Wrapping up Series 2!

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!  I hope that all had a safe and filling 4th!

I’ll wrap up my thoughts and experiences with the Cut Signature Edition of the 2004 Fleer Greats of The Game Baseball set and set the table for my overall impressions from 15 years of chasing these two remarkable sets.

As I mentioned in Part 4, I have been able to identify 427 cards that make up the Cut Signature Edition (series 2) of the 2004 Fleer Greats Baseball product.  As Fleer was in it’s final days and months, there were inevitable production and distribution problems with this set.  As a result, there are a few questions that I have that I have yet to be able to find an answer for.  They are:

1. With the Announcing Greats autograph cards; were the autographs on-card auto’s or were they the same “sticker” auto’s or cut auto’s that we see on all other autograph examples.  The only autographed Announcing Greats cards that I have seen (and the two that I have) are on-card auto’s and I’m unsure as to whether they are IP auto’s.  Both are slabbed authentic from psa/dna.
2. With the Forever subset;  There were so many redemption cards here, which is evidence to the production and distribution issues mentioned above, as well as a split between which cards were available through their hobby product versus their retail product, it’s hard to know exactly how many Forever subset cards there really are!  I have identified 144 of them (and I hate the fact that it’s not 145!!) but have never seen examples of any of the Fernando Valenzuela, Steve Garvey, Ron Santo, Tom Seaver or Keith Hernandez cards (other than the base cards).  In addition, while I have three examples of the game patch-dual logo cards from the Forever subset, I have yet to see an example of the game patch – dual number variant.
3. There is the issue of the GBA cards that were issued as redemption cards only and not issued as part of the base card set.  These include Gold Border Autograph (GBA) cards from Marty Marron, Denny McClain, David Cone and Deion Sanders. I have the Marion and McClain cards and have seen a production error card of Deion Sanders but have not seen the Cone card.
4. And finally, I really, really, really would like to talk to a former Fleer employee who is familiar with this set and ask about a few of the base set cards that may lack a GBA issue.  I understand that it may have been a contractual issue, but I would love to know if there is really a GBA card for Mark Fydrich, Fernando Valenzuela, Wade Boggs and Rick Sutcliffe.

With all of these questions now off my chest, here is my success with this set.

As mentioned, I have identifies 427 cards that make up the Cut Signature Edition.  My successes are as follows.

Base cards – 178 player cards (base set – including blue border variants and GBA variants) of which I have 157.  I’m missing just nine GBA cards and the rest of the missing cards are the blue border variants.

Announcing Greats – I’m 10/10 on the base set and 2/8 on the autograph cards.

Yankee Clippings – I have six of the eight swatch cards (missing Rizzuto and Maris) and two of the swatch/auto cards (O’Neill and Skowron).

Forever subset – Of the 144 cards in this massive subset, I have 90.  Add to this my success in obtaining 3/11 of the game patch-dual logo cards and I’m comfortably over half-way home here.

Etches in Time Cut Autographs – This is a strikingly beautiful subset of 40 cut signature cards and I consider myself fortunate to own 12 of them.  There are a lot of cards that are less than (of 10) so I’m not sure how many more I’ll be finding.

Personality Cuts – I’m a solid 0/10 here and unless I win the lottery, that’s where I’ll end up!

Total – I am at a respectable 284/427 with the Cut Signature Edition.  Enough left to remain motivated but enough in binders to be happy!

Next up – I’ll but the 2004 Fleer Greats of The Game Baseball product to bed with my thoughts on the combined sets and then we can start to talk about the next 2004 Greats of The Game product – FOOTBALL!!

Until then, be safe and happy.

 

Personality Cuts – heavy hitter cut signature cards.

Finally, we haver the Personality Cuts subset and this is where the big boy cards are housed!  This subset is an amazing destination for some of the biggest names in baseball and our hobby.

The likes of Abner Doubleday, Connie Mack, Bing Crosby, Happy Chandler, William Taft, Charles O. Finley, August Busch, Jr., Ray Kroc, Ronald Reagan and Tom Yawkey populate the Personality Cuts subset of the 2004 Greats of the Game Cut Signature Edition.  All are 1/1 and exceptionally hard to find.

