Saturday, December 19, 2020

1991 Sports Educational Magazine Uncut Sheet #'s 19-27

      



  These cards were featured in a type of educational workbook for students.  A couple of Texas educators came up with the it.  The idea was to have students go through the steps of building a professional football team, including drafting players.  These cards were placed in the centerfold of the magazine as examples of players who could be selected.  There were two such uncut sheets, with 9 players each placed in each workbook.

     Herschel shares his uncut sheet with Joe Montana, Ty Detmer, Dan Marino, Blair Thomas, Raghib Ismail, Jerry Rice, Randall Cunningham and Jim Kelly.

     Both the uncut sheet and the individual cards are listed on the Trading Card Data Base.


Thursday, December 3, 2020

1988 Topps Stickers #34 Variation Roger Craig on Back

     



     This is a variation of Herschel Walker's 1988 Topps Sticker set that I have tried to find for a long time. It's the one that features Roger Craig of the San Francisco 49ers on the reverse.  These sticker cards have many variations.

     One side is a peel off sticker of a particular player, the other side has a cardboard card image of a different player, with the word Super Star at the top.  So far, I have found four different versions of the Herschel Walker stickers.  I honestly don't know how many are out there.

.

Saturday, November 21, 2020

1991 Ace Novelty Co. Herschel Walker Card and Pin #81012

      



This is the Herschel Walker version of the 1991 Ace Novelty Co.'s trading card and pin.  The card enclosed appears to be a 1991 Pacific #299 of Walker.  Perhaps the two companies had some sort of licensing agreement, or maybe one owned the other, I'm not sure.

The pin has a photo of  Herschel on the front.  There is a pin back on the reverse to allow it to be attached to clothing and in addition, each players stats for that season are engraved on the back of the pin.

I discovered the stats on a loose pin of Walker, that I came across, in addition to this example, which has not been removed from the packaging.   This is the second year of these items put out by the Taiwanese company, Ace Novelty.  1990 was the first year.



Thursday, November 5, 2020

2006 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Material Blue # TOT-60

     




     I was able to pick up another variation in the 2006 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia,  Tools of the Trade series.   This is the Material Blue card, featuring a swatch of game worn material used by Herschel Walker.

   As can be seen, this card is serial numbered to 50, with this example being # 16 in the set.

Sunday, October 11, 2020

2002 Donruss Classics National Convention Promos # 125

 



     This card is difficult to find.  It is a 2002 Donruss Classics card of Herschel Walker, #125.

The thing that makes it special is the fact that these were only given out originally at the National Sports Collectors Convention that year, in Chicago, Illinois.

The cards were limited to a run of just 5, with this being the #1 example.  It's very tough to see on the image above, but on the left side of the card front, just to the left of Walker's knee, there is an embossed mark.  It shows: 2002, for the year, and under that, is a larger number, 23, which signifies that this was the 23rd annual National Convention.

Donruss did this a few years running.  There is also a limited edition card from the Atlantic City convention held the following year.

As always, I'm pleased and grateful to add this card to the collection at the Herschel Hoard.

Sunday, September 27, 2020

2012 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Mini Green Blank Backs #3

      



As a rule, I don't include blank backs, in the Hoard, because they are usually classified as error cards, meaning that they are a manufacturing mistake.

However, in this instance, these cards with blank backs were deliberately issued by the manufacturer.

Over a year ago, Dan, a member at the TCDB, informed me of the legitimacy of this subset.  It took me until now to acquire one.

There are 171 different cards in the base set and all subsets. One to one printing plates are also out there. 

The base 2012 Goodwin Champions set and all subsets(most are smaller than standard issue, "mini" cards), feature male and female sports stars across all disciplines, from football to billiards.

Herschel Walker is shown here in a fighting pose.  He fought in two Mixed Martial Arts events for Strikeforce, long after he retired from football, winning both matches.

Thursday, September 10, 2020

2019 Score Buybacks (1989-2019) #34

      



     I finally nabbed the third and final Herschel card in the 2019 Score Buybacks series.  I first discovered these cards in June of 2019.  To mark the 30th anniversary of the original issue in 1989, Score bought up some of the original set on the secondary market and reissued them, with the stamp on the card front.

     Walker has three cards in the set. #'s 317, 331S and #34, which is this one.  It took me a year and three months to locate the final card.

Thursday, August 27, 2020

2005 Topps All-American Gold Chrome Refractor #51 BCS Graded

      




Today's card is a 2005 Topps All-American Gold Chrome Refractor #51 of Herschel Walker, with the Georgia Bulldogs.

You'll notice you don't see many 3rd party graded cards at the Hoard.  I don't really care for the idea, for multiple reasons.

First, I just don't like a process where a one number(or even less) difference in grading can account for multiples of 10 or more in the value of a card.

With several of these cards coming across a so called expert grader's desk every day, they can't possibly have more than a minute or two to assign a grade and move on.

PSA and Beckett are probably the two biggest third party graders.  I've read plenty of stories where some has received a grade of say, 8 on a card, then resubmitted it, to another grader, or sometimes even the same grader, and it magically becomes a 9.

