1988 Topps Rack Pack

I recently added this unopend rack pack of 1988 Topps with the Wallach All-Star in the center spot by way of eBay.  Over the years I acquired a few other unopened packs with Wallach, but this is the first rack I've been able to get my hands on.  

I'd be hard pressed to come up with a better one.  The Wallach All-Star is in the prime center spot, flanked by a Dave Winfield All-Star insert and Alan Trammell.  As an extra bonus, there is a Tony Gwynn showing on the back.  Short of a the Wallach base card being in the Trammell spot, trying to improve this with say a Mattingly or Raines is really just nit-picking.  I may end up trying to frame this some how, but it's not a huge priority at the moment.  I'm just very happy to add it to the collection for now.  Below are some more photos of the pack.

             

Rookie Card Lot

A couple months ago, some one on Twitter pointed me in the direction of a lot of 463 Wallach rookie cards that were for sale at a very reasonable price.  Recently that seller reached out to me with an offer for another 58 Wallach's they had available.  The end result is the photo above.  

Here's an update on the new totals:

1982 Donruss: 262
1982 Fleer x13: 486
1982 Topps x43: 1,788
1989 Fleer: 562

Mesa, Arizona

 

This card was sent by Peter in Mesa, Arizona.  It's the first time Peter has sent my anything from Mesa, but he has credits from Brooklyn, Long Island, Phoenix, and Tempe under his name already.  He gets around like a utility infielder.

I can't say for certain, but this may be the first time I've ever been sent a 1996 Donruss as a stand alone card.  I don't have very many of them to being with, especially relative to other base set Wallach's put out by Donruss, Fleer, and Topps.  Also making this mailing unique, is the lovely cancellation stamp in the corner of the envelope.  

Thanks for the card Peter!

Updated Total:

1996 Donruss: 24

Bedford, Nova Scotia

This trio of Wallach's arrived from Bedford, Nova Scotia, shortly after the envelope posted earlier this week from Bedford, Nova Scotia.  Once again from regular, if not all-time most frequent contributor (or at least in the running, there are few others who have been incredibly generous over the years) Ryan.

Thanks (again) for the cards Ryan!

Updated Totals:

1989 Donruss: 609

1990 Donruss: 624

1990 Fleer: 702

Merritt Island, Florida

This card was sent by Daniel from Merritt Island, Florida.  I had never heard of Merritt Island, but it's outside of Orlando, and it looks like you would drive across it to get to the Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach.  For those of you old enough to remember, in the late 80's and early 90's, the New York Department of Motor Vehicles mandated that every third car have a Ron Jon Surf Shop bumper sticker, or so I believe, how else to explain why there were so many of them?

Thanks for the card Daniel, this Revco set has been one of my favorite Wallach's since its release.

Updated Total:

1988 Revco: 48

Bedford, Nova Scotia

This pair of '91 Upper Deck arrived from Bedford, Nova Scotia, thanks to regular contributor Ryan.  I'm embarrassed to acknowledge this, but I don't have an accurate count as to how many times Ryan has sent me cards.  I do know that Bedford is the 3rd town in Nova Scotia that he has sent them from, and it's not because he moves all that much.  Ryan is one of the early contributors to this blog and has been sending cards since 2013.

I didn't really expect people to send cards when I started this blog.   I intended it to be more of my own deluxe, personal trading card data base for my Wallach collection.  When cards actually started arriving I started the map (click the mail box on the right) and also kept a hand written tally.  Initially I didn't update the map more than once for a particular sender (it wasn't really a common issue at the time), I only updated my notes.  I believe somewhere I have my original sheet of cards sent, but I've never dug it up to fill in the few gaps that I know exists.

So thank Ryan, I'm not sure how times you've generously sent my cards for over a decade now, but I know it's north of ten, and probably quite a bit higher (and will be one higher later this week when I get around to posting the cards that arrived shorty after these).

