Buzz Buys: Bear Bryant ink, Muhammad Ali's moment, a GLOW auto, The Bambino, Steve Austin, Stranger Things & more

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer blasters this year and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention. Would they capture yours? I'd be interested to know -- sometimes they might, sometimes they won't and that's fine. It's a buyer's market out there with plenty of options and bargains as well as high-end gems to chase.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around there's a little bit of everything.

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A BEGINNER BEAR ... 
The Slab: Paul "Bear" Bryant -- nickname autograph cut (BAS-certified)
The Price: $90
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I'll be the first to say that this is perhaps not my ideal autograph situation, but when it comes to Alabama football, Bryant is about as big as it gets -- still above Nick Saban for now -- and landing an authenticated signed photo or slabbed cut of the legend known as "Bear" will typically cost at least $275 and often more. Bryant was one of the autographs that had been on my want list for years but because of the price I'd never really considered it because the quality of autos that can be iffy even for $275. So, when this one presented itself earlier in the year, I opted for a beginner 'graph -- something in a slab and enough to say I have one. I grabbed it and held onto it for here until football season arrived so here we are. Bryant won six national championships in his legendary career and when Saban wins another that will set a new NCAA record. Even then, Saban will still be coaching in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Paul W. Bryant Drive down the road from the Paul W. Bryant Museum -- all named after the coach who died in 1983 less than a month after he notched his record 323rd career win. Bryant's autographs aren't super-tough finds -- they're just pricey. He's had a handful of cut autographs in football releases in recent years but I've never gotten in on the chase there -- also pricey.
Grab a box right here: No boxes on this one ... but college football boxes are here

Keep reading for five more interesting items ...

INSIDE BASEBALL
The Card: Bill James 2019 Topps Revolution of the Game Autographs (/199)
The Price: $16 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This insert set in 2019 Topps is an interesting one -- with or without ink -- and its autographed version includes this statistician and historian/author who helped begin the sabermetrics push in baseball in the 1970s. That's something that the book Moneyball later helped bring to the mainstream even more in the early 2000s, but James hadn't had any baseball card appearances until recently (one of note is 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter). This set's design is a strong showcase for what are ultimately static portraits and the James card stands out from the pack with an in-stadium photo. I paid a little more for this than I had remembered and was a bit bummed to see some corner issues when it arrived at that price, but ultimately it was a pick-up to say I had his ink in my stash. (His Ginter auto can be pricier.) 
Grab a box right here: 2019 Topps Series 1 baseball cards

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LOVE THESE PARALLELS
The Card: "Interrogation" -- 2019 Topps Stranger Things 2 Upside Down parallel (/99)
The Price: $6.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: You ever have a certain set that always grabs your attention every time you see one of its cards? This is it for me -- a simple parallel where cards are presented in monochromatic form -- a distinct blue card with a different border added to them. I basically grabbed one of these showing two memorable characters from the second season of the hit series to get it out of my system. These flow pretty well from hobby boxes -- I landed two in this Buzz Break -- but with only 99 copies per card there could be a pretty strong challenge here if someone wanted to build the 100-card set. An even bigger challenge? Landing a high-grade version -- BGS 9.5 or 10 -- because those dark borders can easily showcase flaws. I pondered grading this one when I grabbed it but the corners nixed that notion when i had it in hand.
Grab a box right here: Click here for Stranger Things boxes

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AFFORDABLE FLASH
The Card: Ozzie Albies 2019 Panini Leather & Lumber Flashing the Leather (/174)
The Price: $4.45
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Like the previous card here, this set is also one that's quite condition-sensitive -- something that probably dampens interest in these cards immediately. What's embedded into this card is a piece of a fielding glove worn by Albies and the set has a mix of past and present players and a mix of player-worn and game-worn memorabilia. This set, which has five parallels, includes 15 players -- a list that includes Ken Griffey Jr., Gil Hodges, Billy Martin, Francisco Lindor and Shohei Ohtani among others. Lindor is the rarest of the basic cards at just 55 copies while others are at 299 in the base set. This one was cheap enough I jumped on it after pulling his teammate in one of my first blasters and fielding gloves might be among the lesser-made mem cards out there for baseball. They still feel unique to me.
Grab a box right here: 2019 Panini Leather & Lumber

