Upper Deck Jox Box Collectibles

In the 2004-2005 time frame, Upper Deck issued one of the more unique collectibles in recent times from a major manufacturer. Dubbed the Jox Box, these are player themed jack-in-the-box toys. I'm not sure why Upper Deck thought these would be popular as you don't even see traditional jack-in-the-box toys for sale very often anymore. But they did their best to produce pop-ups that resembled the featured player enough to drive some demand. Suffice it to say, demand was not very high and these have been relegated to the bottom shelf of history.

For Cubs collectors, we received more than our fair share of the players in this set. The checklist I have seen for these toys has 17 players on it, which seems like an odd number of subjects. But I guess that oddness fits well with the toys themselves. Three of the players in the set are Cubs, with Sammy Sosa, Mark Prior, and Nomar Garciaparra representing the North Siders.


Nowadays, these are not very hard to find online and can be had fairly cheaply. The problem is with the cost of shipping as there aren't many cheap shipping options for these. Getting one for less than $10 shipped is a challenge and that is more than I am really willing to spend on these. If I could find the trio of Cubs for about $10 total including any shipping charges, I would probably grab a set.

2 Versions of the 1989 Team Issue Peoria Chiefs Set

For each season from 1988-1992, the Peoria Chiefs sold a special team issued team set at the ballpark. At least in my opinion, these sets generally feature a better design than the major manufacturers (Procards, Star Co. CMC, and Classic/Best) were producing at that time. The sets typically featured the players from the current team, as well a few of the prominent alumni from the Chiefs over the recent past.


I have typically bought a complete run of minor league team sets from the Cubs organization each year since at least 1987, and I did so with the 1989 sets which included the Peoria team issued set. Since that time, I had seen the 1989 set offered many other times and didn't take much note of it. However, when I was looking through Beckett's website about 10 years ago, I noticed that they listed two different versions of the 1989 set. A regular version and a Gold version. That seemed really strange to me since I had seen the set so many times and had never seen the gold version. For several years, I kept the 1989 Peoria Chiefs team set on my search list in hopes of finding the Gold version. After years of searching, I had basically come to the conclusion that this was another one of Beckett's mistakes. Then about a year ago, I finally figured out that there really are two different versions of this set, with the difference between the two being very subtle. The difference is on the box of film that is in one of the upper corners on each of the cards. The regular version shows a box that says Kodacolor VR-G 200 on the box. The Gold version shows a box that says Kodacolor Gold 200.



According to Beckett, there were 3,000 copies of the gold set produced, but from what I have seen, it is not any harder to find the regular version. As it turned out, I actually had the Gold version all along and didn't know it. I found a copy of the regular version relatively quickly and cheaply and was able to check off another mystery as solved!

1999 Topps Action Flats

Among the many offbeat issues from Topps in their long history is the 1999 Action Flats set. The idea behind this set of 'action figures' was that Topps would produce a set of cards and then include a small standup figurine that was based on the picture of the player from the card. Not an altogether terrible idea, but the execution isn't the greatest. The figures themselves are 2 1/2" to 3" tall and can barely be called three dimensional. Kind of along the lines of an embossed piece of plastic. The real problem with the figurines is that they are hand painted and the paint jobs just aren't very good. Especially on the faces. But for a suggested retail price of $2.99, I guess you can't expect too much. Anyway, Topps produced one series consisting of 12 different players who each have a home and away jersey version (aways are short prints, 1 per 12 figures on most player, 1:24 for Sosa and 1:36 for McGwire). Sammy Sosa and Kerry Wood are the Cubs in the set.


The cards that accompany the figurines share the same design as the regular 1999 Topps base issue set, but the photos both front and back are different from the regular set.



In addition, the cards have an Action Flats logo on both the front and the back of the card.


The same card was issued for both the home and away versions, so there is only one card per player in the set.