Updated Totals:

1991 Upper Deck: 575

1991 Upper Deck Checklist: 368

McKinney, TX

Thiese 150 cards were sent by regular contributor, and fellow Wallach collector, Nick of McKinney, Texas.  For a 150 cards, there were a lot of different cards, making for a long list below.  The most unusual of the bunch was a 1990 Publication's International Sticker.  There was also a 1990 MVP Collector Pin.  I don't count these as cards, but I don't have very many of them and am always happy to add more.  Below is a better look at all the cards and updated totals.

Thanks for the cards Nick!

Updated Totals:

1982 Donruss: 261
1982 Topps x2: 1745
1983 Fleer: 1,071
1983 Topps: 442
1984 Topps Stickers: 12
1986 Topps: 587

1987 Donruss x4: 549

1987 Topps x4: 1,219

1988 Donruss x11: 1,194

1988 Fleer x6: 419

1988 Score x4: 371

1988 Topps x6: 959

1988 Topps All-Star x5: 979

1988 Topps Big x11: 114

1989 Donruss: 608

1989 Fleer x2: 561

1989 Score x3: 308

1989 Topps x4: 1,028

1989 Upper Deck: 317

1990 Donruss x2: 623

1990 Fleer x3: 701

1990 Publication's International Stickers: 4

1990 Score x4: 421

1990 Topps x4: 777

1990 Topps Coins: 17

1990 Topps Mini Leaders: 17

1990 Upper Deck: 434

1991 Donruss MVP x2: 436

1991 Fleer x2: 312

1991 Fleer Ultra: 126

1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier x4: 113

1991 Score x2: 410

1991 Studio: 111

1991 Topps x3: 410

1991 Upper Deck x5: 574

1991 Upper Deck Checklist x3: 367

1992 Fleer x2: 239

1992 Fleer Ultra x5: 189

1992 Leaf x2: 138

1992 Score: 147

1992 Studio x2: 106

1992 Topps x6: 350

1993 Bowman x2: 31

1993 Donruss: 172

1993 Leaf: 152

1993 O-Pee-Chee Premier: 37

1993 Pinnacle: 60

1993 Topps x5: 342

1993 Triple Play: 70

1993 Upper Deck x2: 180

1994 Collector's Choice: 46

1994 Donruss: 54

1994 Pinnacle x2: 54

1994 Upper Deck x2: 94

1995 Topps D3: 29

1995 Upper Deck x3: 57

1982 Topps Lot

That's 463 copies of the 1982 Topps Tim Wallach card spread out above.  I came upon them after a friend on twitter altered me to their being posted for a sale in a facebook collector's group that they're in. The asking price was more than reasonable, so I asked him to put me in touch with the seller, and now here they are.

For the most part they were all in great shape.  When I get lots this large I don't scour for "Gem Mint Tens" (that means "near mint" to collector's over the age of 40 who haven't learned the new figure skating grading scale younger collector's favor).  I look for off-centered cards, and cards with out of whack ink levels.  To me, those are the unique and exciting ones.  The color on all of these was more or less the same, but there were a few nice mis-cut ones that I posted pictures of below.

This lot of 463 makes the 1982 Topps Wallach the most abundant in my collection by a margin of several 100.  At last count 1984 Topps, 1987 Topps and 1988 Donruss were it's nearest competitors, and it was pretty close.  It isn't that close at the moment.

Updated Total:

1982 Topps x463: 1,743

Also mixed in for good measure, was one stray Andre Thorton.

Suffolk, Virginia

 

These 64 cards were sent by Tim of Suffolk, Virginia.  Tim has what must be a neighbor very near by named Russel who sent me cards back in 2022.

Tim's offering was a nice mix spanning Wallach's entire career that included seven rookie cards.  I typically don't see a lot of rookie cards in the mail, which I understand.  When you start going back to 1982, you're going back far enough that sending cards to a stranger might start to feel like less of a good idea, and if the most recent price guide I have (from about 2008) is to be believed, an '82 Wallach still demands 60¢ to a $1.  So I'm extremely greatful when someone sends me seven of them.

