A little sample from 2020

As many of you know, I am working on an idea for a custom set along the Topps Archives line called 2020 Topps Archives: The Lost Cards. It is basically a set like the '01-02 Archives sets featuring Topps cards that never were, complete with insert sets, hits, 1 or 2 parallels, and the like. I hope to have the whole 300 card set plus inserts done by mid 2018, and the ultimate goal is to pitch it to Topps and have them produce it. I thought I would post some samples and see what y'all think.

The base set is comprised of 15 Highlights cards that never were, 15 Postseason Highlights ctnw, 15 Manager ctnw, 15 Coaches ctnw, 10 Prospects ctnw, 30 Draft Pick ctnw, 10 All-Star ctnw, 9 miscellaneous ctnw, and the rest of the set containing rookie ctwn, traded ctnw, and sunset ctnw, ending with card #300. This first set will contain cards from the 1986-2019 Topps sets, with future sets highlighting the '60's and '70's, the '50's, and whatever I can come up with.
The base set will also feature some parallels, including a Diamond Border parallel #d to 2020 (1 per box maybe?), and the 1 per pack no logo parallel, which will be without the official 2020 Archives: The Lost Cards logo printed on them so they can be added to your regular Topps sets.
Here are some selected cards from the base set.

For insert sets, there will be one with select Topps Chrome cards every 15 packs. Refractor versions will be 1 per box.

There will be a Stadium Relic insert set. Each card will feature a picture of a team's stadium in a Topps design the year after a significant event (World Series win/appearance, Playoff appearance). Each card will have a stadium-themed relic enclosed (Braves' Tomahawk, ivory from Wrigley Field, Twins Homer Hankie). 1 every box maybe?

Keeping along the lines of the what-if? theme, there is a What If? insert set imagining what would have been had certain trades went through, if certain players were selected earlier in the MLB Draft, if injuries hadn't occured and such. Probably 1 per 10 packs. These were a pain to make.

The second to last insert set imagines what it would be like if certain Topps sets had been produced a year earlier, like an '88 Bowman set, a 1992 Topps Finest set, or a 1990 Stadium Club set. Probably another 1 in 10 pack insert set. The first is an '88 Bowman Griffey, second is a '92 Finest Giambi Team USA, and the last is a '90 Stadium Club Thome.

A final insert set will feature 2 players. There will be 2 versions of cards in the set, 1 with a regular Topps card paired with a ctnw, and the other will feature 2 ctnw. These will run 1 in 5 packs, with autographed and relic versions coming 1 per box. I haven't done any of these yet, but I have some ideas.

For the king of all inserts, there will be redemption cards good for a complete Topps career run of the listed player, including any ctnw. These will be numbered to 5, and there will be a 'Golden Ticket' redeemable for a complete Topps run of the listed player, including ctnw which will be autographed. 

I would love to hear any thoughts about this set and any ideas. The base set is made, and it is just down to finishing the insert sets, and maybe making a fake sell sheet. I would love to have this look like a real set just to show Topps what they are missing.

I have tons of projects going on right now besides this one. I have been re-working my Want List/Favorite Player Collection on my other blog to have links to each player showing pictures of all of their cards that I have. It should be fun when it is completed, but it is a little tedious right now. I have been working on some Turkey Red cards of the '06 Detroit Tigers team for the upcoming KOD 27 season, and it is going to be sweet to see some of my customs on the site. I have enjoyed seeing the different cards made for KOD for a while now, and have come across many of them while making different customs. I have put the '84 Topps checklist page up (many thanks to Paul), so that is ready to go (the templates, not so much), I have been working on a few cards with some new templates sent to me with the '05 and '11 Topps sets thanks to a reader, and I still have the '98 Topps project going (on the back burner, but it will be back in full swing once the '2020 Archives project is done).
Lastly, I did not make it to the comic show on Sunday, so I still have not been to a real card show, but I don't think there would've been much there anyways. There is good news. There is a card show in Orlando on February 3rd, and I'm doing so much as requesting the day off so I can go. If any of you that read this are in the area and are going, LET ME KNOW!! I don't really know anyone near me that collects cards, and I would love to do some trading. I hope to do a nice blog post on what I find at the show, so stay tuned. Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy

20 packs and a 'relic'

So I really don't post much about my collection much here, mainly focusing on custom cards, but I got a repack box today with 20 packs and a 'relic' so I thought I'd post what I got for a change of pace.

The box was 20 bucks, and judging from the packs I got in it, I think I got my moneys worth just from what the packs would've cost me. The box contained 4 packs of '90 Upper Deck, 4 packs of the Leaf Babe Ruth set, 4 packs of '16 Topps Bunt, 6 packs of '16 Stadium Club, 2 packs of '14 Panini Prizm Draft Picks, and 1 pack of '16 Topps Heritage. The Stadium Club, Heritage, and Prizm packs would've probably cost 2 bucks apiece, and with the 4 packs of Bunt and the 4 Babe Ruth packs at maybe 1 buck each, I think I did well. I was half expecting 15 packs of Triple Play, one of the biggest jokes of a set in recent years.

