Classic Variety in a Trade Package

I think some of my favorite trades are with other Cardinals fans.  Whether it be with fellow bloggers, message board members, or email friends it always nice to exchange my extra cards for some wantlist hits.  My box of Cardinals doubles is well over 2000 thanks to numerous blind team trades.  I have them sorted by year to make trading a little easier.  Sometimes I even find a card that I need or a variation that I overlooked while going through the box.  Last week I sent a package to an email trader with a small stack of early 1980s Cardinals.  My end of the trade arrived Tuesday.

 

 I do not have many of the Classic cards from the late 1980s or early 1990s.  I had planned to buy some during the COMC Black Friday sale last year, but was shocked at some of the prices.  The 2 purple cards did complete one of the 1989 sets.

I am not a huge fan of the Topps Big cards.  The front has too much going on with the color splash, action photo, and the player close up. I doubt too many players were flattered with the close up shot.  It looks like Todd Zeile was heavily medicated for his pic.

I think Topps realized smoke/fog border did not work for the 1989 Mini League Leader set, so they cut it back to just 2 corners for the 2016 flagship set.  I don't think either design is that great.  I did purchase a big chuck of Sportflics from COMC on Black Friday, but did not have the Terry Pendleton.  The Steve Peters 88 Donruss Rookies finished that set.

Pacific put out a ton of sets in 1999.  They did utilize unique designs and included a nice variety of players.  McEwing was somewhat of a cult hero when he came up, earning the nickname Super Joe.  His star did not last long, but he is still around as a coach in the White Sox minor league system.

Edgar Renteria has been the longest tenured starting shortstop for the Cardinals since Ozzie Smith retired.  A good all around player who was not outstanding at one thing, but did everything well.  He bounced around to 6 different teams after leaving the Cardinals in 2004, but was still a solid player.

I am a fan of the Topps Heritage brand, but 2008 was a down year for me.  I know Topps had to follow the 1959 blueprint, but the bulleye design does not work for me.  Ankiel's card looks like a most wanted poster.