Starting Lineup Stories: My 1st Unopened MJ

 

When I really started getting into collecting phase of Starting Lineups, one of my biggest regrets was remembering alllllllllll of the opened ones I had. It was bittersweet, because at the time, here were early issue figures of MJ, Pippen, Emmitt, Aikman, Nolan Ryan etc that were really valuable and popular at the time, and they were sitting on my self opened and worn out. The numbers were fading and the figures were in pretty bad shape due to me playing with them as a kid. It was definitely one of those "if I could turn back time" moments. My biggest regret was of course my opened 1991 MJ figure. Jordan didn't have too many figures because after 1993 Kenner never produced another figure of him again, and so at the time, the ones out there fetched good money. It was the one thing I felt missing from my collection. An unopened MJ. It was my SLU "White Whale" so to speak. I knew if I wanted one, I'd have to fork over some major cash. I didn't even care what year it was, I just wanted one for my collection. It would make my collection feel complete. Finally right before the New Year of 1999 I got my wish. I had some Christmas money and I figured you know what, it's time. The local Flea Market had a few shops that carried SLU's and they had good ones indeed. I would go every couple of weeks or so and marvel at the selection yet never buy anything....until this time, when I set my sights on this 

Here it is in allllllllll it's glory, the 91 SLU Dunking Pose version complete with the $50 price sticker.

It wasn't the one the I had opened as a kid, which was the shooting version, but I honestly liked this one better. I plunked down the 50 bucks and went home one happy kid. I officially added an MJ unopened SLU. Like all things MJ, it immediately became my favorite SLU in my collection.  Yet another SLU mission accomplished!

EBAY Auctions ending tonight! Include rare Kobe McFarlane Chase!

Heads up I got 10 auctions ending tonight, including some hard to find McFarlane Figures and cool cards. Here's what's up for auction

Bid here!
http://www.ebay.com/sch/aircp/m.html?item=320865492881&sspagename=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649&_trksid=p4340.l2562

Starting Lineup Stories: The Summer 98 Tri-Star Card Show in Houston

One of my favorite things as a kid was of course Summer Vacation. Now for me, a dream summer vacation would be to go out to other cities and hit all the Wal-Mart, Targets, K-Marts, and Toys R Us. To me, that was way more fun than an amusement park! In the summer of 1998 we decided to go to Houston and hit up the Tri-Star Show. I was very excited because although I had been to card shows before, I'd never been to a huge one. Surely there had to be deals galore! Our trip started out awesome as lo and behold we hit a K-Mart and found packs of this..

I was BEYOND ecstatic. The year before had been a huge a hit, and I picked up all the packs at retail level I could find, hoping for the big Duncan or Van Horn hit (best hit was a Ron Mercer RC). This was a terrific start to our trip to Houston. When we got to the show, it was HUGE to say the least, but the first spot we stopped at was a booth full of SLU's. All for 7 bucks. I was in heaven! SLU's for basically the retail price! I picked up rookie pieces of Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, Steve McNair, Marcus Camby and other lineups that were hard to find. I couldn't believe the luck I was having. Keep in mind the timeframe, it was rare to find harder to find pieces at retail level cost. These pieces usually sold for double or more at local card shows and flea markets. I loaded up on a ton of different pieces.

A sample of the goods I got at the Houston TriStar Card show

These were great but there were two "steals" that definitely made my day. I was able to get the Keith Van Horn 97 rookie piece for $7 and the 98 Nomar Garciaparra rookie piece for $10!! Two of the hottest pieces at the time, for retail and little above retail! I was so stoked, I couldn't believe it! The haul rivaled my Christmas haul just a few months ago and I never had such luck at a card show again. This was definitely the most fun I had at a card show and it didn't even involve cards!!

Nomar Rookie Piece of 10 bucks!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Sign me up!!

 I wanted this piece sooooo bad, imagine my astonishment to get for 7 bucks!

