Card of the Day: 1995 SkyBox Toy Story – Green Army Men #38

Card of the Day: 1938 Gutermann Famous Men – Christopher Columbus #75

Flashback Product of the Week: 1988 Pacific Eight Men Out

The 1919 Black Sox Scandal will always be one of the most talked about events in sports history.  This is where eight members of the Chicago White Sox came together and decided to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series in exchange for a large payday from gamblers.  At the end of the day though, neither the players nor gamblers came out with much money.  Despite being found not guilty in court, those eight players were still banned from baseball.  “Shoeless” Joe Jackson is probably the most well known player to have been banned.

Author Eliot Asinof wrote a book released in 1963 titled Eight Men Out.  It retold the events of the whole Black Sox Scandal.  In 1988, director John Sayles made a movie based on that book.  Actors John Cusack, Christopher Lloyd, and Charlie Sheen all had major rolls.  The film for the most part was well received.  For some reason, this movie doesn’t come up that much when fans talk about their favorite baseball movies.

Pacific made a 110-card set based on the John Sayles movie.  You can buy these cards by the box or factory set.  Not only does the set feature shots from the movie, but it also contains cards of the actual men involved with the Black Sox Scandal.  The “Shoeless” Joe Jackson card is one of only a few licensed by MLB.  Other key cards include Charlie Sheen and John Cusack.  This is probably one of the most educational sets on the market today, and you can easily pick one up for under $20.00.  I really like the way these cards look.  Especially the cards of the actual players.  They have these red borders with black/white photos.