Another Weekend Antique Excursion!

 

A few weeks ago I met up with a friend as we went on the hunt for retro treasure at one of our local antique malls. I enjoy going to these kinds of stores, because you'll never know what you're going to find. Most of the time the cool stuff that I like is way over priced, but it's cool to know it's out there if I really want it. There were a ton of booths to go through. Some of them did have some great stuff, but nothing that I really collected. Below are some of the items we found this time around.

Ms. Pac-Man Coleco Tabletop Arcade Game: $175

I love these tabletop games! When I was younger I always admired the collection that my cousin had. He would rarely let us play them, but when he did, it was an amazing experience. My favorite of the tabletop games that he had was Mario's Cement Factory. I'm still on the lookout for one of those machines for an affordable price. Speaking of price $175 for this Ms. Pac-Man with the box and paperwork is actually a fair deal. I've seen these go for twice that price in worse condition. If I were a richer man, this would have come home with me! 

Dave Stevens Autographed Art: $75

Dave Stevens is most well known as the creator of The Rocketeer. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 52 after a battle with leukemia. He had such a distinct style that is immediately recognizable. At $75, this autographed piece of comic art titled "Hot Cargo" is a steal! I should go back and grab it before someone else comes to their senses and adds it to their collection!

Nestle Crunch/Upper Deck Slam Dunk Bar: $5

I was an avid collector of basketball cards in my youth, but I don't ever recall seeing these sold in stores. If I had, I know I would have bought them in bulk. Each pack contains a special "Slam Dunk" Nestle Crunch Bar and 4 Upper Deck basketball cards. The cards highlight some of the best dunkers of the era like Michael Jordan, Shawn Kemp and Isaiah Rider. This is an item that I did pick up and I'll show you what was inside in a future post.

Vintage Lunchboxes: $15 - $50

I love old lunchboxes and these ones especially. I had those Real Ghostbusters and Super Mario Bros. lunchboxes when I was in grade school and they were well used and well loved. I may still have them somewhere at my Mom's house, but they are nowhere near as clean as these ones are and I'm pretty sure the Thermos are long gone! For $30, I will go back and pick these up to add to my Ghostbusters and Nintendo collections. The She-Ra and Golden Girl boxes were a nice surprise to see in the display case.

X-Men #25 (Blue Hologram Error): $2

This X-Men issue was released in 1993 during the peak of X-Men mania! The cartoon was on FOX, the comics were selling like crazy and Wolverine was the hottest comic book character around. Of course I collected the X-Men books around this time and I do have the regular green/yellow hologram version of this book, but when I saw this for $2 at the antique mall, I couldn't pass it up. Allegedly, these blue holograms were a printing error and are fairly rare. I just think it's a cool looking book from an era of X-Men that had me hooked!

My Pal 2: $30

My Pal 2 was released by Toybiz in the early 90's. I never owned one, but I vividly remember the commercials for this little robot companion. He could talk, his nose glowed, he played games like Simon says & ring toss, he could throw and he had a basketball hoop on his chest for impromptu games of HORSE on a rainy day! This example of My Pal 2 is missing his sweet hat and hoop, but man did this bring back some memories. I've attached the commercial from 1993 below. Take 30 seconds to watch it and bask in all that My Pal 2 could do. If that's not your thing, at least give it a watch to see one of the kids truly magnificent mullets!

Cracking Open Some 1991 FLEER

Recently my kids have become more interested in the NBA due to the fact that we watched a lot of the playoffs this year. I grew up in NJ and I am a Nets fan. This year they made it to game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which is the furthest they've made it since they went to back to back NBA Finals in the early 2000's. Needless to say, there were more games on the TV than in years past. I wanted to do something for the kids to help their budding interest in the sport, so I went to a local card store to pick them up some packs of cards. The prices on the new stuff was outrageous!

But, I was able to get a box of 1991 FLEER for about $20. I brought it home and the kids were excited. We are a busy family, so we had to wait a few days to bust some packs and when we did I was transported back to when I was 10 years old looking for cards of Drazen Petrovic, Derrick Coleman and my favorite Net...Chris Morris! As we began the opening, I told the kids to be on the lookout for the randomly inserted "ProVisions" cards. These were a big deal back in the day and we got 4 of the 6 cards in the set. We only missed out on Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley. I also told them to keep their eyes peeled for Michael Jordan cards. Of course they know Michael from Space Jam, but I kept giving them nuggets of info on him and the other players we were unwrapping as the day went on. 