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FEELING THE GLOW
The Card: Jackie Tohn 2009 Upper Deck American Idol Season 8 Autographs
The Price: $5
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Ok, I'll be the first to tell you I never watched a minute of American Idol in any iteration but I picked this one up after realizing that this is Melanie "MelRose" Rosen on Netflix's GLOW. I haven't really watched a ton of that one, either, but I have pondered how tough it might be to find cards and/or autos for those on the series -- the actor side might be tougher but there have been a number of real-world wrestler cameos. For example, Tammé Dawson is Kia Stevens who on real-world wrestling cardboard is known as Awesome Kong. Meanwhile, The Sandlot's Patrick Renna has been in a few episodes and Geena Davis is a Season 3 addition to the cast. Others on wrestling cards in this show have included Chavo Guerrero Jr., John Morrison, Joey Ryan, Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels -- and I'm sure there are more with cards for both actors and wrestlers. The research is my first bout here ... but this card is a cheap start.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... but non-sports boxes are here

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MLB'S FIRST BIG AUTHOR
The Card: Jim Bouton 2003 SP Authentic SP Chirography (/345)
The Price: $10.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I was looking at copies of his Rookie Card and much more affordable second-year card for a spot here at some point -- his story and Ball Four are always interesting -- and I picked up a clean copy of his 1963 Topps card literally the day before he died in July. At that point I figured I'd pick this one up -- I wasn't sure if I had landed his ink in the past but I do remember the rare time where I found signed copies of his book at a store -- cover price -- but still passed. (This was back in the 1990s when it wasn't as easy to grab signed books via national chains ... they just happened to end up in a clearance bin.) Bouton was one of the creators of Big League Chew bubble gum, a 20-game winner and an All-Star, but it's his book that might be best-remembered as a tell-all that dropped the mythology of MLB for the realities of the clubhouse and life on the road.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... but MLB boxes are here

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THE NICKNAME GAME
The Card: Babe Ruth 2018 Panini Diamond Kings -- nickname variation (BGS 9.5)
The Price: Just under $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The price on this high-grade slab is what got me to bite since Babe Ruth is Babe Ruth in any form -- and, besides, it would likely cost me this much or more to get one slabbed without a long wait. There are 26 Ruth cards from this release in BGS slabs -- 20 because he shares the card with Shohei Ohtani -- and every other is a pop-one card except for this nickname variation. (There are two of this one slabbed with this grade.) Diamond Kings releases are loaded with legends in recent releases and they are all cheap enough in general in wax form that you could do a few different collecting projects -- player, teams, dynasties, certain sets. This isn't a project-starter for me but it does feature one of the Ruth photos I like seeing on cards -- perhaps just with a tighter crop.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Panini Diamond Kings

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OH HELL YEAH!
The Card: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin 2001 Fleer WWF Wrestlemania Foreign Objects
The Price: $7.75
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This WWE icon has a number of card appearances from the past -- a meaty number that's over 1,100 cards -- but he's only got about 100 cards that are either autographs or memorabilia. Topps Relics are pretty easy finds in general for WWE since ring mats and shirts have been the routine in its current run, but the memorabilia cards from Fleer's time with the license are perhaps undervalued while not being as easy. This is one of Austin's first memorabilia cards -- six from that year -- and only half of them have a piece of a shirt he wore. Others include steel chair (awesome), ring mat and ring skirt. The only drawback on Fleer cards from this time is the stock used -- it can be rough cut and chippy right out of packs (if you can find them) -- and then there can be glossing issues where cards can stick cards together causing damage in some instances if you do find packs.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... grab new WWE boxes here

