1997-98 Fleer Million Dollar Moments

Spanning two years of sets, and included in 1997 Fleer Series 2, 1997 Flair Showcase, 1998 Fleer Series 1 and 1998 Ultra Series 1, the Million Dollar Moments cards were basically sweepstakes promotions, inserted one in every pack.


The cards include both modern day and retired stars, with the fronts including the description of a specific moment in the players career. Not surprisingly, they chose May 1, 1991, the day he broke Lou Brock's all-time stolen base record.


The backs of the cards included the official rules of the sweepstakes, as well as a place to fill out all of your personal information in case you managed to complete the entire set. It is the information on the back of these cards, however, that makes what should be a throwaway card into a player collectors treasure hunt! As can be seen above, the text in the white box on the box of the cards states "You're One Step Closer to Winning $1,000,000." This is the message that was found in all of the cards that were inserted in packs, and is the version that you can readily find for sale.


There are certain cards on every player collectors want list that don't seem like they belong. For me, the 1997-1998 Fleer Million Dollar Moments Redemption was one of those cards. For the longest time, I had no idea what the card even was (Beckett lists it as "1997-1998 Fleer Million Dollar Moments Redemption," with a price of $0.25), and yet I only know of one other Rickey collector that has one, until now that is! I managed to track down a few complete sets of these redemption cards, which were given to collectors as a prize for sending in the first 45 cards of the 50 card set (the last 5 cards were extremely short printed, and it's with these that you had a chance of winning $1,000,000). Unlike the cards found in packs, the backs of the redemption cards state "This is Not an Official Game Card." This should be the end of the hunt, but there is still a third version that exists.


This last version is the same as those found in packs, but has been stamped "1-45 VOID" on the back. I'm not 100% positive how these can to be, but my guess is that when a collector would send in his cards to get the redemption set, Fleer would mail back the redemptions, along with the initial 45 cards that were submitted. It makes sense that Fleer would void these cards, as they wouldn't want everyone turning right back around and submitting them again for another set.

It's also possible that a fourth version of the cards exists. There were supposedly 10,000 "Instant Winner" cards inserted in packs, which I'm assuming would also be noted in the white box on the back. I've never seen or heard of a Rickey (or any other player for that matter), but that doesn't mean they aren't floating around out there somewhere.



Shameless plug alert: To attempt to recoup the cost of the sets, I've currently listed some of the redemption singles on eBay. The checklist card above shows the entire set, but I've also included a complete list below. If any player collectors are still looking for their players card, send me an e-mail, and I'm sure we can work something out.

1. Checklist (with all cards listed for you hardcore player collectors)
2. Derek Jeter
3. Babe Ruth
4. Barry Bonds
5. Brooks Robinson
6. Todd Hundley
7. Johnny Vander Meer
8. Cal Ripken Jr.
9. Bill Mazeroski
10. Chipper Jones
11. Frank Robinson
12. Roger Clemens
13. Bob Feller
14. Mike Piazza
15. Joe Nuxhall
16. Hideo Nomo
17. Jackie Robinson
18. Orel Hershiser
19. Bobby Thompson
20. Joe Carter
21. Al Kaline
22. Bernie Williams
23. Don Larsen
24. Rickey Henderson
25. Maury Wills
26. Andruw Jones
27. Bobby Richardson
28. Alex Rodriguez
29. Jim Bunning
30. Ken Camminiti
31. Bob Gibson
32. Frank Thomas
33. Mickey Lolich
34. John Smoltz
35. Ron Swoboda
36. Albert Belle
37. Chris Chambliss
38. Juan Gonzalez
39. Ron Blomberg
40. John Wetteland
41. Carlton Fisk
42. Mo Vaughn
43. Bucky Dent
44. Greg Maddux
45. Willie Stargell
46. Tony Gwynn
47. Joel Youngblood
48. Andy Pettitte
49. Mookie Wilson
50. Jeff Bagwell

Rickey's In the Mail: Oddballs, Inserts and Parallels

These first two cards are unlicensed cards now known generally as "Broder" cards since the mysterious Rob Broder created quite a few different sets. The top card (Classic Baseball Superstars Series II #20) does not have a year, but I'm guessing it's from 1988-1989. The text and rounded corners look very similar to other Broder cards that I have. The bottom card (1988 Play Ball America) looks like a lot of the other unlicensed cards from the front, but the back is very unique. At some point in time I'll post pictures of all of these that I have. It's difficult to compile a want list of these cards since a complete listing of the different sets doesn't really exist anywhere.



