Some call it the junk wax era, but it's a time where many fans were collecting, many more were stockpiling and everybody seemingly enjoyed some classic cardboard and memorable Rookie Cards for some of the biggest stars and record-breakers in modern baseball -- and it wasn't just MLB cardboard that entered the public consciousness, either.

Plenty of fans were interested -- and plenty of everything was made back then -- and, in the here and now of 2025, BlowoutCards.com is buying.

Keep reading for more details.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The packs: 1987 Topps baseball (two racks)
Where to buy: Check junk bins ... hit BlowoutCards.com for newer MLB cards

Keep reading for a breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The packs: 1987 Topps baseball (two racks)
Where to buy: Check junk bins ... hit BlowoutCards.com for newer MLB cards

Keep reading for a breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 1987 Topps baseball (rack)
Where to buy: Check junk bins ... hit BlowoutCards.com for newer MLB cards

Keep reading for a breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 1987 Topps baseball (rack)
Where to buy: Check junk bins ... hit BlowoutCards.com for newer MLB cards

Keep reading for a breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 1987 Topps baseball (rack)
Where to buy: Check junk bins ... hit BlowoutCards.com for newer MLB cards

Keep reading for a breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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The biggest weekend in pro wrestling is here with WrestleMania 39 set for this Saturday and Sunday from Los Angeles. We'll make today a big one for wrestling collectors right here on The Buzz with #BuzzMania6, a marathon of WWE wax box/pack breaks all day long.

This 10th break of the day takes us back to the brand that carried the Topps WWE revival in 2005, evolved some before a break and then popped back up with some of the best modern-retro meshed cardboard of the company's run. This one is smack dab in in the midst of that with a throwback to 1987 seen a few ways. 

The Brand: 2017 Topps Heritage WWE (hobby box)

Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

WILD THING!
The Card: Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) 2014 Topps Archives Major League 
The Reason Graded: As you can tell by the green label, this one is an older submission of mine ... but since spring training will be upon us soon I figured I'd lead off with an oddball classic and a card that has been pretty pricey in recent years despite being from a set where they showed up one per blaster box (if I remember correctly). The challenge here? Now even finding blasters is not easy ... they got ripped. Why? There weren't just basic inserts for some of the stars of Major League who got carded ... they signed, too. (Roughly one auto per hobby case.)
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: This one was clean so I knew I wanted to slab it -- the backs here have black borders that can be an issue -- and as it turns out this is the only 10 of a small bunch graded. That's a win for me.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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What: 2022 Topps Clearly Authentic baseball cards
Arrives: July 20
Box basics: One encased autograph per box (20 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps' acetate-based autograph line drops once again with the newest stars, a transparent look back to the 1980s and more all in a small one-card-per, ink-in-every-box package.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

The Card: Kobe Bryant 1996-97 Upper Deck #58 Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I actually bought this card more than a year ago and thought I had it waiting in my stash of cards to present here at some point but, after doing some searching, realized that I never took a photo of this iconic 1990s card and it had been waiting for its time to appear. Unfortunately, we know why this NBA legend has been on the minds of many sports fans out there this week so here we are. I picked up this Rookie Card back then since it was a decent grade for a decent price -- just $9 -- and I didn't ever pull one way back when. It doesn't have any obvious flaws on the front, so it looks much better than its grade, too. (Sub-grades on the back of this slab are all 9 or higher except for an 8.5 on corners and one corner shows why.) The shocking news of this week has created a frenzy of interest for Bryant's RCs and autographs -- and a card in this same grade (not an elite grade, really) sold for $200. Mine will remain in my stash.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: The pop report on this card is a lot stiffer than I had expected with this being the most-common grade and fewer than 600 checking in higher. I had expected there to be more but I suspect the pop reports on this card could change a lot in the coming months -- and it will be interesting to see if any ever reach BGS Black status. Bryant has a number of RCs -- more than 20 -- and this one is unique in that it doesn't show him in his Lakers uniform. The debate as to whether Bryant's cards will hold values in comparison to what people are paying right now is an interesting one over on the Blowout Forums where there are a number of discussions. I think this is a scenario that may defy common collecting logic -- I'd think that anything is possible in this case and there are a lot of buyers right now who will pick up cards and stash them away forever, leaving a smaller volume of stuff available for everyday collectors to grab on eBay and other market hot spots. Finding unopened boxes won't be an option for a lot of his Rookie Cards that people want to track down, either.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

