Behind These Hazel Eyes

As promised, at the end of the previous post, here be the Cubbies from Steve of White Sox Cards:

Cubs from my early days...

The Topps magazine cards I received have some pretty crazy borders.  Wait till you see the Andre Dawson below.

Mark Grace practicing the yo-yo trick and one from his little league days.  I’m pretty sure prospects that young actually get their own licensed cards nowadays.

In the middle we have pitchers in unintentionally perfect order of delivery.  How did I manage to do that? o.O

When I was little I had a giant (like 3ft tall, it was giant at the time) stuffed bear that I named after Jerome Walton.

Finally a couple of Shawon Dunstons.  My Shawon-O-Meter is looking good this morning at .334 and rising.

I desperately want a Shawon-O-Meter hit counter for my blog, btw.

Cubs Sluggers '80s/'90s

The first of three Hawks in the lot, an old school Upper Deck insert of one of, if not THE single greatest player of the 1980s.

I cannot bring myself to even mildly dislike Sammy Sosa.  The reasons why could probably take up an entire post of their own.  Don’t hold your breath on me ever getting around to it, but it would be a fun one, and an interesting look at how I see the world in the general.

More Andre Dawson, please and thank you!

Does that Topps Magazine card not have the single wrongest border for an Andre Dawson card ever?  Check the card beside it (?), that man can burn a hole in your very soul with his intense gaze, and you put him on a card with brightly colored birthday streamers for a border?  Even the bright yellow border is pushing it, only acceptable because Wolverine can get away with it, and in his prime, The Hawk could take ol’ Logan.

'91 Studio & Stadium Club George Bell

Is George Bell not the coolest looking dude this side of Billy Dee Williams?  Just give Bell a spiffy blue cloak, a blaster, and a case of Colt 45, and. It’s. On. (Please drink responsibly, btw.  Seriously.)

I’m not sure if it’s because of my Wrestlecrap-tastic nature of finding joy in the cheesy and ridiculous, or if it’s because I think they are genuinely awesome, but for some reason, I loves me some old school Studio.

Oh happy f***ing day, now we’re gonna have to fight with this thing so I can get the next couple of pictures up.  F***ing joybiscuits!

Anyway, below are a pair of early ’90s Greg Maddux cards.  I like the picture of him covering the base, because he accumulated numerous Gold Gloves in his career.

Anecdote time.  When Maddux went to Atlanta back in the day, I was so upset that I quit being a Cubs fan for awhile.  It took half a season before I stopped hating them, and a good year and a half before I finally got over it completely.  In the meantime, I became a Braves fan.  What can I say, I was  an angry and hurt 8 year old.  Fortunately, sanity eventually (and purely allegedly) prevailed, and I realized my heart was with the Cubs.  And here it remains…

Vintage Greg Maddux~! /Michael Cole

Now for some swatchy goodness:

2007 Turkey Red Rich Hill Jersey

Former Cub, current Oriole Rich Hill.  Never really got the hype about him, but the card is hella sweet.  This is the first ‘07 Turkey Red hit of any kind I’ve seen in person, and I like ‘em a lot.  Very classy.  I said it before and I’ll say it again, this was the only worthwhile year of Turkey Red as a full set.  Don’t like the gray bordered ones at all, and can take ‘em or leave ‘em as an insert this year too, though I seem to be the only one who thinks that.

Much as I like this though, and thankful as I am for it, I’m not sure if it is a keeper or not.  If I can send it along to a Cubs or Orioles fan with more appreciation for the subject, I am willing to do so.

You can’t have this next card though!  It ain’t gonna be leaving my collection anytime soon.

2007 Allen & Ginter Derrek Lee Bat!

Speaking of classy cards, Allen & Ginter!  This here’s a Derrek Lee bat card, as you can see, and it is AWESOME.  Is there anything cooler than an Allen & Ginter hit?  Even higher end stuff often pales in comparison to the fun, yet classy framed and encapsulated mini.  And Derrek Lee himself is sort of the player equivalent of Allen & Ginter, a class act himself.  A perfect match.

I know I’m leaving some cards out here, because I am flaky as all get out, and didn’t write out a complete list.  I’ll try to be better about that in the future, but no guarantees.

Once again, if I didn’t say it enough before, a thousand times thank you, Steve.  I will do my best to send some nice new Sox your way soon.

Stay thirsty, my friends…