1987 Stuart Panels #23 - The above Canadian issued card is one that I've been chasing for awhile, and actually came on a three card panel along with Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield. Eventually I'll track down a complete panel, but this will have to do for now. I'm now down to only four more cards left on my want list from the 1987 issues.



1989 Topps Batting Leaders #15 - This is a card that has been eluding me for awhile, and I was finally able to pick it up on eBay a few weeks ago. These cards were only found on the front of rack packs at Kmart. I'm now down to only 2 missing cards from 1989 (one is a base Topps Big, that I have no idea why I don't have already), and the other is a Topps Doubleheaders test issue, which will be a little harder (i.e. pricier) to track down.



1995 Upper Deck Special Edition Gold #245 - I've been looking for the gold parallel of this card for awhile, and finally received it from Perry over at RickeyHendersonCards. He had a doubles of the card, saw that I still needed it, and graciously sent it my way. When I first started this blog I definitely didn't foresee something like that happening! I'm now only missing 4 Rickey cards from 1995 (Blue Jays U.S. Playing Cards 3S and 11H, Classic 10 Phone Cards #42, and Pacific Prisms #102). I'm not sure why I don't have the Prisms card yet, but the other three have proved fairly elusive.





1996 Panini Stickers #222 - Another great addition, this sticker completes my base Panini collection. The only Panini stickers that I still need are from a non-Canadian release in 1991 (Panini French #171 and Panini French #196).

I also have an uncut sheet of the stickers that I'd acquired a few years ago, but wasn't able to find the individual sticker itself until now. It's actually a pretty impressive sheet, with 4 out of the 6 players being potential Hall of Famers.



1996 Red Foley #16 - This sticker, like most of the Red Foley releases, doesn't contain any sort of identifying information (set name, year, number), which would have made it difficult to identify if not for the collector I traded with. I now have all of the Red Foley stickers identified by Beckett (unless there are more sets out there, which based on Beckett's prior record, is something I can't discount)



The next post is a collection of more recent inserts and parallels. The first is a 2004 Playoff Prestige Changing Stripes Foil #1. I had the base version, and now have added the foil parallel as well. Next we have a 2005 Donruss Champions Impressions Red Sox #313, followed by a 2004 Leaf Exhibits 1947-66 Made in USA Signature #39 (At least, I think that's what it is as there are WAY to many variations of this card, but it is serial numbered to 66 copies). Finally, we have the base version of the 2003 Donruss Champions Grand Champions #24 insert, which features him in an A's jersey, which I always prefer.



This next lot contains two "base" cards as well as two great inserts. The first is a 2000 Paramount Update #84, a card that I never even remember seeing until I was offered it in a trade. It's followed by a 2001 Pacific Decade's Best #A1, an insert without any parallel versions, a rarity when it comes to Pacific releases. Next we have a 2002 Donruss Best of Fan Club FC #274 (it's the base card in the "Best of" set, but is basically just a parallel to the same card in the Fan Club set, while also being serial numbered to 2,025). Last, but certainly not least, is the card that is probably my favorite of all those in the post. It's a 2002 Diamond Kings T204 #RC4, that looks much better in person than it does in the scan. It really is a sweet "little" card.



2006 Topps Sterling #44 and #46 - I'm really impressed by these Sterling cards (definitely the thickest base cards I've ever seen), and now only need 4 more to complete the entire 10 card base set. Not a bad way to end a post, with two really nice base cards, one featuring Rickey in a retro A's jersey.