The Card: Joe Namath 2015 Topps 60th Anniversary Rookie Reprint Autographs #T60RAJN
The Reason Graded: Buzz first met this NFL legend almost 20 years ago and landed the ink for free thanks to some luck while autograph hounding but when it comes to certified autographs of this icon I didn't have any until recent years. Why? He's always been a pricey auto but that has come down a bit as he's been a steady signer and doesn't have quite as much hobby heat as the guy at the end of this month's list. This release was how Topps burned off its Hall of Famer autographs via packs on its website once its NFL deal was done, so the influx of big-name autos helped make the supply even stronger at the time perhaps without added demand. I scouted them all where I buy and this one looked near-perfect to me in both its centering and that ink. Seriously, look at that signature ... that's a perfect Namath auto.
The Grade: BGS 9.5/10

Reality Check: I absolutely thought I had a BGS 10 contender with this one, though I submitted it before I picked up my better loupe and I probably didn't check the back as closely as I should have. Either way, it's still a very solid card in my stash. I don't grade autographs all that often -- I fear results I won't like on those -- but this one I had to. Most of them landed this grade with only one higher so I don't feel bad about not landing a 10.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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Topps and New Era are bringing the cards to the caps.

Two baseball card sets -- 2017 Topps and 1987 Topps -- get some of their design touches added to caps in a new line from New Era that will be available in some MLB ballparks and other stores beginning next week. All teams will be had in caps that have their visors branded using memorable elements from the card sets as well as a Topps logo on the side.

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Collectors who opt for the VIP pass to enter this year's National Sports Collectors Convention will, at least one way, feel like it's 1987 all over again.

That's because of Topps' promo cards.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour on the hour all day long today ... and this is Hour 10.

The pack: 1987 Topps football wax pack
The cost now: $3.50
The cost then: 40 cents

What's inside this pack? Keep reading ...

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Bo was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s as a college football star, a professional baseball and football star and a marketing star. Everybody knew his name and they still know why.

And then suddenly one day it was gone.

Sure, Vincent Edward Jackson played some baseball after his final NFL game -- that hip injury was 26 years ago tomorrow -- but he was never the same. And in an interview today he had a different take on his career.

"If I knew back then what I know now," he told USA TODAY Sports, "I would have never played football. Never. I wish I had known about all of those head injuries, but no one knew that. And the people that did know that, they wouldn’t tell anybody."

His career as a pro -- in both sports -- lasted less than a decade but he's easily one of the biggest icons of his time. It's a story worth checking out if you missed it and it's worth revisiting if you didn't.

Here, though, we simply have one bit of curiosity presented below.

[polldaddy poll=9634961]

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

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com

What: 2017 Topps MLS soccer cards
Arrives: April 19
Hobby box basics: two autographs and one Relic per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Final checklist: Click here to view

What's buzz-worthy: Back for its fifth year, the flagship for Topps' American soccer presence will arrive with "dynamic photography, a multitude of rare variations and a sampling of card designs from Topps' extensive portfolio."

Keep reading to learn more and see a full gallery of preview images.

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For those who began collecting in 1987, the latest Topps wall art line might bring back some memories.

The memorable wood-bordered design is the basis for the 2016 Topps 1987 Tribute series -- a collection that consists of 120 large prints, 120 1/1 prints and 24 smaller sets.

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Tanner Jones
Also Known As: Mouschi / Tan Man Baseball Fan / @tanmanbbfan
Website: www.TanManBaseballFan.com
Email: tanmanbaseballfan@gmail.com
Location: Texas
Work away from cards: Website development
Collecting since: 1989

Main focuses: Jose Canseco
Favorite players/teams: Jose Canseco (on all his teams)

Current collecting projects: Ultimately, anything not yet on my list at www.CansecoCollector.com including prototypes, samples, test cards, etc. My most-wanted cards are the 1996 Select Certified Mirror Gold, 1997 Pinnacle Totally Certified Platinum Gold and 1998 Donruss Crusade Red.

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