most memorable card you got opening a pack

[jakebeckleyoldeagleeye]

What's the most memorable card you acquired when opening a pack?
The best birthday present I ever received was when my brother gave me a box of unopened 1969 Topps baseball. One pack I opened and got the #500 Mantle. And then got another Mantle from the same box! Still have both and received one back signed (in ballpoint) : from Mantle in around 1970-71 sent to his home in Dallas when hardly anyone sent requests to home addresses because you couldn't find them.

[ullmandds]

great story!!!! I'm younger...mainly ripped topps from 76-82ish...so nothing too exciting in those packs! Probably yankee favorites like Jackson, Munson for me.

I've got an unopened 86 fleer basketball...so maybe a perfectly centered jordan rookie will happen...if I muster the balls to break it open!!!!

[steve B]

A few,

My first pack of cards in 1969, went to the local drugstore/5 and 10 with dad and got a pack of cards. We sat in the car and looked at them. He said "Hey this guy is pretty good" Reggie Jackson. I still have the card, and maybe one or two of the others that I don't recall. I only bought one pack that year, and one in 71. I didn't really get into cards until late 73.

A UD holoview die cut of Emmitt Smith. It was a big deal at the time I got it. I usually just bought packs and took them home, but the shop guys were really into opening them, and convinced me to open the handful of packs I'd bought.
Got what must have been for them the full VIP thing. Lots of ooh and ah over the card and a semi ceremonial putting it in a free toploader. I kind of miss having card stores all over the place, some were cool, others not, but they were all interesting. (Like the place where the guy basically kicked me out because someone called him to go look at some sort of real estate deal. I had some stuff picked out, and he couldn't be bothered because he had to leave right away. No cards for me! WTF? )

Got some Albert Pujols and two other guys triple autograph card out of a blaster box from Target. Bought it, opened it at home, looked up the #/10 card online put it away and that was that. Probably the most expensive card I've ever pulled if you go by what it was worth at the time I got it.

Those sort of illustrate how the hobby has changed.

Honorable mention should go to 94 signature rookies. I wanted to finish the set, after all it was only 50 cards... I kept getting an auto card of some hyped kid who had signed with the Yankees. Why, Why do I keep getting this Jeter guy?! (Ok, it wasn't that bad, but I did get three of them, and it was sort of annoying. )

[Case12]

None - I'm not lucky ;-(
(I have no idea who I put in my bike spokes in the the 60's and 70's - but the gum was always terrible tasting)

[ejharrington]

First day 1979-80 Topps hockey came out, bought 9 packs at about 35 cents per pack which was a huge sum of money for me at the time. My hope was to get a card of my favorite player, Terry O'Reilly. Sure enough, sitting on the school bleachers, the first card of the first pack I opened, there he was. I'll never forget it.

[drcy]

I've pulled a number of rookies: Bird/Magic, Ozzie Smith, Rickey Henderson, et al in the "old days." I also pulled an expensive atomic refractor way back when.

[hysell]

In 1976 I opened up a pack & got the Hank Aaron , the Babe Ruth & throw in the Pete Rose card , also ! Would be a nice set of players for a team

[icollectDCsports]

The Hank Aaron "New All Time Home Run King" card in 1974. Hadn't seen one before I got mine in a pack and I thought that is was so cool, and I still do.

[Bill77]

Originally Posted by steve B

Honorable mention should go to 94 signature rookies. I wanted to finish the set, after all it was only 50 cards... I kept getting an auto card of some hyped kid who had signed with the Yankees. Why, Why do I keep getting this Jeter guy?! (Ok, it wasn't that bad, but I did get three of them, and it was sort of annoying. )

I had a similar thing happen in 2002 when buying boxes 2002 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres. I got the last two boxes and in the first box I got an autograph and the second box I got a jersey and a familiar looking autograph. Sure enough pulled two Prince Fielder autos on the same day. I was kind of pissed at the time because I was hoping for the Scott Kazmir auto which was $100 at the time. I checked the Beckett when I got home and the Fielder autos were $50 so that made me feel better. Then two guys out in California started buy up the Fielder autos and drove the prices way up. I still wish I would have sold one of them at the time but held on because I thought the price would continue to go up.

