2010 Topps Sterling Andre Dawson Six Piece Relic

I am thinking that this card could possibly be the greatest Montreal Expos card in my collection.  It depends if we are counting the Nationals, or if the Nationals are claiming the Expos.  I've been intrigued during the past two years with the emergence of Nationals fans springing up around central North Carolina, along with a MASN appearance on several local cable carriers, to hear their take on the world of baseball.

Growing up a Cardinals fan I know that I have had it really good.  The Expos, on the other hand, made one playoff appearance in 1981, which I do not remember, and should have made another in 1994 when the strike derailed their season.  The other thirty some years that I have followed baseball, the Expos/Nationals have been pretty irrelevant.  Worse is the fact that many of the other professional baseball teams that have called Washington home have also been terrible.  The city's streak of playoff futility is rivaled by only the Chicago Cubs.

However, the irrelevance is now starting to change around the team.  They have several great young players and seem poised to be a very good team for the next several seasons.  The team has also created a Ring of Honor, kind of football like, to recognize past players from the Expos and other Washington baseball teams.  One of the players appearing on the Ring of Honor is Expos great Andre Dawson.

2010 Topps Tribute Andre Dawson Six Piece Relic

Dawson was recently elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as an Expo becoming the second player to do so.  The first was Gary Carter.  Despite his direct connection to the franchise along with his Hall of Fame credentials, I am often disappointed when Nationals fans, or worse the team's broadcasters, scoff at the teams history.  There are two takes: The Nationals started in 2005 and Ryan Zimmerman is currently the greatest National until Bryce Harper or Steven Strasburg can pass him for the honor.  Or... The Nationals greatest player is Walter Johnson or Andre Dawson or Harmon Killebrew or Josh Gibson or Gary Carter depending on the day and whether or not we are counting the Expos or not.  Somedays we count the Senators, somedays not.  Somedays one of the Senators teams, but not the bad one.  Oh, they were both pretty bad?  

I was encouraged when the Nats created the Ring of Honor and was hoping that they would do a great job of marketing the direct past history of the franchise by honoring some of the great Expos players I watched growing up like Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Pedro Martinez, and Larry Walker.  I would also love to hear about some of the great players that have played for Washington baseball teams like Walter Johnson and Josh Gibson.  

I think that many fans understand that the franchise history of the Expos/Nationals has not always been great, nor has the history of many of the Washington baseball teams.  However, it would be nice if the franchise and fans were more consistent in honoring the players featured in the Ring of Honor by not claiming that your 19 year old right fielder is the greatest right fielder in the history of the franchise.  Or knowing that before Steven Strasburg pitched in Washington, Walter Johnson was one the greatest pitchers in the history of the game. 

So to clarify my statement from the first line.  This card is the greatest Montreal Expos card that I own and I consider it to be one of my better Washington Nationals cards too.  Now, if we can get the Nationals to start selling some Expos shirts, or at lease a Senators shirt, we would be in business.  

30 Year Top 50: 1991 Donruss

#22-Many of the cards featured on my countdown over the past few months have featured card sets with great autographed or relic based inserts.  My set this evening features one of the first and most innovative insert sets, which I credit with the boom of insert cards and sets, during the mid 90s running through current card releases.  Looking back at this set twenty-one years after its release, the idea of a "limited" print run insert set of 10,000 cards, or in the case of the super-short printed Nolan Ryan 7,500, is pretty laughable.  However, this was the first "premium" insert set featured in a baseball card set and was the forerunner of almost every insert set released since.

1991 Donruss John Kruk

A quick glance at the 1991 Donruss set will leave most collectors completely unimpressed.  The card design is clearly a concoction of late 80s or early 90s fame and there are few cards worth seeking out as singles in the base set.  My best plus for the base set cards is that they are fun, inexpensive wax to open.  If you have young collectors in your house these boxes sell for under $10 and can be a great way to share some of the baseball cards of yesteryear.  

1991 Donruss Moises Alou

One of my favorite things about the old Donruss cards was the backgrounds.  I am not entirely sure why, but many of the National League teams' cards were photographed in Busch Stadium II.  Check out this Moises Alou card.  You can clearly see the arches in the back which were located at the top of the stadium.  Always thought that was cool.  They did have a cool odor too.  On to the real business.

1991 Donruss Elite Series Andre Dawson

The 1991 Donruss set was the first appearance of the Donruss Elite Series, or what would late spin off into the Donruss Elite set.  The cards were short-printed at only 10,000 copies of each.  The Nolan Ryan card, as previously mentioned, had a print run of only 7,500.  The cards were extremely popular at the time of their release and have continued to be a popular set of cards to chase down today.  A quick glance at the completed item list on Ebay will show that they can sell for as little as a few dollars for a Matt Williams, to the mid 200s for a graded Ken Griffey Jr. card.  

