Box?! and the item I found today is welcomed in comments.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX:CHRISTMAS EDITION PART 2: THE ROOKIES!

In Part 1 of What's In The Box Christmas Edition, I showed off some other types of goodies my mother-in-law included in her Christmas present box for me. Today, I am showing off most of the rest.

Inside of the box was both a cheese block box filled with different singles (the better of the two) and a 1994 Stadium Club baseball box filled with 1991 Donruss. I was a bit more intrigued with the cheese box and when I was done I could see why, but I did get to snatch a few good ones from Donruss as well. To save space on here, I am only showcasing the rookies.

Here was the stack of them I found....

Some key ones.... and a NEW Griffey as well!

Some Ventura Topps rookies

Plenty of Gary Sheffields from '89 Donruss

And to my surprise, I found two Griffey Jr rookies in the cheese box.

Overall, not at all a shabby gift. Not like the sweaters she used to get me years ago. Now she knows me better.

What are your thoughts on the newest edition of What's In The Box? What was your favorite find in here?

WHATS IN THE BOX....CHRISTMAS EDITION PART 1

It's been a little while since we have had Christmas and since we have had a What's In The Box, so let's get one put together!

On Christmas, my mother-in-law who is notorious to hit up yard sales and antique shops for presents, hit them up again and found me a few goodies.

Up first, a 1989 10-card postcard set of Lou Gehrig. Pretty cool design.

Then I found what appears to be The World's Smallest Jigsaw Puzzle....

Boy, they weren't lying. Oy! I thought looking at the Beckett in the dark would kill my eyes someday...

 

By now you are thinking, where are the cards? Well, that answer will follow tomorrow in part 2. There were a few hidden gems as well!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX:SPECIAL FLOWERY EDITION

The segment you thought was over last week, has one more addition to it. A very special addition at that.

Recently my mother-in-law dropped off this box and told me I would like it's contents. She had picked up this item at a yard sale she happened to stop at before coming to my house.

I slowly opened the box expecting to find some oddball items and hopefully not earnings. Luckily I was in-agreement with her after opening it up. .

SWEET! CARDBOARD! She knows me so well and is always on the lookout for cards at yard sales. She paid a dollar for the box and it's contents. I immediately started to rummage through the goods.

There wasn't really anything too special in here, but here is the rundown of every card that I found.

Not a bad McGwire amongst some prospects

STAR!

Classic. A few names here.

Can't go wrong finding a Nolan Ryan

Pedro I will have to send my buddy Shane. Boggs too!

The Straw-man!

It seems to be at least worth the dollar she spent. A few of these I will keep and the rest will be used to pay-it-forward especially since I have most of them.

I must also note before you ask, the box isn't FT or FS as my mother in law took it back. Sorry!

Hoping this isn't the last time I get to do a What's In The Box post but in all likelihood it is. Unless another surprise like this arrives.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?! THE FINALE!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX??!!!! I yelled, well, quietly yelled to myself making a movie reference from the ending of Seven. Cause honestly like Brad Pitt, I had no idea what was inside this shoe box.

There was no head, hand, foot or any other body part found in this box. Just hobby goodness.

To finish up my series of What's In The Box, the final item I found at the bottom of the box was once again a box topper. This one was from 2002 Upper Deck World Series baseball and is a piece for my Yankees PC. This particular one celebrates the 1950 World Series between the Yankees and the Phillies.

Well, I hope all of you have had a fun ride with this series. If by chance I find another box of mysterious items, I will definitely bring it back. In the meantime, check your collection for boxes you may have tucked away. You never know what you may find in them...just hopefully not a head.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?! PART 6

WHAT'S IN THE BOX??!!!! I yelled, well, quietly yelled to myself making a movie reference from the ending of Seven. Cause honestly like Brad Pitt, I had no idea what was inside this shoe box.

Not long ago, there was another one of these Materialistics in this box. The previous one, Roger Clemens. Materialistics are not game worn jersey, but just an image that is printed on jersey type material. There are two variations to some which are home and away jerseys. My Gaffney is a home jersey.

In this Fleer Focus product there were box topper ones and regular sized card ones. This one is a box topper.

Here is the back of the card and explanation of what the card is.