Other great pulls I got were a 2002 Topps Alex Rodriguez Autograph, a 2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes Honus Wagner pants card, and a 2001 Topps Traded Albert Pujols Gold card.

The Albert Pujols gold card came out of a box I bought at a local card shop and made the mistake of opening it there. By the time I finished opening the box I pulled my third basic Pujols rookie and decided to trade it for a 1987 Topps Barry Bonds rookie. Oh well, just another in a long list of mistakes I've made collecting cards.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I started in 1965. I am sure I pulled numerous Mantles over the next five years but it wasn't a big deal at the time. Not to mention every other card through the early 70s although I'm not sure the 67 high numbers ever made it down our way.

I remember in 71 my brother and I each ordered a complete set of Topps for something like 15 bucks each.

[JoeDfan]

When UD Be a Player hockey first came out in the 90's, I spent $10 and bought one pack, knowing the (ex) wife would kill me, as we didn't have much money at the time.
I sat in the car, and ripped it, to enjoy my moment before I went home and faced her wrath.
And I pulled a Gretzky signed card out (which was THE premier chase card of the whole set). I was jumping up and down and ran back into the store to get a top loader, and the guy offered me something like $600 or $700 for it. I declined (Beckett had it at $900 and rising). Which was stupid, because I still have it today, and I think it is worth maybe $75 or $100?
Oh well, it was an awesome moment!

[JoeDfan]

Also, 1991 Topps claimed they "randomly" inserted some vintage cards in packs. I think I have opened a million packs, and I still buy them for the error cards. Last year, I ACTUALLY got a vintage card in one of them! Like Bert Blyleven or something like that.
WOHOOOO!!!!!

[tschock]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I started in 1965. I am sure I pulled numerous Mantles over the next five years but it wasn't a big deal at the time. Not to mention every other card through the early 70s although I'm not sure the 67 high numbers ever made it down our way.

I remember in 71 my brother and I each ordered a complete set of Topps for something like 15 bucks each.

I ordered the 72 set from a dealer out of TSN at the beginning of the season for about the same amount. It arrived in 4 or 5 shipments over the next few months as the series came out. I still have most of the original set (except for upgrading some really OC cards over the years).

But that didn't stop me from buying packs from the corner store though during the summer, because I couldn't wait for the series to arrive. LOL

[invest]

I grew up in Canada in the late 70's and 80's. I collected Hockey Cards, because that's what ever kid did in Canada back then. I had multiple Gretzky RC's that I pulled, but unfortunately I grew up near Calgary and was a Flames fan and hated the Oilers, so all his cards ended up in the spokes of my bike or shot with my BB gun. My brother did the same thing.

To this day we shake our heads and laugh on what might have been if we would have saved even one of them.

Oh well, lol....

Troy

PS: Go Lanny McDonald!!!!

[Touch'EmAll]

In 1974, as a kid growing up 30 minutes from Anaheim Stadium, I opened a pack of Topps cards and got my hearts desire - a 1974 Topps Nolan Ryan!

I remember sitting in the back seat of my mom's station wagon, thrilled yet at the same time pissed off. You see, the prior year, 1973, Ryan had 21 wins for a sub-.500 team, had not one but 2 no-hitters ! And broke the single season strikeout record held by Sandy Koufax ! An absolutely amazing year. Then the post season Cy Young awards came out...and they gave it to Jim Palmer.

Aw, c'mon folks, Jim Palmer ? Yeah he was really good, had the benefit of playing on a really good team, but really? Jim Palmer over Nolan Ryan with the year Ryan just had. Unbelievable! Who rigged the voting?

Could you imagine today if a pitcher were to have 21 wins (for a .488 team)...And 2 no-hitters...And break one of the most amazing of all single season pitching records with 383 strikeouts! Jeez, they would grant him to sainthood!

But at least I had my Ryan card.

