The Traveling Box: Pass One

Like a brave soul, I decided to participate in the traveling box experiment. I fully believed that there would not be anything that I would want to take from the box. Oh sure, there would be lots of cool cards, but the realistic chances of finding something that would enter my specific parameters of collecting would be slim to none. I'm happy to report that I was wrong.

There were lots of cool cards, just like I had thought, but I immediately found a card that I wanted...

This 2001 SPx Winning Materials card of Jeff Bagwell, Frank Thomas and Carlos Delgado.

Frank Thomas is the most understated player on the card. It almost looks like he's a bit ashamed to make an appearance on the card. His head is sheepishly down and he's behind a devilishly grinning Carlos Delgado, while Jeff Bagwell hides up above, not quite believing what he is seeing. After I wrote that, I realize it seems like I just described a lost deleted scene from the movie Deliverance, but there it is.

I thought that the creepy cool card featuring "Game-Used Jerseys" might be all that I would consider, since this was the only card in the box that featured a player in a White Sox uniform or a player that I collect. Well, it turns out that I was wrong.

I heavily weighed the pros and cons about adding a football card to my collection. A football card! I don't even collect football cards! I won't give away any specific details. I would like future possessors of the traveling box to be as surprised as I was looking through the stacks of cards. The football player was someone that I greatly admired growing up, but I decided I did not want to put the time and energy into starting a collection of this player, so I left it for someone else to enjoy.

I did, however, wrestle with another card, with which I indirectly collect the player on the card. I collect cards of this player for a friend. Someday when the collection is either complete or nearly complete, I will present it to him.

Yes, in the end, I could not pass up a graded Ryne Sandberg rookie card. He is one of several Cubs that I never had an unkind word for. I collect Ryno's cards for a friend I've known for over twenty years. After the initial internal debate, the choice was easy.

I thoroughly enjoyed my initial rummage through the traveling box. I can't wait until it visits me again! And, yes, I left the box in better shape than I found it.