Heroes and Villans

I just picked up a trade package from Tony, and so in showing some of the cards I will borrow from him and show some videos.

The first video, however, isn't a music one, and the card below it isn't one that he sent me, but I need it for the theme.

It is too bad that the end is slightly off, but I remember watching this commercial on tv.

Gary Carter is my first sports here. I was a catcher. I wore number 8. (A good number for a catcher, RIP Yogi.) And, he is the reason I became a Mets fan. I always kind of liked them, but when Carter was traded there I was all-in! Besides, it gave me a team to root for against my father.

When I restarted collecting last year, one of the first cards I looked for was one that I always wanted as a kid, and saw plenty of but never at a price I could pay. Anyway, I quickly found this at a very reasonable price, and I'm very happy to own it:



As much as I love Carter, when I got back into collecting I decided to only collect Browns cards. Cheering for the Browns can be tough:



This came out a couple of years ago, but change the names and it remains the same.

Tony sent me a small packet of Browns cards. I had all the cards below, but here are some of my old favorite players:






Eric Metcalf was great, a Raider-killer to give me bragging rights with two of my friends. And at the first NFL game that I was able to attend, he had a 73 yard punt return touchdown. It was so nice to see that live.

Michael Dean Perry was a better player than his brother "The Fridge", but isn't as well known.

And I always thought that with the last name of Slaughter that it would have been awesome if he had been a defensive player.

However, while looking through the cards Tony sent, to my surprise I found two that I needed!




Sadly, JaJuan Dawson died this past July at the age of 37, drowning after falling overboard on a family boating trip.

With a more pleasant story, David Patten escaped Cleveland to New England where he was a member of the three early 2000s Super Bowl winning teams, catching a touchdown in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Always nice to add new cards to my collection.

Finally, the main cards that Tony sent were for a friend of mine:

Looking at Wikipedia, Aston Villa has a storied history having spent 104 years playing in the top tier of English football. They are one of the few teams that have played in every Premiership season, although from what little I follow of them it has come down to the wire the last couple of seasons to see if they would stay there.

Aston Villa is currently owned by former Browns owner, Randy Lerner.



1991-92 Pro Set English League





Tony, thanks for the cards! I'm sure my friend will enjoy them.