[Tony Gordon]

In 1975, the first year I collected, I would regularly walk or bike over to the pharmacy down the road and buy packs for 15-cents each. I would take my booty home, sit on the curb in front of my house and open them. I remember pulling a Hank Aaron and staring at it in amazement for the longest time.

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by icollectDCsports

The Hank Aaron "New All Time Home Run King" card in 1974. Hadn't seen one before I got mine in a pack and I thought that is was so cool, and I still do.

Same here. That Aaron card was actually in the first pack and the top card that I got that year. What a great year it was.

[paulcarek]

Paul Molitor was (is) my favorite player, and I distinctly remember the thrill of pulling his second-year card from a pack of 1979 Topps. Much cooler looking than his four-on-one rookie card, and he was photographed wearing the then-new Brewers uni/helmet with the glove logo.

[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

I was 14 in the summer of 1989 during the debut of Upper Deck and all the buzz about some rookie named Griffey. I didn't buy many packs of Upper Deck that year because, if you recall, they were over $1.00 apiece (compared to $0.45 for Topps). But one summer afternoon I bought a pack at my local card shop and sure enough got a Griffey. It felt like winning the lottery.

[RedsFan1941]

1953 Topps mantle

[Chris Counts]

I can't remember every pack I ever opened, but here are the highlights:

1) In 1965 when I was 5, I bought a pack of Philadelphia Gum football cards from the ice cream man. I was too young to even know what football was.

2) In 1970, I bought a pack of baseball cards with money my mom had given me to buy broccoli. They came with a poster, and it was Ollie Brown. I figured he was a baseball legend.

3) By mid-summer of 1970 (I was 9), I was obsessed with cards. But the local stores stopped at the fourth series. My family traveled back east in the summer, and along the way, I picked up cards from the 5th and 6th series. Pulling Willie Mays from a pack was pretty exciting.

4) By the end of the season, Johnny Bench was firmly entrenched as my favorite player, but I still didn't have his card. But in December, I found his card in the display of a vending machine at a local grocery store, and fed coins into it until a card of the greatest catcher ever popped out.

5) The last meaningful pack I opened was in 1974. Although I was only 13, I was deep into vintage cards by this time. A neighbor and card seller, John Parks, sold me an unopened box of 1957 Topps football cards. It was sure fun busting them out of their cellophane, and I got all the big money rookies, but opening them was probably the worst financial decision in my life.

[Touch'EmAll]

Closest my kid ever got (now 13) was opening Pokemon packs - boy, was he into it for several years. The kids at his school were all into Pokemon, not a whisper of sports card pack, sigh.

He knew what he wanted - the Full Arts & Mega's. At least I got to watch his "Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat." Could be sheer joy, or almost in tears for not pulling anything good.

[JohnP0621]

I think it was 1968 . There was a store across the street from my grammar school that sold packs. I remember pulling a Mantle and than a Unitas during the football season. 2 of my all time favorites .

Fond Memories
John P

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

5) The last meaningful pack I opened was in 1974. Although I was only 13, I was deep into vintage cards by this time. A neighbor and card seller, John Parks, sold me an unopened box of 1957 Topps football cards. It was sure fun busting them out of their cellophane, and I got all the big money rookies, but opening them was probably the worst financial decision in my life.

If all of our worst financial decisions happened when we were 13, we would all be pretty well off. LOL

[milkit1]

37 years of opening packs and got my best pull ever this summer.

20190728_075250.jpg

[Rascal1010]

In 1984 at the ripe age of 11, I opened the greatest pack of my life, and just happened to be a pack of Donruss cards. Same pack had a pair of Don Mattingly rookie cards in it. He was the rage at the time, and 2 days later I made one of the best trades of my life, traded that pair of Mattingly’s for a 1956 Mantle in EX condition and a beat up 1958 Mantle. Sold the ‘56 9 years later to make a down payment on my wife’s engagement ring, I still have the ‘58 Mantle.

