Cleve's Auction Night: 1985 Topps Set

It was a beautiful sunny day, the summer of 1987.  My friend Joey and I were wrapping up a fun afternoon at a card show in Amarillo, Texas and were getting ready to head home.  As we were leaving the show, Joey decided to live on the wild side and bought a pack of 1985 Topps for some ridiculous (at the time) price I don't remember what.  But he was convinced he would pull something great from that pack.  He couldn't wait to get home to rip the pack and opened it right there in his truck in the parking lot.   Lightning struck, and struck big:  he pulled an Eric Davis rookie card.  At the time the Davis rookie booked for some ridiculous amount, like $80 or something if I remember correctly.  We both went berserk,  bouncing and screaming in our seats,  because we were both broke high school kids and this was like winning a small lottery for us.  Plus, well, we were dorks.   But we didn't care what anyone who saw us might have thought and we celebrated vigorously.

For years and years, I coveted that Davis card, plus many of the cards from 1985 Topps.  It was a set I desired for many years but never could afford.

Years later, my day of glory and destiny arrived last week when I won a complete, mint and bound 1985 Topps set at Cleve's Tuesday auction for a measly $15 on a write in bid.   Fifteen bucks.  I mean, fifteen bucks for an almost 30 year old set that has already been placed in 9 pocket pages.  I picked it up Saturday at Cleve's, and the first card I looked for was the glorious Eric Davis rookie:

Listen, do not harsh my buzz and remind me that I could get this card for a quarter on sportlots.com now.  It's still a bad ass card.  In fact, I get that the whole reason I could get this set for next to nothing these days is because the "hot" cards that drove this set years ago are no longer that desirable.  But they're still big deals in my little mind.  Let's stroll down memory lane:

There are several cards that I imagine people first think of when they think of 1985 Topps.  The Mark McGwire rookie surely is one of them.   Yes, I know this star has faded, but I'm still glad to have it.  Speaking of faded stars, here are a couple of pitchers that surely should be Hall of Famers had they not done themselves in for various reasons:

But there is no shortage of HOFers in this set.  One of which is Kirby Puckett's rookie below, a fine looking card.

At worst, 1985 Topps is worth having because it's a great looking set.  It's simple, colorful, and has lots of great names.  I'm thinking of calling Joey and telling him about it.

Grade:

1985 Topps Set $15  A+:  It's a set I've always wanted, the cards are mint, AND someone already went to the trouble to put all 792 cards in pages.  That alone is worth what I paid for it!

Cleve's Auction Night- Consolation Prizes Are Good Too, Part 1

Last week I gave a preview of some of the big ticket items that were up for auction this week at Cleve's.   A cruel few of you tried to lay peer pressure on me to get me to bid on the 1933 Babe Ruth Goudey card for $1,500.   My desperate need for attention and acceptance by others wass only overpowered by my need not to be thrown out of the house, so I was able to abstain.  The bids I wrote in for the stuff I could afford and wanted mostly were defeated.  I'm still bummed I didn't get the Tony Gwynn Sterling card, but I think it went for way more than I wanted to spend.   A few things did slip through to me, one of which in my opinion is one of the best values I've picked up at Cleve's yet.  That one I'll save for tomorrow.

Of the few items I did win, I think they are gems.  Starting with this sucker:

These retired ring cards are pretty slick, and I was able to get this one for $5.

I also picked up an auto of one of my 80's heroes:

I remember in 1987 a friend of mine bought a pack of 85 Topps and Eric Davis's rookie card was inside.  You would have thought he had won the lottery the way we freaked out over it.  Eric the Red was a mad mother.  I got this auto for $4.

I also got back on the vintage train.  This was the only single card I picked up:

It's not in perfect shape, but there are no creases, and a Steve Garvey Rookie for $2 is a great buy, and will have a nice spot in my sampler album.

Speaking of 1971 Topps, that was a big part of my other win at Cleve's, and I'm excited enough about it to give it it's own post tomorrow.

Grades:

Topps Retired Rings Sandberg $5:  A   These things are pretty expensive, and they are very cool.  Not sure if I'm going to flip it or not.

UD Auto Facts Eric Davis  $4:  A   A great value here.  He's not a Hall of Famer, but had some brilliant seasons in the bigs and was an electric player to watch.

1971 Topps Steve Garvey  $2:  A nice solid rookie card of a perenial all star.