So let's see how I did. I'm going to save the best for last, so we'll start out with the '90 Upper Deck packs. 

I pulled Orel Hershiser, Terry Leach, and Barry Lyons for my Player Collection, Frank Tanana, Fred Lynn, and Guillermo Hernandez for my Tigers binder, a Red Sox, Orioles, Twins, and Mariners hologram, a Ben McDonald rookie which would've been worth a little when it was pulled, a Jim Rice (who I didn't realize got a final Upper Deck card), 2 Doc Gooden team checklists, and 2 Mike Witt cards (both of which were not the blacked out version on the back.

Next up is the Babe Ruth set.

I wasn't expecting much from this. I hate the Yankees, I don't really care for Babe Ruth. The only way these few packs would've been special would've been if I pulled a relic or autograph or something. I got a few neat photos, 1 of Babe posing as a righty, one of him golfing, and another of him signing a bat.

I never thought Bunt was that cool, but let's see what I get.

I got some Joe Mauer kind of magazine cover thing, a Trevor Story rookie for the rookie binder, and a Corey Kluber for the PC. Was hoping for a Ray or Tiger, but at least I pulled something.

I'm a little excited about Stadium Club. I wouldn't have purchased packs of this just because it is a little overpriced for me and it is a knock off of '97 Fleer. I'm hoping to pull a parallel and some Tigers/Rays.

I think I did ok with these packs. I got a Brian Johnson, dupes of Jacob deGrom, and a regular and gold version of Corey Kluber for the PC, Chris Archer and Erasmo Ramirez for my Rays binder, and JD Martinez, Ian Kinsler, and a Migule Cabrera insert for my Tigers one. Lastly, I pulled a Corey Seager and Trevor Story rookie and a Josh Donaldson insert.

On to the Prizm packs.

I got a Ross Kivett to add to my Tigers, an AJ Reed rookie, and a Nick Howard refractor.

Finally, the Heritage pack.

I was hoping I would get a few Tigers/Rays, and I think I did good, getting a John Axford and Keon Broxton for my PC, and a Chrome Josh Hamilton.

Now, we see what the relic card is.

I guess I should've read the fine print on the packaging.

Apparently, autographs are now considered to be relics.  According to Wikipedia, Ethan played with the Phillies for 2 seasons, and hasn't been in the Majors in a few years. 

I think it was a win. I got to bust 20 packs, most of which I hadn't opened before, I got some Rays/Tigers, and PC guys, and a nice autographed refractor. 

I recently won an auction on eBay of the Elite Extra Edition Tie Dye Aspirations #d to 10 card of Brody Koerner. That only leaves me with the 1/1 Status Gold card to complete the rainbow. I really hope to find it on eBay, but I'm not sure if it could pop up somewhere else, so if you happen to see it somewhere, please let me know. I have never tried to complete one before, but I think I did ok by getting a 1/10 card and a 1/1 and only needing another 1/1 to finish it.

Thanks for checking out my latest post.

-Jeremy

Doug Glanville Missing Topps cards

Doug Glanville played in the Majors for 9 seasons. He debuted in 1996 for the Chicago Cubs, and played with them in 1997, before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies at the end of the year. He played with the Phillies from 1998 to 2002, and signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent. He played with them until the trading deadline in 2003, and was traded back to the Cubs, whom he finished the '03 season with. He spent his final season in MLB with the Phillies in 2004.

Doug almost had a complete career Topps run. He missed out on a 1997 Topps card, but got one in every set after that until his final one in the 2005 set. I also made Doug a 1992 Topps card since he was a first round draft pick in 1991. Here are all of Doug's Topps cards, including my 2 customs.

1992 Topps Draft Pick custom

1997 Topps custom

1998 Topps

1999 Topps

2000 Topps

2001 Topps

2002 Topps

2003 Topps

2004 Topps

2005 Topps

That completes Doug's Career Topps Run. I am hoping to post a little more on this blog in the coming year. Sometimes I get so busy making checklists or making customs that I forget to post on here, but I will try to post more. I have tons of projects going on with customs right now. I am working on the '94 Pirates replacement players set, the 1998 Topps set, my big project, the 2020 Topps Archives Lost Cards set/sell sheets, and a few random cards from post-2001 Topps sets. Some of these later checklists may be incomplete right now, but I have a few friends helping me with not only the checklists, but also the cards and templates. Some of these difficult sets (1997 Topps, 2004 Topps, 2006 Topps, 2010-f2012 Topps may just get some templates soon. Stay tuned.

Thanks for checking out my latest post.

-Jeremy

Jerome Walton Missing Cards

Jerome Walton played in the Majors from 1989-1998. His career got off to a fast start, winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 1989 with the Chicago Cubs. He played with them through 1992. He was with the California Angels in 1993, played for 2 years with the Cincinnati Reds in 1994 and 1995. He spent 1996 with the Atlanta Braves, 1997 with the Baltimore Orioles, and finished his career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998.

