Oh Billy, Sweet Billy Boy (Lucy, Hide Your Eyes)

The kindness and generosity of the collecting community never ceases to amaze me. Less than 2 days after this post, reader Jeff contacted me saying that not only did he have "the" card, he had multiples, and would be more than willing to send one my direction.

His package arrived today, and here it is:

Let's get a closer look, shall we. Wow, that's a crappy closer look. Perhaps I should have scanned at 300dpi instead of 200.


This card has always fascinated me, and apparently I am not alone. Personally, I think Billy did it on purpose, but the world may never know. Imagine how much that bat would sell for, if it were still around. How this escaped Fleer's designers, and proofers (if that's what they're called) is absolutely beyond me. 1989 was the height of card collecting popularity, and most of the buyers at the time were kids (or so it seemed). The initial outrage over this card was completely justified, and the fact that said outrage made this the most desirable error card of all time is hilarious, and so typically American. Like Janet Jackson's nip slip, or H.W. Bush puking on the Japanese Prime Minister, the Billy Ripken error card was captivating because it was raunchy, and wrong. Man are we a messed up culture or what?

AND NOW IT IS MINE!

Believe it or not, that's not all Jeff sent over. He also sent these 2 great Allen & Ginter cards. I've already got the Markakis autograph, so this double will be heading out to my man Mojo, who is a fellow Markakis collector.


Thanks a million Jeff! You have no idea how full my life now feels thanks to Billy Ripken and his foul mouthed bat barrel. Be on the lookout for a fat stack of cards off of your want list, and a few surprises as well.