Oddball in the mail - 1992 Front Row Billy Herman Gold Signature

One of the cards in my mailbox today was a bit of an oddball that I have had on my list forever. This probably has to do with the fact that the card is not identified properly in the Beckett Almanac. The card I received is a 1992 Front Row Billy Herman Gold Signature card.


The card looks similar to most other Front Row issues from this time period, but also has a raised gold facsimile auto on the front. According to certificate included with it, 5,000 of them were produced. One of the main products Front Row produced during this time period were 5 card sets of retired stars and Hall of Famers. I know there are a couple of gold signature premium versions of cards from those sets. But Herman did not have a 5 card set, so this appears to be a stand alone issue.

The reason I have had it on my list for so long is not because it is incredibly rare or even that difficult to find (although I don't think they pop up too often). The reason I haven't found it until now is because Beckett identifies this card in their big book as a 1993 Spectrum Gold Signature card. Spectrum did produce some cards of Hall of Famers and other retired stars in the 1992-1993 time frame. And I still have an Ernie Banks card from Spectrum on my list. So my searches were set up to key on the word spectrum along with Ernie Banks or Billy Herman. I finally happened to run across this one while doing a plain search on Billy Herman. I'm pretty sure this is the card Beckett refers to as a 1993 Spectrum Gold Signature because the other two players Beckett lists from this same issue (Ken Griffey Jr. and Tom Seaver) happened to be listed along with the Herman. One more mystery card checked off the list!

Cubs Breakdown - 2010 Fathead Tradeables

2010 Fathead MLB Tradeables
This is the second year for the Fathead Tradeables and I think they are a pretty cool little collectible. They are 5" x 7" vinyl stickers that you peel off and can stick just about anywhere. They can be easily peeled and reused as well. I actually bought a couple of extras last year so that I could stick them up. This year's issue is a 100 card set that is available in 5 card packs which typically run about $10. There are five Cubs in the set.

#28 Aramis Ramirez
#31 Ryan Theriot
#54 Alfonso Soriano
#58 Carlos Zambrano
#80 Derrek Lee

Cubs vs. Mets - 2000 MLB Season Opening Series in Japan

The Cubs were trailblazers of sorts back at the beginning of the 21st century as they (along with Mets) became the first teams to play a regular season game outside of North America. They opened that season in Japan with a two game series against the Mets at the Tokyo Dome. Prior to these games, the only regular season game ever played outside of the U.S or Canada was in 1999 when the Rockies and Padres played in Mexico. Since the 2000 Opening Series in Japan, there have been two other season opening series played there - in 2004 when the Yankees played the Devil Rays and in 2008 when the Red Sox played the A's.

The Cubs, playing as the visiting team, won the first game of that series 5-3. Shane Andrews & Mark Grace homered in the game and Jon Lieber got the win with seven strong innings. Sammy Sosa chipped in with a double and Rick Aguilera pitched the 9th for the save. They lost the second game, while playing as the home team, 5-1 in 11 innings for a not so ordinary season opening series split. The second game was a pitcher's duel with only 11 total hits in 11 innings. The most important of those hits was by Benny Agbayani, whose grand slam in the 11th off Danny Young provided the winning margin.

There are a few different collectibles floating around related to this series in Japan. I've pictured the ones I've seen below. I personally like the game ticket that is almost completely in Japanese.

Common Program (I think this is the Official one produced by MLB)


Uncommon Program (I think this is more of a bootleg program)


Game Ticket


Homer Hanky given away to fans at the games


Japanese Action Figure Two-Pack sold to commemorate the series

May 2000 Vine Line

Cubs Classic Moment - Padres score run on 'fielder's indifference'

I know all teams have moments where the mental and/or physical aspects of the game don't synch up exactly right and you get a play that is memorable for all the wrong reasons. It just seems like the Cubs have them happen more often than most of the other teams. I refer to these plays as Cubs Classic Moments. One of these plays went down in today's game.

