It’s well documented on this blog that I am a baseball-only collector. But it’s also known that I am an opportunist.

So when life gives be a bag of 300 cards, more than half of which are MINT 1980-81 Topps basketball, for $2.98 — less than a single pack of 2009 Topps Heritage baseball — I make the best of it and proceed to the check stand without further delay.

And it is without further adieu that I present the latest treasures …

Before we get to 1980-81 Topps stuff, let’s have a look at what the rest of the bag yielded. There was some fun stuff in here.

There were some horrendous-looking 1991 Fleer Football featuring Michael Haynes’ high-top fade and Marion Butts’ butt.

A card of a football head coach named “Mouse.” Seriously.

Some out of place 1990 Score hockey. The Nordiques logo was funny, an igloo with a hockey stick.

At least a dozen 1990-91 Fleer basketball cards showcasing armpits …

A Rex Chapman, the guy who started Jim Rome’s Rex Streak.

A hilarious card of Joe Kleine featuring what he did best — cheer from the bench. Props to Skybox for highlighting this on BOTH sides.

A pretty cool Isiah Thomas “Say No to Drugs” card. Peep Isiah’s left hand.

Phil Jackson with a pornstache ordering two chicks for after the game.

A guy named Jim Abbott who is not THE Jim Abbott. This Jim Abbott was entering his second year as the ticket manager for the Oklahoma City 89ers. The card tells us that this Jim Abbott holds a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration from the University of Oklahoma. Freakin awesome!

A 1993 Upper Deck Brew Crew card featuring Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Pat Listach and about 50 fans, including three kids who successfully maneuvered their way into the picture.

Fan 1 // Fan 2 // Fan 3

A 1987 Donruss The Rookie Mike Greenwell card that I needed for my Sox collection.

And then there was about 200 MINT 1980-81 Topps basketball cards from the set that carried the legendary Magic Johnson/Larry Bird — or is it Larry Bird/Magic Johnson? — rookie. There wasn’t one in here.  For what it’s worth,  there were three of these cards featuring Dr. J, Julius Erving, dunking a basketball.

There are also rookie cards of other lesser-known players, but most importantly this lot of cards yielded 107 DIFFERENT mint cards from this extremely tough 176-card set to build. I’ll probably break this into two or three lots — creating two or three starter sets — and toss them on eBay.

I was in awe and am still amazed by the condition of these cards. The corners and edges are sharper than that of any card I’ve pulled from any pack over the last decade, chrome included. Also, these cards are perforated, but all of them are in tact. Their condition is even more amazing considering these were in a plastic freezer-type bag; I’ve since stuck each one in a penny sleeve. These are the kind of cards Mr. Mint would love … only his finds usually involve cards about 30 years older.

This entry was posted on March 21, 2009 at 12:45 am and is filed under Thrift Treasures with tags 2009 Topps Heritage, armpits, baseball, baseball cards, Boston Celtics, Cardboard Icons, high-top-fade, Jim Abbott, Jim Rome, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Mr. Mint, Nordiques, Pornstache, rookie card, Say No To Drugs, Thrift Treasures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.