1991 Donruss Elite Series Barry Bonds 

While this set was released over twenty years ago, I haven't added many of these cards to my collection.  The two cards on my blog tonight are the only pieces of this set that I own.  I really do like them and remember them fondly, but often don't think about seeking them out or asking about them when I am trading.  At this point, collecting the remainder of this set would probably be a job for Ebay.  I will get to work...someday.  

Like the 1991 Donruss Set?  Not in my Top 50 countdown is the....There were two directions I could go here.  I could post about one of the new spin off sets that came out of the 1991 Donruss Elite set.  For example, I always loved the 2002 set.  However, I am going with another Donruss set from the 90s.  The 1990 Donruss set.  

1990 Donruss Diamond Kings Dave Stewart

The 1990 Donruss set was simply awesome.  Even to this day, I love going back through this set and looking at the cards.  There are so many cool players from my childhood and I love the design.  When I open up one of my boxes of cards the red edges of the 1990 Donruss cards immediately stand out.  Just like the 1991 set, the 1990 set has no stand out rookie cards, or cool veteran cards that are must have for your collection.  They are just fun cards to flip through.  

1990 Donruss Todd Zeile

I think that this Todd Zeile card might have been the hot rookie card when this set was first released.  That should tell you all you need to know about the quality of cards and players in the set.  

30 Year Top 50: 1998 Upper Deck Retro

#29- Today, the countdown continues with a trendsetting set of the late 90s.  Several card companies had dabbled with bringing Hall of Famers from the 50s, 60s, and 70s to modern cardboard, but this set kicked off something special that would allow modern collectors access to cards of the previous generations stars.  Before I start breaking down the set I just wanted to mention the packaging.  The boxes for these cards were old school metal lunch boxes.  In my several moves since 1998, I do not have mine anymore, but I encourage you to look around and find one.  Really cool.

1998 Upper Deck Retro Al Kaline

Upper Deck always had some good photography and decent designs with their cards.  The Upper Deck Retro set isn't the flashiest or shiniest designed card set they've assembled, but I like the basic design given the premise of this set being a "retro" set.  The photographs are not all up to the usual Upper Deck standards.  For example, I have always hated the Lou Brock card in this set.  Upper Deck has made hundreds of Lou Brock cards with a decent photo.  Why is he in a celebrity softball game or something with a goofy white hat?  

1998 Upper Deck Retro Lou Brock

The set also has some cool inserts and great autographs.  The autographs are all on card, but are condition sensitive.  Similar to the Upper Deck Sweet Spot autographs, the Retro autographs have a slight tendency to fade.  I own two autographs from this set and unfortunately both are on there way downhill.  The first, Nolan Ryan, isn't bad since I can find other autographed cards.

1998 Upper Deck Retro Nolan Ryan Autograph

More unfortunate is the condition of my second autograph from the set which belongs to Kirby Puckett.  Puckett was not a huge signer and has few autographs out on the secondary market.  He also passed away in 2006 after being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  

1998 Upper Deck Retro Kirby Puckett Autograph

Most Puckett autographs from this set have some degree of fading which is quite sad.  Beyond the Ryan and Puckett there are actually a lot of great autographs in this card set.  Many of the autographs can be found in other products, but the condition sensitivity makes them a great collecting challenge.  

Like the 1998 Upper Deck Retro Set?  Not in my Top 50 is the 2001 Upper Deck 70s set.  This set is filled with big hair and polyester.  The base cards have a similar simple design like the Upper Deck Retro set, but photography might be a little bit better.  There are also fewer autographs, but these are still great cards worth looking into for your collection.  

2001 Upper Deck 70s Andre Dawson

I was thinking of putting a Bellbottoms insert card in this space, but I am going to go with this Disco Dandies set.  The inserts are one of the coolest parts of the Upper Deck 70s set and can all be found generally for under five dollars.  

2001 Upper Deck 70s Disco Era Dandies Tom Seaver

There are autographs in this set, but the list is short and the relics checklist is much longer.  There are some cool relics out there though.  

2001 Upper Deck 70s Eddie Murray Bat 

Trade with Dodger Bobble

Three weeks left in the school year and I just completed my last hard week.  Really happy with my students and I have some time to catch up on my blogging and trading.  I completed another trade last weekend with fellow blogger Dodger Bobble.  He's got a great page and would strongly encourage everyone to check out his cards and bobbles.  Dodger Bobble also has a Facebook page.  I traded a handful of Dodgers autographs and a Matt Kemp Topps Marquee Jersey Card for three autographs and three jersey cards.  My cards included:

2012 Topps Marquee Carl Crawford Jumbo Jersey

2012 Topps Marquee Zack Greinke Jumbo Jersey

2012 Topps Museum Jaime Garcia Autograph

2009 Topps Tribute Andre Dawson Autograph

2012 Topps Museum Ian Kinsler Quad Jersey/Patch

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Johnny Cueto Autograph