The play that happened today was actually a fairly innocuous play that probably didn't affect the outcome of the game. It is a play that may not have even made its way into my consciousness if it weren't for the internet. You see, given that I have to work for a living, I follow most Cubs day games via live feeds on a variety of internet sites. These live feeds update throughout the game with a text play by play of the game that uses a fairly standard boiler plate language. Every now and then, a play pops up where the standard language doesn't quite explain what happened. I usually make a special point to try to catch a highlight as soon as I can in situations like this so that I can figure out what the heck happened.

This is what Yahoo Sports posted for the play I am referring to from this afternoon;

- C. Denorfia grounded into fielder's choice, C. Headley out at home, W. Venable to third, W. Venable scored on fielder's indifference

Say what? How does one score on fielder's indifference? Isn't that only when a player advances a base because the defense doesn't care? This usually occurs in a blowout situation where a player advancing a base doesn't matter. How could the Cubs possibly not care if the player advancing a base was scoring a run? I finally caught the highlight of this play a little while ago. The play started with runners on 2nd and 3rd. There was a ground ball to Aramis Ramirez at 3rd, who threw home to Koyie Hill which stranded the runner in between 3rd and home. Hill ran the runner back toward 3rd, which was now occupied by the runner who started at 2nd. After tagging the runner out at 3rd, Hill apparently tried to call timeout (the replay doesn't show Hill making much of a gesture) and then he turned and walked to the mound to talk to the pitcher Justin Berg. The ump never granted timeout and the runner now on 3rd base took off for the unoccupied home plate and scored. A true Cubs Classic Moment!

What is it that makes the Cubs so susceptible to weird gaffes like this?

Porcelain Topps Cards made by R&N China

I recently picked up a couple of cards from a set that is kind of offbeat but that I love to chase, the 1993 Topps R&N China porcelain parallels. This made me want to write a little about the R&N cards in general and specifically about the 1993-1998 parallel sets.

R&N China was licensed by Topps to produce porcelain versions of Topps cards throughout most of the 1990s. One of the things R&N did with this license was produce porcelain versions of current year Topps cards from 1993-1998.

I believe R&N produced full parallel sets of the current year Topps cards starting in 1993 and continuing at least in 1994. I believe they only produced the single player cards as I have never seen any of the two-player all star or manager cards. These cards were sold individually I believe through a mail-in offer that was advertised in various publications. As you might guess, the lesser known players are much tougher to come by than the star players since buyers chose which card to order. The cards themselves are serial #’d on the back out of either 5,000 or 1,000. Based on how rarely even the stars from these sets pop up, I have to believe that nowhere close to 5,000 or even 1,000 of these were actually distributed. I’m guessing maybe 500 of some of the star players and 10 or fewer of most of the lesser knowns.

This past week I added the 1993 Greg Maddux and Bob Scanlan cards. This brings my 1993 porcelain set total up to 7 cards. I also have the Ryne Sandberg, Sammy Sosa, Doug Dascenzo, Andre Dawson, and Shawon Dunston cards. Note that I have all of the stars, not many of the lesser knowns, although I have also seen Jessie Hollins and Rick Wilkins cards from this set. So I’m pretty sure all of the players were available.


As for the other years, I don't have any of the Cubs 1994 porcelain parallels, but I am virtually certain a full set was produced given the selection of players I have seen offered for sale. I have also actually seen the advertisement for this year in an old publication as well. So I believe this set has a full porcelain parallel as well. I own no 1995 porcelains, but I have seen some non-Cubs players offered for sale. Given that I have seen some lesser known players, my instinct tells me that 1995 may have a full porcelain parallel as well. But the porcelain cards from 1995 seem to be rarer than either 1993 or 1994. As for 1996-1998, I have seen stars offered from each of these years, but no lesser known players. So this leads me to believe that the offer may have been limited to stars only in these years. I actually own a 1996 porcelain version Ryne Sandberg.


