Great Pulls from the Past Part 2

First, I saw a funny post yesterday on The Baseball Card Blog about the opposite of a Great Pull. It was a good laugh and made me think about all the packs of cards I've opened over the years.


The results of opening a pack tend to fall into one of a few categories. I get one or more of the following:


1. My favorite team--Rangers.
2. A favorite player, non-Ranger--Joe Mauer or Yaz/Clark/Bench out of something retro.
3. A hit--a relic/auto. Doesn't happen terribly frequently anymore since I buy few hobby packs.
4. A desired card--hmm, let's say Strasburg, Bowman version. I've purchased about 15-20 packs and no Strasburg, but one Heyward base.
5. A card I need to finish a set. Now, this may happen more frequently than I know. I'm terrible at sorting (I'm getting better) so with the exception of 2009 and 2010 Topps, and 2010 Heritage, I don't know what I might need.
6. Nothing worth mentioning. That is the most frequent result of any pack. However, The Baseball Card Blog is making a plus by posting his 'least' desirable card from a pack.


Anyway, back in 1984 and thereabouts, this was one great card to pull. I can't tell you the pack I pulled it out of, but it would have been a very short window of opportunity because the little store in my town that had cards (the only store) only got one box of 1984 Donruss. Ever. I got this card out of that box and have had it ever since.



Late in the summer of 1985, my best friend, the one behind the Cards from the Old Man story, was working at a small grocery store in our little town. He got to know the driver who delivered non-perishable items to the store. He asked the guy if there were any cards at the warehouse. The driver surprised my friend a few months weeks later with two dusty, unopened boxes of 1984 Donruss cards. At that point, neither of us had ever opened a WHOLE box of cards because we couldn't afford it. The driver sold him BOTH boxes for a grand total of $20. That's blaster money nowadays. Of course, my friend didn't say anything to me about the boxes until after he had opened both of them. I know he had at least one Mattingly, but I don't remember exactly what he pulled. I think the driver most likely swiped the cards from the warehouse and pocketed the $20.

As for me, I purchased an entire set of 1984 Donruss years later so that's one of the few complete sets in my collection.