Starting Lineup Stories: The Great Christmas Haul of 97

As all kids, Christmas was the holiday I looked forward to the most. What kid doesn't love getting dozens and dozens of presents? During my Starting Lineup frenzy though, one Christmas really stood out. I nicknamed it "The Great Christmas Haul of 97" because it was probably the biggest and best haul I ever received. I had gotten lineups for Christmas before, but this year, it wasn't just a couple of lineups oh no it was a TON of SLU's! It was SLU heaven!! Apparently my parents were at our local Wal Mart at the right time because they were able to score some major basketball SLU's. If you're lucky you'd come across a couple of nice SLU's at our local Wal Mart, but this day, the SLU gods were smiling on my parents. I remember getting Nick Van Exel, Grant Hill, Damon Stoudemire, David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shereef Abdur Rahim (Yep, the Rookie Piece!) Antoine Walker (Another HUGE rookie piece), and Kerry Kittles. All of those were GREAT and excellent additions to my SLU Collection, but it was this one that to me was the greatest find ever.

 I wasn't a huge hockey fan but I even I knew what a big deal "The Great One"'s first SLU was and I wanted it soooooooooo bad. Imagine my shock and amazement when this bad boy was one of my presents. I couldn't believe they were able to find it at our Wal Mart! Big time Score. This was definitely one of my favorite Christmas memories of all time!

The rest of the "Great Christmas Haul of 97"

Awesome Autographs: Kobe Bryant Autographed Basketball Inscribed "Black Mamba"

What could be lurking in this here box?

Why this BAD BOY!!!

When I saw this on Ebay, I HAD TO GET IT. Not only signed by Kobe Bryant but inscribed Black Mamba as well! This beauty is numbered to 124 (mine is 60). I give Panini crap for their card products, but I'll sing nothing but praise about this ball. This is the 4th auto'd basketball to go in my collection (Lebron, Derrick Rose, and Bob Cousy) and it's probably my favorite out of the 4. Here are some more pics of this amazing ball!

Starting Lineup Stories: The extremely unbelivablely long but well worth it wait for my Cooperstown Stadium Stars

When I found out that the 97 version of Starting Lineup's Stadium Stars was going to be an all Cooperstown set, I was really excited. I'd always been a fan of the larger Stadium Stars series, and the 3 in particularly that I was interested in were the Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Mickey Mantle. They looked so awesome, I wanted them more than anything in the world. I thought of course that here in Corpus, there would be no way in the world I'd ever find them. I used to look at magazines with envy and just wish that somehow I'd be able to obtain them. Opportunity, for once, actually came a knockin and I would definitely seize it!

The Three "White Whales" so to speak of my collection. I wanted these sooooo bad

The opportunity to get these came from a random source actually. I didn't find them, but my aunt in San Angelo, Texas did. She called my mom and let her know, and my mom said to pick them up. I couldn't believe it! All 3, would be mine! I thought I'd be lucky to just get one, much less all three! I was sooooooo excited, I couldn't wait till she mailed them off to me and I could display them and just stare at them in amazement! There was a catch though. You see that summer, we were supposed to visit them, so my mom told my aunt not to worry about sending them. Since we'd be there in the summer, we'd get them then. WHAT?!?! You mean I now have to wait MONTHS to get these in my possession?! How CRUEL!!!! I begged and pleaded, but my mom said there shouldn't be a rush and eventually I'd have them. I had to be patient....VERRRRRRRRY PATIENT.  It drove me crazy just waiting for them, but in the back of my mind I knew they were mine. I would still check to see if we could find them in Corpus (of course we didn't). I was excited to go to San Angelo to visit my cousin, but this definitely added to the anticipation and excitement. Finally, when we arrived and said our hello's, I innocently asked where she had the figures. My aunt brought out the Toys R Us bags and there they were, in alllllll their glory.  I might have waited quite a while, but it definitely made it that much more special when I got my hands on and it's one Starting Lineup Story I will never forget!

My First NFL Gamer! 2001 Torry Holt Rams Game Used Jersey

As you've seen in past posts, I have numerous NBA jerseys and baseball bats but one thing that has eluded me is an NFL gamer. I finally was able to snag one this past MEARS auction. I picked up a Torry Holt 2001 Rams Game Used Jersey. Again, the cool thing about it is that it's a jersey from NFL Auctions and it's game dated to September 30th 2001 against the Miami Dolphins where Holt had 111 receiving yards and a TD in a 42-10 blowout win. Holt is definitely a future Hall of Famer and this is an exciting piece to add to my collection. Here are the pics. Enjoy!