I'd be remiss not to point out that the two 1983 Fleer's were both autographed.  Very cool.

Also included in the lot were 3 cards of Wallach's former Alaska Goldpanners teammate and fellow Golden Spikes Award winner (University of Arizona, 1980) Terry Francona.  Very cool.  Here's a look at the cards.

In the mix were a few rarities.  Just my 3rd copy of 1995 Stadium Club 1st Day of Issue variant, and only my 7th copies of the 1991 Classic and 1994 Collector's Choice Silver Signature.

Thanks for the cards Tim!

Updated Totals:

1982 Donruss x2: 260
1982 Fleer x2: 473
1982 Topps x3: 1,280
1983 Fleer x2: 1,070
1983 Topps x2: 441
1984 Fleer: 203
1985 Fleer x2: 164
1986 Donruss: 195
1987 Topps: 1,215
1988 Fleer: 413
1988 Score: 367

1989 Bowman: 241

1989 Donruss: 607
1989 Fleer: 559

1989 Upper Deck x2: 316

1990 Donruss: 621

1990 Fleer: 698

1990 Leaf: 151

1990 Topps Coins: 16

1991 Classic: 7

1991 Denny's: 23

1991 Donruss: 415

1991 Donruss MVP: 434

1991 Fleer Ultra x2: 125

1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier x2: 109

1991 Score The Franchise: 347

1991 Stadium Club: 178

1991 Studio: 110

1991 Upper Deck x2: 569

1992 Bowman: 92

1992 Stadium Club: 115

1992 Topps x2: 344

1992 Topps Gold Winner: 36

1992 Upper Deck: 392

1993 Donruss: 171

1993 Fleer: 104

1993 Leaf: 151

1993 Pacific: 12

1993 Topps x2: 337

1993 Upper Deck: 178

1994 Collector's Choice Silver: 7

1994 Pinnacle: 52

1994 Topps: 154

1994 Upper Deck: 92

1995 Bazooka: 34

1995 Collector's Choice SE: 72

1995 Flair: 24

1995 Leaf: 31

1995 Stadium Club 1st Day Issue: 3

1996 Collector's Choice Ser. II: 41

1996 Pinnacle: 71

Moorestown, NJ

These five cards were sent by Tom, with the "Saints Prison Ministry."  Tom has been sending me cards going back to 2014, but the return address has always been Peoria, Illinois.  It appears the organization has relocated.

You can learn more about the "Saints Prison Ministry" by clicking the image below:

Thanks for the cards Tom, hope the ankle is feeling better.

Updated Totals:

1987 Sportflics: 78

1987 Topps x2: 1,214

1989 Fleer: 558

1994 Stadium Club: 65

Lutherville, Maryland

This box sent by Bill from Lutherville, Maryland, arrived with 165 cards inside.  Bill previously sent cards back in 2020.  Included in the mix was a 1990 Topps Double Header.  It's only the third one in my collection.  I don't remember seeing these back in 1990, but they're out there.  Bill also included 6 copies of the 1990 Topps Super Star sticker back.  While it's not what I would call "rare," it is the most copies I've ever been sent at once.  As far as other lesser seen cards included, there were two 1993 Pacific (only my 10th and 11th copies) and a 1995 Score Hall of Gold (14th).

Finally, Bill also included a complete run of Chad Wallach's Topps base cards, which currently (criminally if you ask me) consists of two cards.

Below are some pictures of all the cards and updated totals.

Thanks for the cards Bill!

