2008 Upper Deck Goudey #212

Type: Subset Card
Acquired: Bought Online
Here is another example of what an "Art Card" should look like. The image of Bo in his Kansas City Royals uniform is awesome and the graphics behind the portrait really don't take away or distract from the beautiful artwork. These cards were part of a subset in the 2008 Upper Deck Goudey set that featured commentary that allegedly came from The Captain himself, Mr. Derek Jeter. I honestly was expecting a little bit more of a personal commentary of each player on the back of these cards, but they just feature a generic write-up of some highlights that have been used many times before. A little disappointing, but still a nice looking card nonetheless.

Living Legend #14

Type: Oddball Card

Acquired: Bought at Show

Again, we have another one of these "Living Legend" oddball cards. As we've seen in the past, the quality of the card is lacking. The back has the generic Living Legends graphic, no color, no bonus photo and worst of all...no stats! That all can almost be overlooked due to the unique photo sported on the front of this card. The majority of these oddball cards have photos that have never been used before on them. You will never see this photo on a Topps, Upper Deck or Donruss card and that alone makes it worth the purchase!

1995 Upper Deck #20

Type: Base Card

Acquired: Bought Online

This card shows off Bo Jackson during the twilight of his career on his last MLB stop as a member of the California Angels. He was only there for one season in 1994 and put up some decent numbers for a part time player with 13 home runs and 43 RBI. He even turned back the clock and stole a base! This offering from Upper Deck is pretty nice. I like the bronze colored foil on the front and the stats are decent, but it is once again, the photography that helps this card stand out in the binder.  The back shot is a nice candid of Bo covering the bases, but the front phot is easily my favorite. It looks like he just took a strike and he is informing the ump that the pitcher missed the strike zone by that much!

1993 Upper Deck #31

Type: Base Card

Acquired: Bought Online

Not too much to say about this card. I got it for about a quarter online a few years ago and I do dig the artwork on the front of the card. The "Bionic Bo" moniker fits Mr. Jackson as this was around the time he was returning from hip replacement surgery. That photo on the back with Bo in glasses, smiling from the dugout would make a great base card by itself! Overall, not a bad card to add to the collection.

1992 Ballstreet Diamond Edition #D15

 
Type: Oddball Card
Acquired: Bought at Show

I think everyone had at least 1 Ballstreet card in their collection back in the 90's. Ballstreet was a fairly popular magazine/card price guide back in the 90's, in my circles not as popular as Beckett or Tuff Stuff, but still pretty popular. The thing that set it apart from the other mags was the inclusion of these foil stamped card sheets that were inserted in nearly every issue. Yes, Tuff Stuff had cards, but the didn't have foil! These card sheets featured some of the biggest names of the era which naturally included Bo Jackson. I remember me and my friends asking our art teacher to use her paper cutter to slice these cards for us. She did a pretty good job in doing so, much better than the shaky & twitchy hand of a 12 year old!

1991 Topps Traded #58T

Type: Base Card

Acquired: Bought At Show

This card is probably in my top 10 Bo Jackson cards. This was part of the traded series and reflects the addition of Bo to White Sox roster. He only played in 23 games for the White Sox in 1991, which was incredible due to the severity of his hip injury during the football season. He sat out the entire 1992 baseball season, but came back to play a big part on the Sox roster in 1993 that won the American League West title when he hit 16 home runs and added 45 RBIs.

1990 Bo 90 NO#

Type: Oddball Card

Acquired: Bought At Show

This card represents one of the first "Oddball" cards, maybe even THE first, that I ever purchased. Before buying this card, I thought Topps, Donruss, Fleer & Upper Deck were the only game in town. Man was I wrong! The 90's were an exceptionally lucrative time for the card collecting hobby and everyone wanted to take advantage and so many of these unlicensed cards flooded the market. Of course I didn't care if they were legit or not, as long as Bo was on the front of the card, you could take my money. This style of Bo card was not only used for baseball, but a few football cards were also created with the same look and style. I've posted some of these in the past and I'm sure I have more in my collection, so you will see more in the future!

Living Legend #13

Type: Oddball Card

Acquired: Bought Online

Here is another one of those generic "Living Legend" cards, but hold up...that photo on the front is actually pretty AWESOME! Bo on the base path getting ready to snag another bag! Again, I am completely surprised by the choice of photo for this type of card, but also I am yawning at the extremely boring and repetitive back of the card. Still have no idea what year these were made as there is no year printed on the cards, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it was the early 90's.

Living Legend #15

Type: Oddball

Acquired: Bought Online

Bo Jackson in flip top shades! Was there anything cooler than that in the early 90's? Besides the fantastic front photo, there really is not much else to say about this card. The back is bland and these "Living Legend" cards all use the same black & white image. I have a few more of these types of cards in my collection, so get ready for that!

2005 Topps Pristine #101

Type: Numbered Base Card

Acquired: Bought Online

Here is another great looking card from the 2005 Topps Pristine set. Not sure why this one is numbered and the last one I posted was not? Anyway this card is 1 of 1999 produced and I absolutely love the image they used for the front of the card. I thought I had seen all of the card photos of Bo in his Auburn uniform, but this card proved me wrong. the great photo in addition to the retro, chromed out graphics really make for a nice card and a great addition to anyone's baseball card collection.

