Product Highlight: 1982 Chicago Cubs Red Lobster

Thought you had this set but can’t find it? Then you’re a lost claws. Get it? That’s a lobster joke.

On August 20, 1982 baseball fans attending the Chicago Cubs game received a promotional set of cards. The Chicago Cubs and local Red Lobster restaurants came together to make this set possible.

About 15,000 sets were produced. The cards are numbered in order of the player’s jersey number, and contain a facsimile autograph.

Ryne Sandberg’s card is the most desirable. Most collectors see Sandberg’s cards made by Topps, Fleer, and Donruss in 1983 as his true rookies. The Sandberg card included within this set predates all of them. Its his first card to feature him in a Cubs uniform. His other cards prior to 1983 have him in a minor league uniform.

28-card Checklist:

• Doug Bird
• Larry Bowa
• Bill Buckner
• Bill Campbell
• Jody Davis
• Leon Durham
• Lee Elia – Manager
• Steve Henderson
• Willie Hernandez
• Fergie Jenkins
• Jay Johnstone
• Junior Kennedy
• Ken Kravec
• Randy Martz
• Bob Molinaro
• Jerry Morales
• Keith Moreland
• Dickie Noles
• Mike Proly
• Al Ripley
• Ryne Sandberg
• Lee Smith
• Scot Thompson
• Dick Tidrow
• Bump Wills
• Gary Woods
• John Vukovich / Gordy MacKenzie / Billy Williams / Billy Connors / Tom Harmon – Coaches
• Team Picture

Cubs ’22 Topps Archives Auto Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to rlpittsjr on being the lucky winner of the Corey Patterson 2022 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Purple Parallel Auto #’ed/150. Once rlpittsjr sends me their mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP. Thanks!

Card of the Day: Cubbie Bear 1988 ProCards Iowa Cubs #554

How To Spot A Fake Greg Maddux 1986 ProCards Pittsfield Cubs Card

A key card that any Greg Maddux collector can add to his or her collection is his 1986 ProCards Pittsfield Cubs MiLB card.  Valued at $70-$100, this is one of the earliest cards to feature the 2014 Hall of Fame inductee.

BE ON ALERT FOR COUNTERFEITS!  They’ve been making the rounds.

Here is an example of an authentic card:

ProCards were cheaply manufactured, which resulted in a minor defect in the printing of his last name.  The “DD” in his last name are slightly cut off at the bottom.  Every authentic card has the same defect.

Here is an example of a counterfeit card:

Not only is the font different, but the “DD” in his last name are completely in tact.  The “DD” on an authentic example have flat bottoms, where on the counterfeit you can see a curve.

Cubs ’19 Topps Series 2 Relic Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to Stadium Fantasium on being the lucky winner of the Jason Heyward 2019 Topps Series 2 Major League Material Relic 150th Anniversary Parallel #’ed/150.  Once Stadium Fantasium sends me their mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP.  Thanks!

Cubs ’18 Topps Allen & Ginter Relic Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to dawgpaws on being the lucky winner of the Anthony Rizzo 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter Full-Size Relic.  Once dawgpaws sends me their mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP.  Thanks!

Cubs ’17 Bowman’s Best Auto Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to FLAME on being the lucky winner of the Trevor Clifton 2017 Bowman’s Best Refractor Auto.  Once FLAME sends me their mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP.  Thanks!

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Chicago Cubs Sports Crate Bringin’ the Heat Pin

In May, collectors who purchased a Sports Crate began to receive their box full of goodies.  For each month of the MLB season, you can have a box of team-oriented items sent straight to your front door.  As of right now, only ten MLB teams are available.  You can pay $39.99 per crate or $179.99 for the whole season.

Given that the people behind Loot Crate are the same ones behind Sports Crate, I think this has a lot of fun potential.  The items inside are exclusive to Sports Crate.  Even Topps has made special cards for them.

This isn’t the first sports-themed subscription box service.  A few years ago, Collector Crate gave it a shot but quickly went out of business.  Some collectors have been a fan of The Loot Locker.  But everything inside a Loot Locker box has been around for a while and isn’t anything new.  In my opinion, you need to put some serious money behind a service like this in order for it to be successful.  Exclusive in-demand items are key.  I look forward to seeing what else they roll out.  Hopefully the Phillies are coming soon.  It would be neat if Sports Crate came to the National Sports Collectors Convention and sold special boxes.

Loot Crate is known for including pins in their boxes.  This seems to have carried over to Sports Crate too.  “Bringin’ the Heat” was the theme for May, so each box came with a team logo pin surrounded in fire.  On the back of the pin’s package it says “The original Bringin’ the Heat pin was designed by your friends at Sports Crate.  It was created to be either worn or displayed.  Since there are a limited number of these in existence be sure to take good care of it.  You never know what it will be worth someday.”  They’ve been selling for $13 on the secondary market.  I highly doubt they’ll ever increase in value, but its nice of them to give you a heads up.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series Press Pin

Wow!  Within a week the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, and Donald Trump was elected President.  It really makes you wonder what might happen next week, doesn’t it?  This feels like I stepped into a Doctor Strange-like alternate dimension.  Next thing you know, the Cleveland Browns will win the Super Bowl.

Cubs fans waited 108 years to see their team go all the way.  It had been 71 years since they even saw them get to the World Series.  A win was long overdue.  Pins remain a top choice collectible when it comes to supporting your favorite team.  Tons of different pins have been made to celebrate the Cubs being 2016 champs.  The one that remains in heavy demand is the press pin.  These could not be purchased at the gift shop.  Only members of the press and top executives got their hands on these when the series was in Chicago.  Cleveland had their own version.

Press pins can be very expensive.  This one is no exception.  The most recent one to sell went for $325.  Sometimes they’ll sell pins that look exactly like the ones provided to the press.  By doing that, it can make it difficult to distinguish between the $5 souvenir and the $300 real thing.  I don’t think they made mass produced replicas of this pin yet.  Even though the World Series was broadcast on Fox, I did see that NBC officials received a specially made version of this pin.

Cubs ’16 Topps Tier One Auto Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to Barry on being the lucky winner of the Jorge Soler 2016 Topps Tier One Breakout Auto #’ed/199.  Once Barry sends me his mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP.  Thanks!