These cards, individually, would be the keystone of most enthusiasts collection.  Together, they would be anyone’s 401(k)!!

Adding these ten Personality Cuts to our set brings the total number to 427 cards to complete the Cut Signature Edition.

Whew!!

With my next post, I’ll put everything together and discuss my successes with the Cut Signature Edition and combine the two series of this wonderful obsession.

Until then, be well.

If you like memorabilia, then you’ll love the Forever subset.  You’ve struck swatch and patch gold!

The Forever subset is a memorabilia-rich subset filled with game-worn uniform swatches as well as patch cards. The Forever subset begins with 29 base cards with no memorabilia added. From this base, there are single patch cards and dual patch cards. There are cards with a cut team logo opening for the swatch or patch as well as a cut uniform number opening for a swatch or patch. There are also just plain square openings for game-worn jersey pieces (but no patches are included here!).

From by best research, here is how the Forever subset shakes out with regard to variations and production quantities. Take a deep breath, here we go! There are 29 base cards; 23 of them carry a game-worn jersey swatch (exclude Zach Wheat, Duke Snider, Gabby Hartnet, Hack Wilson, Pepper Martin and Frankie Frisch); These same 23 remaining base cards also come with a game-worn jersey logo cut and game-worn number cut jersey swatch as well as a game-worn logo cut and game-worn number cut jersey patch variation. Production runs on this group runs from 149 (game-worn logo cut) to 99 (game-worn number cut) to 49 (game-worn logo patch) and 25 for the game-worn number patch.

As I mentioned during the introduction of the Forever subset, there are also dual-patch logo cut and dual-patch number cut cards where there are two stars (one-front and one-back) each with a game-worn patch. Two players – two patches – one card; how wonderful. There are 11 cards featuring the dual-patch logo cuts and 10 that feature the dual-patch number cut. The dual-patch logo cards have a production run of 19 and the dual-patch number cards were produced in a quantity of five (5).

 

 

Clear as mud, right? The Forever subset with all of its variations adds 165 cards to our total, fattening our set to 417 cards.

Saving the best for last, we will explore the Personality Cuts with the next post. Until then, Happy Memorial Day to all.  Enjoy friends and family and your hobby.

The Announcing Greats and the Yankee Clippings

In addition to the Etched in Time subset discussed earlier, there are four additional subsets included in the Cut Signature Edition of the 2004 Fleer Greats of The Game product. These are the Announcing Greats subset, the Yankee Clippings subset, the Forever subset and the Personality Cuts subset.  I’ll cover the Announcing Greats and the Yankee Clippings today.

Let’s start with the Announcing Greats subset. The idea here was to pair a broadcasting legend and a baseball legend from the same market. There are ten (10) terrific combinations such as Mel Allen and Yogi Berra from the Yankees and Vin Scully and Steve Garvey from the Dodgers. Others include Kalas and Schmidt of Phillies fame and Caray and Sandberg from the Chicago Cubs. Eight (8) of the ten include a cut autograph (missing are the combinations of Scully and Garvey as well as Martin and Fisk of the Red Sox. These eighteen (18) additions push the number of this series to 236 cards.

Now, on to the Yankee Clippings subset. Here we enjoy a game-used memorabilia card of eight great Yankees; Yogi Berra, Wade Boggs, Reggie Jackson, Paul O’Neill, Roger Maris, Don Mattingly, Phil Rizzuto and Moose Skowron. All eight come with a variation which is a combination of a smaller memorabilia swatch and an autograph. The Roger Maris autograph is limited to a production quantity of three (3) and the Maris and Rizzuto memorabilia cards are limited to a quantity of 150. The remaining memorabilia/autograph are also short-printed with quantities as high as 26 (Boggs, O’Neill and Skowron) and as low as 15 (Berra, Jackson, Mattingly and Rizzuto). These 16 Yankee Clippings push our magic number to 252.

Next time, I’ll cover the beast that is the Forever subset.  Until then, all best.