[ocjack]

Eleven years old in 1958 and bought a pack of Topps from my local candy store. I remember running home as I opened the pack to have Tony Kubek in all his orange brilliance staring out at me. It was a great pull as a Yankee fan and to this day, I still remember the color of that card.

[rats60]

A 1954 Bowman Mickey Mantle from a "Paris, TN find" pack.

[davidan]

1979 Topps Football Earl Campbell Rookie for me. He was my hero then (I was 7) and still my favorite player of all time. That was, is and will always be my favorite card!

[tedzan]

You've heard this story before; nevertheless, it's worth repeating......

In the Fall of 1952, I opened this TOPPS 5-cent pack. Removed the skinny piece of bubble gum, tossed it away.
And, started sorting thru the cards. Much to my surprise, Mantle was in the middle of these 5 cards.
What a thrill. I still remember that moment of 67 years ago as if happened yesterday.







.

TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[whitehse]

I stopped opening packs years ago but on occasion I would buy a box just to scratch that it so to speak. 1994 I was doing a card show and one of the dealers there has unopened Upper Deck boxes for a great price so I bought one. To pass the time during the slow show I opened the packs and about half way through I hit the Mantle/Griffey duel autograph card. I Was so shocked and had to ask several dealers around me if what I was holding was indeed what I pulled.

I loved that card but financial issues caused me to sell it a few years later and is probably my only regret in terms of selling a card.

1986 DonRuss Jose Canseco in '90 or '91 when it was a $100 card, and a '90 Leaf Frank Thomas in 1991 or 1992 when it was one of the hottest cards in the hobby.

[herbc]

I've pulled a few big ones in my time, but the most memorable was a card from the Exquisite pack below.
A few years ago I received a call from a private collector. This guy tracked me down after googling for a 08-09 Noble Nameplate Jordan card for his collection. I thought he was a crazy stalker/con man. I promptly got rid of him. He was persistent and reached out again a few days later.
An offer was made that I couldn't refuse $$$$$$$. I said bye-bye to a card that I thought I'd keep forever... I do miss it.
After the deal I was paranoid. I promptly changed my locks and laid low for a few weeks. This card hobby is serious.

[mantleman]

Wow, this is always a great story.........and will be tough to beat!

Thanks for sharing Ted

Are those the other 4 original cards too ??

Originally Posted by tedzan

You've heard this story before; nevertheless, it's worth repeating......

In the Fall of 1952, I opened this TOPPS 5-cent pack. Removed the skinny piece of bubble gum, tossed it away.
And, started sorting thru the cards. Much to my surprise, Mantle was in the middle of these 5 cards.
What a thrill. I still remember that moment of 67 years ago as if happened yesterday.







.

TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[insidethewrapper]

In 1960 I rode my bike to the local party store and bought a pack of 1960 Topps, opened it and there it was, a horizontal card of Al Kaline. I rode back home as fast as I could to show my dad.

[Buythatcard]

1961 was the first year that I started buying cards. I bought enough packs that year to complete the set. Found multiple Mantles in the packs but that didn't excite me. Pulling a Roger Maris card from the pack was my biggest thrill since I was such a diehard Maris fan.

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by mantleman

Wow, this is always a great story.........and will be tough to beat!

Thanks for sharing Ted

Are those the other 4 original cards too ??

Hi Andy

Yes, Chapman, Herman, Jeffcoat, and Spencer were in the pack with Mantle.

I know this for a fact because I purchased only one TOPPS waxpack with Hi #s when I was a kid.
Furthermore, all my cards from my youth were saved, and of the 1952 TOPPS (250+) cards, these 5 cards were the only Hi #s.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[Peter_Spaeth]

So Ted is that the original wrapper? Whatever motivated you as a kid to save it? Unless Burkett opened a Goudey pack and pulled a Ruth or Gehrig when HE was a kid, it will be tough to top this.

[evangeleblanc]

Never opened a product older than 1998 from a wax box, but I pulled a 2018 Bowman Nick Pratto 1/1 Superfractor Auto that I sold for $600, so financially that is by far the best. My favorite though was a 2007 Ultimate Collection Sandy Koufax auto /10. It was a really good looking piece.

