Does Heritage Stay True? (1959 vs. 2008 edition) Chapter 1

Several bloggers have put out short posts on the parallels between Topps Heritage and the original sets the product is based on.  (Or "is a tribute to" as Topps has said).  Bo at Baseball Cards Come To Life put up a decent batch of 1960/2009 pairings just recently.  Since I have both sets complete, I chose the 1959/2008 set comparison.  Having the cards hasn't really been that helpful though, I largely relied on the database listings and a spreadsheet where I laid out both sets side by side.

As I went through the lists, I noted the matching pairs, and also the significant stars or cards that were paired in mediocre combinations, or worse - not at all.  Since the sets are so large, I will break this up into multiple posts. 

I posted previously that Heritage started off with Vlad Guerrero instead of matching the Commissioner's card from 1959.  No offense to Vladdy, but that was a big gaffe right off the bat.

For the most part, all the team cards match up.  Of course, Heritage has a lot of teams that didn't exist in 1959, and those are loaded at the end of the set, which exceeds the original by 148 cards.  So in order, the Phillies, Orioles, Giants (just in time to be SF), White Sox, Reds, A's (KC vs. Oakland), Cardinals, Red Sox, Cubs, Tigers, Senators/Nationals, Braves, Dodgers, and Indians all appear at the same number.  But for some reason, there was no Pirates or Yankees team cards in Heritage.  Anybody know why that is?

Back to the regular players, the first nice matchup is arguably the most desirable card in the '59 set.

Yankees' biggest slugger on both sides of #10.  Yep, that's how ya do it.  Now, A-Rod is no idol like Mantle was, but no one will ever match up that completely.   The criteria for a good match is simple - players share some characteristic: slugger, ace pitcher, or at least the same position, and for the same team.  There's a chance there may be something different, like a common nickname or something, but it doesn't happen often.

And right in line, the first multiplayer card at #17.  These generally line up too.  The '59 teams may not match the star power of the '08 teams or vice versa, but for the most part, Topps made it work.  There are a couple new combos for teams exclusive to '08, and that's fine.   There's only like one that doesn't match very late in the set.

At #20, Snider and Kent, Dodger stars.  Again, almost none of the 2008 guys are legends like the '59ers, even by 2020, but a Dodger star is a Dodger star.  This one is good.

I had this one as an "in between" in that the #23's are both Yankees, but I changed it.  This is the first miss with a regular player matchup.  At least it's obvious to me.  Cano should have been matched with...

Bobby Richardson was paired with Carlos Delgado of the Mets at #76.  Really?

The twin 27's are gonna look a bit weird at first, but you'll get where I'm coming from.  Pafko and Maddux match up because they both started with the Cubs and were stars on the Braves.  Spahn gets paired with a 2008 Brave just down the line, so it all works out.

White Sox fan favorite star infielders at #30.  Check!

#34 - Tigers hitters.  Yup.  But what's up with the super compressed monochrome fonts, Heritage?

And then back to back at #35 Bucco First Basemen - Check.  Even the same uniforms with the vests.  Nice.

Again, Legend vs. star pitcher for same team at #40.  Good enough.   Especially since Maddux was gone and Smoltz was paired elsewhere.

These two #47's are close as far as the picture goes, but it could have been closer. 

Bill Henry is #46, and he had also just come to the Cubs the previous year after being somewhere else for a few years.

Now #49 is fantastic.  Not much in common as players, but the same exact name?  Awesome.

Not the same team, but how can you disagree with this duo?  #50 is a good place to pause until next time...

The Perfect Product

There's a lot of hype in advertising.  There's a lot of hype in the marketing of sports cards.  But if you step back and think about it, cards live up to a lot of the hype.  They're practically the perfect product.  If there weren't all those league and player association logos on the back, and all that fine print, they might have room for stuff that means a lot to other products.  Look at all these features!

Even the Kellogg's cards - which came inside cereal made from wheat and other grains - have never contained a smidgen of gluten.  There's no gluten in trees or plastic.

Well, maybe the card that was packed up against the stick of gum might technically have some residue, but it wasn't an ingredient of the cardboard, right?

From the beginning, it's been all about plant products.  Tobacco leaves and wood pulp for card board.  What could be more natural?  Ok, maybe the occasional acetate card is an exception...

