Night Owl Cards

I've been out of town for the last few days, appreciating my first road trip of any kind in five months. Usually when I go away, I try to scope out some sort of card-opening scenario, a surprise card show perhaps, an antique shop, heck, even a Target run in an unfamiliar place is exciting. But seeing that the COVID era isn't ending any time soon, dropping in at any store or shop for card frivolity remains impossible for me, I don't care what you see from those video card-breakers raiding the aisles at Walmart. I haven't opened a pack of cards since an ill-advised Target run in mid-March. It hasn't been as difficult as I expected, but if you throw a four-month pack drought on top of going on a trip and leaving my cards far behind, that's when the withdrawal symptoms start to kick in and nobody wants to see night owl cranky and shaking while on vacation. Desperate times, man. And desperate measures, too. That's why you see a pack of 1992 Leaf, Ser...

(I am writing this in the midst of postseason stress. Yesterday was fun ... from about the fifth inning on. But now it's over, the Dodgers won and I'll agonize through another game less than 24 hours after the first one. Maybe the NBA playoffs have it right: we need a few days to recover before the next heart attack. It's time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 264th in a series): A few days ago, I was in a yank about the length of time since the Dodgers had been in a World Series, counting up the winless streak in the NLCS (currently at four straight), when I decided to relive the good old days. I found Game 6 of the 1981 World Series and for the first time since it happened, watched it from beginning to end. It felt strange to see the Dodgers doing so well on the biggest stage in baseball. I've experienced that feeling twice in my life, but the last time was 1988 and I've become accustomed to inevitable failure no matter how well my team is doing. ...

I can't believe I haven't featured this card yet on Awesome Night Card. How was I able to resist? Brett's quizzical stare aimed at the ump, the pine tar halfway up the bat five years after the freakout , the Dick Howser memorial patch, this card coming two years after this card . Just so much to admire, review, question and get into that Night Card Binder already! But here is another reason: I've considered 1989 Upper Deck a significant night-card pioneer, the set that distributed night cards into the mainstream, turning night scenes from an occasional quirk into a regular part of the set. Perhaps I've been a bit hasty. The 1988 Fleer set, which I enjoy more than '89 Upper Deck by the way, seems to have more than its share of night cards. I don't know the full story as I own just 60 or so '88 Fleer cards, but I've already featured one 1988 Fleer night card on ANC. And there's the Brett card. And then there's these three: ...