Jerome got his first Topps card in the 1989 Topps Traded set. He appeared in the 1990, 1991, and 1992 Topps sets, and didn't get another one.  Jerome is missing cards from the 1993-1999 Topps sets.
I decided to give him an extra 1998 Topps set featuring him as a Devil Ray, since Topps gave a few of the Rays free agents cards in the 1998 Series 2 set.

1989 Topps Traded

1990 Topps

1991 Topps

1992 Topps

1993 Topps custom

1994 Topps Custom

1995 Topps custom

1996 Topps custom

1997 Topps custom

1998 Topps custom (Orioles)

1998 Topps custom (Devil Rays) 

1999 Topps custom

That completes Walton's career Topps run.  I have finished most of the subset cards in my 2020 Topps Archives: The Lost Cards set, and now it's just picking some of the base cards and making some of the insert cards to put with some fake sell sheets.  Stay tuned for those in the next year. Thanks for taking the time to check out my latest post.

-Jeremy

Matt Merullo Missing Topps Cards

Matt Merullo played in the Majors from 1989-1995. He spent 1989, and 1991 through 1993 with the Chicago White Sox, 1994 with the Cleveland Indians, before playing his final season in 1995 with the Minnesota Twins. His Grandfather Lennie Merullo, played shortstop for the Chicago Cubs from 1941-1947.

Matt only got into 1 main Topps set, the 1992 one, but did get 1990 Topps Debut, 1991 Topps Stadium Club, 1992 Topps Stadium Club, and 1994 Team Stadium Club cards. Matt needed 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996 Topps cards to complete his career Topps run.  Here are all of Matt's Topps cards to showcase his career Topps run.

1990 Topps custom rookie card

 1992 Topps card

 1993 Topps custom by Paul

 1994 Topps custom

 1995 Topps custom

1996 Topps custom sunset card

A few years ago, I sent Matt a letter and a 1992 Topps card to sign. I had some extra cards, so I sent them as well asking for him to keep them, and he sent the '92 back signed, as well as a note saying that he would be in Germany soon doing a camp and that he was excited to bring the extra cards I sent with him to hand out to the kids there. Matt looks to be a pretty consistent signer, so if autographs are your thing, I would send Matt a letter, and perhaps send a few extras of his that you can afford to lose so he can have more to hand out at camps and stuff. 

The 1997 Topps checklist is officially done, so that means the 1987-2001 sets are all ready to go, with every checklist done, and every template completed and up on its own page. 

I have kind of started a side project that I have wanted to do for some time now. I have always wished that Topps would just scrap their Archives brand as it is now with current and retired players on old designs, and turn it into a brand of nothing but cards that never were. Since they probably wont, I am. I am currently in the process of coming up with a checklist of 300-500 cards to make a base set out of, as well as a few insert sets. Not sure if I should split the set up into decades, or just make it into a 1-2 series set of 1951-2017 Topps cards. I do want to make maybe 100 cards in the set devoted to Draft Picks, Highlights, Managers, and Coaches. I plan on making a fake 'sell sheet' of the set, showcasing the cards, maybe a parallel set or two, all of the insert sets, and yes, even a relic and autograph insert set. As far as insert sets, I want to do a card with showcasing 2 players with 2 different Topps cards from the same set. Maybe 1/2 with a regular Topps card and a card that never was, and the other with both players' card that never was. Also have an autograph version of that one. The big insert would probably be cards of stadiums in various Topps designs (like the year after the team won or was in a World Series), but including a unique stadium/team-themed relic in it, like a tomahawk for the Braves, a piece of ivy for the Cubs, a Homer Hankie for the Twins, a dollar bill for the Yankees (just kidding!). That would probably be a serial numbered insert (maybe to 25 or 50). The main draw to the set would be a redemption card that would be redeemable for an original copy of every one of the depicted players' Topps cards, including cards that never were. These would probably be 5 per player, and then the holy grail would be one redeemable for every card, and each card would be autographed. So I will probably start working on a page to list the checklist, and then go through my inventory of cards I have already made and add them to the checklist and start working on insert cards. It might take a while, but keep your eyes peeled, and hopefully it won't bee good enough that Topps will want to sue me. 

Thanks for checking out my latest post.

-Jeremy

Rich Aude missing Topps cards

I am kind of switching the format of this blog to highlight individual players and showcase their missing Topps cards.  Most of these players will be from the '80's through 2000's, since I have created templates and checklists for the 1987-2001 Topps sets, and you can rest assured that I will keep working on customs and try to compete all of those sets and post them here when I do. Here is the first player I've done, Rich Aude.

Rich was a prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and played with them in 1993, 1995, and 1996. He received 1 Topps card, a 1994 Topps Coming Attractions card showing him with Midre Cummings.



He is missing cards from the 1996 and 1997 Topps sets.

In continuation of the Topps checklists for their respective sets, his 1996 Topps card is number 970, and his 1997 Topps card is number 1091.

I hope you enjoy this new format, the cards, and learn things about potentially forgotten players. Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy