1991 Canada Games: Face to Face Celebrity Guessing Game Card #525

      

     

     I was aware of these, but at first, had no intention of including them into the Hoard.  This is a card from Canada Games Co.'s, Face to Face game.  The 1991 version included 800 picture cards of celebrities from all fields, sports, entertainment, politics, etc.  The idea of the game was that a card was placed behind a plastic screen which had four, slide open, windows.  Questions were asked, and if answered correctly, a window would be slid open, revealing part of the celebrity's face. You would try to guess who it was in as little moves as possible.

     I decided to buy one of Herschel's cards on the secondary market. They're not that hard to find, although some celebrities may be harder find than others.  I did this because I noticed that someone had created a space for the set on Herschel Walker's page at the TCDB.  Sometimes though, people will add checklists for cards on there, which don't belong, such as homemade, unlicensed cards.  I checked with a long time and trusted member and he informed me that the cards were legitimate.

    One interesting side note is that I remember this being on the show Pawn Stars.  The original creator of the game came on the show and tried to sell Rick Harrison the licensing rights to it.  He had with him, several release forms signed by the various celebrities.  Rick was more interested in the autographs than the rights, but I can't remember if he made a deal with the guy or not.  Canada Games also made the Pogs game, which was a thing in the 1990's.  They went out of business in 1997, but were quite successful for a time.

   So, slowly but surely, the Hoard marches on.

1991 Ultra #202 Large Logo Variation

       One of the members of the TCDB recently discovered that the 1991 Ultra set had a previously undiscovered variation.  The NFLPA logo, which contains a football, shown on the reverse of the cards, comes in two sizes.  The front of the card is the same in both cases.  Here is the front of Herschel Walker's card:     

         Now here is the reverse with the larger logo, which I recently added to the Hoard:

     

     Notice the size of the football in the logo in the upper left.  Now here is the other version, showing the smaller size football:     

     As can be seen, the football in the second example's logo is much smaller.  Though not confirmed, it appears that each card in the 300 card set comes in both sizes.

1995 Pacific Gridiron Copper #88

      

Another Top Ten Most Wanted Herschel Walker card is located.

I was really surprised and happy to be able to snag this card, which had been on my top ten, most wanted list for a long time.  This is the Copper version of Herschel Walker's 1995 Pacific Gridiron card, #88.  There are five different color schemes for each card. Blue, red, copper, platinum and gold.   It is a 100 card set and 750 cases of the blue(hobby) edition were printed, along with 750 cases of the red(retail) edition.  The copper and platinum versions represent 10% of the total print run.  I read that there were 20 boxes per case, so 10% of each player, would mean 540 copper and platinum Walker cards were originally available.

In any case, the blue and red versions are already in the Hoard, whereas I've never come across a copper version until now.  I've removed this card from the top ten sidebar list and replaced it with the platinum example, which I hope someday to add to the collection.  The gold version is another story altogether.  There were only 30 total of those made for each player. Who knows?  Maybe someday.

Best of all, I got this card for under a buck.  Some would say, that's all it's worth, but I would say, "See how many pop up for sale at any price."

All in all, a great day at the Herschel Hoard.

2006 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Red TOT-60

      

    As I mentioned in my last post, Herschel Walker cards which I am seeking for the Hoard are turning up at a slow rate. I was pleased to find this one, which I needed from the 2006 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia series.  This is the Tools of the Trade Red edition.  There is a flurry of different cards from this set, some with game used material, some, like this one, without.  As can be seen on the card back, it is serial numbered to 100, with this being the very first one issued.

     This is the 854th different Walker card I've collected.  The march to 900 continues!

2012 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Mini Printing Plates Black #3

      

     After a long dry spell, I was able to nab yet another one of one printing plate, for the Herschel Hoard.  This is the black plate from the 2012 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Mini series.  There are four different printing plates in the series and the Hoard now possesses two of them.

     It is really becoming difficult to find card examples from Walker's career, which I don't already have.  Now don't get me wrong, they are out there, but the ones I need just don't seem to come up for sale too often.

     The Trading Card Database currently lists 1,144 possible Walker cards.  Of those, 866 card images have been uploaded.  I personally have uploaded 760 of those images.  The total amount of Walker cards I own is now at 853.  If you subtract 853 from 1,144, you get 291.  Of those 291 cards, 128 are one of one's.   That means 163 cards that have a realistic chance to be collected.

     The bottom line of this is that I will be very lucky to make the milestone of 900 different Herschel Walker cards.  It's possible that I will be able to nab another one of one card, like the one featured above, but the rarity of them makes it very difficult.  The price wanted for some of these cards is prohibitive, at least for me. 

      Some of the rare parallels from the '90's also almost never show up on the secondary market either.  I will keep plugging away, but don't be surprised if it is a long time between Hoard posts.

2018 Panini Flawless Collegiate (2017 Panini Flawless Collegiate Team Slogans Gold Signatures #TSS-HW)

      

      This is, at the same time, one of the nicest looking Herschel Walker autographed cards in the Hoard, along with being one of the most confusing.

