1989 Topps Ames 20/20 Club

Year: 1989

Manufacture: Topps

Set: Ames 20/20 Club

Card Number: 33

Next up from the 2018 COMC Black Friday haul is this 1989 Topps Ames 20/20 Club card.  Ames was a chain of department stores headquartered in Connecticut.  At it's height Ames had 700 stores in 20 states (thank you Wikipedia).  Ames teamed up with Topps in 1989 and again in 1990 to produce a couple box sets.  This is another card I swore I already owned.  I know I have multiple copies of Robin's 1990 Ames All-Stars card.  But for a couple quarters I filled another hole.  I guess I didn't realize when I picked this card out that it was so badly mis-cut, but that really doesn't bother me. 

 The 20/20 refers to a player getting 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a single season.  Like all the box sets from around this time it's chalked full of superstars and now HOFers.  Complete box sets can be found for cheaper than what these sold for in 1989.  These cards really do have a nice design and the super glossy fronts were a nice touch compared to the flagship cards of the day.

1990 Ames Department Store Box Set

Year: 1990 

Card Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Ames Department Store Box set

Card Number: 5

Card Type: Base

Set Type: Box set

The late 80's and early 90's saw a ton of these small box sets.  The nice thing about these sets is they featured all the great players at the time.  So even though they were overproduced they were decent quality and were a cheap way to pick up some cards of your favorite players.  

Ames was a department store chain based on the East Coast that officially ceased business in 2002.  But they, like a lot of their competators, got caught up in the box set craze of the time.  Ames put out two sets.  One in 1989 that featured the 20/20 players and this set put out in 1990 featuring the top active career leaders in runs produced.  And luckily we get a nice Robin Yount card out of the deal.  These cards are the stuff of dime boxes and repacks now and could easily set you back a whole nickel if you try.  But not a bad looking card and a great set with a great checklist.