Around The Card Room, Take 6

 I think I posted this item on here seven or eight years ago as an item I picked up from Topps Vault.  

I am not sure if the Topps Vault is still a store on Ebay, but it was more or less where Topps dumped out all of their odds and ends. I am certain that 90% of the listings on the Topps Vault were blank back versions of sports cards that were released between 1995 and 2015 along with tons of photo proofs.  

I loved the Topps Vault and bought all kinds of stuff off of there. Most of it was 1990s Cardinals and current Durham Bulls players.  

It always surprised me how cheap some of the items on the Topps Vault would end up selling for considering they were very unique. 

My favorite item by far is my Topps baseball card contract with Ray Lankford.

I framed the contract and have it hanging my card room next to my card closet.

Here is a better scan of the contract without the glare off the glass.  

Note the date of the contract ends on January 31st, 2003. Lankford played the 2004 season with the Cardinals as a left-handed bat off the bench, but never had a baseball card produced during that season. It was always kind of surprising that a veteran player like Lankford was excluded from the Topps set in 2004 and 2005, especially given how good the Cardinals were during that time. 

Guessing this was Ray Lankford's last baseball card contract with Topps.