Night Owl Cards

Here is a little something that has been nagging at me for awhile. Perhaps it's been nagging at you (but not likely). When former Giants and Phillies pitcher Al Holland arrived in the major leagues in the late '70s, he was the first MLB player with the last name of Holland since a guy named Bill Holland pitched three games for the Senators in 1939. OK, not that weird, right? But, to me, this is. Since 2010, there have been two pitchers in the major leagues with the last name of Holland. And they're not related. Derek Holland, who is from Ohio, and Greg Holland, who is from North Carolina, are the first Hollands to appear in the majors since Al Holland exited in 1986. It's the largest "Holland epidemic" since the 1930s when there were a handful of marginal players with that name. And these two Hollands showed up at basically the same time (Derek in '09 and Greg in '10). OK, maybe still not that weird for you. How about this? T...

A significant part of the charm of night cards from the mid-1980s and earlier is that there simply aren't many of them. Every night card from back then was and is a discovery. It's why I gravitated to them in the first place. While collecting them as a youngster, they stood out as a novelty. And through my love for everything dark and neon, a collection was born. For instance, this 1984 Topps Traded card of Tim Stoddard is one of the few night cards in all of '84 Topps. There are just a handful. Andre Robertson and Rick Cerone from the flagship set spring to mind. There can't be many more than that. But today? You can't turn around without falling over a night card in a current set. Whatever your collecting desire, there is a night card for that occasion: Home plate celebrations? Check. Return to home plate celebrations? Check. Return to the dugout celebrations? Check. Pitchers bunting? Check. Pitchers blasting off? Check. ...