       Panini Flawless is one of the hardest sets to checklist properly, as there is a multitude of subsets within it.  To make matters worse, although the copyright date on the back of the card reads 2017, the TCDB lists no 2017 cards for Walker in the Panini line.  Instead, this card is listed under the 2018 Panini Flawless Collegiate set, with an added line that it is from the 2017 set.

    The Team Slogan part of it comes in where Herschel has added, "Go Dawgs", in addition to his signature.  The autograph is crisp and clear and it's a great photo of Walker in his Georgia red uniform.

     The white border of the card is washed out among the white background on the scan, but in hand, this card is a 10 out of 10.   That also happens to be the serial # of this card, #10 of a total of 10.

    Though I have discussed this card before, when I made a post about some of the autographed cards that are in the Hoard, but it was just today that I got the card uploaded to the TCDB. Many thanks for SunDevilCollection for working so hard on these Panini set checklists and creating the space for this great autographed card.

2003 Donruss Classics Atlantic City National Promos #119

      

One of only five cards produced, this Herschel Walker promo card was only available at the 2003 National Sports Collectors convention, held in Atlantic City, N.J., that year.

The card looks the same as the base card from the 2003 Donruss set, except that there is an embossed stamp on the front of the card, which reads, "24th Annual National Convention, Atlantic City, N.J."

The stamp is difficult to see on the scan, but it is just to the right of Herschel's knee on the card front.  On the back of the card is the 5/5 serial #.

I'm very pleased to add this tough to find promo card to the Herschel Hoard.

1994 Collector's Choice Spanish #149 (Another Top Ten Most Wanted Card is Snagged)

      

The blurb on the back of this card, "No running back in the NFL had more receptions in 1993 than Walker", which was then translated into Spanish, is the only difference between this 1994 Collector's Choice Spanish card of Herschel's and his regular #149 Collector's Choice issue.

Despite that fact, this is a relatively difficult parallel to locate. In my prior two blog posts, I mentioned how I finally decided to buy an unopened box of the cards when one became available and rip open some packs in order to try and find the elusive card.

I was lucky enough to do so on the second pack and I will put the remaining unopened packs up for sale on EBay.

It's always nice to check off one of the Hoard's top ten most wanted cards and as can be seen, a new candidate, 1997 Stadium Club Pro Bowl #138,  has replaced this one.  Coincidentally, this is the 850th different Herschel Walker card in the Hoard.

1994 Collector's Choice Spanish Box Break Part 2

      

           The  box of '94 Collector's Choice Spanish football cards from Upper Deck, which I recently purchased has been opened.

     The first pack I opened had a Joe Montana card and a Willie McGinest rookie card.

     Then I tore open the second pack and JACKPOT!

     

 The card I've been hunting for the Hoard was in the middle of the pack.  It's been quite awhile since I could check off a top ten most wanted card for the Herschel Hoard.  The card will be featured in detail tomorrow.

1994 Collector's Choice Spanish Box Break Part 1

      I decided to spend some of my stimulus money.   One of my top ten most wanted Herschel Walker cards is a 1994 Collector's Choice Spanish #149.  This card is exactly the same as the English base version, except for the fact that the type is in Spanish.

       After searching for the individual card with no success, I bid on a box of unopened packs, but was outbid on EBay.   When a second box came up, I put it on my watchlist.  A day or two later, under similar items you have searched for, a box appeared with a buy it now price.

     It was about $20 more than what the original box sold for, but I said, "What the heck", and bought it.

  Here's what I received:   

    My plan is to crack it open this weekend.  If I am lucky enough to snag Herschel's card right away, I may resell the other unopened packs.

2004 Donruss Classics Timeless Tributes Green # 118 33/50

 

     

This is a 2004 Donruss Classics Timeless  Tributes Green parallel card featuring Herschel Walker.  The Hoard has all the other Walker cards from this set, save for the Platinum, which is a one of one.

As can be seen, this card is serial numbered to 50 and despite the higher serial number, it took me until now to find it.

2014 TriStar Signa Cuts Draft Choice Herschel Walker/Danny White One of One

 

      The autographed memorabilia company, TriStar, got into the draft choice card biz in 2014, with these signed cards.  Like Panini, not only were that years current NFL draft picks included, but legends of the past also had examples.

     Such is the case with this one of one autographed card of former Dallas Cowboy quarterback and Herschel Walker, in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform.

     These items are fairly rare, as there was only 75 cases produced, with  (2) 12 count mini boxes per set.  The cards were issued in runs of  35, 10, 5 and the 1 of 1's.

The Hoard Will Continue, but With Changes.

        I was going to end this blog, I really was.  I decided to continue for the following reasons:  1. When I began to collect,  I wanted to select a player who was famous, but not ultra famous.  Herschel Walker filled the bill.  Had I selected say, Tom Brady, it would have been next to impossible, either on a practical basis, or a financial basis.

        2. I wanted a player who played in the 80's and 90's, but who was popular enough to demand some cards long after his career was over.  Again, Walker fills the bill.

        3.  Though I vehemently disagree with his political beliefs; that should not prevent me from having the enjoyment I get from finding a long searched for card for my collection.

        4.  I am going to keep going, but the Hoard will feature cards only, no other memorabilia featuring Walker from this point on.