In addition to the parallels of current year cards, R&N produced porcelain versions of a number of the great cards from Topps history. Cards like the 1952 Mickey Mantle, 1968 Nolan Ryan, etc. And there are a few Cubs historical reproductions on the list as well. I own the porcelain versions of the 1954 Ernie Banks and 1983 Ryne Sandberg rookie cards.


And I am aware of porcelain versions of the 1988 Andre Dawson and 1989 Mark Grace.


In the case of the Dawson and Grace, I know they also made small magnets of these cards.


These are definitely oddballs, but given their connection to the mainstream Topps sets and the challenge of finding them, they are pretty much right up my alley. Hopefully I can continue to add a few per year to my collection!

Cubs Breakdown - 2010 Tristar Obak

2010 Tristar Obak
This is the second year of the Obak brand and the feel of this year's set and inserts is very similar to last year's. The niche of this set is that it offers a mixture of current prospects, retired stars, and somewhat obscure people and facts from baseball history. The base set design is almost identical to last year and it is just okay in my view. The one thing I really did like about last year's cards were the feel of the cards thin white stock. It looks like they've changed the card stock a little bit this year, so I'll have to wait until my team set arrives to figure out what I think of the new stuff. I am also glad to see some new Tinker, Evers, and Chance cards. And they are among the better looking cards in the base set to boot.

As for the Cubs included in this issue, there is a nice selection available.

Base Set -
#4 Starlin Castro
#4B Starlin Castro (back variation, circle around card number)
#18 Andre Dawson
#78 William Hulbert
#108 Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, & Frank Chance
#108B Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, & Frank Chance (back variation, circle around card number)
#111 Joe Tinker (SP)
#112 Johnny Evers (SP)
#113 Frank Chance (SP)
Colored parallels are available for all of the above regular issue cards. These parallels use a different color ink on the front & back of the cards (base cards are blue ink) and are serial #'d on the back as follows - Black #/50, Green #/25, Red #/5, Purple 1/1




Autograph Parallels -
#A-7 Starlin Castro - Black #/50, Green #/25, Red #/5, Purple 1/1 only four versions for Castro
#A-57 Andre Dawson - Green #/25, Red #/5, Purple 1/1 only three versions for Dawson


T212 Mini Parallels -
#3 Starlin Castro
#3B Starlin Castro (back variation, circle around card number)
#36 Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, & Frank Chance
#36B Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, & Frank Chance (back variation, circle around card number)
Colored parallels are available for all of the above mini cards. These parallels use a different color ink on the front & back of the cards (base cards are blue ink) and are serial #'d on the back as follows - Black #/50, Green #/25, Red #/5, Purple 1/1


T212 Mini Parallel Autos -
#MA-4 Starlin Castro - Green #/10, Red #/5, only two versions of this one
These are actually autographed on the back of the card, fronts are exactly the same as normal minis.


Cut Autos -
Ernie Banks - #/30, #/5 two versions for these
Players are not pictured on these and it looks like all of the Banks contain a cut up copy of Ernie's 1999 Hillshire Farms auto card. Blech!


T4 Box Toppers (3.5" x 5") -
#8 Wrigley Field / William Hulbert
Colored parallels are available for the T4s. These parallels use a different color ink on the front & back of the cards (base cards are blue ink) and are serial #'d on the back as follows - Black #/50, Green #/25, Red #/5, Purple 1/1


T4 Box Topper Autos - No Cubs Included

National Convention Promos - 3 different Obak promo sets were issued at the 2010 National Convention
#N14 Starlin Castro


There were three Obak promo sets produced by Tristar. The first one includes full sized cards and was available in the VIP bags. This set has 10 cards in it. The second set includes mini versions of the first set which have a stated print run of 199. You could get one of these cards for each Tristar pack you opened at their booth. And the third set also includes mini cards, and has a stated print run of 250 cards. Cards from this set were available by opening a box of Tristar product at their booth. This is the set that includes the Castro shown above. You can differentiate the promo version from the pack issued versions by the fact that the promo version says 'Charm City' for the headline on the back of the card.