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Theme Week: Top 10 Lists: Fan Favorites from Cards on Cards

Welcome to my latest Theme Week:  Top 10 Lists.  As you can probably guess, each Theme Week post will consist of a Top 10 list, but the subject matter will vary widely from list to list.  I hope you enjoy reading the lists as much as I've enjoyed putting them together.

Not all that long ago, Kerry from Cards on Cards offered up some various trade bait and I decided to jump in a claim his stack of extra 2004 Topps Fan Favorites cards.  For whatever reason, I loved the Fan Favorites set when it came out and so I thought it'd be fun to get a big stack of the cards since I've given most of mine away in various trades over the years.

One thing that struck me immediately when looking through the stack that Kerry sent is that I'm not sure the Fan Favorites set has aged all that well.  That is to say, the whole "new photos on old card designs" has been done to death now by Topps...and in at least many of the Fan Favorite cases, Topps has actually done a better job in subsequent releases (especially within the Topps Archives brand from the past few years).  Still, there were a number of gems in the stack and that's why we are here today!

Top 10 Fan Favorites from Kerry

#10:  Randy Jones

Old school Padres uniform.  Check.
Awesome brown and yellow color scheme.  Check.
1975 design.  Check.

Yeah, this one checks lots of boxes and it's a perfect sort of card for a set like this. 

#9.  John Candelaria

One thing that readers of mine probably know about me by now is that I enjoy "fun" cards.  This card of Candelaria, no matter how silly and posed it may be, is simply a fun card.  John looks like he's having a good time, even if he couldn't have been bothered to take his windbreaker off before putting on his jersey.

#8:  Jimmy Key

The front of the Jimmy Key card is nothing special but this is a good time to take a look at the backside of the cards.  I love the 1992 Topps design but what's even better here is the green stripe along the one side of the card.  It makes it easy to see at a glance that you have a "fake" 1992 Topps card on your hands and then a closer look at the fine print tells you what set the card actually belongs to.  This is something Topps should do with Archives, especially when they feel that it is necessary to do an "original back" parallel.

#7:  Gregg Jefferies

I remember having a Future Stars Jefferies card as a kid and thinking I had struck it rich.  Obviously something went wrong along the way since I'm not currently retired and living on my own private yacht but it's still a fun card and it brings back good memories of childhood card collecting.

#6:  Mickey Rivers

Just how fake is this entire card?  Obviously Mickey isn't trying to field a ball right now so this must have been from some photo shoot on the backfields at spring training or something. 

#5:  Ralph Kiner

Was Kiner's image superimposed over the old stadium photo?  It sure looks that way to me.  Still, getting a Kiner card is pretty cool since I feel like he's a legend who you don't see in current card products all that often.

#4:  Chet Lemon

If you give me a photo of a guy in front of a batting cage chances are I'll like it.  Put on a yellow batting glove and leave a bat lying on the ground behind you?  Yeah, I'm sold.

#3:  Charlie Hough

What's better than a batting cage shot?  I think a pitcher warming up with a ton of guys stretching behind him.  A more ambitious Dodgers' fan could probably figure out some of the guys in the background but I'm content to simply enjoy this card for what it is.

#2:  Frank Robinson

You knew a Red had to make an appearance somewhere in the list, right?  This card is all sorts of perfection and it was super tough to not make it my #1 card...but....

#1:  Mark Fidrych

...this card just beat out Robinson in almost every category.  The image is great:  both Mark's posed pitching (without the ball mind you) and the palm trees in the background.  Add on the rookie cup and you've got yourself a great card and the clear #1 card in the stack Kerry sent my way!

Thanks a lot Kerry for the cards.  I'll be shooting you a package full of Cardinals in the near future!  As for anyone else, if you'd like to trade be sure to check out my want list and make an offer.

Comments

  1. I actually think Fan Favorites did many of the designs better than recent Archives sets have done. For example, this year's Archives '75 cards can't get anywhere near the way those Jones and Rivers cards look (even if the Padres didn't wear those uniforms in 1975).

    I've completed two of the Fan Favorite sets and still got to do something about finishing of the 2003 one.

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    Replies
    1. I think they dropped the ball on some of the newer designs, especially with regards to the card stock (something Archives has also struggled with I guess).

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  2. Ah, notable southpaw Mark Fidrych. That truly is a fun card.

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  3. I'm a fan of the bookends: Jones & Fidrych. They're my personal favorites.

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