2005 Topps Pristine #21

Type: Base Card

Acquired: Bought Online

This is another card from that early 2000's spending spree I was on. It is a very nice looking card. The chrome and the graphics on the front almost make me miss the fact that it has a pretty bland, white background. The retro looking backs are a nice touch and it has an overall nice design.

2005 Studio Portraits #SP-16

Type: Limited Numbered Set

Acquired: Bought Online

I bought this card when I was on a Bo Jackson online purchasing kick. I was buying every card I could find that was not already part of my collection and this was on of those cards. I think I paid around $5 for it. With only 40 of these cards produced, I think I got pretty lucky with that price. I have seen online that there are several color variations of this card and the one I received was the "Sepia" variant. It is a beautiful looking card and I am glad I was able to snag it for a decent price and add it to my collection.

1987 Topps Tiffany #170

Type: Base Card

Acquired: Bought Online

I never really knew about the Topps Tiffany sets until the late 90s. I never saw them anywhere for sale at shops or shows. Maybe I did, but just thought they were the typical base cards? Honestly, they are hard to spot unless you flip over the cards and see the whiter, brighter back sides. Unless you do that, you are likely to miss them. I bought this card online and it is now part of my 1987 Bo Jackson "Future Stars" collection of variants.

1986 Topps Traded #50T

Type: Rookie Card

Acquired: Bought Online?

I can't quite remember how I acquired this card, but it was always on my wish list when I was a kid. The only thing keeping me from getting it back then was the price. I did not get a huge allowance and any card over $5 had to be approved by my Dad. Every now and then he would chip in and get us a more expensive card if he knew it meant a lot to us, but he never did with this card. Not sure why? I do remember him springing for a 1991 Upper Deck Todd Van Poppel rookie card though. Wonder what he was thinking there?

1986 Donruss The Rookies #38

Type: Rookie Card

Acquired: Bought From A Friend

I got this card from a friend who was selling off a bunch of their collection. I had to purchase the whole set to get just this 1 card that I really wanted. I'm not complaining though, I also got Rookie Cards of Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Wally Joyner to name a few. Think I paid around $20 for the set and I was more than happy to do it!

2016 Topps Berger's Best #BB-36

Type: Insert Card
Acquired: Bought at Card Shop
Here is another pickup from my family's trip to South Dakota. I saw this in a box of random Royals cards at a downtown card shop and assumed it was another 1987 Topps Bo "Future Stars" card, but when I flipped it over I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was yet another reprint in a recent Topps baseball set. This is a card that I had never seen before. I paid my $1 and now it is a nice addition to my Bo Jackson card collection. 

2017 Topps Archives #52

Type: Numbered Paralell

Acquired: Bought at Card Shop
A few weeks back, myself and my wife took our kids on a week long vacation to South Dakota. We saw so many great and historical things while we were there like Mount Rushmore, Cosmos Mystery Spot and Dinosaur Park. Those places were cool, but of course I had to see if there was a card shop near by. There was and I brought the family. I dug through some boxes and searched a few binders and uncovered a few Bo cards that were not currently in my collection. One of these cards was this 2017 Topps Archive card numbered 36 out of 75! Nice card had for a decent price.

1993 Upper Deck On Deck #D15

Type: Insert Card

Acquired: Bought Online

I had a few of the cards from this 1993 insert set, but never owned the Bo card until recently. It has a candid shot of Bo on the front and the back contains a little bit of insight into what Bo thinks is important in life on and off the diamond. I love that he talks about the time he spent with his mother. I live across the country from my Mom and wish I could spend more time with her. Also, the fact that this power hitter thinks so highly of guys like Joe Carter and Kirby Puckett since they are "complete players" shows a lot about his baseball IQ. Very cool card from a solid early 80's release.

1990s Minor League Legends #NN

Type: Oddball Card

Acquired: Bought Online

This oddball card attempts to recreate the look of the classic 1986 Donruss set. It mostly succeeds and has a cool photo of Bo in his Memphis Chicks minor league uniform. There is no date on the card, but I place it in the 1991-92 date range due to the photo of Bo in his White Sox uniform on the back. There is a lack of minor league stats, but this card does give a little info on Bo's early years in baseball and the monster home runs he used to hit. Overall, I like this card. It's full of nostalgia and it's not often we get cards of Bo before his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals. Even though it is an unlicensed card, it is a nice card to add to the collection.

1990 Upper Deck #75

Type: Base Card

Acquired: Pulled From Pack

This card commemorates Bo Jackson's 1st and only All-Star game appearance in 1989. In that one appearance Bo was the top vote getter for the American League, hit a home run, drove in 2 runs and won the 1989 All-Star game MVP Award. Not a bad debut for Bo in the midseason classic! Maybe I am being selfish, but I wish we could have seen more of him competing with the best players in the game. At least we were able to witness this terrific performance.