A tin of Jordans

How many people had this baseball card tin growing up? I seem to remember getting it in the early ‘90s, and that it came with a few random packs of cards in it. It’s remained in my collection for over 25 years, and I frequently changed the contents growing up.

In high school, I think I put all of my Michael Jordan cards in there, and that’s still what resides in the tin today. I have all of my Jordans stashed in there, as a few are in top loaders, and the more common are in a few teams bags, which is stupid because it’s been thrown around over the years, so the lesser Jordan cards basically all have dinged corners.

Here are a few of my favorite MJ’s from within the tin.

This is the greatest basketball card I own. I received a box of 1995-96 Fleer Ultra for Christmas in ’95. It was a great set, and these Gold Medallions fell one per pack. They were awesome, with the full gold background. The 1996 baseball set had these as well. This was right after Jordan came back to the NBA as well, and to me, is just an iconic card from and iconic time for basketball cards. I’m so glad this card fell out of that box.

There was also this cool Double Trouble insert from the same set. What I liked about the inserts is that they could also include the Gold Medallion emblem, which increased the rarity and “book value.” I think I remember Beckett using a 3-5x multiplier for the Gold Medallion versions.

The ‘90s had some wacky inserts, as we all know. Number Crunchers from Hoops were pretty cool!

Fleer Metal was – and is – badass. This was from the Nuts & Bolts subset.

I’ve professed my love for Upper Deck Collector’s Choice You Crash The Game many times, and luckily still have the ’95-’96 redemption sets in both silver and gold. I always loved the shot of Jordan shooting the jumper in the Bulls’ black uniforms.

Collector’s Choice silver and gold sigs were fun too!

This was the first Jordan I actually pulled straight from a pack! It was from my Christmas stocking.

And of course, I have some MJ baseball cards. The ’91 Upper Deck SP is a classic. I lusted after this card in my cousin’s binder for years, and finally when he moved houses, he gave me this card, along with a binder with the complete 1989 Topps set.

I also have this cool oversized card of MJ from when he returned. I think it came from one of those repacks – an assortment of packs and a commemorative card.

Lastly, in seventh grade, I smelled pretty damn good, let me tell you. Why? Because I rocked Michael Jordan cologne. This is the official pin that came with my purchase.

So while it may say “Baseball Card Tin”, this is really a tin full of the greatest basketball player ever.

Instant winners

When I was a kid, I had a knack for pulling instant win redemption cards from packs. These weren’t autograph redemptions, rather granted you access to special cards or sets that could not be pulled from packs.

The first ones I remember well were the original 1994 Collector’s Choice You Crash the Game scratch-offs. I won at least three different times, which needed me this fantastic set of Home Run Derby Holograms:

Such a great looking set! And it also paved the way for You Crash the Game taking on a different form over the next few years. When a player accomplished a certain feat, one could send in that card for another prize, usually a set or a single card of that player. My favorites were from 1995.

As an avid basketball collector back then, I repeatedly pulled instant winners as well.

In 1994-95 Collector’s Choice, I pulled an instant winner for a Draft Lottery set, featuring some of the time’s biggest rookies. I can’t find the odds, but they fell either 1:36 or 1:144 (I know, quite the discrepancy). 

Just a season later, I had a very big instant winter pull, snagging one that fell 1:720 packs and landed me a Player’s Club Platinum Debut/Traded set. I pulled it at the local card shop, Ed's House of Cards. For the most part, the names were pretty lackluster, except for this guy, who made his NBA return that season: 

Zo was in it as well, after his trade to Miami. Love seeing Big Country Reeves trying to defend him.

Admittedly, I’ve never pulled a redemption from a current pack, but back then it was pretty fun pulling an instant winner redemption and anxiously awaiting for exclusive cards to come back in the mail.

Tino Tuesday #37: 1998 Collector's Choice You Crash The Game - Win!

This Tino comes from Adam aka arpsmith of Arpsmith’sSportscard Obsession. He recently reached out say that he found this at his LCS and it was mine if I wanted it. It was a really nice gesture and I’m always thankful when someone thinks of me.

The card itself is from 1998 Collector’s Choice as part of the You Crash the Game insert set. As a kid collecting at this time, I LOVED this insert set. And not just for baseball. I loved it for basketball and football too. Essentially, if the player hit a HR (or scored a TD or had a certain number of points), you’d be able to send that card in for a prize. Some years it was for a limed edition set. Other years, you’d get a special card of the winning player.