1988 Good Ideas Action Pop-Ups

I'd like to start by wishing everyone a nice and safe Halloween. I gambled on a Rickey Henderson eBay auction recently, and received an early Halloween treat! Since Rickey was one of the more popular players of the 1980's, there are quite a few "collectibles" that were made by enterprising individuals, and not necessarily by actual companies. Aside from the wide range of unlicensed Broder cards (I just love those for some reason!), I try to limit my collection to items that weren't made in someones garage with a lamination machine and an exacto-knife.



As far as the auction was concerned, all I really had to go on was a picture of the item. The description said only "1980's Rickey Henderson cardboard cut out," which didn't prove very helpful. I've seen quite a few of these that were made by someone gluing an 8" x 10" photo to a cardboard backer, and then just cutting out the player. But, this didn't look to be something like that, and for only $4.99, plus free shipping, it was worth the risk!

I couldn't wait to get the item, flip it over, and see if there was anything on the back. If I was faced with only a piece of brown cardboard, then I'd been foiled in my quest. But, if there was any sort of writing, then I knew that I'd found a new "collectible!"



Success!! The Rickey "cut out" is actually from a "Baseball Super Star Action Pop-Ups" set released by a company called Good Ideas Enterprises, Inc. in 1988. The Rickey is labelled as part of the "1988 Baseball Series Model No. 6." The cutout is about 7" high and 6 1/2" wide, which means that I can put it in a standard magazine sleeve, another reason that I decided to get it. Organizing and storing my collection has become a bit of a problem, and I try not to add anything that I can't easily put into a binder.

I always get overly excited whenever I add a new collectible to the collection, especially one from the 1980's, when I was at the peak of collecting. Plus, this item is something that I didn't even know existed, which make it that much more exciting! I'm still a little surprised that something like this existed and that I'd never even heard of it before.

I've done a little online research, and there's really not much out there about the pop-ups. I've seen mentions of both a Jose Canseco, as well s a Dave Winfield version, but that's about it. As far as the company that produced these, Good Ideas, they don't seem to have done much else. A company going by the same name was delisted from the Pacific Stock Exchange in 1996, but I'm not even sure if it is the same one. If anyone has any more information about this set let me know, as it would be interesting to learn a little more about it.

Rickey's in the Mail: Base Cards and Inserts

As a follow up to the post from a few weeks ago, which focused on the Rickey Henderson game-used cards I'd recently acquired, this post will highlight some of the base cards, inserts, and parallels that I've recently added to my collection.



1999 Upper Deck MVP Gold Script #131 -- These gold signature parallels were serial numbered to 100, and are surprisingly difficult to find. I was able to acquire this one in a trade over at the Bench.



2000 Crown Royale Premiere Date #89 -- Pacific was producing an insane numbered of parallel cards in 2000, and this is one of the nicer ones. It is serial numbered to 121.



1987 Action Superstars Series III #50 -- Being a big fan of oddball cards, I can never past up one of these that a don't already have. It's one of many unlicensed cards produced in the late 1980's that have now become known as "Broder Cards," since most were produced by a mysterious guy named Rob Broder.



Fleer Then and Now R.Henderson/I.Suzuki #5 -- This card compares Rickey to Ichiro, arguably today's best leadoff hitter. It features a great vintage picture of Rickey wearing a ridiculous headband. It's serial numbered to 275, which although isn't very limited, it's not a card that shows up very often.



1994 Stadium Club Members Only Parallel #107 -- This Members Only parallel from the 1994 Stadium Club sets has proven fairly elusive, until now. Rickey had two cards in the set, each with a Golden Rainbow, Members Only, and First Day Issue parallel. All I need now is the First Day Issue of #654, and the set will be complete.



2001 Topps Home Team Advantage GM #787 -- This Home Team Advantage parallel features a great shot of Rickey setting the stolen base record in 1991. I still need the base card version of the HTA parallel, which is #105 in the set.



