Sportlots Box

This is the second "Box" shipment from Sportlots that I've had delivered.  Since the first one I had shipped last June, I've been slowly adding to my "box" with various sized purchases from various sellers.  I've taken to only placing orders with sellers who will ship to "the box" for free, or close to it.  I've developed a habit of seeking out set needs from my various projects, and then loading up on any Wallach cards that particular seller may also have listed.  Also mixed in, were a few stray orders from sellers with a large numbers of early 80's Wallach cards available.  All in all there were 273 Wallach cards in this order along with a good number of my set building needs.  Here's a look at what fell out of the box.

I loaded up on '83 Topps Wallach's to the tune of 75 new copies of it.  1983 Topps was the first Wallach card I ever pulled from a pack and remains on my short list as my all-time favorite, and depending on my mood, can often lay claim to the title of my all-time favorite Wallach card.  Here are the updated numbers for the above cards:

1982 Donruss: 217
1982 Fleer x3: 381
1983 Donruss: 141
1983 Fleer x5: 139
1983 Topps x75: 359
1983 Topps Stickers x5: 42
1984 Donruss x3: 161
1984 Fleer x8: 135
1984 O-Pee-Chee: 42
1984 Topps x14: 380

1985 Fleer remains a relatively elusive card, but I was able to add a few more here.  A 1987 Fleer Glossy and '87 OPC are the only real oddities to show up in this group.

1985 Donruss x5: 129
1985 Fleer x7: 120
1985 Leaf: 41
1985 Topps x15: 359
1986 Donruss x2: 159
1986 Fleer x2: 129
1986 Leaf x2: 31
1986 Topps x3: 376
1986 Topps All-Star x2: 666
1987 Donruss x5: 441
1987 Fleer Glossy: 35
1987 O-Pee-Chee: 20
1987 Topps x7: 939

Those '88 and '89 Fleer in the upper left above are of the Glossy variety.  Fleer took mercy on us in '89 and started using a different back from the base set, making it much easier to tell them apart.  I've gotten pretty good at spotting the glossy from the base with '87 and '88, but it was not the easiest skill to develop.  As it is, those are the first new '89 Fleer Glossy cards to cross my path since 2014. 

The two '92 Upper Deck cards are the Gold Hologram variants.  Differentiating them from the regular silver holograms is still a skill I've yet to master, I have to do side by side comparisons to be certain, but I am getting better at it.  Below is a run down of the rest of the Wallach's to arrive in this box.

1988 Fleer Glossy x2: 14
1988 KayBee Toys x2: 36
1988 Revco: 41
1988 Topps x3: 730
1988 Topps Glossy Send-In: 21
1989 Donruss Baseball's Best: 21
1989 Fleer Glossy x2: 6
1989 K-Mart x2: 60
1989 Score x4: 188
1989 Upper Deck x11: 212
1990 Bowman x10: 116
1990 Donruss Baseball's Best x2: 12
1990 Fleer League Leaders: 12
1990 Leaf x2: 125
1991 Bowman x4: 73
1991 Fleer x8: 196
1991 Score: 257
1991 Stadium Club x8: 134
1991 Upper Deck x8: 314
1991 Upper Deck Checklist x6: 248
1992 Bowman x2: 57
1992 Fleer x9: 172
1992 Pinnacle x6: 119
1992 Score x5: 95
1992 Upper Deck Gold Hologram x2: 7
1994 Leaf Limited: 18

I was able to pick up a handful of 1971 Topps needs as well.  In my effort to complete every Topps set from the 70's over the last five or six years, 1971 has probably received the least attention, certainly of the series'd sets from '70-73.  That said, the pages in my 1971 binder really seemed to pop as I was sleeving these new additions.  1972 remains my primary focus, but I may bump '71 ahead of '73 as far as my priorities go.  As it stands, I haven't even updated my "Set Builds Need List" page with '71 needs yet.  At a minimum, that'll change shortly.

As mentioned above, since finishing off the 1970 Topps set, 1972 as been my primary focus, although it's been admittedly less than "laser," as I've been fairly scatter shot, bouncing around the decade filling in needs and completing the single series sets.  I'm not a team set collector, but if I were, and the Cubs were my team, that '72 Cubs Team card would likely take a center stage in my collection.  I'm not telling Cubs collector's how to collect, I'm just suggesting they may be over looking that card if it's still readily available for 18 cents.  There were no high numbers in this bunch, but there were a few 5th series which aren't the easiest cards Topps ever printed to track down.  As it stands, I still have a ways to go on my '72 set build effort.