Updated Totals:

1985 Topps: 529

1986 Topps x4: 586

1986 Topps All-Star: 813

1986 Sportflics Tri-Stars: 36

1987 Fleer x2: 285

1987 Topps x2: 1,212

1988 Topps: 953

1988 Topps All-Stars x2: 974

1989 Topps x6: 1,024

1990 Fleer x6: 697

1990 Topps Coins x2: 15

1990 Topps Double Headers: 3

1990 Topps Super Star x6: 32

1991 Donruss x12: 414

1991 Donruss MVP x9: 433

1991 Fleer: 310

1991 Score x5: 408

1991 Score The Franchise x3: 346

1991 Topps x6: 407

1991 Upper Deck x13: 567

1991 Upper Deck Checklist x7: 364

1992 Donruss x4: 338

1992 Fleer x9: 237

1992 Score x5: 145

1992 Topps x6: 342

1992 Triple Play x5: 144

1992 Upper Deck x6: 391

1993 Leaf x3: 150

1993 Pacific x2: 11

1993 Pinnacle: 59

1993 Topps x14: 335

1993 Topps Gold: 47

1993 Triple Play x5: 69

1994 Score x2: 94

1994 SP: 60

1994 Upper Deck x3: 91

1995 Collector's Choice SE: 71

1995 Score Gold Rush: 20

1995 Score Hall of Gold: 14

1995 Upper Deck x4: 54

Saugus, CA

These 17 cards were sent by "Meatball" of Saugus, California.  That's a suburb of Santa Clarita outside of Los Angeles.  Also one of the more unique names I've seen used on a return address.  Thanks for the cards "Meatball."

Updated Totals:

1988 Donruss x2: 1,183
1989 Score x3: 305

1990 Fleer: 691

1990 Score: 417

1991 Score: 403

1991 Score The Franchise: 343

1993 Score Select/Traded: 14

1993 Stadium Club: 96

1993 Upper Deck x3: 177

1994 Pinnacle: 51

1995 Collector's Choice: 50

1995 Pinnacle: 40
 

Ramsey, NJ

These 12 cards were sent by "Dan" of Ramsey, New Jersey.  "Max" who runs the card blog "The Starting 9" is also from Ramsey New Jersey.  Dan, if you and "Max" are the same person, let me know, and I'll correct this post, the map, and may stats as to who has sent what over the years.  If not, you have a neighbor who has also been generous enough to sent me Wallach cards.

In any event, thank you for the cards Dan, they are very much appreciated.

Updated Totals:

1987 Topps Stickers: 15
1988 Donruss: 1,181
1988 Topps: 952
1988 Topps Super Star: 43
1989 Donruss: 606
1989 Fleer: 557
1990 Donruss: 620
1991 Donruss MVP: 624

1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier: 107

1991 Score: 402

1991 Score The Franchise x2: 342

Escondido, CA

This box, stuffed with 863 Wallach cards, was sent to by Mike of Escondidio, California.  Mike is a long time collector who stumbled onto my blog and in an act of incredible generosity, sent these cards my way.  It's one of the larger mailings I've ever received and took no small amount of time to sort.  I can't imagine how much time it took Mike to pull these from what sounds like a rather large collection of cards.  Below are photos of all the cards inside and updated totals for each.

I opted to sort these by brand before taking pictures of them this time instead of my normal method of sorting them by year/brand.  It takes a little longer, as I have to sort them by year again when I'm done as that's how I store them, but I felt like it was time for a change.

Other than 1990, Wallach had a pretty good run of nice looking Fleer cards from 1982-92.  The blurry, sun bleached photo has always bugged me as 1990 Fleer is one of my favorite sets.  It's full of great photos and fun color ribbons that often match well with the photos.  The blue ribbon with the Expos road blues being an exception, the colors clash and look terrible together.

That 1990 Topps Sticker  (center left) is the first one I've added since 2016,  and only my 3rd copy total. 

I think someone at Upper Deck was a bit of an Expos fan.  Wallach always had great photos on his UD cards, front and back.  Additionally, in 1997, Upper Deck was the only company to produce a card of Wallach, including him in the 1997 Collector's Choice set and adding a little banner that said "Career Tribute," it was the only card at the time to show Wallach's full career stats.  Topps, in contrast, stopped including Wallach after the 1995 set and I'm still salty about it.

