Man, I haven't posted a pack in a month. Let's break the slump with a product I've been wanting for a long time - T51 Murad. This is Topps' foray into Tobacco-style Retro cards like A&G or Mayo. This set copies the T51 Murad set, which inserted cards featuring a college and a sport that college plays on the card. This set is the first one to have a
basketball subject appear on a trading card although there were many other sports featured as well including baseball. I'm a big fan of retro ripoff sets and my lousy stinking Hawks are in
FOURTH PLACE in the East right now which is good enough to host a playoff series. Hawks? In the playoffs? MADNESS! Oh so delicious madness... I'm looking forward to picking more of this up once I've finally gotten over my Heritage crazies. Let's check out a hobby pack:
119 Rashard Lewis
Ok, first of all these cards are
busy. Really really busy. I'm guessing about 30% of people who see these cards will despise them off the bat. They're just following the design of the originals though, and they do a great job of it. It's hard to see on this frist card, but Murad is circling the border in gold ink (ink,
not foil) and there are more gold ink highlights on the pennant and logo in the background. Something that will
really frustrate some people is that the player's name is not on the front of the card. Hey, that's just how the
originals looked.
Here's the back. Typical A&G minimalist design. I dig how the lineart logos contrast with the typeface. It is a little hard to read though.
137 Maurice Cheeks
Mo! the only thing I love more than retro cards is retro players on retro cards. I haven't actually taken the time to figure out the checklist or the short prints yet (Topps' recent crazyness has been too distracting) but these horizontal cards might be a variation of some sort. If I'm incorrect, someone please let me know. The original cards were all horizontal and I think the design works a lot better that way.
178 Joe Alexander mini RC
This is a mini card of some rookie named Joe. I have no clue who this guy is, so let's hope he's no good so I don't look like an idiot. The mini cards are bigger than A&G minis, but smaller than Goudey minis. The card it's closest to in size is a 1951 Topps red or blue back card, if you've ever seen one of them.
Checklist 10 of 30
The decoy card in the pack is an action photo that doubles as a checklist. This one here has Jason Kidd and Steve Nash facing off on the front, and the boxloader and autograph checklists on the back. Thirty cards isn't too bad a size for this set.
194 George Hill RC
The gold ink really pops out on this card. These look really good in person and they really are very similar to the original tobacco cards (Think T205 gold borders for the ink). Obviously there is a big difference between modern printing and old-school lithography but I still say they did a good job.
148 Walt Frazier
The best card was saved for last. I wouldn't mind a card of Clyde in every pack I rip, thank you very much.
I wish there was more than 6 cards in a pack, but I'll survive. The stuff looks really good and one of these days I'm going to break down and buy a box. They're going for about $70 right now which isn't too bad. Once I get a few more packs I'll do a full review on my blog.
Topps Murad is basically the Allen & Ginter idea for basketball cards. I saw a fair amount of reviews of this stuff when it first came out, and although I try to avoid spending money on basketball cards so I don't get hooked, I knew I needed to try a pack of this stuff. This set has one of the craziest designs I've ever seen on trading cards. And they really have to be seen in person to get the full experience. Basketball cards seem to have a miniscule presence on blogs, so I like to throw one up here once in awhile.
31 - Gerald Wallace (Yes, the Charlotte Bobcats are an actual NBA team. Gerald Wallace was once the understudy to Chris Webber at Sacramento, but he's become a fairly well-rounded and unsung quality player. Unfortunately, Wallace had his season come to a grisly end around the time I purchased this pack, when a flagrant foul by Laker Andrew Bynum caused him to suffer a partially collapsed lung as well as a broken rib. Karma came back to get Bynum, as he's been out for quite sometime and his availability is a question mark for the playoffs. Incidentally, Bynum was taken out by his own teammate, some chump named Kobe Bryant. By the way, I hate the Lakers.)
16 - Josh Smith (Oddly enough, there is an entire chapter of this book dedicated to both Gerald Wallace and Josh Smith and their combined oddities and intrigue. Atlanta is a dangerous team this season and they could certainly make some noise in the playoffs this year.)
177 - Eric Gordon (Gordon is a rookie, as indicated in the upper right hand corner of the card, so he is required to carry two basketballs wherever he goes. Baron Davis will do something unmentionable to him if he doesn't.)
174 - Russell Westbrook Mini (Speaking of unmentionable, he's another rookie, Russell Westbrook, playing for a team that shall not be mentioned. They used to be the Sonics. Now they're a walking, balling disgrace in uniforms that look like some kid messed around with PhotoShop using Bobcats and New Orleans Hornets unis. The minis, I'm assuming, are one per pack like A&G.)
73 - Rasheed Wallace (Part of me really missed the days when Sheed would spot up around the perimeter at the Rose Garden to a chorus of "Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!" prior to nailing another 3-pointer. The other part of me laughs when hearing that he just got suspended for earning his 16th technical foul of the season, in his first game back from a two-week injury layoff. He's still in my Top 5 Blazers of all-time, but he could get pushed out soon as the entire current Blazers team is so likeable.)
1 - Elton Brand (Brand played 8 games last season and somehow signed a high dollar 5 year contract with a new team, the Sixers. He played in 29 games this year before being shut down with another season-ending injury. It has to be rough being a Sixers fan these days.)
