I found a bunch of these samples digging through a bunch. All kinds of stars and some not so much. I will be offering some for sale soon. Got a favorite player? These are not the posters, these are the samples provided to sales & stores.
The 1999 Bowman Chrome Interstate set displays a classic scene from the player’s birth state in the background. What makes this card special is that Eddie Kennison is one of the few players in the set who is featured as playing for a team from his birth state, so the scene of downtown New Orleans not only speaks to his birthplace, but to his team as well.
Recently grabbed this auto of Broderick “$andman” Thomas. He gave himself that nickname because the opposing team would see him in their sleep. Love a nicely-signed auto that features a nickname, with bonus points for coming from my favorite-ever set and showing the player signing stuff.
Now that all things Jordan are scorching hot, seems like a fitting time to show off my 1995-96 Topps Spark Plugs card of MJ. I still remember the moment I pulled this from a pack at Oregon Dairy (Lancaster, PA) when I was 10 years old. Doesn’t matter what it’s worth - this one stays in the PC forever.
Here’s a great example of Pinnacle photo selection dovetailing perfectly with parallel design. Ron Gant looks like he just got fooled by a sinker that broke 12-to-6 and all he can do is laugh at himself.