One of the most unique Ken Griffey Jr. items in my collection, this card was found exclusively in Home Team Advantage (HTA) packs of 2001 Stadium Club. Available as redemptions only it is unclear how many of these exist of each player, but they are extremely difficult to track down.The "Play at the Plate" relics contain authentic game-used batter's box dirt, although the back of the card doesn't identify where the dirt was used so it could be from a local high school field. Regardless, if a card has Griffey on it I will try and track it down, and this is another step towards owning every piece of Junior memorabilia available (still need: game-worn hat, game-used fielding glove and Mariners patch). A very cool card, and a concept that was never used again (except for Topps American Pie which produced "mud cards" from Woodstock), perhaps blogger Brian of Play at the Plate fame will start to hunt these down. There were also "King of the Hill" inserts from this set that featured authentic dirt from the pitcher's mound, which are even harder to find. What do you think of these cards?
I absolutely hated these cards. Not to be rude, but there are a couple details regarding the redemptions that are of interest.
ReplyDeleteFirst, at least some of these found their way into packs. I recall pulling one and finding a thin protective sheet covering it. I believe it was a Sammy Sosa? Anyway, I traded it about as fast as I acquired it. POS.
Second (the far worse part), those redemptions erroneously stated that they could be redeemed for AUTOGRAPHED cards. Topps acknowledged the mistake and basically said "our bad" and that was it IIRC. No autographed variations were actually produced, which really sucked for a guy I knew who pulled a redemption for a McGwire.
Someone with a better memory might want to back me up about that auto thing, but I'm pretty sure that's what happened.
-John
Bud, how did I miss this post? I must have been while I was traveling. I love the concept, but the execution is bad. I'm going to do a post about this right now...and schedule it for a day or two out. I've never seen these so thanks for posting about it. I would like any Rangers of course so I'll have to check for a checklist. I'm posting up the cards you sent me for Christmas and the trade. I'm going to try to get to the post office on the 5th to mail yours out.Thanks. Do you mind if I "borrow" the image of the griffey card for my blog?
ReplyDeleteNot at all Brian, it's all yours. Can't wait to see whats headed my way!
ReplyDeleteDude, need your address.
ReplyDeleteI think those cards are sort of cool. Since we have no way of proving where any of our "game used" material really comes from, at least this is a creative use of it. Definitely something I can appreciate.