Just like one of my idols, Paul Harvey, said; “And now, the rest of the story!”

The 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game Baseball set had a second series that was the 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game – Cut Signature Edition.  Of course.  The second series carried along most of the personality and characteristics of its older sibling with a few twists thrown in.  Of course.

During the next few weeks, I’ll let you know of my findings and deep-dive into the Cut Signature Edition of this great set.

Here we go…..

Let’s unpack the “second series” of the 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game product; better known as the Cut Signature Edition. This issue was released in December, 2004 and please remember that Fleer ceased operations in May of 2005.

Observing and respecting the namesake of the series, I’ll discuss the Etched in Time cut signature subset of this series first. This group of 40 cut-signature cards includes the full spectrum of print production numbers; from the 1/1 cut signature cards from the likes of Jim Thorpe, Earle Combs, Max Carey, Nap Lajoie, Pie Traynor, Tony Conigliaro, and Ted Williams to the more plentiful cut signature cards from Edd Roush (of 93), Ethan Allan (of 76), Earl Averill (of 50) and Rick Ferrell (of 50). Mixed in are wonderful cuts from Chico Ruiz (of 5), Freddie Lindstrom (of 5), Zach Wheat (of 4), and Lefty O’Doul (of 3). Of this group, twenty-five (25) have been produced in a quantity of less than 10, so they are taken off of my want list! That still leaves fifteen (15) terrific cards for the “regular guy” to collect.

 

Now, the base cards for this set…

Cards numbered 81-145 continue the base cards from the Greats of the Game edition into the Cut Signature Edition of this set. This begins our count with 65 base cards. Consistent with the first series, each base card has a blue parallel card. This is where the first “twist” hits this set. The blue parallel cards from the Greats of the Game base cards (number 1-80) had a production run of (and are numbered to) 500. The blue parallel cards from the Cut Signature Edition base set (81-145) are not as generously produced and have a production run (and are numbered to a quantity) that is unique to that player. For example, card number 90 is Mark Fidrych. The “blue parallel” for this card is short printed and numbered to 76 (his rookie year!).

That pattern continues with each of the “blue parallels” from the Cut Signature Edition. Another example; the Joe Charboneau #89 card is short printed and numbered to 80 (his rookie year and ROY award year). There is some fun to be had in figuring out why the production run number was selected. Fun – yes! But also makes it a little more difficult to complete the set. With that said, adding the blue parallel cards brings the total of the base set to 130 while adding the Etched in Time subset brings the total to 170 cards.

Of the 65 base cards in the Cut-Signature Edition, 48 appear as a Gold Border Autograph (GBA) variation. Nice, crisp autographs signed on stickers and then affixed to the card. The 48 GBA cards bring us to 218 on the checklist.

In my next installment, I’ll explore the many subsets included in the Cut Signature Edition.

Until then, enjoy late spring and avoid the flooding and storms!

My final thoughts on this wonderful set….

This set originally caught my attention when I was involved in sending autograph requests through the mail to current and former players. The heavy card stock and light backgrounds made for a perfect surface for the players to sign. I am also a bit of a baseball historian and this type of set still appeals to me. I also favor the Topps All Time Fan Favorite sets and the Topps 1953 and 1954 reprint editions.

There are three cards that I have never seen photos or examples of. They are the Phil Rizzuto (GBA-PR) auto card that I have spoken about, the Carlton Fisk (GOT-CF2) game-used bat card from the Glory of their Time subset and the Lou Brock (GOT-LB) Glory of their Time game-used patch card.

As for my success with this set, I am missing just one GBA card; Phil Rizzuto (GBA-PR) – although I do have the base card signed through a private signing (I am still hunting the GBA version), four of the Battery Mates dual cut autographs (which are each /10), and six of the Glory of their Time memorabilia cards; two patch cards (Ripken and Brock), three gold foil game-used cards (Skowron, Ryan and Rizzuto) and that elusive Fisk game-used bat card.

Yup, take away all of the super short-print cards and I’m just eleven (11) elusive cards shy of a complete Greats of the Game “regular guy’s” master set.

I love the chase. 

