Random things I’ve found on cards

Most of you who have read this blog for any amount of time know that I have a few different areas or types of cards that I collect. Those would be all Topps base cards, Rays/Devil Rays and Detroit Tigers cards, some favorite players, sunset cards, highlight cards, maybe some shiny types of cards, and that’s really about it. Many people who have blogs focus more on what’s happening in the pictures on the cards and collect variations of that. Some things include bubble blowing, bunts, pitchers batting, various uniform types, night photos, and many other things. While I don’t generally pay too great details to the photos on cards, it doesn’t mean that I don’t pay attention to the photos on them. After reading this post from Night Owl, I figured I would post some (random) things that I have noticed on cards and try to find the card with the earliest showing of the said thing. I have chosen to include only major issue cards since many minor league cards have had some interesting photos on them and I barely have any minor league cards. I also welcome any additions to this list and help if you know of an earlier card showing the subject. Let’s see what interesting things I have found. 

These are in no particular order. 

COMPUTER- 1990 Upper Deck #461 Rob Murphy

Most everyone knows of this card and the story behind it. Murphy used the portable computer to do stuff with horse racing and baseball related stats. 

SMART WATCH- 2020 Topps Update #U-51 Matt Davidson

I’ve shown this card before. Probably taken during Spring Training, this photo is the first one I’ve seen of a player wearing a smart watch on a card. I assume a manager card on a ‘50’s Topps card probably has the first major issue picture of a normal watch. 

MEDICAL DEVICE- 2004 Topps #533 Jason Johnson

Jason is a Type 1 diabetic, and he was the first person to be approved by MLB to wear a medical device on the field, paving the way for others in the future. His pump delivers insulin continuously throughout the day like a normal working pancreas would. It also can deliver insulin when he eats food and when his blood glucose levels get too high. Without the pump, he would have to take insulin shots and his glucose levels wouldn’t be as stable as they are with the pump. He has his clipped to his belt on his left and it contains an insulin pod that has a small tube coming from it. The tube is connected to the body via an injection site that is inserted with a needle. Usually the insulin pod lasts for 5-7 days and then everything needs to be changed. I would assume Johnson has his injection site in his stomach. I met him before and he’s a pretty nice guy. 

BREATHE RIGHT STRIP- 1996 Leaf Signature Series #99 Kirby Puckett

I don’t know if the strips came out before 1995 or so, but I feel like they were a pretty new thing in the ‘90’s, and this card of Puckett was the first one I’ve seen with a nasal strip on a player. 

TEDDY BEAR- 1998 Upper Deck #381  Jim Eisenreich 

There may be an earlier version of a bear on a card, especially with the minor league issues, but this ‘98 Upper Deck card of Super Jim Eisenreich is the first one I’ve seen with a bear on it. 

HELLO KITTY- 2007 Upper Deck #236 John McDonald

I would’ve never caught this, but at a Spring Training game in 2008 or 2009, John was signing autographs, and someone saw my card and commented that I had the ‘Hello Kitty card’. After John signed it, I took a closer look, and sure enough, John is signing a Hello Kitty notebook in the photo. 

BASEBALL CARD- 1982 Fleer #524 Pete Falcone

Perhaps there is an earlier card showing a player signing a card, but this card is the earliest one I know with a full baseball card on it. 

WATER FOUNTAIN- 2002 Fleer Greats of the Game #71 Sparky Anderson

There may be a card with a dugout shot of one that I’m not aware of, but I immediately noticed the water fountain on this card when I pulled it from a pack in 2002. 

PARROT- 1991 Studio #216 Steve Lake

One of the most famous cards from the ‘91 Studio set, this card shows Steve Lake and his pet parrot named Ruffles. I wish somebody could get ahold of Steve and see if Ruffles is still alive or if he has any stories about the bird. 

SNAKE- 1984 Fleer #182 Glenn Hubbard

I figured the snake was Hubbard’s pet, but apparently it was the Philly Phanatic’s burthday and someone brought their snake along. Hubbard asked to get a picture with it, and the picture made it on his card. 

SNOW- 1998 Upper Deck #353 Kurt Manwaring

I would’ve never noticed this except for Beckett mentioning it in an article in 1998. There could be others, as Boston and New York get pretty cold in April, but this is the first one I’m aware of. 

ATV- 1994 Collectors Choice #221 Greg Olson

This is another one I have a feeling might not be the oldest reference, but something as big as an ATV would be hard to miss. 

FIRE- 1991 Score Dream Team #884 Doug Jones

I’m pretty sure it’s really fire coming from the ball and not a photo effect. I feel like the ‘90’s would do stuff like this a bunch. 

ICE- 1994 Stadium Club #488 Mike Mussina

Can’t have fire without ice, right?  This one also features ice picks in it as well. I prefer the heat over the cold as I’ve lived in Florida 90% of my life, and if he’s anything like me, I don’t know how Mussina survived this photo shoot if it was real. 

APPLE- 1992 Upper Deck #751 Bret Saberhagen

I wonder if he got to eat it after they were done shooting. 