This above collection of six cards, as well as the six below were all acquired in a trade with a fellow Rickey collector. Highlights of the top picture include a 1993 A's Stadium Club #8 (I had been looking for this card forever!), 1993 Fleer Jeff Reboulet #642 (This is the latest Rickey "cameo" card that I've added to my collection, of which I'll write a post on some time in the future), and a 2001 Bowman Heritage SP #412 (You just gotta love black and white cards).



The second picture includes a 2003 Topps Hit Parade #21 as well as my favorite of the bunch, a 1989 Broder-type card, (Series 4, Card #6), which for some odd reason features Rickey in front of Wrigley Field!



2005 Studio Portraits White #82 -- This is probably the first Rickey card, that when looking at a checklist, I had no idea which one it was! There are 56 different studio portrait variations, which is rather ridiculous. But, this is a rather nice looking card (and serial numbered to 50), so I can't complain too much.



The above picture contains some awesome inserts! It starts with two 2002 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity parallels, both serial numbered to 100. The next card is a 2004 Upper Deck Play Ball Home Run Heroics 81st Lead #RH. It's a two layered card with the background layer the box score from the game when he hit his 81st leadoff home run. We round out the picture with two Fleer inserts, a 2005 Fleer Tradition Club 3000/500/300 3000 #7 and a 2002 Fleer Triple Crown Diamond Immortality #3.



The next six cards start with a nice tribute to Rickey's 1989 MVP season (2003 Upper Deck MVP Celebration ALCS #37, serial numbered to 1,989 on the front). My favorite cards above are the two inserts with Jose Canseco (2005 Throwback Threads Dynasty Rickey/Eck/Canseco #4 and 2005 Leaf Cornerstones J.Canseco #18).



The final picture of this incredibly long post begins with Rickey's 2003 and 2004 Timeless Treasures base cards (serial numbered to 900 and 999 respectively). It ends with a 2001 Topps Chrome Retrofractors GM #657 and finally a 2002 Fleer Box Score AS #258, serially numbered to 2,950. Overall, I pretty wide variety of cards, and all good additions to the collection!

Rickey's in the Mail: Game-Used

I've recently acquired a handful of Rickey Henderson game-used cards through various online trades and select eBay purchases. I thought I'd put a photo-heavy post together (in no particular order) that includes the cards description and possibly some commentary of my own.



2003 Finest Bat Relics FRB-RH -- The card has a nice shiny refractor-like finish, but there is only one version, unlike some Finest cards with both a base and refractor version.



2004 Leaf Certified Materials Fabric of the Game Jersey Year FG-189 #/84



2002 Finest Jersey Relics FJR-RH -- With some game-used inserts consisting of a myriad of parallel versions, it's nice to know that with only one card, this set is complete. The same holds true for the 2003 Finest jersey above.



2005 Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Swatch Six TT-94 #/50 -- This is the nicest game-used Rickey Henderson card that I currently have. It features a piece of batting glove, bat, cap, pants, and jersey (both yellow and grey). It's sets like these that I was referring to above, with Rickey having around 200 different Tools of the Trade game-used cards in the 2005 Absolute Memorabilia set.



2005 Donruss Champions Impressions Material Jkt 50 -- This cards features the first game-used jacket that I've obtained



2003 Bowman Heritage Diamond Cuts Relics Bat DC-RH -- Readers of this blog know that I'm a sucker for retro-looking cards, and this is no exception.



2002 Diamond Kings Diamond Cut Collection Jsy DC-78 #/250



2004 Topps Clubhouse Relics Uniform RHE -- Another card featuring Rickey in his early A's jersey, and probably my favorite card of the lot! It would have been even better if the swatch had actually matched the yellow jersey shown.



2004 Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Material Combo Bat-Jsy TT-121 #/250 -- Another Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade insert, but this one is from a year earlier than the first.



2002 E-X Game Essentials Bat



2003 Playoff Prestige Player Collection Pants #/325



2002 Topps Traded Tools of the Trade Relics Bat TTRR-RHB -- Another card that only has one version, without any parallels or variations!



