Thinking outside the box

Today I am going to show a couple of Listia wins that just a few months ago I had no interest in.  Then after getting a few cards in a binder, it gave me a different point of view.

 The first cards I am showing you are from the 1994 Coca-Cola Monsters of the Gridiron set.  I've seen these cards a few times online, but had no desire in them.  I am trying to unload most of my football cards anyways, so adding a fringe set wouldn't be the smartest thing.  However, I found a binder with some cards in it at a second hand store for 50 cents, and I snagged them up.  While I mostly got it for the NASCAR cards, it had other sets in it.  Among them were this Gridion set.  While it wasn't a complete set, it put me close enough to look at piecing it together slowly.  I like Coca-Cola anyways, and since I like advertising cards, these fit well into my collection.

I won these 3 cards over two Listia auctions.  Don't mind the bad looking scans, they look better in person.  I like how they have the nicknames, but also list a player on them.  They could have just slapped a jersey on a random fan and done the same thing, but this works a whole lot better.  Maybe they could have gotten better players, but hey, it works.  My favorite is the Renaldo Turnbull one.  I like how the football is stuck in his horns.

I will at some point make a want list for what I still need, but it won't be until after I finish catalogging my Royals cards and refine that page a bit.  I know I still need the Derrick Thomas card, and would like a second one to add to my Chiefs collection.

Okay, let's move on to another Listia win.  These are from 1988 made by Leaf and are called Awesome All-Stars.  In that binder I bought I had some similar cards from a set called Greatest Gross-outs, so I figured if I got these cheap enough, it would be worth it.  I never planned on keeping the pack sealed, and since my nephews were visiting, I thought it would be fun to show them off to them.

I forgot the order I pulled them, so I'll just randomly show them off.  This is Benny the 1st Baseman. I'm a little underwhelmed with this set, I think I liked the Grossout ones better.  These came out when I was 6 years old, and I never had them, so they don't make me think of childhood.  They almost remind me of the Garbage Pail Kids which I was also not a fan of.  I forgot to mention, these aren't actually cards, but stickers.  I don't plan on peeling them though, so they are cards to me.  Overall I like the designs of the cards, though I don't have much to say about Benny.

 Greg The Gluck is next.  Still not digging them too much.  My nephews aren't too much either. I'm not sure if these were trying to be based off actual players, but it does look like Mr. The Gluck would be playing for Oakland judging by his uniform.  Some of the backs had info on the back, others were puzzle pieces.  As a kid I liked the puzzle backs, but now I'm not a fan.  I'd rather have bio's or stats on the back.

 Ozzie The Outfielder is next.  A little better than the other two so far, but I'm not really getting the appeal of these.  I think it might work better if they made up team names too instead of just slapping a name on there.  If the other players on the back are his teammates then that would make an interesting squad. At least this has a short story on the back.  It doesn't have to be long, just quick and to the point.

Shawn The Sissy is next.  Now they are just making up names and slapping baseball gear on them.  Probably my least favorite of the pack, even my nephews let out a groan.  At least the back looks quasi-baseball related.

 I saved my favorite card for last.  This one actually made me chuckle for a second.  My nephews liked this one too.  Maybe because I chuckled and they felt sorry for me, but this they said was their favorite too.  Brian The Bat Boy has a unique way of storing the bats.  The back is another puzzle piece, and if that guy is a player, then Brian The Bat Boy should be playing, he's a lot bigger.
 

 I can't say I'm disappointed, it allowed me to open a pack for cheap (100 points, which I can easily make in a couple days), and it was something different.  I think it might have worked better if they had a story to them instead of just being slapped together.  Maybe make a cartoon movie introducing them, then sell these to kids.  I'm not sure how well they performed sales wise, but I think they could have done better.

That's it for today, I thought I might take a day off tomorrow to work on finishing my Royals lists, and Wednesday have a new post.  I still have a couple good wins to show off, and have been working on more cards I made from the ALDS games so I'll post them at somepoint before the ALCS on Friday.

Thank you for reading and have a great night.