Lesson Learned (again)

I've been a 'stealth' Rusty Staub collector for a while. Along with pitcher Don Wilson, Staub was a player I enjoyed watching and rooted for when I first came to Houston in the late 60s. I continued to follow his career through his time with the Expos and, to some extent, the Mets and Tigers.

I don't actively track down his cards. I don't have a Staub checklist like I do for guys like Billy Pierce, Johnny Callison, and Mike Cuellar. But I used to put stick Staub's cards in one of my 'star' binders when I found one in my stash. And over the last few years I've added them in fits and starts, mostly from show bargain bins.

Now I don't chase autographs particularly but I like having one example in my player collections. It occurred to me that I had no signed Staub card. A month or so ago I decided to rectify that. I found this 2004 Fleer Greats card on eBay for a nice price and picked it up. I didn't pay much attention to it other than the fact that it was an 'authorized' signature card so I figured it was legit.

What I didn't figure is that it was a sticker autograph. I don't have anything against sticker autographs but if I'm going to just have one signed card of a player I'd rather it be an 'on card' one. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I guess I could have looked closer at the photo in the listing but I'm pretty quick on the trigger sometimes. This was one of those times. And besides...I did look at the text on the back and it didn't raise any red flags. Here's my scan of the back:

And here is a closer look at the key section of the back just in case, like me, you have aging eyes:

Notice that it says "PERSONALLY AUTOGRAPHED". Well, if we are going to get technical the sticker was personally autographed. The card? Nope. Here's the graph and blown up it's pretty obvious that it's a sticker.

It's not the end of the world. After all, it is a pretty attractive card. This is neither the first nor last time I'll buy or bid without looking at the small print as it were. So I'll quit kvetching over a first world problem and go stick it in my binder now.

Panini NFL Stickers

While standing at the checkout counter at Party City buying Mardi Gras beads (don't ask) I spied a box of these 2014 Panini NFL stickers for a buck each so I grabbed two. I don't think I was aware that Panini did football stuff. I know about their soccer stickers. I have quite a few Man U. ones. 

I guess I'm always surprised when I see a major sport product is put out by someone other than Topps because I can never remember which sport Topps has a licence monopoly with. It's all hard to keep straight for me.

So there were seven stickers in each pack. I got about five 'base' stickers and the rest were variations or whatever they should be called. I got a chromey Aaron Rodgers. 

This is what the base stickers look like.

Obviously the stickers are aimed at kids. At least I think so given that both packs had a cartoonish mascot sticker.

Here's one I like. My Texans' helmet on a chrome sparkly background.

I haven't checked but the Hall of Fame stickers are probably only 2014 inductees. If not I'm pissed I got Derrick Brooks instead of John Unitas or maybe Lenny Moore.

Teddy Bridgewater rookie sticker. Investment value? LOL

I didn't know the NFL officially called the London games they play the 'International Series'. That's stupid. But the NFL does a lot of stupid things.

Base cards. Two guys I've had on my fantasy team in the past.

And finally another kiddy mascot.

Well, it's not a total waste of $2. Kids at my school like sports and sticking stuff on binders. These will make a few of them happy.

Vending Machine Stickers

When my kids were younger we had a regular hamburger place we'd hit a couple of times a month. My boys loved it because not only were the burgers top notch but the place had some terrific vending machines. I dropped a ton of quarters into two in particular. One had the mini football helmets. Not the crappy little cheap ones that you had to apply the sticker logos to yourself, but a nice quality little painted helmet. I know that over time we put together the whole set. My boys had them displayed in their room.

The other machine pushed out the shiny sparkly stickers I have posted here. They came inside a folded cardboard 'pack' and ran a quarter or fifty cents apiece. The burger place always had NFL stickers and the two up top came from there. They are dated 1995 which would have made my boys six or seven when we picked them up but I'm guessing they were purchased a few years later than that date.



I don't know where the hockey one and the snazzy Colt sticker were obtained but I suspect some other place we came across in our shopping/eating travels. I used to be interested in goalie masks and I had a nice little stack of those stickers myself. That Colt helmet sticker is dated 2000.



I came across these when I was clearing out the binders that my sons kept their collections in. Makes for some fun family nostalgia. They had Mark Brunell and Junior Seau PCs along with tons of junk wax 'stars' (or guys they considered stars) and plenty of non-sports cards. I think I posted a Pink Power Ranger collection I came across on here some months ago. I couldn't argue with their taste if you know what I mean.