Tuesday, July 30, 2019

1991 Pinnacle Promo Panels #83,88,92,97 Louis Lipps/John Offerdahl/Jeff George/Herschel Walker

   


I checked my mailbox yesterday, and was pleased to find one of the cards I have been waiting for.  This is a 1991 Pinnacle Promo Panel featuring four players together as a way to show off the cards in the then upcoming '91 Pinnacle set.

I had no clue about these panel cards.  I've been a member of the TCDB since 2013, and only within the last few months has a new space been created for this item. I'm pleased to be able to fill it.

I went online, and came across a blog from a guy who collects Rod Woodson cards.  There I learned that these 4 card panels were originally introduced and distributed at the Super Bowl XXVI card show,  Jan 20-26, 1992.  The total # of the 5" x 7" panels in the set appears to be 25.

The image on each players card is exactly the same as the base card in the 415 card '92 Pinnacle set.

Herschel shares his panel with John Offerdahl, a great inside linebacker who played his entire career with the Miami Dolphins.  I remember him stuffing Bo Jackson twice in the 1985 Senior Bowl, once at the goal line.
Then there is Louis Lipps, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver.   Though not a Steeler fan, I live in Steeler country, and remember what a fan favorite he was.
Former first round draft pick, Jeff George was a bit of a head case, many remember his famous sideline meltdown with June Jones when he was with Atlanta.  But what I remember about the guy, was the was he would drop back, and with an almost effortless, flick of the wrist, throw the ball 60 or 70 yards downfield.

As I've mentioned before, finding a card from Herschel's playing days, which I didn't previously own,  gives me as much pleasure as any aspect of my collecting hobby.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

2019 Score 1989-2109 Score Buybacks #317 SPEED BURNER

     Before I describe this card, I'd like to mention that things have been a little slow here at the Herschel Hoard.  Since my last post, I have not been able to come across any Herschel cards which I did not previously own, or that were not ridiculously expensive.

    Things did break for me within the last couple of weeks, as I located two cards from Herschel's playing days, which I did not have previously.  One of these is a card I knew nothing about until a new space was created for it on the Trading Card Data Base.  The other was a parallel from a set, which I was aware of, but was never able to locate. Though these two cards were not on my most wanted list, they could have easily made the grade.

   While I await these cards in the mail, I picked up a 2019 Score Buyback card of Herschel off of EBay.

   

The way the Buyback gimmick works, is that a card company, in this case, Score buys up original trading cards on the secondary market, and in most cases marks the cards with a special stamp.
Usually this is done for an anniversary of some kind.  In this case, it's the 30th anniversary of the original year issue.

The stamp can be seen right above SPEEDBURNER on the card front.  This subset featured some of the fastest players in the NFL at that time.  The total # of cards in the set is 440, which of course, was the total # in the 1989 set.

Herschel has two other cards in the set. #34, and #331S.    The feelings are mixed on buybacks.  Many collectors dislike them, as they feel they the stamp mars the original card, and that it's just another chase gimmick, which it kind of is.

As a single player collector however, the chase is what it's all about.  If you're realistic about the fact that you'll never own everything available and you watch your budget, adding different cards to your collection, no matter how slight the difference, can be fun.

Saturday, July 6, 2019

2018 Panini National Treasures Collegiate Century Red #13

   


I was able to add this parallel to the Hoard after much searching.  This is the Century Red card of Herschel,  from the 2018 Panini National Treasures Collegiate Set.

This card is serial numbered to 25, with this being #22.  It's funny how sometimes cards with extremely low serial runs, even one of one's, seem to come up for sale more quickly than the higher numbered runs.  

Such was the case here, but I can now chock it off my want list.

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

2019 Leaf Ultimate Sports Ultimate Memorabilia 8 Purple #U8-12

   


This is Leaf's 2019 look at multi-player game used memorabilia cards.  Herschel is featured in this set in a couple different ways.
The card above features eight different former Dallas Cowboys stars, with a game used jersey swatch representing each player.  Herschel Walker shares the card with Emmitt Smith, Drew  Pearson, Bob Lilly, Tony Dorsett, Bob Hayes, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin.

The Purple parallel shown above is serial numbered to 12.  This card is #4.  The serial number can be seen in the black border of the right side of the card front.
There are also the following: Base-#'d to 25;  Platinum-#'d to 5;  Red -#'d to 3; Silver-#'d to 2 and Gold-#'d to 1.

In addition, there is also an Ultimate Sports  Ultimate Patch 4 version.  In that set, Walker is featured with three other Heisman Trophy winners.  However, I doubt I will be seeking out any of those cards.
It's because of my own personal bias, but one of the other former Heisman winners is O.J. Simpson.  I just can't , in good conscience, collect cards of a person that I believe, murdered  two people.
That's not to say that there aren't some people in my collection with off field issues.  Michael Irvin, for example, had some shady behavior, to say the least, but the Simpson thing, especially as a Bills fan, will always stick in my craw.
That said, I do own two Simpson cards.  I'm trying to complete a 1973 Topps football set, and he is featured twice in that set, and I do have those cards.   However, I doubt I would ever spend money on any more Simpson cards.

A quick shout out to the two other Heisman winners who are featured with Herschel.  Earl Campbell and Eddie George.  I admire and respect both those guys.