What I Got For Christmas... For Myself...

So my very amazing sister-in-law got me a Dave & Adam's gift certificate for Christmas. I went through their catalog online and couldn't really figure out what to get. Finally I found a product they slap together called Hit Parade and thought, "Why not? If nothing else you end up with some trade bait, which has been something I have wanted to do more of! So... I picked up 5 of the 2015 Hit Parade, as well as two of their vintage re-packs from 1957 and from 1948-1955.

Each envelope of the 2015 Hit Parade contains a relic, an auto and a third card that can be any sort of insert, parallel or bonus hit... here's what I ended up with!

Nothing too amazing here. The Machado isn't numbered but a nice Oriole-Orange card and it IS a RC! The Jonathan Gray may be a nice one to hold onto for a few years to see if he breaks out. Apparently they thought I might be an Oriole fan... ha! The Glavine makes for a nice HOF'er relic too; as does the Molitor which is numbered /99! How about that Perkins on-card manu-relic. Topps, take note, UD had it right on the manu-relics. Add some value by putting an on-card auto with it and make them worth hunting for! The Brandon Woods Sweet Spot auto? GREAT idea, HORRIBLE execution. So, for the most part, it was a nice addition to the trade bait page but I didn't exactly win big here - not that I had super high expectations.

Ok, so here's the part I'm sure you all were waiting for!!!! The vintage!!!!! Ok, so first up is the 1957 pack, which I had hopes of pulling a decent player. These packs are a little pricier and come with 5 cards per pack:

  

So I didn't really get anyone I even recognize but the cards seem to be in pretty good shape for being nearly 60 years old! These will head to the trade bait page as well.

Finally, the 1948-1955 Hit Parade which also has 5 total cards; here I got some recognizable names!

First up in the left column is Sam Zoldak and Sid Gordon, sorry guys you aren't in the recognized category! But again, decent overall card quality. The Zoldak has some old tape marks on the back which I'm finding to be kind of common from these early 50's cards I've seen. Ok, second column is Leo Durocher as Manager of the NY Giants and Eddie Yost of the Washington Senators. Finally there is Preacher Roe of the Brooklyn Dodgers. At least I got (1) HOF'er from the vintage, even if Leo's card has the scribble of blue ball point pen across the front of it. Adds a little character! I know PERFECT vintage is bigger $$$ but I like vintage with a little bit of wear, lets me know that at some point there was a kid or collector with their grubby little hands on it, excited about the player on the front.

Were these Hit Parade packs AMAZING? I've venture to say no. Each has a "Tremendous 10" redemption program where 10 high value cards have redeemable inserts so you do have a slight chance at getting a PLUS high dollar card, box or case out of it. I may use these as fillers on future orders to get to the free shipping plateau though!