2012-13 Upper Deck Hockey - My 25 Favourite Photos

About a month or so back, I decided that I'd just skip the set building nonsense, and just order myself a base, Young Gun-free set of the Upper Deck flagship hockey set via ebay. It worked out to just under a dime a card, which was fine by me. With the season looking doomed, it seemed like a reasonable way to get the goods.

I'd actually planned on going through them to highlight some of my favourite photos in the set, and with it looking like there's actually going to be a season, today sounds like as good a day as any. Top 25. Sure? I could have done this with the Score as well, but I'd rather work my way through 200 cards than 548.

I'm just going through them in numerical order.

#11. A great shot of a stretching Tuukka, with there being a bonus of a great mask photo that I'll have to pick up a second one of for that binder.

#12. This one is just perfectly framed, with the puck slipping in just at the left edge of the card.

#18. This one is probably my favourite among the goalie mask photos in Series 1. As with Tuukka, a second one will certainly be grabbed from a dime box for the mask binder.

#32. The extension of the shot comes off perfectly on the horizontal card. A great use of the style.

#60. A perfect photo for the retiring Lidstrom. Nick over at Dime Boxes calls them sunset cards. I couldn't think of a better way to send off Nicklas, cardboard style.

#64. You're going to see a lot of these ice level shots. They're always spectacular, especially when you can see the banners showing the franchise's past glory in the rafters.

#69. There are quite a few celebratory shots in the set as well. Only two made my list, and this one is my second favourite of that style.

#74. Another great overhead shot.

#90. As for my favourite celebration shot. If one comes out in Series 2 that is better than this one of Cal Clutterbuck, I'd love to see it. The best thing is that it is a celebration card for someone far better known for his fists than his scoring touch.

#93. Another nice overhead shot.

#111 and #113. As with #64, a nice low shot, and a reminder that there were some great years in Islanders history.

#124. A nice bench shot from the Winter Classic.

#126. A sprawling Craig Anderson with his eye on the bouncing puck. Another one that I'll have to pick up a second of for the mask binder.

#128. Another great use of the horizontal style. Daniel did pop in 2 goals in a game in Winnipeg, so I'm guessing this was one of them.

#131. Seeing a fight on a card is a rarity. Contrasting, his celebration card in the Score release is one of my favourites in that set also. That's probably for the same reasons Cal Clutterbuck's UD card is one of my faves here.

#132. A card back? Yup. One with a nice toothless picture. Plus, it disproves the old joke. What do you call a hockey player with all his teeth? A rookie.

#143. I really like the introduction shots as well. This one is my favourite of the Series 1 bunch.

#150. I'm not at all a fan of Cooke's style, but how can one hate a card where he's approaching the puck like he's eying a buffet table?

#168 & #171. Another pair of low shots.

#174. How does a Leaf card make my favourite list? Someone to the left of the card is having fun with Acrostics. Some permutation of "Lose and Ever" is written on the sign of a fan in what seems to be Winnipeg.

#180. A great ice level shot doesn't have to be looking up at the player. Here's a nice shot of  a vaulting Burrows.

#190. A rather unflattering bench shot of a rather lumpy Brooks Laich.

#193. Much like with Eller, a beautiful overhead shot.

Is it time for the puck to drop yet?

December Show Dime Box Goodies - Part 4

Vive le Français!

At least on baseball cards.

There's probably no better way to start off a collection of bilingual cards than with a card of an Expo. Why not one of the Spaceman? I love how they got the tri-color of the cap in the logo.

The only Met I picked up from the O-Pee-Chee cards.

And the 1981 O-Pee-Chee keep on coming. Here's a nice card of Don Baylor, although he does show why wearing a collared anything under your uniform never caught on.

If it weren't for the moustache, I'd think Dennis was auditioning to be a replacement Charlie's Angel with that hair.

Back-to-back Hall of Famers from the 1981 OPC for a dime each? I can't complain about this.

Then I can fast forward a few years and pick up another one. Sad to see they don't have AC abbreviated alongside SS.

And that's 4 straight HOFers. Time to end that streak.

These are from a set put out by Nabisco in 1992, that saluted memorable Expos and Blue Jays. You tell it is a pre-World Series time, since there are cards that salute Garth Iorg's pinch hitting prowess in there.

I was somewhat surprised to see a grand slam as the moment mentioned for Buck. If it wasn't for his stint behind the mike or on the bench for the Jays, I think that this would be the moment that he'd be most remembered for. 2 put outs, and a broken leg on the same play.

December Show Dime Box Goodies - Part 3

Continuing to go through the box o' cards.

As usual for me, it is really hard for me to pass by a Diamond King in a dime box and resist the urge to pull it. Even if it does feature a Jose Canseco where it appears half his weight is in his face:

The fun thing about them is the realization that not all the teams had marquee players that were what one would consider to be  Diamond Kings. I'm guessing some teams were determined by the usage of a hat and a bunch of slips of paper.

That's quite the Bay Area contrast. I didn't even know Chris was deceased until I bothered to look just a few minutes ago.