[pokerplyr80]

I remember in 1996 I went to a local show and bought a pack of leaf signature series cards. They were pretty hot, the first issue to guarantee an autographed card in every pack. The player everyone was hoping for was Arod, and I pulled the gold variation which was more rare and the best card you could find at the time. It was pretty exciting.

[Tay1038]

I bought one pack off eBay in 1998 from the 1998 Donruss Signature set. I pulled the Billy Williams Significant Signatures auto. A couple weeks later I found out that was the redemption for the Sandy Koufax Auto from the same subset. If you mailed the Williams back to Donruss you received your Willams back and the Koufax signed card with matching serial numbers. 2 for the price of 1!

[NiceDocter]

Thats just nuts! I did pull a 1967 Brooks Robinson high # in 67 and a White Letter 1969 Topps Mantle in 1969. I had about 7 Mantles in 1969 and noticed the difference right away...... sold it in a REA auction about 15 years ago.

[BigBeerGut]

Opening 1989 Upperdeck made my life different

[darkhorse9]

Sitting in. Recall Drug parking lot in 1974 and pulling one of the "Washington Nat'l Lea" errors.

Felt like I hit the jackpot.

[Golfcollector]

When I was actively pursuing golf cards in the early 2000’s I opened the last pack of 2001 SP Authentic golf in the box at the LCS. Inside is what would seem to be a pedestrian card – a Tour Swatch of Craig Stalder. However this was the version that was not numbered – just the base version, and at the time those who collect golf cards did not even know this card existed or not. I later sold it for a hefty sum to date I think there has only been 3 to 5 of these confirmed that were not numbered that have been identified

[Jgrace]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Hi Andy



Yes, Chapman, Herman, Jeffcoat, and Spencer were in the pack with Mantle.



I know this for a fact because I purchased only one TOPPS waxpack with Hi #s when I was a kid.

Furthermore, all my cards from my youth were saved, and of the 1952 TOPPS (250+) cards, these 5 cards were the only Hi #s.





TED Z



T206 Reference

.

Ted that is incredible! What a story to be able to tell your entire life.

[obcbobd]

I remember pulling a Willie Mays in 1972. I was 10 and had been collecting for quite a few years but never got a Mays, other than the 69 Deckle. I bought a ton of 72 first series and kept getting Mays. I thought it was pretty cool. sent one to him and got it autographed although I believe its by his wife :-(

[62corvette]

At the age of 8 in 1955, I took my dime to the corner grocery store and bought two packs of 1955 Topps. I will never forget the disappointment of finding a 1954 Topps Berra in the one pack. That was a year-old card--I wanted new ones! Have no idea what the other '55 cards were.

[Exhibitman]

My pack busting in the lotto-insert era has been el stinko; I am lucky if I get the promised box toppers. This is the best insert I ever got:



The irony is that when I pulled it I thought it was the best Jeter ever so I ignored his RC and the premium cards like Select because I had this awesome signed Jeter card and didn't need anything else. That's worked out well...

For regular issue, in context, it was a 1975 Topps Stan Mikita (that's hockey, in case you were wondering). I was nine. Seemed all of the hockey collectors at my school were missing Mikita that year. I opened the pack with some friends at the local candy store, saw Mikita, and yelled "I got Mikita! No trades!" It's an easy card worth only a few bucks but at the time it was a very big deal to be the first in my collecting circle to pull a specific superstar from a pack.

[Goudey77]

This is amazing in so many ways. I believe I read in another thread that you still own the Mantle.

Originally Posted by tedzan

You've heard this story before; nevertheless, it's worth repeating......

In the Fall of 1952, I opened this TOPPS 5-cent pack. Removed the skinny piece of bubble gum, tossed it away.
And, started sorting thru the cards. Much to my surprise, Mantle was in the middle of these 5 cards.
What a thrill. I still remember that moment of 67 years ago as if happened yesterday.







.

TED Z

T206 Reference
.