Something tells me that the last eleven may be the most challenging!

As for my favorite card(s) in this set.  Kinda like asking me which daughter I love more! It’s a question without an answer.

Next, I’ll take you through the Cut Signature Edition and then move on to earlier Fleer sets.  Thanks for reading thus far and I look forward to our conversations!

If any of you have any leads or information on this set, please add a comment or question.

I have talked about the autograph and memorabilia parts of this set as well as the many variations that have pushed this 80-card set well past 300 cards. Now, the heavy hitters! And the reasons that I will, most likely, fail to complete my master set mission.

Moving along, the Greats of the Game edition also include six (6) Comparison Cuts autographed cards and three (3) Personality Cuts autographed cards. Included here are the “big boy cards” such as cut autographs of Babe Ruth, Connie Mack, Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson to name a few. By the way, these nine (9) beauties bring our total for the Greats of the Game edition to 365 cards.

Finally, the Greats of the Game edition concludes with 15-card Etched in Time cut autographs subset. These are also what I consider the “big boy cards” of this edition. Mostly 1/1 or at most “of 3,” they include Roy Campanella, Roberto Clemente, Thurman Munson and Ty Cobb. These are beautiful cut signatures (from the pictures I’ve seen!). These Etched in Time cards bring our total for the Greats of the Game edition to 380 cards.

 

I will give my final thoughts on this Greats of the Game edition in tomorrow’s post.

Until then, have a great Tuesday.

Now lets move on to the memorabilia section of this set.

The Greats of the Game edition also includes the Glory of their Time (GOT) subset. Included here are 35 base cards, 32 of which appear in a “silver” game-used memorabilia variation, 31 come as a “gold” game-used variation and 13 also appear as a game-used patch variation. That’s 111 Glory of their Time cards and variations which pushes our little set up to 356 cards.

 

It is in the Glory of their Time subset that I find my second interesting fact. There are two cards whose game-used variations come with a twist. Carlton Fisk (CF1 and CF2) and Jose Canseco (JC1 and JC2) both have a game-used uniform swatch card (CF1 / JC1) and a game-used bat variation (CF2 / JC2). My research shows that the Canseco bat cards (JC2) appear as both a silver and gold variation but the Fisk bat card (CF2) only appears in a silver variation. They are all included in my numbers above.

 

Another neat fact is that the Glory of their Time Tony Gwynn cards (TG1 and TG2) are offered as a white uniform swatch (TG1) and a grey uniform swatch (TG2). The TG1 and TG2 cards also have their own patch card variation as well.

As we do a deep dive into this set, let’s talk numbers; this set evolves the more you dig. There are two series in this set, the Greats of the Game edition and the Cut Signature edition. Let‘s tackle the Greats of the Game edition first.

There are 80 base player cards, each with a blue border parallel. That makes 160. Sixty-one (61) of these base cards also appear as a Gold Border Autograph (GBA) variation. That adds up to 221 cards.

 

Here lies the first interesting twist of the set. I believe that the GBA variation (GBA-PR) of the Phil Rizzuto base card (#18) and the GBA variation (GBR-KP) of Kirby Puckett were issued as redemption cards. This terrific set was produced as Fleer was experiencing significant financial trouble and on its way to being purchased by Upper Deck. Many accounts tell of an unorganized (at best) redemption program. Many of these redemption cards ended up being sold at the liquidation sale in 2005 or distributed after the sale. These are difficult cards to come by. I have been able to obtain the Puckett GBA card and I was fortunate enough to have Scooter sign my base card but I’m still searching for the GBA Rizzuto redemption card.

 

Let’s keep going! There is a 10-card Battery Mates subset found in the Greats of the Game edition, featuring prolific pitcher/catcher combos. Eight of these come as a single cut signature variation and 6 more carry a dual cut signature variation. That’s 24 for the Battery Mates and moves the dial on our total to 245.

 

 

With my next post, I’ll get into the Glory Of their Time (GOT) subset, which features game used memorabilia and patch cards and then we will address the “big boy” cards as I mentioned earlier.

Until then, enjoy your Sunday!