2003 Donruss Elite Throwback Threads Padres-Mets TT-53 #/125 -- This is my first game-used card with pieces on both sides. There's a white swatch from the Padres on the front, with a black swatch from the Mets on the back.

This obviously doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of cards that are out there, but it's a nice start, and I'm always looking for more.

Rickey for Sale on Ebay

Back in the height of my collecting period, there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't check eBay to see what new oddball Rickey items had surfaced. I haven't checked it out lately, but thought I'd see if any completed items caught my attention.

There were hundreds of game-used and limited edition parallels out there, none of which I have in my collection, but that's OK with me. I singled out some auctions featuring older, more interesting items, as well as newer items that still fit in the oddball category.

We'll start with what I think was the coolest find, a signed check from the Major League Baseball Players Association in 1980, for a total of $504, and endorsed by Rickey on the back. The check sold for almost $135, about 25% of the actual check amount. I also really like the fact that it's from the very beginning of his career. He made sure to cash this one, unlike the $1 million bonus check he received from the A's, which he never cashed, but just put up framed on his wall!



The second picture shows a close-up of Rickey's endorsement on the back.



While playing for the A's in 1982, only his third full year in the Majors, Rickey stole an unheard of 130 stolen bases. This still stands as the single season record today, with not much chance of being broken anytime soon. Michael Bourne of the Astros currently leads baseball with 21 stolen bases on the year, which would project out to only 75 for the season, barely half way to Rickey's all-time mark. This unused ticket from the game against the Royals on October 2, 1982, when he stole base number 130, recently sold for only $7.50, which I think is a pretty amazing deal!



This next item is an autographed 8"x10" featuring a vintage pose of Rickey in a classic early 80's A's jersey. Based on the holographic logos in the corner, it's obviously a new copy of an old picture (meaning the signature is fairly new as well), but it's still a great item, and not bad for only $45.00



The auction below is for a particularly rare Topps Rickey Henderson card. This is the 1983 Topps Sticker Boxes #8, and is one of only 3 cards of Rickey's that I still need from 1983. I've never actually scene on of these before, and definitely not one uncut from the box! This card was a great purchase with a final price of only $9.99.



Another early 80's Rickey collectible, this 560 KSFO Bumper Sticker features a nice profile of Rickey, along with the Billy Ball logo,. and actually went unsold with a starting bid of $9.99. I know I have a similar bumper sticker somewhere, but I have no idea where it might be.



Ever since compiling my Rickey list using Beckett's database, there have been a few listings that I have had no clue what card they were talking about, one being the 1991 San Francisco Examiner #6. I think I may have just solved this mystery. This 8 1/2" x 11" card (which went unsold at $3.00) was inserted in the San Francisco Examiner in 1991. The seller doesn't mention a number, but Beckett has been known to make up their own numbering system when they are so inclined, so I'm pretty confident they are one in the same.



I have a fairly large collection of Rickey pins and buttons (which I will get to posting eventually), but this 939 All-Time Base Bandit pin is one that I don't believe I've ever seen before. Following the trend of recent items, this one also went unsold at $7.00.



With these final items I'm shifting from the vintage, to something more contemporary. The first is a 2004 Modesto A's bobblehead, with an unfortunate Taco Bell logo on the front. I realize that they sponsored the promotion, but this is a little much for me. This sold for a Buy it Now price of $28.00.



Continuing on with the bobblehead theme is this 2005 San Diego Surf Dawggs bobble, which sold for a Buy it Now of $24.99. Aside from the weird looking lips, I like this bobble much better than the previous one. Also released by the Surf Dawggs in 2005 is this poster schedule (unsold at a starting bid of $4.99), as the Dawggs are naturally trying to capitalize on Rickey's star status.





Finally, although I mentioned in the beginning I ignored the vast array of game-used cards available, I couldn't help at stopping at the Rickey Henderson and Willie Mays combo jersey numbered 2 out of only 25 copies. Sold at a Buy it Now of $45 (a bit pricey for me), this is a card I wouldn't mind having, as it doesn't get any better than Rickey and Willie!