1972: (1st Ser) 86  (2nd Ser.) 141, 164, 181, 226, 228, 253, 255 (3rd Ser.) 266, 270, 276, 297, 299, 301, 325, 328, 337, 345, 346, 347, 358, 380, 387 (4th Ser.) 401, 405, 508, 510, 411, 413, 423, 424, 426, 428, 434, 435, 437, 439, 440, 443, 448, 454, 455, 456, 462, 465, 476, 484, 489, 490, 494, 502, 503, 506, 512, 513, 516, 520, 522, 523 (5th Ser.) 526, 530, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 539, 540, 542, 544, 545, 546, 550, 552, 553, 555, 556, 559, 560, 562, 564, 567, 569, 570, 572, 573, 574, 576, 577, 579, 580, 582, 583, 584, 585, 586, 587, 588, 589, 590, 591, 593, 594, 595, 596, 597, 598, 599, 600, 602, 603, 606, 607, 610, 612, 613, 619, 620, 621, 624, 625, 626, 628, 629, 632, 633, 635, 636, 637, 638, 640, 643, 644, 645, 648, 649, 650, 651, 653, 654, 655, 656 (High #'s) 658 660, 663, 664, 666, 669, 670, 673, 674, 676, 678, 682, 683, 686, 687, 688, 690, 692, 693, 699, 700, 702, 704, 705, 706, 708, 709, 710, 711, 714, 715, 716, 719, 720, 721, 722, 723, 724, 726, 728, 729, 730, 732, 733, 735, 737, 738, 739, 742, 743, 744, 746, 747, 748, 751, 753, 755, 757, 758, 761, 764, 767, 768, 770, 771, 772, 779, 783, 784, 787

These two were in the bunch and my first impression was that it was the same guy and some sort of error I've never heard of.  However, after reviewing the teeth like some sort of crime scene investigator, I've decided it can't be the same person.  Just a couple of similarly terrible photos.

Here the modern set build needs I picked up.  With the two 2008 Topps cards above, I've now narrowed my need list down to 3 cards for that set.  2008 is a significant set for me, in that it was the first year I bought new cards after a 13 hiatus from buying new card products.

2008: 169, 329, 643

With the addition of that Adeiny Hechavarria, 2017 is now down to one card needed, #596, the elusive Ken Giles.  I figure to check that set off shortly.  The 2018 Bryce Harper was the final card needed for that set.  I've sleeved it in the 2018 binder and confirmed it complete.  As any set builder can attest, the "final card" often turns out not to be the "final card," when you go to sleeve it.

Finally, I hammered out a good number of 2019 Topps needs.  That list is now down to four cards, and thanks to some generous readers, it may be less than that, as I've received some recently but have yet to inventory them.  But until I prove to myself otherwise, these are the four that I still consider "missing;"

2019: 60, 85, 150, 213

The final cards in this box were some 1987-88 and 1988-89 Fleer Basketball needs.  I've mentioned this before, but I've been working on the run from 1986-89 for years.  The '86 set is down to "only" the Michael Jordan (not one I intend to buy anytime soon) and Larry Bird (one I'm sure I'll pick up sooner or later), as well as all of the stickers (not a priority at the moment).  The other two sets don't have any $500 plus cards between my needs and completion, so I'm hoping to finish them off shortly. 

Of the four '87 Fleer above, James Worthy is the biggest name, though Terry Cummings (a DePaul product) had a nice career, winning Rookie of the Year and making two all-star teams while averaging over 20 ppg in seven different seasons.  I still have a ways to go for the set, but the end is within shouting distance.

1987-88: 1, 3, 9, 11, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 41, 42, 48, 49, 54, 56, 59, 61, 63, 68, 69, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 83, 85, 92, 95, 97, 98, 99, 106, 109, 118, 123 (and all of the stickers)

1988 Fleer is down to the home stretch, with the Jordan and all of the key rookies already in hand.  Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars were the biggest base card stars to arrive in this group, but they weren't what anyone would describe as "high dollar" pick-ups.  The Stickers and All-Star Subset cards have some big names, but again, other than the Jordan those two subsets aren't going to make anyone wince at the price tag.  Here's what I'm still looking for:

1988-89: 9, 16, 21, 25, 43, 57, 64, 85, 115, 123, 124, 125, 129 (and a couple of Stickers TBD)