Quad: Reggie Jackson.

       I mentioned my preference of "quads" over "triplets" in a recent post - the triple being a rookie, game used, and autograph card of one player, the quad splitting the game used facet of the triple in to bat and jersey cards.  I said I would/should make it a feature on the blog.  Well, I have said this kind of thing before ("favorites", "Topps sets", etc.) and not followed through.  This time, I decided to mean it, so I rummaged through my boxes of favorite players looking for some quads and immediately found one, and when I say immediately I mean immediately: first row of the first box I looked.  I dove into my hall of fame box and the first player in there is my very first favorite player, Reggie Jackson.

I knew right away I had multiple bat and jersey cards of Mr. October, and I knew I had his rookie card (more on that in a minute).  Imagine my pleasant surprise when I found I had an old school autograph of his too.  I picked the best looking jersey and bat card and made this quad:

While the jersey is just a white square (the scourge of some jersey card pullers), I like the card and the picture on it, plus it is numbered to /50 and has some shiny.  The bat card is an oldie, from the 2001 UD Legends set.  I really like the baseball stitches burned into the bat piece, an aesthetic touch I wish card companies would do more.  The autograph (which as I said, I forgot I even had) is from the 1995 Upper Deck set.  Back then, Reggie was the face of Upper Deck and it came complete with a numbered COA, I don't know if it was an insert or a mail in redemption kind of thing but it is a pretty awesome card.  Last and certainly not least is my very very off condition 1969 Topps Jackson rookie card.

I once owned a very nice looking Reggie rookie card, but as with a lot of my fancy schmancy old school vintage stuff, I had to sell it on eBay for practical purposes, like paying the rent and food.

This was the second one of these I owned, as I once put together a complete 1969 Topps set.  I sold the set but kept this one.  I deemed it expendable as well, though because I owned the third one, the one with the multiple creases and tape.  I am a fan of extreme off condition cards and this one is a thing of beauty.  I mean look at it...

Seriously, look at it...

Look At It...

LOOK AT IT!!!

Someone loved this card.   They played with it, maybe had it in their pocket for safe keeping.  Somehow, it tore, but they took it upon themselves to tape it together because they liked the card that much.  I cannot for the life of me remember where I got this thing, but goddamn, I love this card.  I find poor condition cards like this fit into John Waters definition of camp (to paraphrase): they cannot be created, they merely exist.  I could never ever make a card like this.  It had to happen back in 1969 organically at the hands of a baseball card loving child.  And now, they are out there to be rediscovered and loved again.  Of all the quads I put together and scanned the other day, this one is by far my favorite and this card is the number one reason why.