Not a bad find. I think these are pretty cool and glad I have one for both football and baseball. These are something I don't believe has been done since, so it makes a bit more of a fun collectible. At least to me it does.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?! PART 5

WHAT'S IN THE BOX??!!!! I yelled, well, quietly yelled to myself making a movie reference from the ending of Seven. Cause honestly like Brad Pitt, I had no idea what was inside this shoe box.

So cautiously hoping not to find a head, I opened the box and found many scrap papers, trash and some hobby items. Yes, buried within this box were some hobby items I had forgotten about. So for fun, I thought I would come up with a new segment to show you what I found.

The very first hobby item I found in the box was an autograph and mini Ginter card of hobby celeb, Chris Olds who is an Editor at Beckett.

I received this a couple of years ago back when he was hosting Wednesday night card chat on Facebook and was awarding prizes to active chatters. Obviously I always had a lot to say so I had earned myself a prize that I can't recall anymore. I think it may have been card packs. I liked the chance at winning prizes, but I really miss joining in on those conversations. Always fun to discuss the hobby with other collectors.

Overall, I think this is a really cool piece. I have collected a few "hobby celeb" autos over the years and still have more to go. Hopefully someday I can fill in those missing pieces.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?! PART 4

WHAT'S IN THE BOX??!!!! I yelled, well, quietly yelled to myself making a movie reference from the ending of Seven. Cause honestly like Brad Pitt, I had no idea what was inside this shoe box.

So cautiously hoping not to find a head, I opened the box and found many scrap papers, trash and some hobby items. Yes, buried within this box were some hobby items I had forgotten about. So for fun, I thought I would come up with a new segment to show you what I found.

The fourth hobby item I found in the box was this 2002 Upper Deck Sweet Spot NFL Player Patch Collection card of the great Randy Moss. These were inserted as over-sized box toppers in 2002 Sweet Spot. I was fortunate with pulling a good player out of the 50 in the set.

This is similar to today's manufactured relics, except back then they were called Souvenir patches. I think it looks really cool. Sometimes I don't mind pulling these if they are done right but overall I prefer something game used.

**********************************************************************************
TOPIC:
Thoughts on this card and other manufactured relics? Are you a fan? Yay? Nay? Let me hear it!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?! PART 3

WHAT'S IN THE BOX??!!!! I yelled, well, quietly yelled to myself making a movie reference from the ending of Seven. Cause honestly like Brad Pitt, I had no idea what was inside this shoe box.

Midway through the box, I discovered a couple of box toppers I had pulled from 2003 Fleer Focus Jersey Edition. The cards were called Materialistic and were printed images on jersey type material. This particular one is for my Yankees PC and of Roger Clemens.

How come box toppers aren't as creative as this anymore when we do find one? I think having something like this makes a box even more tempting to try as it's like pulling an extra hit.

Well, there you have it for Part 3. Still more parts to come. Who knows what I will find next........

**********************************************************************************
Topic:
Would a card designed like this as a box topper lean you more towards a product? Are you interested in box toppers in general? Let's hear your well thought out answers!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?! PART 2

WHAT'S IN THE BOX??!!!! I yelled, well, quietly yelled to myself making a movie reference from the ending of Seven. Cause honestly like Brad Pitt, I had no idea what was inside this shoe box.

If you read Part 1, you know that I didn't find a head like in the movie. And if I had, it wouldn't have been my box and that would have another topic for another day :-P But I did find some Olympic cards from the back of a cereal box. This time, it's something a bit more interesting. A 2013 limited edition Christmas Card from Upper Deck.

In the mail a couple of years ago, I received an envelope from Upper Deck. I wasn't expecting anything from them so this caught me by complete surprise. I had no idea what was inside, but I knew coming from them that it had to be good.

Inside was this Wayne Gretzky Holiday card. I loved watching Wayne skate as we all know, he was/is The Great One. I found it to be an interesting/cool collectible of one of my favorite hockey players and I also dug the design. I did see that others received them but not sure on how many of these were sent out, they could be limited.

The back of the card is a thank you to loyal collectors, long-time partners and dedicated fans. They must know how much I enjoy and have enjoyed their products.

Also inside the envelope was this small writeup from Chris Carlin. I wouldn't get it graded though cause the centering is awful ;) #BadHobbyJoke

I was glad to have found this again because I had forgotten about it. I really need to get it into a larger sized top loader so the card won't get bent. Cause who knows if I will ever see another cool thing like this again and I might display it too.

Part 3 of What's In The Box will be coming up soon! Stay tuned for more fun ahead.