From the Archives

An old pack break on the eve of a big game.

I used to work with this guy who was a bit hard of hearing, but not so much that you couldn't carry on a conversation with him successfully. He had some interesting quirks, including pronunciation of the word "archives", which he pronounced a lot like "chives". Is anyone else familiar with that pronunciation?

I bought four of these packs this summer and recently busted one over at APTBNL. Here's another one of the packs.

338 - Early Wynn (1962) - Wynn had one of those classic pitchers names, like Bob Walk and Larry Sinkerballer.

388 - Tony Perez (1986) - I get a bit of a twinge of nostalgia when I see this design, of all years. It was the first one I bought packs of. I remember seeing the 1981 design first when I was just barely old enough to eat cold cereal, so I mangled the little Robin Yount card that came out of my box of Chex or whatever it was. I took care of those precious '86 cards... well, not really. I actually got rid of most of them because even at 14 I realized how worthless they were. Maybe someday I'll buy a box and then donate the contents after I open it, just for old times' sake. Also, Eric Davis!

335 - Richie Ashburn (1963) - I always see Ashburn as a Phillie, so it's cool to see a later period card of his. Although, it's not the actual card... whatever.

344 - Jim Bouton (1968) - Hey, it's the Ball Four guy.

268 - Tommy John (1964) - Topps hacked up some of the multiplayer cards they featured in this set to focus on the better known half, or so it would seem. Hence, these look kind of wonky.

271 - Steve Carlton (1965) - Same deal here. Nice to get a Card, though!

270 - Paul Blair (1965) - Another '65 Rookie Star.

274 - Ron Swoboda (1965) - And another one. Neither of these guys were as successful as Lefty, crazy as he may be.