We got some good stuff in this box. A few NJ Nets cards, some Hall of Famers and of course Michael "Air" Jordan. Here is a look at the MJ cards we now have in the collection.

In addition to the 1991 FLEER box, I picked up a pack of 1989 NBA Hoops. That was the last pack we opened and lo and behold, there was a Jordan in the pack!

I love the look of the cards and like I said earlier, it was a nice blast of nostalgia and I had a blast opening packs with my kids. I may have to go back to the card shop soon and pick up a few more boxes. The was a Donruss box from the 90's that may be fun and if we're lucky maybe we can score some Bo Jackson cards!

NIKE Comic Book Ads

In the 90s basketball was everything to me. I was all-in on Michael Jordan and the Bulls, but still supported my local New Jersey Nets. I attended many games with my family and teammates at Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands to see some of my favorite players hit the court. I got to see Tim Duncan, Chris Mullin, Shaquille O'Neal, Vince Carter, Drazen Petrovic and so many more! I played on teams since the 5th grade and actually ended up winning 2 championships in that time and was named to the All-Tournament team in '95! So, not to get any longer but I was a basketball card collecting, game watching, sneaker consuming fool! I don't remember seeing these NIKE ads below when they were first used, but I found them recently and I love the looks of them! Comics and basketball...COUNT ME IN! Now it's time for me to stop babbling and for you to enjoy some sweet retro advertising!

Pretty cool right? I couldn't find any on-air advertising to back up this print ad campaign, but while searching YouTube, I did find this animated NIKE ad for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992!

Daddy/Daughter Day 2018 #1

Last weekend I took my oldest child out for a Daddy/Daughter day. The first thing we did was head over to the Women's NAIA Basketball Championship Tournament. Since I have been working the Tournament as a member of the media, we were able to score some courtside seats and hospitality room privileges. The game we were watching went into overtime, but my daughter wanted us to leave so we would have time...

to play video games at Chuck E. Cheese! With all the tickets we earned she was able to grab a notepad, book mark and some candy. We went to lunch at a local Chinese restaurant and shared a huge plate of drunken noodles with beef. It was really good. While eating we discussed what she wanted to do next. Her choice was to hit up...

Toys R Us! I was happy to take her, because I didn't know how many more visits we would eventually be making to the Greatest Toy Store There Is! She ended up with a Rey "Forces of Destiny" doll. But while we were there it made me think of all the great times we had at the store as a family. So we went home and I grabbed a few of the items to highlight here.

Every few weeks Toys R Us would host a special giveaway day. My kids were treated to lots of cool, free stuff like exclusive Pokémon Cards, Lego/Mega Blox sets, Pokémon figures and Hatchimals Colleggtables. Of course while we were at the store we would grab our free stuff and eventually get suckered into buying something extra for the kids.

Another cool thing Toys R Us would do is host a monthly birthday party for the kids. Every kid who attended the birthday party would receive a free stuffed Geoffrey the giraffe, a book, balloons and coloring sheets. Geoffrey would also personally attend the event and stay to take pictures with the kids. I am so glad each of my kids got to take part in this event before they closed. I hope it's a memory they will have for life!

The last thing I will mention here were the great exclusives they would offer their customers. I am happy to have this Mega Blox TMNT comic and Topps Geoffrey card in my collection. I can always look back at these artifacts of good times gone by. I will miss Toys R Us greatly, but I will always have the memories and I will always be a Toys R Us kid!!!

NBA Jam Session!

In 1993 the NBA was on the top of the sports world! Michael Jordan and The Chicago Bulls were on their way to their first three-peat, the Dream Team had dominated the globe in the Barcelona Olympics the summer before and the slam dunk was the most exciting play in sports! Not one to pass on a golden opportunity the NBA created the Jam Session brand.

The first item I remember from this marketing initiative was the "NBA JAM SESSION" VHS tape! It had highlights from the best players in the league at the time. Everyone from Karl Malone to Harold Miner to Alonzo Mourning was featured on this mixtape. I remember going to our local mom & pop rental store, "Video Sights & Sounds" just so we could rent this tape! Now as an adult, I own my own copy. I found this baby at Goodwill for about a quarter. If you ever see one out in the wild for a cheap price, I highly recommend you pick it up! Another thing came from this brand that cemented the world of hip-hop culture with the NBA. This informal partnership led to the next item on my list...

