Card Spotlight: 7-25-08

1991 Topps Desert Shield #8 - Bobby Thigpen (Record Breaker)

All this talk about Bobby Thigpen's record lately made me think of this card. I was never in the military and besides, I was a little young when this release came out. I was 14.

This card was issued for the troops stationed in the Middle East. Packs were sent over with a special foil insignia stamped onto the front of the card. I'm sure the number one priority over there was baseball cards. I bet it was something to enjoy when there was a lot of downtime.

I'm sure there was plenty of it. I'm sure it wasn't "Full Metal Jacket" and "Saving Private Ryan" type action all the time, but in contrast, it probably wasn't like "Gomer Pyle USMC" either. My guess would be somewhere in the middle, sans a laugh track.

The majority of these cards were left overseas or thrown away. As it turns out, most servicemen aren't interested in baseball cards. Some were though and the minority that did collect baseball cards, horded as much as they could. They understood the uniqueness of this type of card.

Over the years, there have been many cards which have "leaked" out into the open market. Some go for astronomical prices. Others can be had for next to nothing. The demand for these cards has gradually increased over the years. Enough to where there are counterfeit cards out there.

I am a few cards short of completing a full White Sox team set. The cards that will likely be the hardest to obtain, mostly because of price, are the Frank Thomas, Sammy Sosa and Carlton Fisk cards. This card of Bobby's was a little more difficult to obtain than the others that I have.

I first encountered this card on eBay. I got into a bidding war with a few other bidders. I lost out on that card and I let the others fight it out. While they were trying to one up each other, I got bored and started another search. I found another one that was due to end in a shorter amount of time than the one I had been bidding on.

After the dust had settled, I purchased this card for under two dollars and the card I had been bidding on went for over ten dollars. It just goes to show that everything will show its face again, eventually. Sometimes it's sooner than you'd expect.