2013 Topps Triple Theads Unity Relic Bat Green Parallel #2/18

2006 Upper Deck Epic Pairings Dual Jersey #26/99

2006 Upper Deck Legendary Material Silver Parallel #172/199

Stunning low numbered game used parallel. The silver foil is incredible in person.

2005 Upper Deck Hall of Fame Hall Worthy #22/50

Photo doesn't do justice to this sick low-numbered parallel. 2005 may have been the best year ever for cards.

2009 Sweet Spot Bat Barrel Auto #08/25

I've had some exciting moments in the 35 years I've been collecting. I have to say that seeing this card when it came out of the package ranks pretty high on the list. My first ever bat barrel auto. A lot of times a card looks really sick online or in photos then in person it's a bit of a letdown. It rarely happens the other way. This was one of those cards that just blew me away. A week or so later it's just as sick. The shadow box presentation is part of it. Makes the card seem really thick. The crisp-ness of the blue sharpie against the lacquered wood. The curve of the bat piece. The low print run. All I can say is I'm in love with this card. Sa-weet!

The Shrine

Located in a small corner of Casa Fisk resides The Shrine. It's a small shelf where I keep my latest and/or favorite acquisitions. In there you can see several on-card autos, a single signed ball, a white sox team signed ball, the 2013 U.S. Cellular Field giveaway trophy, 1986 Donruss Pop-Up, 1976 Papa Gino's drinking glass. Baseball cards take up a lot of room, so most all are stashed in storage boxes in the closet. The Shrine gives me a way to show off my collection and remind me of what makes me happy. Every time I walk by The Shrine I get a little smile.

2004 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts All-Time Autos #28/50

Got this sweet 2004 on-card auto this week. I've been wanting to find this card at an affordable price for a while now due to its attractive design. I like the old school black and white photo juxtaposed with the gold foil/red/black/white border. Again, Upper Deck was way ahead of all the other card companies. I'm not even sure that Topps had on-card autos for several years after this. Would be a perfect card if Fisk hadn't left-aligned his sig.

On another note, the blue tape on top of the card is blue painters tape. Steve Gierman at White Sox Cards turned me on to this idea. It secures the card as well as scotch or packing tape, but can be removed without leaving glue on the top loader. IMHO every collector should start doing this. The glue ends up sticking the top loaders together, can get onto the cards themselves, and looks unsightly.

2004 Leaf Fabric of the Game

Just to illustrate what keeps happening to card prices, I picked up these three Leaf Fabric of the Game cards on eBay the other day for 2 bucks apiece. All three from the same guy. They're all authentic game used and they're numbered to 100 or less!! Seems like all cards, no matter how sweet, ultimately end up being a dollar on eBay.

2003 Upper Deck Sweet Spot

You could put 20 guys from Topps in a room for a year and they would never come up with this idea. I wish I knew more about the creative team behind the great innovations at Upper Deck. They revolutionized the hobby. I'd bet big money they were card collectors as kids and big fans of the hobby 'cause these are the kind of cards we would design and produce if the fans were in charge! A piece of real baseball with a ball-point on-card auto layed out flat inside a baseball card! It's like a friggin' dream to a fan. Good on 'ya Upper Deck.

2003 Upper Deck SP Chirography #79/200

Sweet early on-card. I miss Upper Deck.

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes Dual w/ Yaz Purple Parallel #14/25

Not such a great card but the purple parallels are tough to find. Took me 3 years to find this one and I'm still looking for the single and triple versions of Fisk. Fun find.


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2011 Topps Triple Theads Relic Combos - Sepia Parallel #14/27

Just friggin' sweet...

2011 Topps 60th Anniversary Reprint Relics #33/60

The peak of my kid collecting years was 1980-1985 so I had a *TON* of 1985 Topps. Like a lotta guys in the hobby I'm a sucker for retro/throwback stuff from the era of "the cards my mom through out". Also in 2011 these seemed a lot more rare than the /60 indicates. They were like eye teeth and very expensive. Getting this card really made me smile. So it's a double hit: retro memories plus the current chase. Love the bright orange gloss too. Great back of the card too!!

2011 Panini Playoff Prime Cuts Emblems of the Hall Auto #07/25

Going thru some of the Obsession boxes today doing some organizing. I love that moment when you look at a card you don't remember getting and saying "Wow!". I don't think much of a lot of the recent Panini stuff but this one really pops. If it was on-card instead of a sticker auto it would really be perfect. Something about the brown/black fade in the background makes it look old.


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2005 Topps Retired Black Parallel #44/54

In tonight's mail: beautiful black sparkle low numbered parallel. Not a fancy patch or auto, but a great card nonetheless. The photo is priceless: circa 1983 Fisk in full "Commander" mode. These kind of cards are why I got into collecting in the first place. Sweet parallel in NM shape! I've wanted this particular Fisk for the collection for years now but could never get it at a good price - they can get pretty spendy.

I also have the base card and the Gold parallel #/500. This is item number 1,327 in the Fisk Obsession collection.



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2002 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Ultimate Signatures #101/250

Have been selling quite a few unwanted cards lately. The proceeds are building up, just waiting to feed the Fisk Obsession. I love to get auto cards, but a lot of the mid-2000's sticker autos have marginal designs and autos that are either partially covered by the card or the signer's ink went off the sticker. In a word, they're shoddy. So it was with glee that I saw this 2002 UD with a clean on-card sig. The fade effect on the blue background is beautiful. A rare on-card design that I haven't seen equaled until the 2010 era on-cards. Made the owner a "best offer" and scored it. Stoked.



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2012 Panini Playoff Prime Cuts Colossal Jumbo Patch #30/49

After a year of hunting for the right price, finally snagged this great looking Fisk. Love the orange-black-cream colors and the 'X' cut around the patch. I really like the low numbering on patch cards which have gotten crazy plentiful and lost a lot of their value and interest. Not crazy about the plain white front of the ball cap on Fisk due to Panini's lack of an MLBPA licensing deal. The lack of a White Sox logo sticks out like a sore thumb and reminds me of how money is such a big part of the hobby and sport. I collect to FORGET about that stuff. Oh well. Overall I still like the card.



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1998 Upper Deck Retro Sign of the Times

Is this maybe the oldest of the on-card autos? No, but close. I think the 1997 was first. But I've always been impressed with the innovation and quality of Upper Deck, even though the company was run by shysters. Clean white borders and glossy image look very 90's yet it has that retro feel. I already have this card PSA graded. Grabbed this one on eBay for about 1/3 of what it should sell for. Not sure if I'll keep it or flip it yet. Either way, great card.



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2013 Panini Cooperstown Orange Sparkle #/325

Haven't seen much of these Orange parallels on eBay, at least of Fisk. In fact I this is the only one. Sweet sparkle, great color. My favorite of these parallels so far. Not sure what the whole checklist is, but this completes the Fisk Cooperstown Rainbow that I'm aware of. This is my only card in today's mail. After working a 14 hour day, it makes me smile :) Old wax goodness....



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