2015 Topps Baseball Series 1 One Manufactured Relic Cards Checklist

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2015 Topps Baseball Series 1 One Insert Card Set Checklist

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2015 Topps Baseball Series 1 One Base Card Set Checklist

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2015 Topps Baseball Series 1 One Cards Checklist

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Topps Innovator Sy Berger Dies At 91

It is hard to imagine card collecting without Sy Berger. While baseball cards were around before he came into the picture, Berger was directly responsible for setting the standard for card that remains today. As co-designer of the 1952 Topps Baseball Cards, Berger took all the elements that had existed before, stats, facsimile signatures, team logos, player pictures, etc and combined them onto one card. He even went on to set the standard size for all cards, 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches.

Here is a fantastic segment Keith Olbermann did that spells it all out.

Here is a statement from Topps

“The Topps family is very saddened by the loss of one of its most cherished members: Sy Berger.  His contributions to the Company as well as major professional sports and entertainment properties have been monumental to say the least.  Thank you Sy!  You have and will continue to put smiles on the faces of children, collectors and fans for generations.  Topps extends  its heartfelt condolences to the Berger family.”

And from his friend Willie Mays

"What can I say about Sy Berger? He was my long-time friend. He helped me from my first days in the majors. I never could have made it without him. He always knew the right thing to say or the right thing to do. We worked together. We laughed together. We grew up together.  What I can say to you is, 'He was my friend.' What I would say to him is, 'So long old pal.'"

2014 Topps Five Star Baseball Checklist Includes Some Surprises

Expect the unexpected. Autograph cards for Tom Brady, Dan Marino and John Elway will be included in 2014 Topps Five Star... Baseball. That is not a typo. The three superstar QBs have been included in the high end hit centric release of baseball legends, superstar veterans and on the rise rookies.

Before Tom Brady started taking snaps for the New England Patriots or even the Michigan Wolverines, he was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft. His position at the time was catcher.

The 1979 MLB draft saw a lot of name players selected, Andy Van Slyke, Tim Wallach, Steve Howe and Don Mattingly to name a few.  Selected in the 4th round of the 1979 draft, 99th overall, by the Kansas City Royals was Dan Marino. Marino decided instead to go to the University of Pittsburgh to QB for the Panthers.

That same year the Kansas City Royals selected another future football great, John Elway. Elway also chose college, going to Stanford where he played both football and baseball for the Cardinals. But in 1981 he was drafted again, this time by the New York Yankees. He was chosen in the second round, 52nd overall, in a draft that included Tony Gywnn who was selected later in the third round. Elway actually played in the Yankees farm system in the summer of 1982 where he had a very respectable .318 batting average and a perfect fielding percentage. It was the Yankees intention to bring Elway to the Bronx as the starting right fielder by 1985. If it had not been for the 1983 NFL draft it is entirely possible that Elway could have been in permanent pinstripes, knocking Ken Griffey Sr. to the bench and sharing the outfield with Rickey Henderson and Dave Winfield. Elway will appear in 2014 Topps Five Star Baseball as a Yankee.

2014 Topps Football Complete Set Box Break and Review

One cannot deny the convenience of having an entire base set presorted and supplied in a custom box.  2014 Topps Football Complete Set NFL Trading Cards offers all of this year’s base cards with a bonus found exclusively in the product, orange border serial numbered parallels.

Clearly, this package gets classification as a boxed set for the purposes of this review. Inside you’ll find the complete 440 card base set, no alternate photo versions or inserts, and each boxes contains a pack of five Orange-Bordered parallels.

Here is a little of what we found inside the complete set box.