Last weekend, we were lucky enough to be reminded what is truly awesome about the hobby in Springfield, MO & Sparkman, AR!

We met Ethan Bryan, who uses a game of catch & baseball cards to teach character values and leadership skills.

We also learned how Jeremy Dunson used his cards to transform a part of his home that he hated spending time in after his parents had passed away, into a remarkable space that reminds him of a childhood collecting cards.

These inspiring stories and more coming on our July episode from Arkansas and Missouri.

When I was a kid, I opened a pack of cards and pulled a redemption card for a Julius Erving signed plaque. I went to sell it (many, many years later), and someone rented it for a movie. I should’ve got the name of the movie but I didn’t. All I know is that it was in a barber scene.

A total of 12 MLB players have died while serving their country, six of them in combat.

Of the six who died in combat, only one player has a card from during his MLB career.

Eddie Grant played ten seasons for the Naps, Phillies, Reds and Giants from 1905 until 1915. Grant had been retired for two years when we became one of the first men to enlist in the Army when World War I broke out in 1917.

He was captain of the 77th division in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France, the largest battle in U.S. military history.

After all of Grant’s superior officers were killed or wounded, he took control of the troops and started a four day search for ‘The Lost Battalion’, a group of 500 soldiers isolated and surrounded by the Germans.

While Grant died during the search, his efforts helped 194 of the men get rescued just a few days later.

On Memorial Day in 1921, a monument was unveiled in center field of the Polo Grounds in Eddie Grant’s honor.

A replica plaque was installed at the Giant’s Oracle Park in 2006.

Grant had multiple player career cards including a 1909 American Caramel and a 1910 Sporting Life.

I actually just grabbed this 1914 B18 blanket off eBay for $40 after researching Grant’s story.

Edward Leslie Grant, one American hero among many, to honor on this Memorial Day.

In 1989, Fleer released what was supposed to be a standard baseball card set. But what happened next? A single card… one photo… nearly cost them a fortune and put a dent in their reputation. That card? The now-infamous 1989 Fleer Billy Ripken “F* Face”** error 💀 Billy Ripken who is a baseman for the Orioles and brother of Cal Ripken Jr., posed for a simple photo holding his bat over his shoulder. But written on the knob of that bat — clear as day — were the words “F*** FACE” in capital letters 😳 Now how that got there? That’s where the hobby lore kicks in. Some say Billy wrote it himself to mark a BP bat.
But the juicier rumor — and the one most hobby vets believe — is that a teammate pranked him, scribbling it on the bat without him realizing. He used it during the shoot… and Fleer didn’t notice until after thousands of cards were already printed and shipped out. The backlash was immediate. Parents of kids complained. and Collectors were stunned. Stores started pulling product.
Fleer had to move fast. They ended up making four different corrected versions:

• A black box over the words

• A whiteout version

• A version with scribbled ink

• A fully cleaned-up reprint

All that meant for Fleer is costs them massive reprint costs, a PR scramble, and some real damage control. But ironically? It also turned the card into a legend.

The uncensored version instantly became a instant classic — and to this day it’s one of the most famous (and funniest) error cards ever made. Fleer definitely took a hit… but the hobby gained one of the greatest conversation pieces ever printed.

I don’t have one (yet)… but I NEED it in the collection one day 🔥

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If you love hobby stories like this — wild errors, grail hunts, collector chaos — come vibe with us in the Tropic Collects Mantel group 🌴
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Let’s go to the moon. TOGETHER 🚀

Congratulations to Liverpool and Liverpool fans for winning the Premier League title today! Liverpool now match Manchester United with most English League titles at 20. Liverpool still unbeaten for best team anthem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhTxMV2olP4
Panini NFT platform does not have EPL drops, so I will have to tip my hat to Liverpool with two of my strongest collectibles of Liverpool players Luis (Lucho) Diaz and Ryan Gravenberch 1/1's in their international kit.
Good weekend for Evan as well as Crystal Palace beat Aston Villa to go on now to face Manchester City in the FA cup final. Best of luck, Evan!