The freakin' "NBA JAM SESSION" album!!! I used to listen to this on my Walkman all the time, especially on trips to basketball practice or basketball camps. There are some pretty big names for the time on here and some pretty fresh cuts! 

The talent roster included Bell Biv DeVoe, Heavy D, Notorious B.I.G., Bobby Brown and Wreckx-N-Effect! Not too shabby for an NBA mix tape. I bought this CD online for about $1 and put it on in the house from time to time so I can relive those athletic golden years when my team in NJ went on to win 2 championships in 3 years. Over that span, we only lost one game and got to go to the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford to watch the Nets play as a reward for our hard work. Because of this I was able to see some of the "JAM SESSION" stars in person like Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O'Neal and David Robinson.

The only thing cooler than the soundtrack album quite possibly was the "NBA JAM SESSION" cards that were randomly inserted into the '92-'93 Fleer Ultra packs. I loved checking out the stats on the back and seeing how many jams the top players in the league had amassed over the years. Who knew the Admiral had 155 dunks during the '91-'92 season?  Recently and sadly though the dunk has fallen out of flavor in the NBA. The All-Star Dunk Contest has become mediocre and thanks to the Golden State Warriors, the 3-pointer has become the shot of choice around the league. One day the dunk will again reign supreme, but until that day comes you can relive the glory days of the 90s NBA by watching the "NBA JAM SESSION" highlight tape in all it's glory in the video below!!!

Keepin it Christmas!

There are so many great things about this time of the year. Besides getting gifts there's the music (I'm looking at you WHAM!), movies, books and random items you find at the Dollar Tree. While unpacking our decorations to make our house a festive wonderland, I uncovered a few gems from my collection that make me happy it's Christmas.

I bought this set of Star Wars Christmas themed Galactic Heroes back in the mid 2000s when I worked at Target. I am a sucker for anything Darth Vader and to get the dark lord of the Sith in a Santa hat holding a candy cane saber, a festive Stormtrooper and lit up Bobba Fett, this was a deal that was too good to pass up. The price was right and these guys sat in their plastic tube untouched until my kids became interested in the Galaxy far, far away and I opened them. This trio of evil has been a staple in our home during the holidays ever since! (BTW: This is not a picture of my collection. We lost our Stormtrooper in my son's room somewhere and I found this group shot online.)

This 2007-2008 Glen Davis Rookie card just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. How can you not smile when you see that goofy grin on a 6-9, 250lb NBA power forward dressed in a Santa hat? Upper Deck Trading Card Company created these cards as a bonus to anyone who bought an oversized pack of cards that season. The cool thing was that you could see which bonus card you would get and you could decide on your player of choice. There was no doubt that I had to add this card to my collection.

This is one of my favorite issues of the original Mirage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle run. First of all it features Michaelangelo as the lead, it introduces his cat..Klunk and it's set during Christmas in NY! The gist of the story is that Mikey goes gift shopping, he spots some baddies robbing a toy store and he fights to get the toys back so they can be delivered to some underprivileged orphans. The artwork is vintage Eastman/Laird Turtles and the story is solid. I always had a soft spot for this issue and then a few years ago my sister bought my family this DVD for Christmas...

and it contains a pretty faithful cartoon version of the Michaelangelo Christmas special right down to the "Little Orphan Alien" toys. We watch this every year now as part of our Christmas special viewing rotation! Christmas is coming fast and I still have quite a few things to do before it gets here. So, I wanna join Mikey in saying, Thanks for reading and...

Who was Johnny Kilroy?

On October 6th, 1993 the world cried as the greatest basketball player of all-time, Michael Jordan announced his stunning retirement from the game. Sure the NBA had some superstars like Shaq, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson, but there would be a huge hole left by Jordan's departure. Who could fill those shoes? Who would entertain the world? Enter a mysterious baller named Johnny Kilroy!

I had totally forgotten about this mythical basketball player until I recently uncovered an Upper Deck card from 1994 in my collection that features Mr. Kilroy. This brought back so many memories and raised so many questions.

