When Topps Had Blue Borders

The 2003 Topps Traded set is down to fifteen needs, thanks to @cardboardjones and a huge brick of blue bordered cards.

I felt like I could have done a lot better in working on sets in 2019, but Cardboard Jones was a huge contributor. Fairly early on in my return to collecting, I took an interest in the 2003 Topps flagship set, and completed the Series 2 set with around a dozen cards still needed from Series 1. The Traded set needed a lot of help, which isn't surprising considering that it was released in a strange format. I looked into buying boxes on numerous occasions, but the steep prices and inclusion of Chrome cards in each pack made completing the set sound like a really difficult task. Amazingly enough, many years after starting this endeavor, someone I've traded with in the past was kind enough to get me really close to the finish line.

I believe I have all of the key rookies now aside from Robinson Cano, who despite the resurgent market for Topps flagship rookie cards, has probably seen his card prices permanently retreat from their peak. Hanley Ramirez was in the package as seen here, and I fortunately already owned a copy of Miguel Cabrera's card prior to this trade package.

I don't want to bore anyone with scores of blue bordered cards from 17 years ago, but I thought I'd scan a few just the same. The Crime Dog looks weird in Dodger blue, although I feel like the early '00s contain an endless supply of star players in weird uniforms.

Jeff Reboulet was a guy with a cool name that played for the AAA Portland Beavers back when I was in high school, so he gets a mention here. It's extremely doubtful that I had any idea he went on to a big league career that spanned a decade until getting back into this whole collecting side gig.

Eek, a Cub! Wellemeyer went on to log a few seasons with the La Russa/Duncan Cardinals, including a weird season where he was a starter. This set is chock full of "1st Year Card" logos, a distinction that would be later reserved for Bowman cards under the revamped rookie card rules of 2006 or whatever.

There were actually a couple of cards in the package that I'm going to be seeking a second copy of, including this 1st Year Danny Haren that's headed to my Cardinals binders. I don't know that it's a sane position to take to own more than one copy of anything at this point, but this is what I'm doing.

Similarly, I have to file this Adam Wainwright "Prospect" card in my Waino collection, which means I need another copy of it as well. I didn't make up these rules! At least, that's what I try to tell myself.

Big thanks again to Cardboard Jones. Please feel free to send help (in the form of cards) here if you are so inclined.