1990 Topps Doubleheaders

Prior to producing the Tripleheaders balls in 1991, Topps produced a set called Doubleheaders in 1990. This set consisted of two 2.0" x 2.5" cards encased back-to-back in a plastic stand. On one side was the players rookie card (in Rickey's case 1980 Topps), and on the other side was the current years Topps card (1990 Topps #450).





These came one to a pack, and Rickey's "card" was actually featured on the front of the pack, which is always a nice added bonus! There was actually a "test" issue released in 1989, featuring 1989 Topps cards. I don't have this "test" card, but if anyone out there has one, I'd love to get ahold of it!



These were apparently divided up into three sets, with Rickey's card part of Checklist B. Also included in this portion of the sets were cards of Ken Griffey Jr. (in only his second year), Bo Jackson (imagine what he could have done if he'd stuck to baseball, and not gotten hurt), and Greg Maddux.

TV Sports Mailbag 8X10 Photos

TV Sports Mailbag of Yorktown Heights, NY produced a serious of collectible photos in 1989 and 1990. These 8X10 photos are on cardboard-type stock with a glossy front.

The 1989 photo features Rickey in a Yankees jersey, and is number 83 in the set. He sure is sporting some trendy shades!





By 1990, Rickey had been traded back to the A's, and is shown in a more typical batting pose, on card number 90 in the set. For some reason, this picture seems like it could be from the late 1990's, while the first picture is definitely from the 80's!





On a more personal note, I'm really excited about this weekend, as I'm going to go to my first big card show in over 10 years! Tristar is having their annual show in San Francisco, and I hope to come back with a few good additions to my collection. If I do find anything good, it'll definitely make it's way on to the blog.

Readin' about Rickey - SI Oct. 1990: Part II

I hope everyone enjoyed the first part of the Sports Illustrated article that I posted earlier this week. Here's the remaining four pages to finish it off. I started back at school last week, and work has been pretty hectic, so I haven't had much time to delve into my collection. Next week I promise to return to my usual postings about oddball Rickey memorabilia.

Readin' about Rickey - SI Oct. 1990: Part I

As my Rickey collection grew over the years, I amassed a fairly large selection of magazines in which he was on the cover and/or featured in an article. I thought I'd start a new series of posts called "Readin' about Rickey," where I could share some of these articles.

If you know anything about Rickey, and you probably do if you're reading this blog, then you know that you can expect to find quite a few "Rickeyisms," and some forays into the third-person, spread throughout the articles.

This first article, from an October 1, 1990 Sports Illustrated, features Bobby Bonilla on the cover, attempting to lead the Pirates to the NL East crown (he succeeded). Rickey won his one and only MVP award in 1990, so this article was written near the end of one of the best seasons of his career. Titled "Man of Steal," the entire article is 9 pages long (pages 60-68 in the magazine), so I'm going to break it up into two different posts. Enjoy!

Two 8x10 Collectible Photos

Both of the pictures below are on cardboard paper stock, and are more like large thin cards than actual photographs. The first picture was printed in 1990 by the Collectors Marketing Corporation. I vividly remember buying this particular picture, which I found at the checkstand of my local grocery store. I also always found it amusing that Rickey was wearing #22 in the picture, instead of his typical #24.



This next picture, part of a collection of Line Drive photos, was printed in 1991 by Impel Marketing, but is of a very similar design to the previous one.

Let the Countdown Begin...

...Until Rickey Henderson's induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. When the 2008 inductees are announced this Tuesday, there will only be one year remaining until Rickey's inevitable induction in 2009. What better time could there be to begin this blog?

I've been collecting Rickey Henderson memorabilia for about 20 years now, and have acquired a wide variety of cards, figures, magazines, posters, and other random collectibles. I hope to share a small piece of my collection with you on a daily basis, with the goal of completing it by the time he's inducted into the Hall in 2009.

The best place to begin would be at the beginning, with a very common but important piece of my collection:

1987 Topps #311

I received my first ever pack of baseball cards at a birthday party in 1987, and it included this Rickey Henderson Topps "Turn Back the Clock" card. I was a big Oakland A's fan at the time, but was too young to remember when he was a member of the A's, as he was playing for the Yankees at the time. Luckily for me, he was traded back to the green and gold in 1989.

The first "real" collectible posted on this blog is a fuzzy green Rickey wristband. These were called "Foto Sweats" and were an officially licensed MLB/MLBPA product produced in 1990/1991 by Fotoball USA (better known for producing baseballs adorned with similar player photos).

So begins my foray into blogging, and the display of my Rickey Henderson collectibles. I sure hope you enjoyed what you saw, and that you come back to see all the Rickey items I have to share!