Nobody knew where he came from, but the Chicago Bulls believed in his raw talent enough to sign him to an undisclosed contract in late 1993. Legend has it that on December 20th he scored 79 points in one quarter, but little to no evidence of this achievement exists! You can view the fan home video dubbed "The Popcorn" tape in the Steve Martin hosted documentary below.

Was he Michael Jordan in disguise? Was MJ's retirement a huge hoax? Was Johnny Kilroy even a real person? The only one who knows the real truth about Johnny Kilroy is...Johnny Kilroy. As of this writing he has not been available for comment in 20 years. We may never know the origin of this shooting star, but damn was it great to be alive when Johnny hit the court. You can still see his presence on the streetball courts today thanks to the folks at NIKE.

 God bless you Johnny Kilroy, wherever you are! Below are a few more documented Kilroy signings and opinions from NBA superstars. Who do you think Johnny Kilroy was?

 

Second Hand Score: Black Box & Hot Shots

Went back for my semi-monthly trip to the local Goodwill last week and found a few things. It was not an abundance or retro riches, but all together these three items cost me around $2.50. The most expensive being the Milton Bradley Travel Hot Shot Basketball game.

The World of Teddy Ruxpin Vol. 8 the Faded Fobs (Hi-Tops Video, 1987)

I enjoyed Teddy Ruxpin's adventures as a kid. Never owned the toy. Never owned the tapes. Never even had the books, but one huge memory that sticks out about this cartoon was watching cartoons nonstop at my friends house during a sleepover and one of the tapes was Teddy Ruxpin! It was awesome! I had a shaky memory of Teddy Ruxpin in puppet form giving kids tips on how to stay safe at the end or beginning of each episode. I bought the DVDs on sale and didn't see these on there. Did I just imagine that? I'll have to watch this VHS soon and see if this really was part of the show?

Wasn't that great? Now on to the next Jam!

Black Box: Dreamland CD (RCA, 1990)

Back in the early 90s Techno/House/Dance music was blowin up the radio. One of the bands responsible for this explosion was Black Box. Their album "Dreamland" spawned the hits "Everybody, Everybody" & "Strike It Up"! Great songs. I was more than happy to pick up this CD for $0.25! Here's a tip, always make sure there is a CD in the case when buying from second hand stores. I occasionally find a disc I want and open it to find there was never a CD in the case or it was stolen. Fun fact about Black Box: Martha Wash of "It's Raining Men" fame sang the bands biggest hits, but was represented in their videos by model Katrin Quinol! It's time to get funky!

Now on to the coolest pickup of the week, Hot Shot Basketball!

Hot Shot Basketball: Travel Edition (Milton Bradley, 1992) 

I always wanted this game as a kid and never received it. I think it was the commercial that made me crave the chance to play some table top hoops. To this day I still tell people to "Beat That Hot Shot!" as a form of smack talk. Now, this version I picked up is the "Travel Edition" but the backboard still moves front to back and when you make a shot, the game keeps score. I love it!

Skybox Basketball Cards 90-91

Do you remember Skybox basketball cards? They were unlike anything sports card collectors had seen before. They were the future of trading cards in 1990. Computer graphics! Candid pictures! Complex stats! They had me at computer graphics. Before these cards came out in 1990 most cards had a boarder and a picture of the featured player. Skybox upped the game and made each card a piece of art with crazy digital backgrounds and orange radiating basketballs with speed trails. Every card seemed like it's own highlight clip. There were 2 series that came out that year. 300 cards in Series 1 and 123 cards in series 2. Each pack contained 15 cards. That is huge compared to today's 5 card packs! Let's take a look at those breathtaking futuristic robo-cards from 1990:

Soak it in. Every star patterned, swirly, old school logo, action packed inch of it. Aren't they amazing? And that's just the front of the cards. The backs were a whole other level of craziness to behold!

Mookie Blaylock, Tim Hardaway and Pervis Ellison look like they just got their pictures taken by the third grade photographer on school photo day. The A.C. Green picture is just glorious. Danny Ferry in Italy...priceless!

Along with NBA Hoops cards, I collected these like crazy. My favorite card out of the 423 set was of course Michael Jordan! I didn't pull him from these packs, but I do have one in my collection. I hope you enjoyed this trip down the strange, dark alley of 90s sports trading cards. They may not be worth much today, but the memories of ripping a Skybox pack open are worth a lot to me.