Great Rookie Cards (Part 3)

#19  1984 Topps Dan Marino

Dan Marino is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, some might even say the greatest of all-time. Marino was known for his precision on offense and lightning quick release. His tools at the quarterback position allowed him to lead the league in passing 5 times while throwing for 420 career touchdowns which currently puts him 3rd all-time among quarterbacks.

#18 1954 Topps Hank Aaron

Still regarded as "The Homerun King" to many baseball fans Hank Aaron had a knack for putting the ball over the fence. He hit 755 homeruns which places him just 2nd all-time behind only Barry Bonds (Who took steroids). His homeruns where never these long majestic bombs we see guys like Chris Davis or Miguel Cabrera hit but they got the job done.

#17  1966 Philadelphia Dick Butkus

8 times a pro bowler and regarded as one of the greatest line backers to ever play the game Dick Butkus left his mark all over the game of football. Before there was Brian Urlacher or Ray Lewis the NFL had Dick Butkus and he was mean. In 1979 the long time Chicago Bears standout was inducted into the football hall of fame in Canton,Ohio.

#16 1998 Upperdeck Authentic Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning is an incredible leader of men on the field, an extension of the head coach on the field if you will. In terms of pure talent and knowing X's and O's i'm not sure you can do much better than Peyton Manning. He has had some tremendous season in the past but the group of receivers he has in Denver this season may be the best he has ever had.

#15 1955 Topps Harmon Killibrew

573 Homeruns is what Harmon Killibrew collected while playing in the major leagues.  During his tenure he led the league 6 times in Homeruns. Whether with the Twins or Senators he was always and a productive, powerful guy. Killibrew was elected to the hall of fame in 1984.

#14 1989 Upperdeck Ken Griffey Jr.

I don't like to compare players from different eras but in the 1990's Ken Griffey jr was a modern day, left handed version of Willie Mays. More importantly he did things the right way in an era where so many players earned an asterisk next to your name. Griffey was a true 5 tool player and that's very rare in baseball.

#13 1972 Topps Julius Erving

before he captured the imagination of basketball fans in New York and Philadelphia Julius Erving played his rookie season in the ABA for the Virginia Squires. He was Jordan before Jordan taking the high flying above the rim style and bringing it to the forefront of mainstream. He also made the dunk contest popular with his very basic but very hard free throw line dunk. DR.J was the kind of guy you wanted to be the pioneer of a sport trying to grow.

#12 2000 Topps Miguel Cabrera

Miguel Cabrera by the age of 15 was playing pro baseball and was signed by the Florida Marlins. Fast forward a decade and some change later and he is undeniably the best player in baseball and has collected a World Series ring, MVP and a triple crown. At the rate he is going he may be the best hitter of this generation.

#11 1961 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain was the most physically imposing player of his time. Looking at the back of his basketball card at his stats would make you question if he was even real in the first place. As we all know he still holds the single game record for points in a game with 100.

Hope you enjoyed part 3 of this series stay tuned for the top 10 great rookie cards in sports history coming up in the next few days. Thank you for reading and follow us on Twitter @TruSchoolSports and @ThatBoyBtaylor.

Five Random Cards #1

Recently I Got a PWE from my main man Kevin from “The Diamond King” as part of graduating from high school. I also completed a trade with my man Dustin from Cootveal and Vealtones so they're are cards all around my house. So I decided to start a new series of posts called “5 random cards” where I will randomly grab 5 cards and just put them in a blog post. So here we go.

Card #1 Score 1991 Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr. in 1991 was in the process of starting one of the greatest careers in baseball history in his 3^rd season in the show hit 327. banged out 22 home runs along with 100 RBI's. Griffey was on his way to becoming one of the most feared players in the game along with collecting his 2^nd gold glove and silver slugger awards in 1991.

Card #2 Topps Gold Label 1999 Cliff Floyd

Going to my 1^st Marlins game in the same year this card was manufactured I got a chance to see Cliff Floyd live in person and he was a big guy 6 foot 5 inches tall along with 220 pounds and a vicious left handed swing. Cliff never became the star that most people thought he had potential to be but still put together is fair share of nice seasons. Like in 2001 where he hit 317. along with 31 home runs and 103 RBI's earning the only All-Star appearance of his career.

Card #3 Fleer 1990 Eddie Murray

Eddie Murray had a long 21 year career many his best years with the Baltimore Orioles. People forget though he had some solid years in LA with the Dodgers. In 1990 the same year as this card Eddie hit 330. with 26 home runs and 95 RBI's which earned him a silver slugger that year. So remember Eddie as an Oriole but don't forget the Dodger version either he was pretty good.

Card #4 Topps 1994 Jeff Conine

In 1994 Jeff Conine had already earned the “Mr.Marlin” mantle and wore it proudly playing the game the right way. Conine was apart of both Marlins World Championship teams in 1997 and 2003 . In 1994 though he earned his 1^st of 2 all-star appearances and hit 319. that season which was the highest of any season in his career.

Card #5 Upperdeck SPX 2002 Juan Encarnacion

Not the best player on the 2003 world championship team but certainly an overlooked part of it. People like to focus on Miguel Cabrera, Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis and many others but Juan Encarnacion was a very valuable piece. In 2003 he had a career year when in 2003 hit 270. with 19 Home runs and 94 RBI's. He was also solid on defense with a perfect 1.000 in 156 games he played and didn't win the gold glove that year.

A Day at the Ballpark: Cubs vs Marlins 4/25

My Tickets

Big Time Cubs Fan (Paul) on the left. Me in Teal on the right with Throwback Marlin jersey on

Juan Pierre!!

Willie Mays Bobblehead at the Bobblehead museum

Hank Aaron Bobblehead at the Museum

Ken Griffey Jr. Bobblehead

Cody Ross

Representing my Marlins,even if 100 loses this seas is inevitable

Was in left field watching batting practice and had to show yall this guy he got creative with his old Jose Reyes jersey

My seats and as you can see there were plenty to go around but all and all a good night but Marlins lost 4-3

Diamond King obsession

 
Throughout the course of my card collecting days I've grown to appreciate many different sets. I never had a personal preference as far as brands go so because of that I appreciated everything from Topps to Fleer, Upperdeck and Pinnacle (RIP). Out of every set I have had the pleasure or receiving through purchase or trade Not has captured my imagination quite like the Donruss Diamond Kings series did. In my opinion no card represented what Cards should look like more then those. The job of baseball cards is to forever capture that moment in time in a players career and I felt like this set did that combining baseball with art in to cards that looked like mini portraits.

It gave collectors like myself  an alternative to be different and not just always buy Topps. Back in 2003 growing up as a kid I used always go down to Hollywood Collectibles  And one day I remember purchasing my 1st ever pack from the 2004 set of Diamond kings. I got a Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal Days), Deon Sanders, Carlos Delgado and a Luis Castillo.  I have some of the older cards from 91,92,93 they are just timeless cards.

Don't have this but cerftainly want it

If your one of the people that are collectors that read my blog and you are looking to trade Diamond Kings are the quickest way to get me to agree on something. I don't care if it's base cards, Jersey or Auto the cards themselves to me are worth it. If you are in the possession of  ANY Diamond King Autographs and are looking to trade please comment hit.

All in all great Timeless set that I wish they would bring back they were good for the hobby.