PWE Playhouse: A Padded Envelope That’s The Stuff Of (Shoebox) Legends

It’s been a while since I’ve had a PWE Playhouse post, so let’s trot out the artwork that I worked so hard to create.

This PWE came from Shane of Shoebox Legends fame, and it spans several decades and sports.  Because of one particular card which would not fit in a standard PWE, this time around it was a padded envelope, which allowed him to throw some extra goodness my way. Other than leaving the highlight of the PWE for last, I’ll run through the rest pretty much in the order they got uploaded.

I have something of a soft spot for 1982 Topps.  It’s not a legendary set by any means, but at the time it was something of a return to form after a couple of years of (in my eyes) sub-par sets.

I’m not sure if I need this Leibrandt;  I kind of hope I do because 1982 is a Topps set I wouldn’t mind completing someday, but it’s junkwax-y status has made it a low priority for years.

There’s a part of me that likes the fact that a team called the Reds had border colors of blue, brown and yellow.

This next card, a 1988 Classic Cal Ripken, indirectly lead me into a time sinkhole this past weekend.

I’m not going to say any more about that right now because I will be writing about it in detail, probably next week.  For now I’ll just say that I really like this Cal.

This is a 1994 Pinnacle Museum Collection card of Jamie Moyer. Shiny Shiny.

This card has double appeal to me; Moyer’s obviously an Oriole (even though 1994 is a bit before I became an O’s fan), but Moyer also holds a special place in my heart because he was the last active Major Leaguer who is older than I am.

This lovely 1995-96 Panini foil sticker reminds me of something I’ve been reading lately about the Islanders…

…The Islanders currently play at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, but it seems like neither landlord nor tenant are happy with the arrangement.  Before the end of the decade, the Islanders could find themselves being asked to remove themselves from their place of residence. Even if they started building an arena now, it might not be ready in time… and this is where the Whalers logo comes in. The other day the governor of Connecticut and the mayor of Hartford offered that fine city as a temporary home for the Islanders… and if they decide they’d like to stay there, well even better! The Islanders currently have the second-worst attendance in the NHL, so this doesn’t seem so far-fetched, even if it is just a political PR move. The Carolina Hurricanes have the worst attendance in the league, might also be looking for a new home and – guess what? They’re the team formerly known as the Hartford Whalers. Things could get interesting in the NHL over the next few years. Or not.

Another Cal… The scan doesn’t look shiny, but it is red and shiny.  Maybe I’m just missing something, but I don’t know what the background is supposed to represent.

I like this next card if only because it shows a hockey sweater from back when they were really sweaters.  Ebbie Goodfellow is a Hockey HOFer who won three Stanley Cups for Detroit.  “Ebbie” is short for Ebenezer, and this card is from the 2004/05 In The Game Franchises” set.

I briefly thought about creating a “Forgotten Franchises” post around the Detroit Falcons, but it’s just an earlier name for the Red Wings.  They started off as the Cougars, changed to the Falcons and then Red Wings.  There ya go.

Mike Palmateer! Dude was a ray of hope during a dark time in Capitals history.

The details elude me after 35+ years, but I remember listening to a Caps game on my trusty Panasonic radio (the Caps’ flagship station at the time, WTOP, had a far-reaching signal at night) as Palmateer was in goal for the Caps breaking a long losing streak… I want to say 11 losses in a row. Of course, double-digit losing streaks were not a rarity for the 1970’s Capitals

You’ve gotta love that mask, and there are relatively few hockey cards which show the Caps road uniforms from that period.

Miguel Tejada came to Baltimore amid great expectations.  When all was said and done, the O’s didn’t get the guy who was an MVP in Oakland.

This is a silver parallel of 2005 Topps, by the way.

I have not actively followed the NHL since before the locked-out season, but I do know who Tuukka Rask is.  This is a Panini sticker from a few years ago, and a pretty nice-looking one at that.

I’m surprised that I didn’t have this card already, but now I do.  Matt Harvey had been THE GUY with Mets fans, now I suspect that he’s fallen behind Syndergaard and deGrom for many fans.  I know he has for me.

Tom Seaver, of course, will always be “The Franchise”.

Lucas Duda… another Met who needs to re-establish himself after injuries.  So much of the Mets’ success depends on their health this year (he says, as if that’s some sort of brilliant insight)

Shane threw in a couple of 2016/17 Stadium Club Premier League soccer cards!  The design is the same as 2016 Stadium Club baseball, at least on the front.

I know nothing about David Silva and Googling didn’t turn up anything noteworthy.

For anyone who’s interested, here’s the back.

Patrick van Aanholt looks dumbfounded by something.  “Whuuh?”

Moving on to hockey, Shane gave me my first Upper Deck hockey card in… Jeez, I don’t know. And it’s possibly the most famous hockey card out of the current set, the “If you score we get a puppy” card!

This card is all I know about Bobby Ryan. Like I said, the NHL drove me away after that lockout.  But if I’m only going to have one card from 2016/17 UD, it seems like this is the one to have… like that 2014 Coco Crisp card with the afro and sunglasses.

And finally, the centerpiece for this package… A fantastic 1952 Topps card of New York Giants pitcher Monte Kennedy!

Every one if his baseball card spells his first name “Monte”. Baseball Reference and any other online notation I could find spells it “Monty”. His full name is actually Montia, which is a new one on me.

Kennedy pitched 8 years for the Giants, primarily as a starter at the beginning and then mostly out of the bullpen towards the end of his career. After his playing days, he would become a police detective in Richmond, VA.

Here’s the back. Monte had grey eyes… I don’t think I knew that 1952 Topps included eye color among the bits of info on the back.

I went to school with a girl with stunning grey eyes.  Those eyes saw right into your soul… but that’s another story.

And I now present an updated image of my entire collection of 1952 Topps cards!  (Insert fanfare on a kazoo)

Yep, just the two cards. For the briefest of moments after I put the Kennedy card into the sheet, I thought “Hey, maybe I should try for a 1952 New York Giants team set!” and then reality smacked me upside the head and said “Willie Mays, dumbass”.  I said “Oh.  Yeah.  Never mind.”

So there we go, the majority of the cards in my padded envelope. Thanks, Shane! As always, a thoroughly enjoyable thing to come home to!