Buzz Buys: MLB's historian, Super Bowl III, Chris Jericho's jersey, Allen & Ginter oddity, Pro Set Tests & more

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but a new year's resolution 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 they're not all on-the-cheap additions.

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HISTORIAN CARDBOARD HISTORY
The Card: John Thorn 2018 Topps Archives Purple Fan Favorites Autographs (/150)
The Price: $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Buzz first knew his name back in 1989 when the massive book Total Baseball was a key way to look up past MLB players' stats -- you know, before the Internet -- and you could find a bit of everything else from the rules of the game, baseball history and more inside. Thorn has a ton of credits since then, including a consultant on the landmark Ken Burns documentary Baseball, and he is a winner of the Henry Chadwick Award, which is the top honor from SABR. Since 2011, Thorn has been the official historian of Major League Baseball and he has credited baseball cards as one way his interest in the game was sparked when he was young. He's also a collector. Believe it or not, he has a past card appearance in the 1990 Little Sun Baseball Writers set (an obscure release that's tough to find), but his cards in Archives can be landed somewhat easily despite there not being a lot to go around. He only appears on autograph cards -- a standard card and then Purple (/150), Silver (/99), Blue (/25) and 1/1 Gold parallels. The stock on these cards is way too thin, so you will see flaws easily -- especially on bold-colored versions -- but I grabbed this one because it was about adding the ink. Archives has included a number of unusual autographs with ties to the game in recent years and this one was on my to-get list from the start.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Topps Archives

Keep reading for six more interesting items ...

HOLIDAY HITS
The Card: Bishop Sankey 2014 Panini Black Friday Happy Holidays Santa Hat Relics
The Price: $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The simple and unique player-used memorabilia card is a staple of promo packs from Panini America. You won't find cards like this one in a majority of packs, but the shoot-used cards as well as specific game-dated game-used memorabilia cards can be found on the cheap pretty often. Big names on rare cards can be pricey, giving somebody reason to rip into packs that might still be around. I have no real interest in the Tennessee Titans RB here, but the big poofy swatch of a Santa Claus hat on a $1 card was a click-to-buy without any real hesitation. I pick these off from time to time when the prices get low enough as they are just different and can spark fun reactions when non-collectors see them. I also think there could be more longer-term interest in the weird stuff instead of the more traditional stuff.
Grab packs right here: Panini Black Friday Packs (all years)

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COMPLETING A PROJECT
The Card: Randall Cunningham 1989 Pro Set Test Designs (silver-border, name-on-front version)
The Price: $20
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is one of five cards made in advance of the arrival of 1990 Pro Set and they all feature the player who was my No. 1 to collect at the time, Randall Cunningham. Some of the cards have borders, some don't. Some show his name on the front, some don't ... but ultimately none of the various combinations among the five were used. The backs are closer in feel to the 1989 set and, thankfully, all of them were punted for 1990, which I'd argue might be the company's best design. (Some touches on these cards are similar to what was used for Pro Set Platinum.) These promo cards can either be found pretty banged up or slabbed with high prices regardless of grades, which aren't often that impressive. That's perhaps in part because they were released in a shrink-wrapped stack. When the last two cards I needed presented themselves in modest price and decent condition, I ponied up and put in an offer. I overpaid by my standards (and maybe some of yours) so I could finally complete my set. This one looks pretty clean at a glance but turns out to have some surface lines across the front. Bummer ... but project complete. (I got my first three for less than $5 apiece in acceptable but not perfect shape.)
Grab a box right here: Not found in packs -- get other NFL boxes here

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FASHIONABLE BRAYSERS?
The Card: Joe Maddon 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter Relics 
The Price: $2.37
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: You may be wondering what the deal is here for this card of the former Tampa Bay Rays manager who went on to win it all with the Chicago Cubs five years after this card arrived. He's known for putting together non-traditional team-bonding or educational sessions and one project back with the Rays was the BRaysers that team members wore when they went on road trips. A tacky but fun uniform of sorts while getting to the field. Topps got it hands on some of these plaid blazers and put them into cards for Maddon, Carlos Pena and B.J. Upton in a set that's been known for its surprise inclusions since 2006. I have at least one other copy of this card but picked it up anyway. Why? I'm not sure, but probably because it still stands out from the pack. (I know I didn't need it ... but for some reason I needed it, you know?) Another reason? Madden doesn't have a ton of cardboard in general, despite a lifetime in the game at several levels. He's never signed a certified autograph and -- here's the reason, now I remember -- this is his only memorabilia card. 
Grab a box right here: 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter

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A NOD TO THE BABY-FACED ASSASSIN?
The Card: Chris Jericho 2001 Fleer WWF Wrestlemania Foreign Objects card 
The Price: $9
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Have you seen any sealed hobby boxes of early Fleer WWE (WWF) releases lately? For the most part, they don't exist these days -- at least not in any volume to be found cheaply -- and they don't always guarantee much on the hits front. (These are one in 63 packs.) This card is one that I think I own one other copy of -- a plain white swatch -- but I decided to grab it when I saw the combo of the color and the price. Why? Jericho is a bonafide Hall of Famer on the global scale, not just WWE. Also cool? This card is a fun reflection of a key Y2J fact -- his dad is former NHL player Ted Irvine who played for the Bruins, Kings, Rangers, Blues and Flyers. On the back of one of his past hockey cards -- one I've shown here before -- he's dubbed "The Baby-faced Assassin" and that's something that could easily be applied with this Jericho look and card. It's not a perfect copy, but it's getting tougher to find specific cards all the time from this era and the prices on copies with multiple colors for this one can be higher.
Grab a box right here: Good luck on this one, but you can get other WWE boxes here

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HEADS OR TAILS?
The Card: 2015 Topps Super Bowl Coins -- Super Bowl III 
The Price: $7.45
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: These cards were found one per blaster box that year and I liked the look of this card not realizing these were as easily available as they are. (I had thought they were part of some promotional mail-on set or something like other medallion cards from the recent past before I clicked to grab it.) Either way, the showdown of Super Bowl III, which happened exactly 50 years ago tomorrow, between Joe Namath's AFL champion New York Jets and the NFL champion Baltimore Colts helped change the game forever. This card isn't perfect but it was cheaper than others also up for grabs where I was looking and Namath is among the guys I casually pick up stuff for. The medallions are weighty and rotate within the card but they are still impressive enough that I might pick off a blaster or two in the future to get a few more in hand as the blasters are also relatively cheap. There are also Silver (/99) and Gold (/50) versions to add to the chase.
Grab a box right here: 2015 Topps football blaster boxes

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A PRESIDENTIAL INCLUSION
The Card: George H.W. Bush 2008 Donruss Threads Baseball Americana Materials (/500)
The Price: $22
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Buzz isn't a big political collector, but the recent death of this former president got me looking and I found this card from a set that I actually am picking off over time (slowly, if not glacially) in both the memorabilia form and the standard form. It's a 50-card set with the basic cards (/500), basic memorabilia cards, diecut memorabilia cards and autographed cards for some inclusions. I'm sticking to the basics and one memorabilia version (whichever is cheaper). Why? This is a set that includes a number of notable players, celebs with baseball ties and celebs in baseball films. It's a fun lineup that includes Bernie Mac, Kurt Russell, Lori Petty, Burt Lancaster, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello for starters. I wasn't sure if I had Bush stashed away or not already (I'm not organized on this one), so I picked it off figuring the asking prices might get loftier if I needed to find one later. Boxes aren't readily available or that cheap, and they don't cough up these cards in every single box, either.
Grab a box right here: 2008 Donruss Threads boxes (when/if available)

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

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