Unique...Sort of.

I had to run a few errands back to my old University so I made the decision to stop by the old card store I used to frequent back in 2008, All Pro Sports Cards. I browsed the shop for nearly 30 minutes not really saying anything to the owner. Not to sound rude, but I really didn't have anything to say to him past the "Hello" phrase. Although I did try to make small talk about how I used to come to his store years ago while at University, but he wasn't really having it...whatever.

Like I said, I was walking about the store looking at all the game used cards, regular filler cards, and miscellaneous sports memorabilia. All of the prices were a bit inflated, but you'll have that with the overhead cost associated with having to rent a building and pay utilities. Then I started looking at the filler cards. The guy had TONS of baseball, but limited quantities of every other sport. No luck finding Drazen here, which honestly, was the reason I went.

Back to the baseball cards....the guy had 1954 Topps for sale. Not many were available and none were in very good condition. However, the first one I saw was former Pirate pitcher John Hetki. John wasn't a stellar player, however the desire to purchase the card was very high. Main reason: John is the grandfather of my best friend. He used to come to our little league games and cheer us on all the time. I haven't seen him in a few years, but would have loved to purchase the card and get him to sign it. The only problem: The owner wanted $60 dollars citing Book Value!! Sorry bud, but I'll go to Ebay and pay $10.

Instead my purchase consisted of 2 packs of 2009 Topps Unique. Having never seen or heard of the product I figured at $5.00 a pack, it was worth a go. Card Shop Owner showed me the sell sheet, saw some awesome looking cards that I was not about to get, so I took the bait.

Pack 1:


Akinori Iwamura
Joe Saunders
Clayton Kershaw
Jermaine Dye
Kenshin Kawakami /2699
Jose Lopez /1199 RED
Braden Looper

WHATTTTTT BRADEN LOOPER IS STILL ALIVE???



Yes, apparently he is. It's been a long time since I've last actually paid attention to him. In fact the only card I can think of is his 2000 MLB Showdown Marlins card. His little blurb on the back mentions how he finally started a game in 2007 after having 572 trips from the bullpen. That's good for third all time behind Todd Jones (racist), and Chuck McElroy. Braden, you'll always be a Control 4 1-15 no double in my heart.

Second Pack:


Andre Ethier
Russell Martin
Aaron Cook
Dan Uggla
Alfonso Soriano /1199 RED
Victor Martinez
Willy Taveras Alone At the Top Insert

All but one in this pack come from the NL. The Taveras insert is 1:12 packs...not bad.



Still real weird seeing this guy not in a Tribe uniform. Speaking of the uniforms, this Red Sox shirt sucks.

Overall, Unique isn't that bad of a product, neat design overall. Reminds me of the Impact cards from earlier in this decade. On a random note, that was the first bunch of 2009 cards I bought....apparently I skipped all last year.