As Nick of Dime Boxes... fame found out first hand, cards may be tasty to the dog, but probably hold no nutritional value at all.  Maybe there's a little fiber in older cards...?

Some of the players depicted have been under suspicion of modifying their chemical constitutions, enhancing their hormone and endurance levels, but even they haven't genetically modified themselves.  Some custom cards are modifications of real ones, but that doesn't count either...

Not only are cards dolphin safe, but there are actually cards of Dolphins!

Dozens of designer colors!

Thin & Compact for easy storage!

Reminds me of an old George Carlin bit:

Get some now! Everybody has one! They're almost gone! They're portable, lightweight, easy to use, collapsible, convenient and guaranteed! Get some now! The new Super Jumbo Deluxe! Handy, pre-wrapped, designer colors and available in all sizes! Get some now! They won't rust, tarnish, blister, crack or peel....

BBA: My Other Collections - The Obvious One

With a Star Trek themed blog, you would think I would come up with Trek as one of my other hobbies right off the bat, but it took a minute.  I wouldn't consider it a "collection", but I do have a significant pile of "stuff" from when I was watching new shows and going to conventions.  Unfortunately, none of that has happened for years now.  I think I've seen all the new movies, but I'm actually not sure.  Just can't get into them as much as the Roddenberry era...

Anyway, here's my stuff...

This shelf on my bedroom bookcase is all Trek.  From paperbacks to hardcover novels and some other miscellaneous items.

Closer look at the hardcovers and Kirk accessories....

Paperbacks, Fotonovels, and TV Guides.  I finally replaced Fotonovel #11 from eBay after loaning it out years ago and not getting it back.  The TV Guides are probably not a complete collection, but span most of the shows.

And there are some bigger ones down with the comic stuff.  The ones to the left of the black encyclopedia are the old Gold Key comic reprints.  Those are really cool.

Around the hardcover books, some oddball items.  The blueprints set is still wrapped.  The lunchbox is not an original, it's from 2001, but still cool.  The canister had cookies in it.

Probably not the only Trek calendar I've had, but the one I held onto...

A local artsy paper from my hometown in 1993.  Our local comic shop guy commissioned us for a photo shoot in our uniforms and props. 

Left to right: Bill H. and Bill S. from my 1982 journal entries, and me relegated to the background.  The communicator and phaser were very realistic props that Bill S. had purchased at conventions.  Those guys also had Wrath Of Khan style uniforms as well.  More on mine in a bit.

Here's me taking command last summer at the Henry Ford museum exhibit that I posted about. 

These are all still on my walls in the computer room.  The Klingon ships are about 2' x 3' and the TOS cast is 27" x 40" and mounted on foamboard.  (It's falled down a few times so it's kinda beat up.  Sorry, I should have cropped these better.  Got all these at the Baltimore conventions back in the day.

Nametags from some of the conventions I went to.  Mostly in the early 90's in the Baltimore area.  Again, not a complete collection, just the ones I managed to save.  Bonus Air & Space museum ticket too.

As I went along, my tastes for images and wall art became a bit more refined. 

And the Borg theme came through too.  There was some great fine art being generated back then.  I'm sure there still is, but I haven't been to see it for decades.

And of course, if you're going to conventions, ya gotta look the part.  This is my first Next Gen uniform.  We got the nice pins and collar pips too.  I saw some other people with cheesy looking accessories walking around the shows.  Never compared them to the tv show side by side, but ours looked good.

Then I upgraded to the fifth season Captains jacket & tunic.  It's hard to see, but this is what I'm wearing in the newspaper above.  I had a few women come up to me at conventions. . . and tug at the jacket and say "I could make this!".   Ah well, it was cool though.  Tried it on last Halloween.  Unfortunately, neither uniform still fits.

And finally, the pièce de résistance.  This neon sign was custom made for me by a co-worker who also worked for a sign company.  He just wanted to see if he could do it.  Definitely a one-of-a-kind item.

And it still works!  Though strangely, it appears white in the phone camera.  Must be the frequencies or something.

Moving closer, this is what it looks like in reality while in full glow.

So that's all my Trek stuff.  Well, except for the cards from the 90's that you may already have seen.  I didn't get to the point where I made a Borg suit or anything.  But it did cross my mind a few times.  Especially since I have access to electronic parts.  Ah well....I got a Borg blog.  Thanks for reading!