Secondly, the grading process is not cheap.  I'd rather spend that money on the cards themselves.

Finally, graded cards take up way more storage space. I guess you could make an argument regarding protection, but if you're careful, you can keep your raw cards in good shape.

So why did I add this graded card to the Hoard?  Simple.  I didn't have this particular Walker parallel.  This Gold Chrome Refractor is serial numbered to 55, with this example being #20.  The serial number can be seen on the card back, to the right of the cartoon.

I've been known to pick up graded cards I need, and crack open the case, but here, I left it as is.

I'm not sure exactly why, maybe because it's in a fairly high grade.

Here are a couple vertical views of the card in the holder:




Sunday, August 16, 2020

2011 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Veteran Signatures #SS-HW

      


Here is a nice looking Herschel Walker autographed card, which I'm pleased to add to the Herschel Hoard, after a lengthy search.

This is from the 2011 Upper Deck Sweet Spot set.  There was a set that contained NFL rookies of that year, and also a subset of college legends, called Veterans Signatures.  I believe there were 49 cards in that subset.

The cards are different in that there is a raised plastic helmet on the card surface, which each player has signed.

Each of the cards in this set is serial numbered to 50, with this example being #13.

The back of the card looks like this:


Herschel also made the cut in two other subsets.  The first is called Veteran Signature Variations. These cards are serial numbered to 30.   The second subset is called Rivalries Book Cards.  This set features two college stars from rival schools.  In Herschel Walker's case, he's matched up with Bo Jackson from Auburn.  The dual autographed cards are serial numbered to 25.

I hope to be able to add one or both of these card to the Herschel Hoard in the future.

Sunday, July 26, 2020

TCDB Makes One Card Into Two. Sort Of. 1986 McDonald's Herschel Walker

     Recently, the guys at the Trading Card Database decided to split the 1986 McDonald's card set into two sections.

     Whereas before, each card, with the bottom tab attached, counted as one card.  Now, the card without the tab is counted as the regular issued card, while the card with the tab attached, is now regarded as a parallel issue.

     I'm not sure how I feel about this.  On the one hand, I can see why it was done, as the tab portion has no mention of the particular player, statistics or otherwise.

    On the other hand, I've always felt the cards with the tabs attached are more desirable. The cards themselves are not rare by any means, although some colored tabs are harder to find than others.

    From what I've heard, this McDonald's promotion kicked off in 1985, featuring the Chicago Bears.  The success of it caused the company to continue the promotion in 1986.  It was called Kickoff Payoff.  The National promotion featured 24 different cards for each of the 28 NFL teams at the time.

   In what was a four week promotion, the tabs on each card had scratch off ink, which revealed what food prize could be claimed, based on that week's game results for the two teams shown on a particular tab.

   Each week, the tabs were a different color.  Week 1 was blue, week 2 was black, week 3 was gold and week 4 was green.

  The '86 Dallas Cowboys set has 25 cards, rather than the standard issue 24.  Specifically, Herschel Walker was the reason for this.  He joined the team in 1986 and was not included in the regular set.

  Due to his popularity at the time, McDonald's decided to print a card of Walker for inclusion in the Cowboys set.   The Walker card only comes with a green tab.  There is also no scratch off ink on any of the Herschel cards issued.

     Here is the Herschel Walker card from the set, first with tab, then without:

   




The cards were 3 and 1/8 by  4 and 11/16th inches.  The non tabbed card above is just blown up a bit in the image.

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

2012 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Mini Cyan Printing Plate #3

   


Another printing plate finds its way into the Herschel Hoard.  This is the Cyan plate from the 2012 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Mini set.

As can be seen on the reverse, this is a one of one item.

The label on the back is off center, but as the first mini printing plate I've come across, I'm happy to have it in the Hoard.

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

2013 Ultimate Collection Ultimate Triple Jerseys #UJ3-JWS

   


I was able to pick up another card in the 2013 Ultimate Collection.  This card is from the Triple Jersey series.  It features 3 players, all Heisman Trophy winners, with a jersey swatch from each player.

On this card, which is serial numbered 15 out of a possible 15, Herschel Walker is shown with Bo Jackson, from Auburn and Billy Sims, from the University of Oklahoma.

The card #'s, or letters correspond to the order of the player on the card, from left to right.  In this case, JWS is Jackson, Walker and Sims.

Herschel also shares cards with Barry Sanders and Earl Campbell in this set.

Saturday, June 6, 2020

1997 Stadium Club Pro Bowl Ballot #36

   


This is an unusual card for the Herschel Hoard, in that it doesn't feature an image of Herschel Walker, but rather, just mentions him.

What this is, is a ballot in trading card form, in which fans could vote for certain players for the 1998 N.F.L. Pro Bowl (from the just completed 1997 season).  It was an insert set in the Stadium Club Football set that year.

Herschel had a good year returning kicks for Dallas, in what would be his final year in the league.