2X4- 1993 Topps #439 Bryan Harvey

In 1993, Topps had their first cards of the new expansion teams and came up with some interesting sets for them to get their card photos done. Harvey’s ‘93 Topps card shows him leaving against a structure made of 2x4’s 

CACTUS- 1993 Topps #691 Jim Tatum

Another ‘93 Topps expansion card, Tatum is somewhere in the southwest US that contains some cacti and rock formations. 

RUSSIAN CHARACTERS- 1993 Topps #633 ‘Three Russians’

While not in the actual picture, this has to be one of the only cards that features Russian characters on the card. Another gem from the ‘93 Topps set. 

PLASTIC SILVERWARE- 1994 Stadium Club #448 Eric Pappas

Pappas was enjoying a snack and got the first card with plastic utensils on it. Wish I knew what he was eating. 

SWORD- 1992 Studio #86 Jose Lind

Does anyone know the story behind the sword and the photo. 

SURFBOARD- 1988 Fleer #582 Tim Flannery

Most everyone knows the story behind this card. Flannery got a sponsorship deal and got the board on the card. 

BEACH BALL- 1991 Upper Deck #571 Bert Blyleven

I wonder if it was his beach ball, the Angels ball, or if he got it from a fan in the bleachers. Even more than that, I wish a company would make a card of him wearing this. 

GUARDRAIL- 1992 Bowman #211 Joe Sondrini

There are some great photos in 1992 Bowman, and this is the only card I know of that has a guardrail on it. With the mountains in the background, it could very well be in Pittsburgh. If only we knew what road it was on. 

SOD PIECE- 1994 Stadium Club #400 Orel Hershiser 

There was a story about the sod bringing the Dodgers good luck, and somebody got a photo of Orel unloading it from a shopping cart. Perhaps the shopping cart appearance is a first as well on this card. 

DUMBBELL- 1984 Fleer #222 Jose Cruz

I figured the ‘90’s would be the first appearance of a dumbbell, but this ‘84 Fleer card shows Cruz with one. 1984 Fleer has a few gems in it. 

COW- 1996 Collectors Choice #484 Rex Hudler

One of the only ones on the back, Hudler was in a cow milking competition and somehow got photographed and it made it on the back of a card. 

FIRE EXTINGUISHER- 1998 Topps #184 Jeff Montgomery

While also featured on the next card listed, I figured I would give this one to Monty since the other card gets its own item. 

FIRE HELMET- 1998 Topps #3 Billy Wagner

The Wagner card also has an extinguisher on it, but also features a fire helmet on Wagner. I believe an earlier Fleer issue features a Roland’s Reliever of the Year trophy with a helmet on it, but as a trophy, I don’t think it should count. 

STETHOSCOPE- 1995 Collectors Choice SE #197 Jose Rijo

I’ve already posted about Rijo’s amazing cards. This one is the first (and only) one I know of to show a stethoscope on it. My wife says the Libman ones are the best brand, so let’s hope Rijo had one. 

PLASTIC BAT- 1997 Upper Deck #290 Tim Salmon

This is another one that may not be the earliest appearance, but it’s the first one I’ve seen. 

METAL BAT- 1992 Topps #256 Mike Aldrete

While I’m not totally sure, I really think the bat Aldrete is holding is a metal one. The black around the handle looks like a grip from a metal one, and it just looks more like a silver color to me than the grains you would see in a wood bat. Someone needs to find out where Aldrete is coaching at and ask him if he was indeed holding a metal bat on the card. 

I don’t think I’ll start a special binder with any of these cards or set them aside or anything, but maybe if you collect these kinds of cards you have found a few to add to your collection. I’ll keep my eye out for more interesting things as I’m going through my binders and see if I can add more to this post and maybe make a part 2. 

This week I’ll try to get the Red Sox entered into TCDB. Should be able to finish them by Friday, and that will be my day off of work. The White Sox are partially done, so I’ll be starting from 1988 or so with them. If it’s a productive week, I may just finish both pairs. 

Rock the Universe was a long but fun night. Went on a Simpsons motion simulator ride, and now that I’m older, even that type of ride messed with my stomach. Glad we didn’t go on any roller coasters. We saw Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham perform, and they did a great job. The worship band actually did Phil’s ‘This is Amazing Grace’ on Sunday, so it was kind of cool seeing him do the song and then having us do it the next day. This week we had a full band of me on keys, Karen on vocals, Joe on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Stan on vocals, Dana on bass, Steve on drums, Bill on electric guitar, and Eduar on acoustic guitar. We did 4 songs, including Brandon Lake’s ‘Graves into Gardens’, and it was just great playing with a full band. With that many instruments it’s just a full sound and you don’t hold back because it’s loud. I really hope we can get a good consistent run of a few months with this band lineup and do more new songs like we’ve been doing because the congregation loves singing them and it just fuels them with a louder fuller band. I’ll have to see if the service is up on YouTube because it was just a nice set of 4 songs today. Maybe I’ll keep updating how the services I play at go if there’s any interest. If not, I’ll just stick with the random things I find on cards. 

Thanks for checking out my latest post. 

-Jeremy