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UNIQUE MEMORABILIA
The Card: Shao-Ching Chiang 2019 Topps Pro Debut Fragments of the Farm Relics -- field stencils Relic
The Price: Less than $1.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is a card I previously mentioned here on The Buzz because it's got a unique piece of memorabilia embedded into the card -- a stencil used to paint the field. That's never been in a card before as far as I know -- I'm about 99.99 percent sure on that -- and that's something that makes this set stand out as unique when it arrives in Pro Debut every year. These aren't pricey since they can be plentiful, but it'd be hard to pass a few of these up if I saw them in-person in singles boxes. I grabbed one that looks like it's got a good amount of use on the swatch -- and might grab more to put into my FOTF stash (yes, I have one) if they get cheaper.
Grab a box right here: 2019 Topps Pro Debut baseball cards

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GREATEST ACTION PHOTO EVER
The Card: Muhammad Ali 1991 Kayo Hologram (BGS 9)
The Price: $8.80
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This in-ring moment is arguably the best piece of action sports photography in history. The version from Sports Illustrated photographer Neil Leifer during Ali's win over Sonny Liston in 1965 is the only photo of this that was shot in color and Time magazine put it on its list of top 100 most-influential images of all time list. It's in so much demand that commercial licensing for the photo is pricey and you won't see it on a lot of magazines or cards because of that. Kayo went there, though, for a couple of holograms in its past releases and I learned something researching this piece -- this is the black-and-white image of the moment taken by Associated Press photographer John Rooney. It's ultimately the same photo but from a couple feet to the left of Leifer with Ali's glove slightly turned. What makes the photo truly amazing? Ali didn't stand there running his mouth over his opponent ... he quickly swung his fist once standing above Liston and moved away -- it was literally a split-second moment captured with the cameras of 1965. "I had no idea I had taken this picture," Leifer said in the video linked above. "I had no idea he had done that." You can see how fast the moment happened in fight footage right here at the 44-second mark. It's not an expensive card, but I liked the feel of a slabbed hologram over a raw one for not much more in price.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... see other sports boxes here

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LORDY, LOOK AT THE DETAILS ...
The Card: Shaun Alexander 2007 Donruss Classics -- misprint with wrong name on front
The Price: $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I don't remember this product having a lot of problems when it arrived, but apparently the error on this card isn't a one-of-a-kind situation -- I actually now own two of them bought years apart. You may not be able to make it out in my photo, but the foil stamping here says "Rudi Johnson" ... meanwhile it's a Shaun Alexander card. Johnson went to Auburn, Alexander went to rival Alabama -- and that adds an interesting twist to something that's ultimately a simple mistake. (Ignore my having left this card in a top-loader for the photo ... it's not that special vs. other stuff you see here.)
Grab a box right here: 2007 Donruss Classics football cards

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SOMBER PICK-UP
The Card: Cedric Benson 2006 Exquisite Collection Endorsements (/35)
The Price: $4
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This former Texas Longhorns standout and eight-year NFL veteran was was the fourth-overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft and a 1,000-yard rusher three times in his career but was ultimately out of the league at age 30. His recent death in a motorcycle accident got me curious about what cardboard he had. I wasn't heavily ripping into boxes NFL back then -- especially not this brand -- so I grabbed this considering its price, the product and its scarcity. Simple as that.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... click here for NFL boxes

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WHAT THE? (YEAH, I KNOW ... )
The Card: Willie Lanier 1990 Pro Set Super Bowl XXV Silver Anniversary Box Set (BGS 1.5)
The Price: Too much ... but I had to do it (a few bucks).
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: There's a seller out there on the Interwebs with some surprisingly weird graded cards up for grabs and, well, I just had to grab this as an example of the enigmatic stash that has had a few threads about it over on the forum (not always nice, either). This is a common card that's clearly been through the ringer if not chewed on -- or maybe roughed up on purpose chasing low grades. I really have to wonder -- it's very weird to see cards like this slabbed. I didn't have to look up the pop report on this one -- it's a one-of-a-kind card for the Hall of Famer as it's both the lowest (and only) copy of this card graded as well as his worst card of any brand ever graded by BGS. There's nothing else for him out there below a BGS 3 and even that's a single card. For this particular set, there's nothing else below a lone BGS 6. There's also only one BGS 7 and everything else is between BGS 8 and BGS 9.5.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... click here for NFL boxes

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