When I returned to this hobby of collecting trading cards I never expected to see the card companies resorting to using so much nostalgia to get us to buy their products. To me, a card like the Jose Canseco 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites with the 1987 Topps design was complete blasphemy. Not only did it feature a terrible photo but I felt like an iconic set with so much history should have been left alone.
It took me a long time (over a year) but now I realize that baiting collectors with nostalgia is not such a bad thing after all. Sure, I love new cards with all the cool, new technology for my Andrew Miller collection but occasionally I will want to look through and possibly even feed my former collection of Jose Canseco and unfortunately, that well is dry.
That’s why cards like the 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites is so special. It can bring joy to a collector who doesn’t just collect today’s players and just wants the “old timers” like Canseco, Will Clark, and Nolar Ryan. Wow, I feel really old now.
The first card you see below is quite possibly my favorite Jose Canseco card released in 1987. It’s a Topps Glossy All-Stars and perhaps one of the most underrated cards ever made. Check out that excellent, yet simple design. No stupid pop-up messages, team logos, or annoying text. It’s a classic, elegant photo and it’s perfect in my eyes.
The card below it is from ‘05 Topps Fan Favorites and it uses the classic Jose photo but adds two gimmicks to it. First, it features an authentic “game-used” bat relic in the card and second it’s serial numbered to just 350 copies. I may be alone in feeling this way but I think the 20+ year old card looks a lot nicer than the card at the bottom with all the fancy “gimmicks” strapped on.
Of course, it is 2008 so I could be all alone…
Nope. You’re not alone in thinking that. The classic is much better in this case.
I agree, the Topps glossy is MUCH better looking!
I have to agree. The glossy “All-Star Send-In” set was great… much nicer looking than the classic, but still nice All-Star glossy cards that came with 80’s Topps rack packs. And you could get a bunch of them in the mail by just sending in some wrappers and postage/handling if I recall.