I really like the backs of the Score sets from 1988-92, and the sets as a whole are underrated.

Wallach never had a Diamond King in the regular set (a truly egregious omission), but he at least found his way into the Leaf Canadian Greats counterpart.

The 1991 Jumbo Seeds is the first one I've added since 2017.  It's probably my all-time favorite Wallach "food product" insert card.  It was an annual (if not unsurprising) disappointment growing up to see Wallach not on the Captain Crunch, or Raisin Brand, or Purina checklist of insert cards.  This Jumbo Seeds though is done in the same style and makes up for a lot of those omissions.

That stack of 21 2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites nearly doubled my total number from 23 up to 44.

Thanks for the cards Mike, they are very much appreciated.

Updated Totals:

1982 Donruss x4: 258
1982 Fleer x6: 471

1982 Topps x8: 1,277

1983 Donruss x22: 213

1983 Fleer x5: 1,068

1983 Topps x4: 439

1984 Donruss x4: 237

1984 Fleer x2: 202

1984 Topps x11: 1,280

1985 Donruss x3: 160

1985 Fleer x7: 162

1985 Leaf: 51

1985 Topps x17: 528

1986 Donruss: 194

1986 Fleer x4: 193

1986 Topps x8: 582

1986 Topps All-Star x22: 812

1987 Donruss x7: 545

1987 Fleer x4: 283

1987 Fleer Glossy: 41

1987 Leaf: 59

1987 Topps x30: 1,210

1988 Donruss x52: 1,180

1988 Donruss All-Star x9: 73

1988 Fleer x3: 412

1988 Fleer MVP: 31

1988 Leaf x3: 46

1988 Leaf Canadian Great x2: 37

1988 Score x3: 366

1988 Sportflics: 20

1988 Topps x12: 951

1988 Topps All-Star x19: 972

1988 Topps Big x2: 103

1988 Topps Coins: 4

1989 Bowman x6: 240

1989 Donruss x15: 605

1989 Fleer x10: 556

1989 Score x10: 302

1989 Sportflics: 17

1989 Topps x18: 1,018

1989 Topps Big x2: 21

1989 Upper Deck x10: 314

1990 Bowman x5: 176

1990 Donruss x27: 619

1990 Fleer x28: 690

1990 Leaf: 150

1990 Score x11: 416

1990 Topps x29: 773

1990 Topps Stickers: 3

1990 Upper Deck: 20

1991 Donruss x5: 402

1991 Donruss MVP x18: 423

1991 Fleer x13: 309

1991 Fleer Ultra x2: 123

1991 Jumbo Seeds: 10

1991 Leaf x8: 216

1991 O-Pee-Chee-Premier x2: 106

1991 Score x14: 401

1991 Score "The Franchise" x17: 340

1991 Score Superstar: 28

1991 Stadium Club x19: 177

1991 Topps x12: 401

1991 Topps Cracker Jack: 14

1991 Upper Deck x24: 554

1991 Upper Deck Checklist x16: 357

1992 Donruss x7: 334

1992 Fleer x15: 228

1992 Fleer Ultra x9: 184

1992 Pinnacle x24: 192

1992 Score x5: 140

1992 Score Superstar: 10

1992 Stadium Club x7: 114

1992 Studio x14: 104

1992 Topps x5: 336

1992 Topps Gold Winner x4: 35

1992 Topps Kids x3: 53

1992 Triple Play x17: 139

1992 Upper Deck x12: 385

1993 Donruss x6: 170

1993 Flair x5: 52

1993 Fleer x2: 103

1993 Fleer Ultra x6: 67

1993 Leaf: 147

1993 Pinnacle x9: 58

1993 Stadium Club x8: 95

1993 Score Select: 83

1993 Topps x2: 321

1993 Topps Gold: 46

1993 Triple Play x3: 64

1993 Upper Deck x2: 174

1994 Donruss: 53

1994 Flair: 20

1994 Fleer x3: 53

1994 Fleer Ultra: 47

1994 Leaf x3: 51

1994 Leaf Limited x2: 24

1994 Pinnacle x3: 50

1994 Score x2: 92

1994 Stadium Club x3: 64

1994 Stadium Club Golden Rainbow: 16

1994 Topps: 153

1994 Triple Play x2: 38

