There will come a day when we will all stop collecting. Whether it's health,
finances, or just a shift in priorities, the hobby we love now will no longer be a
hobby. If we're lucky, we'll have a say when that time comes.
Today we celebrate one of those enthusiasts who is choosing to have his say.
Today is the 10th anniversary of Chris's blog,
The Collector, and this is
also his 40th year of collecting. With those round-numbered landmarks reached,
Chris has decided that 2026 will be his last year of collecting.
Although I have nothing but respect for his choice, I must admit it's a
bittersweet moment for me. Chris was one of the first blogger "friends" I made
after starting my own blog in 2017. That winter, I decided to participate in a
Secret Santa exchange held by the legendary Matt from the old blog
Bob Walk The Plank. I was
selected to be Chris's Secret Santa. (I had to dig through the archives -
completely forgot
I sent him some Garbage Pail Kids cards!) Being his Secret Santa led me to his blog, and I've been a faithful reader
ever since.
As any of his faithful readers could tell you, Chris is quite a talented
writer and story teller. He also does some of the best research work I've ever
seen. His numerous posts like his
All-Time Teams series
are guaranteed to teach you at least one new fact or piece of trivia. My hope
is that even after Chris stops collecting, he'll continue writing in some form
or another.
As part of his big anniversary celebration extravaganza, Chris generously sent
out some gift packages to a few of us that have enjoyed the ride with him. All
he asked was we don't post about it until today, his official 10th blogging
anniversary.
So what did I get from my not-quite-Secret not-quite-Santa? A lot...
Let's start with this bag of penny sleeves, which are always useful!
Also included was this rack-pack of 1986 Topps! I'll save you the math - 1986
was 40 years ago, when Chris started collecting. He's working on completing
the set before the year ends. 1986 Topps I too plan on completing one day - I
have 2/3 of it already. As of now I plan on freeing these cards at a later
date. Perhaps when I'm ready to commit to the set build, it'll make for a nice
post to kick off the journey!
The most eye-catching item in the box was of course this purple mystery bag!
Inside were 2 packs - a pack of 1990 Upper Deck plus the 30+ card
mystery pack featuring the rookie card of former Dodger sensation
turned bad boy
Yasiel Puig.
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Since I decided to hold off on opening the rack pack, I felt I needed to open
the Upper Deck pack at least:
I can't complain about this one! Bo Jackson, Jack Morris, Roger Clemens and
Dwight Evans make this a great pack. I don't even mind getting two copies of
Chet Lemon! (The hologram is the Indians' logo if anyone cared.)
As far as the mystery pack goes, most of those cards will remain a mystery for
now. 80% of the pack contained cards from sports I don't collect like football
and basketball. The only proper thing to do would be to pay it forward and
give those cards away to anyone who wants them. Once I have time to catalogue
and take pics, I'll have giveaway post. I'll probably dig through my
collection and expand on the available cards too.
There were some highlights for me however. There were a couple of Red Sox
cards in there, including a short print variation. A few Hall of Fame/eventual
Hall of Fame players as well. I also got a few autographs/serial numbered
cards. Anyone out there happen to be a Jared Kelley/White Sox fan?
Now...on to the good stuff! Chris and I are both Red Sox fans. On one hand, that means that Chris knows what I like! On the other, I couldn't begrudge the man if he chose to hold onto any cards he deemed worthy while he opened up numerous packs of Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary and other assorted goodies! In the box he sent were many loose cards in hard plastic containers.
These two were in screw down cases. I'm not a big fan of screw down cases, but they have their uses. I'll likely free these two and put others in there place.
Speaking of the Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary, Chris sent along a few from those sets. By the way, it was fun watching Chris open these packs on the videos he posted. (For what it's worth, now that I now know what you look and sound like, you remind me of one of my cousins...you're not partially Italian by chance are you?)
Other cards in the hard sleeves included another card in my quest for the 2024 Heritage The Fred Lynn Files set build, a great Eck, plus some shiny! (I'm digging that Rafaela card! Nice vibrant red on it!)
The box also included a team bag that was filled with lots and lots of Red Sox!
Over twenty assorted Red Sox cards! I won't show them all, but I did cherry pick an assortment of favorites to show off:
A few needs, with some exciting rookies and legends of the game to boot! The pack didn't contain all Red Sox though! There were two cards that didn't fit the theme:
Of course, these are two cards I need for my 1977 Topps set build! I'm down to just 4 cards left. My goal is to eventually trade/buy the last ones before the baseball season wraps up.
One final item to close out all of this goodness. Chris specifically requested this to be opened last...
Looking at just the front and back, it appears to be more Platinum Anniversary cards. Which was in fact the case.
So why did Chris request this to be the last thing opened? Because sandwiched withing these two cards, Chris truly saved the best for last!
I had to laugh a little when I saw this beautiful 1952 Bowman card. For context, when Chris first announced his anniversary celebration box breaks, he asked readers to claim a number and a favorite player with that number. I picked #6 for the legendary Red Sox lifer Johnny Pesky. When Chris did the first box break of Chrome Platinum Anniversary, he mentioned if he pulled any of the named players he'd put them aside for us. I found that amusing, as Pesky hasn't been in a Topps product in over 20 years! Chris got the last laugh, because I got a Pesky anyway!
Chris, thank you for this amazingly generous package, but a bigger thanks for being a friend and valued blogger/collector. If 2026 is truly the end of your collecting days, I wish the extra time afforded to you is filled with joyful and memorable moments. If somewhere down the road the itch returns, I will be one of many to welcome you back with open arms! Either way, as I mentioned before, I hope you keep writing in one form or another. I wish nothing but good things for your future.
