1986 Baseball Tattoos

I got this pack from Andy over at 78 Topps Cards. I promised to put Pete Rose's tattoo on my butt if I pulled him from this pack, so if we're all lucky you'll see Pete and my Butt in this post.

This is how to put on the tattoo, just replace the hand with my butt for Pete Rose tattoos.

I was really tempted to chew this, but I have a bad psychological reaction to chewing gum out of packs of cards now. Thanks Topps! Thanks for being cheap and ruining my gum chewing experience!

First strip, top half:

I think that says 22 or 24 up top. Maybe. Lots of Tigers and Expos here. Kirk Gibson is probably the biggest name of the bunch. There's two little tattoos of one guy swinging away and another one bunting. Who would put a tattoo of a bunt on their arm? Then again, who would put a tattoo of Bryn Smith on themselves?

First strip, bottom half:

I'm pretty sure I didn't mix up the scans, but if I did I'm sure some internet detective will point it out. There are only three players on this half, but they out match the ones up top. Boggs is a Hall of Famer, Concepcion is a subject of constant debates on whether he should be in the Hall, and Gorman Thomas is just a badass. The combination of that exquisite mustache and the old school Mariners Trident logo on a two-color tattoo is is so cool it's almost illegal. If Gorman was still with the Brewers and had the glove logo we'd all be under arrest. There are some really crazy mini tattoos in this strip, they all look like they are suffering from St. Vitus' dance.

Second strip, top half:

Wow, this is the all-underrated strip. Every single player on here was fantastic, but other than Molly don't get their due. One of them has an MVP award, do you know which one?

Second strip, bottom half:

Pudge!!! What a terrible drawing of Pudge! That doesn't look like Carlton, it looks more like Mark King from Level 42. Mike Scott also looks ridiculous, but Lou manages to become a tattoo while keeping his dignity intact. Check out the wind up of the guy next to Whitaker! If someone did that for real about three joints would pop right out of their sockets. Sorry folks, no Pete. I know you are all disappointed, but I think this pack was pretty good anyway.

1986 Topps Tattoos

As I continue to post the packs that came in the 16-pack box from Wal-Mart, we come to a pack of 1986 Topps Tattoos. To refresh your memory, the packs contain 18 tattoos, some of which are players and some are generic baseball-related pictures. There is also a stick of gum, should you feel the urge to chomp down on a 22 year old piece of history...

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First up, we have Alfredo Griffen (A's), a couple of non-descript players, a couple more non-descript players, Frank White (Royals), Ozzie Smith (Cardinals), and finally two more generic players. Not bad at all! It's always a good pack when you can pull Ozzie out of your hat!

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The second set of tattoos gives us Scott Garrelts (Giants), Dennis (Oil Can) Boyd (Red Sox), Donnie Moore (Angels), Tony Perez (Reds), two generic players, and Vince Coleman (Cardinals). There are a couple players here I have never heard of, but then that doesn't really come as a surprise to most of you, I know. :-)
Garrelts was an all-star in '85 and went to the World Series in '89 (a few years after these were made). Boyd was indicted in 2005 for threats he made to his girlfriend. Ironically, Moore is known for giving up a pennant-losing home run to Dave Henderson (no relation). Perez was part of the "Big Red Machine" in the mid-late 80's, in case you didn't know... :-)

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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.

1986 Topps Baseball Tattoos

I received this pack, along with some other goodies, in the first part of a tradewith David from Indians Baseball Cards. Always. I barely remember these. If I bought any, it was probably only once. I think I passed on these for the rubdown sheets. Probably because the players looked more realistic.

With a cartoon of Pete Rose on the cover, I was ready for anything. I was not disappointed.

For those who can't read backwards, here the list of the 18 tattoos that were on sheet 4, which I recieved in the package.

Johnny Ray - Pirates
Darrell Evans - Tigers
Mike Davis - A's
Leon Durham - Cubs
generic fielder and generic batter
HAROLD BAINES!!!! - White Sox
Cal Ripken - Orioles
generic baseman and generic umpire
Glenn Hubbard - Braves
generic leaping fielder and generic catcher
generic runner and generic on deck batter
Ted Simmons - Brewers

22 year old stick of petrified bubble gum

The packaging looks better than most of the tattoos, but they still look cool in a retro way. This sheet (#4 of 24 sheets) seems to have most of the fringe and regional stars on it. Cal Ripken is the real superstar relegated to the sheet. Harold Baines and Darrell Evens seem to be the national exposured regional stars and Johnny Ray and Leon Durham seem to be the true regional stars. The other three would not register with the casual fan. I remember them though, but that's not saying much. I remember Jody Davis too.

The baseball fan in me loves the Cal Ripken, but the White Sox fan in me loves the Harold Baines and to a lesser extent, Leon Durham. Leon was briefly in the White Sox system at the end of his major league career, but never made it past Spring Training. He also played a precursor to Bill Buckner and Tony Graffanino.

This was a prety cool way to relive 1986 again. Thanks David! I'm working on my part of the trade already.