most memorable card you got opening a pack

[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
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[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
.

[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
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[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!

[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

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

[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
.

[JollyElm]

Value-wise mine pales in comparison, but since the thread is asking for 'memorable,' how about this experience from 1980? Every single card inside a wax pack I opened was the same, #230 Dave Winfield. All of the other packs I opened that day from the box at the drugstore were normal, but what an anomaly. A stack of fifteen (I think that's how many cards were in a pack back then) Winnies in the same wax cage. What a shame it wasn't filled with Rickey Hendersons! Oh well.

Here's a pic of an old binder still containing the lot (and others)...

1980winfields1.jpg

[Babe3Ruth3]

This posting is timely with Halloween just over. I was 14 years old in 1980 and Halloween just ended at our house, not having as many kids come as planned a bag of wax Hockey cards my mother was going to give was extra, so knowing I collected Baseball cards she gave them to me. One of those wax packs had a Wayne Gretzky rookie. I still have all the cards from that bag as well as all the wrappers.

Edit: Getting ready for bed, I realized I left something out about the bag of wax cards. This was a mixed Hockey/Basketball, so along with the Gretzky rookie card I also know one Basketball wax pack had the 1979-1980 Bird scoring leader card and if I remember correctly a Magic Johnson card (not his rookie card but I think a scoring leader too.) Along with all the wrappers saved, I also saved the bag the cards came in. It's really cool looking at the bag the wax cards came in with a price of $1.59...lol (how times have changed)

[55koufax]

I was 9 years old in '64 and can recall switching from buying candy at the Bay Pharmacy in Pacific Palisades, CA to buying Topps 5 cent wax packs....of course being in SoCal and the burbs of LA, I didn't want Mickey, but rather yearned for Sandy. To my chagrin, I can remember that amongst the first few packs purchased I got my wish........#200 with Sandy's smiling portrait gleaming at me. How special, as the prior Fall, was privileged to be at Chavez for game 4 Sandy vs. Whitey. 2-1 Koufax. Complete game for SWEEEEEEEEP over bombers. Total dominance in '63 and in WS. Sandy was the greatest, and pulling his '64 Topps #200 certainly one of my fondest memories.

[LincolnVT]

Unfortunately, for me an 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. tops the list. I remember those foil packs and the feeling of someday making a fortune on the pages of his rookie cards that I pulled from packs.

[BuzzD]

My father had a pharmacy and sold baseball cards. I would take a box and open them all in the basement. 1954 Bowman Mantle was unforgettable, but now long gone as the usual story goes...

[Fetamore]

You guys have incredible memories. Not me. I’ve opened so many packs over the last 64 years with no one player standing out. But one card I won’t forget. Not sure of the year, but about 20 years ago, I pulled a card saying I won 2 tickets to a baseball game. I’m from Philadelphia, so I chose the Yankees. Mailed in the card and did receive two tickets. My wife and I took a train to Penn station and a subway to Yankee stadium.

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by Goudey77

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

Hi Martin

Very true....I have a near complete 1952 TOPPS master set which includes this Mickey Mantle from my youth. Here are the two Mantle cards in my set......


Type 1 .................................................. .........……........... Type 2





TED Z

T206 Reference
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[todeen]

I have two stories. Here's the sad one first. Walked into LCS wanting to buy 1989 Upper Deck (in 1998? I was 12). Couldn't find the box, figured they sold out, so I walked around looking for other options. 3 minutes later, guy walks in, says out loud - "Have any 1989 Upper Deck?" Response was - "Sure do! One pack left!" Man pulled a Griffey rookie. I still don't have one. That one still hurts. I learned a lesson though - speak up!

[todeen]

My second story is in 2001 the All Star game came to Seattle. My dad, bless his heart, agreed to buy tickets to the card show that accompanies it as my birthday gift (he bought two days of tickets).....my dad doesn't collect cards, btw..... We went and had a blast getting autographs, buying cards, and hanging out. That year, Fleer Tradition had a Negro Leagues insert set that included relic cards. I pulled a Jackie Robinson pant swatch that I still have. Just the place, the companionship, and the pull make that the best card pull of my life.

I stopped buying packs at the end of high school. Now I just buy singles and get what I want each month.

[Leon]

I agree. How can it get better than that for vintage? I don't remember my childhood days of ripping packs that much. We just bought a lot of the packs and opened them without giving it much thought, I guess. In my neighborhood we collected mainly teams (the Astros of course) and that was back in the late 60s and 70s....

Originally Posted by Goudey77

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

[Donscards]

Well nobody can beat Ted Z. 1952 Topps Mantle, but I did get lucky 30 years ago---I had a 24 count 1955 Topps Cello pack (high #)---I tried to sell it at the Ed Keetz show way back for around $1200---it didn't sell and when I got home, I decided to open it--Well it went well, Berra--Rizzuto--Clemente--Snider and then another Clemente---at the time, I figured around 6K---I sold the 1st Clemente and held on to the second one. But I had a friend who was the sound man for Aerosmith. He purchased the 2nd Clemente for around $2600 and my 2 daughters and I got to meet the band and take pictures at a concert here in Maine---I gave Joe Perry a Larry Bird rookie for his son. Steven Tyler hugged my daughters and they were really nice to us.---Sure wish I had those cards back.---they did come out of the pack mint, the one Clemente was a bit OC---but still nice.

[Rich Falvo]

I don't have any big baseball finds, but I've had my Bird/Magic rookie since pulling it from a pack. It eventually made its way to an SGC 8 holder.

[shagrotn77]

I pulled two of these from packs back in 1986. One graded a PSA 8 and this one got a 9:

[mawitzi]

I found a Mantle auto in a pack of 1991 Score when I was a kid. It was a big deal at the time.

[Leon]

That is a great looking Jordan!

Originally Posted by shagrotn77

I pulled two of these from packs back in 1986. One graded a PSA 8 and this one got a 9:

[riggs336]

1958 Topps All-Star Stan Musial.
I was a young Musial fan who had been buying Topps cards since 1953 with no luck finding my hero. I had cut out a magazine photo of Stan and pasted it over Rip Repulski's head on a 1955 Bowman, but that was only mildly satisfying. But late in the (Topps) year in 1958 my wait was over.

[jakebeckleyoldeagleeye]

Originally Posted by riggs336

1958 Topps All-Star Stan Musial.
I was a young Musial fan who had been buying Topps cards since 1953 with no luck finding my hero. I had cut out a magazine photo of Stan and pasted it over Rip Repulski's head on a 1955 Bowman, but that was only mildly satisfying. But late in the (Topps) year in 1958 my wait was over.

That and his 1953 Bowman are two of the best looking cards in history. The guy just loved playing baseball and with that million dollar smile to go with his greatness.

[timfsu2k]

All these stories are why baseball cards are such a national treasure to those of us who collect. It wasn't the monetary value of the cards we pulled in most cases, but the circumstances and the people who shared in the fun is what really makes them valuable.


For me, it was the summer of 1991 and the very first Stadium Club set had just came out. My Dad took me to the flea market and bought me one pack. I believe they were $5 per pack, which was unbelievable back then. Halfway through the pack I found THE most desirable card from the set...Frank Thomas! The guy who sold it to my Dad got crazy excited and gave me a free top loader then passed it around to let everyone see the card. I'll never forget that day and how happy my Dad was to see me get such a great card.