He returned  50 kickoffs for 1,167 yard, for an average return of 23.3 yards.  His longest return was 49 yards.

Though he is listed as a nominee, he failed to make the Pro Bowl team.

I  think he actually had a better season returning kicks in 1996, his first year back with the Cowboys.  That season, he returned 27 kicks for 779 yards.  That's an average of  28.9.  His longest return that year was 89 yards.

This card is #36 in a 40 card set.







Saturday, May 30, 2020

One Pitfall of a Single Player Collector

    As a single player collector, the goal is to obtain as many different cards of the person you collect as possible. 
    With new cards being issued constantly, even for long retired players, it can be a daunting task.  That doesn't even take into account the parallels, inserts and variations which already exist, but which a collector may not be aware of.

    As long as I have been collecting cards of Herschel Walker, I'm not immune to making mistakes, in the hopes of adding a new and different card to the Hoard.

   Here's an example:  Below is a 1993 Pacific Prism card of Herschel

   

I have this card already and was perusing EBay one day when I saw this:


Wow, I thought.  A cool variation of the '93 Prism card, with a way out, spiral design.  I bought the card and when it arrived it looked exactly the same as the top card.  I checked with the guys at the TCDB and to my chagrin, the cars are the same, the only difference is the camera flash.

I should have known better, but my desire for something different lured me in. Luckily, the lesson didn't cost me too much.   Live and learn.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

2013 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Gold Spectrum #57




     I recently nabbed this tough to find parallel of Herschel.   It's a 2013 Upper Deck Ultimate Gold Spectrum card #57.

      I added the base card of the set to the Hoard a long time ago, but the Gold Spectrum version had eluded me until now.   As can be seen on the card front, it is serial numbered to just 10, with this example being # 7.

     It can also be distinguished from the base card by the gold foil logo in the upper right of the card front.

    There is also a Silver Spectrum parallel, which is a one of one card.

Sunday, May 17, 2020

2012 SP Authentic Sign of the Times #ST-HW

   


I'm pleased to add to the Herschel Hoard, a 2012 SP Authentic  Sign of the Times  autographed card of Herschel Walker.

The Sign of the Times series is one of the best looking autographed sets out there, in my opinion.  This is the "base" card in the series, if you will.  There is also a gold parallel version, which is serial numbered to 10.

As often happens, I was able to find the parallel version first, and that card has already been shown and discussed on here.

I had a chance to pick up the regular version some time ago, but missed my opportunity.  I had not seen it come up again until recently, and so I was glad to be able to grab it this time around.

Sunday, May 10, 2020

2019 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Collegiate #41 Cyan Printing Plate 1 of 1



     I'm happy to add another 1 of 1 printing plate to the Herschel Hoard.   This is the Cyan plate, from card #41 of the 2019 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Collegiate set.

     This is the first printing plate of Herschel's that I've been able to obtain from this particular set.

Saturday, April 18, 2020

2018 Panini Flawless Collegiate #40 Emerald

   


This is the second pickup in this series that I have acquired for the Hoard.  I have the base card in the 2018 Panini Flawless Collegiate set, and now can add the Emerald version.

These are serial #'d to 5.  The mark is just above the gem on the front.  This is the #1 card.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

A Top Ten Herschel Card,(maybe the #1 card) is Found!

    A six year quest for one of the most elusive Herschel Walker cards out there has ended today.

 The Herschel Hoard is very pleased to welcome in:

1994 Upper Deck Electric Gold #262



You see that little gold foil electric logo at the bottom of the card front?   That beautiful little logo is something I was beginning to think I would never see.

But lo and behold, a few days ago, as I was perusing EBay for Herschel cards, as I routinely do, there it was.  Someone was selling a '94 Walker Upper Deck Electric Gold card.  I rubbed my eyes in disbelief.

All I had ever come across in the last six years were the base card example, and the Electric Silver parallel, both of which I already had.

After quickly reviewing the seller's offering, I quickly hit Buy it Now, hoping that no one had acted faster.

When the message, "Congratulations on your purchase" popped up, a wave of collecting satisfaction washed over me.

Silly to get that wound up over a piece of cardboard?  Maybe, But thousands of you know just how I feel.

So another rarity replaces this one, and the beautiful journey begins anew.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

2019 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Collegiate Fame Ticket #41

   


Finding its way into the Hoard is another confusing insert from the 2019 Panini Draft Picks Collegiate set.

This is what is listed in the checklist as the "Fame" ticket.  Bear in mind it says "Season Ticket" at the top, as several of the examples in the set do, and the word fame doesn't appear anywhere on the card.

The sunburst pattern of the front differentiates it from other's in the set, as the Building Blocks or Cracked Ice examples, which were discussed in prior posts.

Many football card collectors resent Panini's onslaught of inserts and parallels, but as I've said, a single player collector goes after as many as he can get.  Within budget of course.

These cards are serial numbered to just 5.  This is #4.  This can be found on the card front, just to the right of where the Panini Contenders Draft Picks logo is.

Friday, March 27, 2020