Letting in the oddball... (1986 Topps Tattoos)

When Ben Henry sent an "open cast call" to join P-A-D, I jumped at the chance. Little did I know that when my confirmation came, I would be heading to the Urologist to "have some work done." In a twist of fate, the doctor performing the procedure (yes, the same one Bob Barker recommended for pets) was named Dr. Pickelman. I digress for the sake of making as many folks on here wince as possible. If you happen to stop by my place (Indians Cards), you know that I am fond of the oddball items that are offered up in the name of collecting. Naturally, my first foray into the P-A-D family will be a reflection of myself - an oddball:

Yes, that is the unopened wrapper of a 1986 Topps Tattoos pack, featuring the banned-from-the-hall-forever, i-did-not-wait-yes-i-did-bet-on-baseball Pete Rose.

Each pack featured a piece of Topps gum, and this particular piece is now 22 years old. I had to stop my 5 year-old from popping it into her mouth! Naturally, the temptation to take a nibble of nostalgia pulled me in, but somehow that college degree in stupidity that I earned so long ago stopped me from a probable trip to the local poison control center... Then again, how bad could a 22 year-old piece of gum be for you?

The tats come on long two sheets of nine rows. Through the magic of digital image manipulation, I present half of the tattoos above, flipped so you can see what they might look like when applied to your arm, or forehead, or other preferred portion of one's anatomy. In addition to various named players, each sheet also features non-descript players in a variety of poses. After all, what kid wouldn't like to have a no-named player fielding a grounder on the back of his hand, right? This first set shows the likes of Charlie Leibrandt, Dickie Thon, Lee Smith, Dave Winfield, Julio Franco, Brian Fisher, Dale Murphy, Shawon Dunston, Bret Saberhagen, and Jesse Barfield. I may need to volunteer my daughter's arm in the name of research to see if these will still actually serve their purpose twenty-two years later...

The second (flipside) example from the pack has a lot more of the no-name poses than of named players. However, at least the players include Keith Hernandez, Goose Gossage, and Eck! Plus, there is a Moose to go with our Goose. Throw in Perconte and Moore from the Mariners to round out the pack.

I have an nearly full box of these unopened packs, so if you are interested in trading, by all means drop me a line and I'll send ya a pack. In return, send me whatever you feel gives the equivalent amount of collecting joy.