1995 Collector's Choice: 49

1995 Donruss x3: 56

1995 Fleer Ultra: 57

1995 Fleer Ultra Golden Medallion: 7

1995 Leaf: 30

1995 Leaf Limited x2: 16

1995 Score Gold Rush: 19

1995 Stadium Club x4: 39

1995 Stadium Club Virtual Reality: 9

1995 Topps: 96

1995 Upper Deck: 50

1996 Collector's Choice Ser. II Silver Signature: 9

1996 Pinnacle x2: 70

2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites x21: 44

2005 Topps Rookie Cup x2: 40

Watertown, NY

These 15 cards were sent by regular contributor The Nightowl, of "Night Owl Cards."  As always, it was a Dodger heavy offering.  It's a nice batch of cards with a good number of inserts and what I would loosely describe as "odd-ball" sets from the mid-90's.  My apologies to the Leaf Limited and Flair enthusiasts who may still be out there.  Somehow it's the first copies of '94 Score Select and '94 Studio I've added in four years.  That's a bit of an anomaly.

Thanks for the cards Greg!

Updated Totals:

1993 Flair: 47
1993 O-Pee-Chee Premier: 36

1994 Score Select: 36

1994 Stadium Club Golden Rainbow: 15  (1st since 2019)

1994 Studio: 30

1994 Upper Deck: 88

1995 Collector's Choice SE: 70

1995 Fleer: 29

1995 Leaf x2: 29

1995 Leaf Limited: 14

1995 Upper Deck x3: 49

1996 Collector's Choice Silver Signature: 9

Visit Night Owl Cards by clicking the image below:

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

These 10 Wallach cards, 1988 Topps Sticker Book and Sega Genesis RBI Baseball '93 instruction manual were sent by Dan of Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  It's at least the fourth time Dan has sent cards in the last three years.  The Sticker Book is blank, but Dan was nice enough to tab what pages Wallach is mentioned on, same with the RBI Baseball instruction book.  The wrappers were what the cards were packed in, which is always a nice touch that a few readers make a point to do.

Also mentioned was that a few of the Topps were "Glow Backs."  I've probably have about 3,000 1991 Topps cards, and I'd say half of them are glow backs.  I'm more inclined to consider the "Bold" logo on the back a scarcity, but as I know, I count all of the "variations" as the same in my official tally.

Thanks for the cards Dan!

Updated Totals:

1991 Score "The Franchise" x6: 323

1991 Topps x4: 389

 

Eldersburg, Maryland

These 5 cards were sent by "KB" of Eldersburg, Maryland.  Eldersburg is located a little west of Baltimore and it's the first time I've received cards from there.  Included was a '92 Bowman base card.  That's one I don't see very many of.  Oddly, I do receive a good number of the gold foil Team USA '92 Bowman's in the mail from readers, far more than I do of the base card.  I'm not sure why it works out that way, as far I know they were printed in equal numbers.  1992 Bowman and 1984 Donruss are two sets that I think still carry the reputation of scarcity, though in my experience, they don't seem to be any harder to find than 1991 Bowman or '85 Donruss.  Probably just residual rookie card and Mattingly frenzy that hasn't quite worn off.  

Thanks for the cards "KB!"  

Updated Totals:

1991 Bowman: 93
1992 Bowman: 91
1992 Bowman Team USA x3: 98