1997 Fleer Metal Universe Cubs

The 1997 Metal Universe set was very much like the 1996 version.  Each had 250 cards, the backgrounds were mostly unique to the player, and the cards had a foil coating.

The number of Cubs went down by one, to eight cards.  Make sure you get a good look at the card for Ryne Sandberg.  He was give some sort of funky contraption to snag any ball hit his way.

1996 Fleer Metal Universe Cubs

In 1992 the sportcard craze was in full swing.  Cards were being produced by the boatload.  Everyone was looking to make big money.

Everyone included Marvel Entertainment Group.  Looking to expand past comic books, Marvel bought Fleer.  They paid $370,000,000 for the card company. 

Marvel picked the wrong time to get into sports cards.  The 1994 baseball strike burst the card bubble and by 1996 Marvel filed for bankruptcy.  The sold Fleer, which would soon die.  Marvel branched into other entertainment areas and in 2009 was sold to Disney for $4.24 billion dollars.

During the time that Marvel owned Fleer, they used some of their comic artists to create the Metal Universe set.  It debuted in 1996.

The set consists of 250 cards. Each one has a unique and funky background.  The artist drew the background to compliment the player.  The cards also have a foil finish, giving them a metal-like look.

The set includes nine Cubs. The big names of the 1996 team, Grace, Sandberg, and Sosa were included.  The other six were Frank Castillo, Shawon Dunston, Luis Gonzalez, Brian McRae, Jaime Navarro, and Rey Sanchez.

I've made the cards larger than usual so you can get a good look at the funky backgounds.

All I've Got of Him: David Ross

I did the former Cubs manager yesterday, so today let's see what I've got of the new skipper.

David Ross played just two seasons with the Cubs and was a backup catcher.  That would typically mean that there will not be very many cards.  But a little thing called the World Series helped to boost his numbers.

 

These are his only cards from 2015, Heritage and the Update set.

 

The 2016 season started out just as slow, with cards in Heritage again and the flagship set.

 

 

 

 

He then had some appearances in Topps Now and Flashback Thursday.

 

He made some appearances in the World Series sets, too.

Here's his card from the Baseball Caramels set, and unlike Joe Maddon, Ross has his name spelled correctly.

His last card came in 2017, as Stadium Club gave him a farewell card.

That makes 16 cards in all, a pretty decent number for a two-year career.

All I've Got of HIm: Joe Maddon

Now that he has moved on, I can do a Joe Maddon Cubs card retrospect.

It was be a very short retrospect because Topps doesn't do manager cards any more.

 

These two are from 2016 Heritage.  Even though Topps 1968 - 1970 had manager cards, the corresponding Heritage sets did not.

The unlicensed Baseball Caramels set had a card for Maddon, though they his name is spelled wrong.

Five years, 471 wins, and just three cards.

Five Random Cubs Cards

I've got 17,302 Cubs cards from 203 different brands listed on a spreadsheet. A random number generator picked five cards, one each from the past several decades.

1900s - 1970s: 1963 Topps #272 Daniel Murphy  In 1963, Murphy was just 20 years old but had made appearances in the previous three seasons.  He didn't live up to the hype and spent all of 1963 in the minors.  In fact, he stayed in the minors until 1969 when he resurfaced with the White Sox as a picther.

1980s: 1985 Fleer #64 Dick Ruthven  Ruthven was the Cubs #5 starter in 1985 and was just 4-7 in 15 starts.  He broke his big toe in August and missed the rest of the season.  At one point in August, the entire starting rotation was on the disabled list.

1990s: 1993 Fleer #22 Chuck McElroy   The lefty was a middle reliever for the 1993 Cubs and was not very good, posting an ERA of 4.56.  He was traded to the Reds after the season.

2000s: 2009 Allen & Ginter mini #146 Rich Harden  After spending weeks showing my recently-acquired Ginter minis, the RNG gives us an encore.

2010s: 2018 Topps #422 Victor Caratini Victor got a rookie card in the 2018 flagship set.

Perennial Picture in Perennial All-Stars

I had to see if the picture on Mr. Cub's Perennial All-Stars card was used perennially.

I found it has been used several times by both Upper Deck and Topps.

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes

2008 Upper Deck Goudey

2008 Heritage Then and Now - very interesting that both companies used the same picture in the same year.  I don't recall that happening any more with Topps and Panini products.

2010 Topps Sterling

 

2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Hallmark Heroes

First Update Cards Have Arrived

My first 2019 Update cards have arrived.

 

 

These are from the Perennial All-Stars insert set.  Ernie Banks was an All-Star eleven of the 19 seasons he played, including a run of eight consecutive seasons.  Ryno was an All-Star for ten years in a row.  Calling them perennial All-Stars would be correct.

Baez has been an All-Star just twice.  I think it is a little premature to consider him a perennial All-Star.  Check back in five more years.

This insert is retail only, so it didn't come from Brentandbecca.  All the rest of my Update will come from him.  It will be delayed though, and I'm perfectly fine with that.  Sunday night a tornado went through Brent's neighborhood.  Trees were done everywhere, the power was out, and gas leaks emerged.  Thankfully he and his family are safe, but it will be a while before he gets his shipments out.  Baseball cards are very unimportant at times like this.