The last of my 3 '87 Donruss purchases. Much like the Herb Washington card, it was for the rather unique position listing. You also get the bonus of the mercifully abandoned mesh-back hat. I'll move on, but not before sharing a non-Diamond King Perez card I got:

Esteban Loaiza. Sigh.

Yeah. It's a reprint. But why wouldn't I want to grab a card of a guy listed as Dizzy Trout on his card. If I start up an all-name binder, he'll most certainly be part of it.

This guy, however will certainly be on the front page:

I guess there wasn't room for his middle name - Terrific.

I don't know how that gets followed up, so why I guess I'll use a card that doesn't seem to fit anywhere else in the grouping. A Topps Laser of Devon White post Toronto.

Like I'm going to turn down a card of The Mad Hungarian for a dime.

December Show Dime Box Goodies - Part 2

OK. So this wasn't from a dime box. It actually worked out to 4 for a dime once you'd calculate it through.

I picked up a box of 1987 Fleer minis. The complete set of 120 for $3. They are definitely a neat pick up, and the photos were actually different than the main set. Most of the ones in this are generic posed shots, and it is interesting to compare the two. For example, Don Aase looks far less like someone's Grandpa on his mini card.

My favourite of the bunch is Rob Deer's. A nice posed shot with the Green Monster in the background.

My only complaint:

The box promised 18 logo stickers. All I got was 1 (Atlanta).

Staying with the minis, I also grabbed some Mets.

A nice Moises Alou.

Plus a quartet of 1987 Mets.

But, I'm not going to stay with the minis. The regular sized cards were well represented. In fact, I added one that quickly became one of my favourite card photographs.

I always find it more appealing when the amazing photographs appear on cards of non-marquee players. And what better way to follow up a beautiful picture than with one of the more infamous horrible photos.

Yikes! How many children were traumatized by pulling this one from their wax packs in '88?

December Show Dime Box Goodies - Part 1

When I went to this show, my goal was to get some wanted cards for my birthday and goalie mask binders. That mission failed with spectacular non-results, save for a few hits for the former. It was actually a bit busier than my previous times there, and there were a couple of unexpected 5000 ct baseball dime boxes. That's a rarity for shows in Ontario, so I dug right in.

If 'dire' were a condition, this card would most certainly qualify for that grade. But, I'd much rather have a 1974 Willie Stargell in this condition that to not have one. Plus, I can add it to my misc. binder and upgrade should I so desire.

And doesn't he look happy to be off to the Royals?

That's all the baseball for now. I'm gonna cycle through all the other hockey cards I picked up that day.

A quartet of heritage/Vintage Daniel Alfredssons for my Alfie collection. My fave of the bunch is 1966 look.

Another not-exactly-mint card, this time a guy who might be better known for his time behind the scenes with Buffalo as opposed to his time on the ice.

One for the oddball uniforms binder.

I bet this guy hated the disco era. "No. I'm not with Bee Gees. I spell it with an 'S'. Here, look at my license.". Even googling this guy's name, spelled correctly, brings up a mix of stuff for him, and stuff for Barry Gibb. At least his wiki entry now comes first. For now.

But this my favourite. The Hammer! The man who holds the record for PIM in a single season. 472 minutes worth of chaos! A Broad Street Bully! Guest referee at Slamboree 1994! Retro parallel! For a dime! YES!

January 3, 1993

The date of the greatest moment in Buffalo Bills history.

There sure haven't been too many since then, have there?

COMC Black Friday Goodies Finally Arrive - Part 4

And we wrap it up with the most expensive single purchase of the day. $4.50 for this one:

I was actually looking for a Mets relic of Gary Carter, but seeing the sweet blue of the Montreal Expos was made me just too nostalgic for the 80s. Throw in a bonus bat relic, and having this one numbered out of 50, it was an easy decision to sway me in this direction.

But, I still picked up a Gary Carter Mets card as well:

That's a mighty fine consolation prize. I stayed in the Mets family for the next 2 relics, picking up two of my favourite Mets for a combined $3.40.

Anything with a pinstripe on it is automatically better.

I finally knocked the rookie card of beloved Blue Jay Ernie Whitt from my wantlist. In a rarity for these cards, all 4 of them went on to decent careers in the big leagues. Sadly, Bo Diaz was killed in 1990 when he was crushed by a satellite dish he was adjusting on the roof of his house.

COMC Black Friday Goodies Finally Arrive - Part 3

I always love adding cards that commemorate events that I've seen in person. They had several mat relic cards from Wrestlemania 18. There were also ones for Angle/Kane and Rock/Hogan. Although the latter match featured the hottest audience I'd ever been a part of, I really didn't want to part with $10 for that one. So, I elected on this one, which was the more interesting match of the remaining relics.

Another one bit the dust off my wantlist, and it was another additional to the Alfredsson binder. I'll always love the cards that incorporate the team's hometown into the design.

Although technically, they play out Kanata as opposed to Ottawa proper. But I can't imagine a traffic jam on the Queensway would be aesthetically pleasing.

Doug Flutie! This was another one I had my eyes on for a bit. And the last QB to put the Bills in the playoffs. Ugh.

A suitably strange Bruce Smith card from Metal Universe.

Not strange enough? OK.

Much better.