Since this is a winning card, it looks like Tino came through and hit a homer on the date listed and this card was redeemed. Since it was always a favorite promotion of mine, I really appreciate having a Tino from this set.

Adam, thanks again!

The Diamond Giveaway got me thinking...

The Diamond Giveaway got me thinking…

In-pack gimmicks and promotions nowadays drive to websites, and rightfully so. It’s easier to track results and certainly cuts down on having to deal with envelopes and postage. I can’t imagine how much different some older gimmicks, such as Collector’s Choice You Crash the Game, would have been with a simple online hub.

I remember the first You Crash the Game I ever pulled was Barry Bonds (it was 1995), and the homerun date listed on his card was actually in the past by a few weeks. Do you know how I found out if that card was a winner? I called the sports editor’s number on the local paper and asked. He graciously answered my question (Bonds didn’t homer), although a few times after that I did the same thing and they started to get mad.

The few that did win, usually you had to sign the back of the card and then send it in with a check or money order for few bucks for shipping, and they’d (in this case Upper Deck) send you back your prize. Sometimes it was a special card of that player, other times it was a mini set. It was exciting to win and anxiously await your prize.

I’ve been wondering how a game like this would work in today’s collection environment. I’d assume there would either be a code on the card that you redeem on a website. I would personally love to see something like the old You Crash the Game cards with a date that a player must accomplish the feat listed, and if you win you redeemed it online for a prize. The collector could even have an online portfolio of prizes/cards that could be traded or shipped. Sounds like the Diamond Giveaway, actually, although your prize would be tied to a player’s performance as opposed to just a random code.

What do you think? What old promotion would you like to see brought back with today’s technology?

Diamond Giveaway is cool, but not my favorite sweepstakes of all-time

Redeeming my Diamond Giveaway code last night made me fondly remember one of my favorite redemption programs of all time. Card companies have always held sweepstakes and redemption programs that make collecting a little more exciting. This was especially true when Upper Deck Collector's Choice hit the shelves in 1994.

Collector’s Choice was the Topps Opening Day of the ‘90s. It was Upper Deck’s $.99 pack that was the sister to their other higher-end sets. At a time when the prices of packs of cards really started to climb well above $1, this was a welcome brand for any kid who didn’t have a ton of money to spend on cards, like me. Packs were plentiful at the local CVS drug store. The base cards in the 1994 set were simple, and each pack also included a silver signature card, their version of the Topps Gold parallel set.

In 1994, Collector’s Choice had an instant win game called You Crash The Deck. It was a scratch-off card with a head-to-head game between players, and as a kid I remember being pretty amused by it. I don’t quite remember what the game itself entailed. However, there was also an instant win box with decent odds for a prize. Twice I won the same prize, an 8-card hologram insert set from the previous year’s Home Run Derby. The set was called Home Run All-Stars and featured some of the game’s biggest sluggers. I vividly remember sending in my two redemption cards and getting the sets back. I was a huge fan and it put the brand in good graces with me. In fact, I still have at least one of these sets.

In 1995, Collector’s Choice came out with two sets – SE and the regular base set. Unnecessary. But they morphed their sweepstakes game into the popular You Crash The Game insert series – in silver AND gold none the less. Not only were these insert cards pretty cool looking, but the rules changed from 1994. For example, if you pulled a Barry Bonds that said June 28 and he hit a home run that day, you could redeem the card for a prize. Remember, this was before the internet was mainstream, so if you pulled a card and the date had already passed, you had to do some serious legwork to see if you had won. I remember my local newspaper getting mad at me because I would keep calling and asking if Griffey or Bagwell hit a homer on a certain date. They legitimately told me to stop calling. 

They also had similar You Crash games for their other sports sets, and as a result, I ended up with quite a few redemption prizes from each of them. Usually it was a special card of the winning player, or even a 30-card set. In the coming years, they tweaked the rules from time to time, and one year their prize cards were even clear cuts (!!). I still have a Chipper Jones from that redemption.

Topps Diamond Giveaway is a fun sweepstakes, but for me, it hardly comes close to You Crash The Game. Although I could be singing a different tune if I unlock a 1952 Mantle. So I’d like to open it up to you. What’s your favorite all-time card redemption or sweepstakes?