Q&A – Does Rob Thomson Have A Rookie Card?

When the Phillies fired their manager Joe Girardi in early June, 2022 their record was 22-29. Coming in to take over as interim manager was Rob Thomson. The Phillies won nine straight games under their new manager. As the season went on the Phillies kept playing better and better. Under Rob Thomson, the team ended the regular season 87-75 (65-46 just under him). On October 3rd the Phillies secured a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. This was the first time the team had made the playoffs since 2011. Beating the Cardinals, Braves, and Padres, the Phillies became National League Champs making it all the way to the World Series. In the end, the Phillies lost the World Series to the Houston Astros 4-2. You never want your team to lose the World Series. But considering how the season started compared to where it ended 2022 was a great year for the Phillies. Citizens Bank Park will have a new pennant on display next year, and the team will receive NL Champion rings. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that the Phillies made the choice to keep Rob Thomson around as manager for the next few years. I think fans have a lot to look forward too.

Does Rob Thomson have a rookie card? Yes. You can find Rob Thomson’s rookie card in the 1987 ProCards set. Card #2351 shows him as a catcher for the Lakeland Tigers. The card has his name as Bob instead of Rob. Rob Thomson was drafted by the Tigers in the 32nd round of the 1985 Draft. He played four seasons professionally in the Tigers minor league system. In 1988 his coaching career began with the Tigers. Starting in 1990 be began a long career with the Yankees that lasted until 2017. The Phillies saw him join the team in 2018.

Like most ProCards, Rob Thomson’s card is fairly easy to find. Due to his recent popularity prices have seen an increase, but are still quite affordable.

As of this writing Rob Thomson only has about (20) different cards. We don’t see as many manager cards made as we use to. Other key cards of his include 2008 Topps Gift Sets New York Yankees #15, 2009 Topps Heritage Rob Thomson / Tony Pena / Kevin Long / Dave Eiland #465, and 2009 Topps Yankee Stadium Opening Day #27.

Card of the Day: Andrew “Rube” Foster 2001 Topps Chrome What Could Have Been Refractor #5

Q&A: Why Do Some Topps Boxes From The 80s Have Black Marks On Them?

Question: Looking on eBay I see so many 1980s Topps boxes with black marks on the covers.  What are the black marks for?

Answer: As a way to help distributors/stores clear out old inventory that had been sitting for awhile, Topps allowed for some products to be returned.  The distributors/stores would get a little money back.  Once Topps received those products back they would place black marks on the box covers.  Then Topps would ship them off to discount outlets.  In order to qualify for this the cases and/or boxes had to be complete.  Nothing tampered with.  Back then Topps did not seal their boxes in plastic like they do today.  Its very possible the people sending them back compiled packs from multiple boxes just to make a complete one.  That is the true origin of those black marks.  Complete boxes from the 1980s without the black marks will always be more desirable.  But this practice was so common you see them everywhere.

Q&A – Does Donald Trump Have A Rookie Card?

Question: Hi!  I’m looking for a gag gift for my friend.  Could you tell me if Donald Trump has a rookie card?  Thanks.

Answer: Love him or hate him.  Donald Trump is the 45th President of the United States.  One thing is for certain.  His presidency will be studied, investigated, and talked about long after he’s out of the White House.  Will that talk be good or bad?  That’s totally up to you and your political views.

Yes.  Donald Trump does have a rookie card.  During the late 80s and early 90s, Eclipse Comics issued a handful of non-fiction, non-sports related card sets.  These sets cover all kinds of subjects like the Savings and Loan crisis, Iran-Contra scandal, AIDS, and the Kennedy Assassination.

In 1989, Eclipse Comics released a set titled Rotten to the Core.  This 36-card set covers the best and worst of New York City’s politics.  Card #26 is of Donald Trump.  Its widely accepted as his rookie card.  The card’s back goes into lots of details about his dealings at the time.  Quite the entertaining read.

Raw copies sell for $20.  Gem Mint 10s have reached $100.

Have You Seen Strata Football?

One of the biggest innovations the hobby has seen over the last few years is the Shadow Box card.  It was introduced to us by Upper Deck back in 2009.  These eye appealing inserts have a layered 3D effect that just looks down right cool.  After the market gladly welcomed them, I’m surprised that we haven’t seen a product entirely based on Shadow Box cards.  That’s usually how it goes.  Find something collectors love, and then flood the market.  With Shadow Box cards, that sure isn’t the case.

Until now, nobody really challenged Upper Deck’s Shadow Box cards.  Now it looks as if Topps has answered that challenge with Strata Football.  Having a jumbo swatch in the background with layered images and autographs is a major improvement to the standard Shadow Box cards we’ve seen from Upper Deck.  The overlaying autographs on the signed booklet relics are nice looking as well.  I can’t help but think about those plastic overlays we saw in 2008 Topps Letterman.  Collectors really didn’t like them, but I think that was a major response to all the manufactured patches.

This is exactly what the hobby needs to see.  Innovation versus the same old stuff we’re use to seeing.  When one company releases something collectors enjoy, answer back with something bigger and better.  I’d love to see some baseball cards like this.

We Have The “Best” Winner

Congrats to Smiller5331 on being the lucky winner of the Jahvid Best 2010 Gridiron Gear – Rookie Gridiron Gems Dual Patch/Ball #’ed/50.  Once Smiller5331 sends me their mailing address, I will ship them this card for free.

This contest had 90 entries.  That is a new record for Sports Card Info.  Thanks again for participating and thanks to Panini for supplying the box.

Thanks Blowout! – Have You Seen This Pack Searcher?

I’d like to thank Blowout Cards for using this image in an e-mail they sent out to collectors.  Its a great laugh!!!  Anyone ever see this pack searcher at your local Wal-Mart or Target?

Golf Cards Still Have Potential

Tiger Woods is one of the most recognizable athletes in the world.  If you have never watched a sporting event in your life, you probably still know who he is.  This past weekend, Tiger won the Australian Masters and took home $1.5 million in prize money.  He also took home an additional $3 million they paid him just for showing up.  Thats one heck of a nice job.  Maybe I can get paid millions just to appear at card shows 🙂

Golf cards have never really had a ton of success in The Hobby.  Donruss produced a set back in the early 80’s featuring the first cards of many popular players.  Pro Set created a few sets in the early 90’s, and finally Upper Deck started in ’01 ended in ’05.  They seem to be popular with only a few players, Woods being by far the biggest name.  Compared to baseball, basketball, football, and hockey, the amount of golf cards don’t even come close.  Tiger Woods has the most trading cards of any golfer, and the prices of his relics are just outstanding.  Its quite difficult to find a Woods shirt relic for under $70.00, and thats just being a plain base relic, not serial numbered.  If you pull a plain relic of Peyton Manning, Albert Pujols, Kobe Bryant or Sidney Crosby, your not likely going to sell if for $70.00.  Woods has the most valuable base relics of all active athletes.  Pulling a plain jersey of Manning isn’t all that big of a deal, but a plain shirt of Tiger is great.  Other than cards containing pieces of shirt, I’ve seen Upper Deck insert a few gloves which sell for well into the hundreds.  I usually don’t like when manufacturers include athletes from other sports into a product, but when it comes to Tiger and other popular golfers, they really don’t have a choice.  Golf cards are one collectible that hasn’t been terribly overproduced and I think they have a lot of potential, just not as a stand alone product.  It would be cool to pull a card containing sand from a bunker in Pebble Beach.  How about the head of a golf tee?  There are a lot of neat relics that could be made.