What's Kind of Old is New Again With 2010-11 Score Hockey

Score debuted as a hockey line back in 1990-91. They made quite the splash too, landing then prospect and next-big-thing Eric Lindros to appear. I fondly remember opening two boxes of the stuff at Christmas and scouring for the remaining six cards I needed for my set. I also remember a sense of wonderment when I found out about the different versions, American and Canadian, that could be discerned by the color of the logo on the front.

1990-91 Score Hockey (American) - blue logo

1990-91 Score Hockey (Canadian) - red logo

Well, Score hockey is back. Set to hit shelves October 13, it will be the second NHL set released by Panini. Here's what you can expect with the base set:

2010-11 Score Hockey

Yup, pretty much the same as it was 20 years ago. Don't get me wrong, I dig retro tributes - when they're retro. These two are pretty much in the same era. Plus, 1990-91 Score is still (sort of) popular because it was the only set that year to offer Lindros and Martin Brodeur rookie cards, not because of the way they looked.

Scanning over the promo materials for 2010-11 Score Hockey and it's easy to see that Panini is going to the throwback appeal, recycling not only designs but the old-time inserts as well. This I personally don't mind as much as it highlights that inserts can have continuity and importance rather than just being ways of getting more superstars into packs.

2010-11 Score Hockey will carry a suggested price of $0.99 per pack. Not bad for seven cards. The set is a beefy 550 cards. Fifty rookie cards will fall 1:2 packs. There will also be ten redemption cards for additional rookie cards as they debut in the early part of the season. These redemptions will be relatively easy to collect as they fall one per box.

A Glossy parallel will be inserted one per pack as well. Basic inserts such as Franchise, Net Cam and Snow-Globe Die-Cuts will fall at a combined rate of 1:3 packs. 2010-11 Score Hockey will also have autographs, including 1990-91 Buy Backs. Collectors should expect one autograph per 20-box case. Finally, rack packs will have exclusive Canada Greats and USA Greats inserts.

This is What a 1:35,981 Card Looks Like

1988 Topps Traded 44. Ty Griffin

There's a good chance I'll never pull another card with as long as odds as 1:35,981. Those were my chances of getting a buyback from 2001 Topps Traded and Rookies Baseball. Yet, for whatever reason I managed to break the odds. And what did it land me? Ty Griffin biting his lip. And there's also no notation designating it as a buyback or a foil stamp like on the Topps Heritage buybacks. Nothing. Just the regular old card. So I can't even toss it on eBay and make more than a penny on the pretence that it's rare on the basis of a technicality or a serial number.

So while other people brag about their 1:1000 autograph hits, I'm left lamenting over what might have been had my "hit of a lifetime" be in the form of something more than a guy whose professional career didn't even amount to a call to the Bigs. Oddly enough, I'm also reluctant to part ways with my Ty, simply because it's a symbol of what could have been.

2001 marked Topps' 50th anniversary with baseball so the entire year had a historical theme. I had a blast busting packs that year, but one has to acknowledge that buy backs were a silly idea at such astronomical odds. Honestly, I'd have preferred another shot at an Albert Pujols rookie from the regular set. While the Topps Traded line is an important part of the modern collecting legacy, so few cards have made a major impact on the hobby that they need to be seeded at such long odds. 

To see how far they've come, one need not look any further than the Topps Million Card Giveaway. They're everywhere already and we still have 2010 Topps Series Two Baseball and Updates and Highlights yet to come. Getting a Ty Griffin buy back at 1:6 odds is definitely not the kick in the nuts that 1:35,981 is. 

Which big pulls have haunted your collection?

Goodie for Goudey!

When you're talking dream cards, mine is a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth. Will I ever have one? Doubtful. But my vintage Goudey collection officially started yesterday with the arrival of this:

171. Charley Jamieson, Cleveland Indians

Sorry for the crappy scans. I'm in the process of switching over to a new computer but my old one still has the scanner hooked up and the old monitor is horrid. Instantly Charley becomes the oldest part of my baseball card collection. I've got a couple of non-sport and boxing tobacco cards that are a little bit older, but not by much. According to BaseballReference, Charley was never a superstar but he was a solid hitter holding down a career average of .301 in almost two decades of playing. In 1924 he hit .359 and finished third in AL MVP voting.

The card itself is in solid shape with no creases. It has been loved over time as the nicely rounded corners show but it was never manhandled. This card was inserted as a Buy Back from 2008 Upper Deck Goudey. I'm not sure what Goudey commons are worth but when I saw the Buy it Now of $8.00 I figured a pretty little piece of pre-WWII vintage was more fun than a random pack or two of the new stuff.

Upper Deck also inserted a card of congratulations indicating this is indeed a Buy Back.

What I find interesting is the language used. 

You have received a trading card that was originally released in a previous product and is now being re-released for your collecting pleasure.

Can Upper Deck not take a couple of extra seconds and state what set it's from? And maybe even go a step further and discuss the history of the 1933 Goudey set? Gasp! One would think that seeing as how Upper Deck has the rights to call the new set "Goudey" they'd also have the rights to point out the origins of the old cards as well.

It's not that I care that much. I'm just excited to have the first of hopefully a handful of cards from this set.