We’ve only been ripping Topps Allen & Ginter since 2015 when we returned to #TheHobby after a fairly long hiatus (2005-06). However, each year we seem to pull a nice hit out of the 2-3 hobby boxes we may purchase in a season. We’re not big spenders on hobby boxes, but the uniqueness of A&G with all the subjects, variations and minis makes it an enjoyable rip and a fun set to tear into with your kids as well! In 2015, we pulled a Juan Gonzalez (Texas Rangers) dual relic (bat/jersey) autographed booklet card numbered to /10 or /25. We sold this on eBay before posting a pic on our Instagram page. Of course we went out and purchased 2 more hobby boxes from our LCS and hit nothing better than maybe a base relic card of super sports agent, Leigh Steinberg, of “Show Me The Money” fame!

In 2016, we pulled a few winners including a mini famed auto of World Champion boxer, Canelo Alvarez (which subsequently graded a BGS 9.5/10 by Beckett Grading).

We also pulled a 10/10 Topps Employee super short print mini framed auto of Southern Hobby Supply President/CEO Chris Austin. The fun behind this pull was that we eventually got to meet Chris at the 2018 Industry Summit and shared with him his card that was encased GEM MINT by BGS. It has since sold via our eBay store as well!

In 2017, we only bought 2 hobby boxes of 2017 A&G at The National in Chicago! We ripped a box with the kids on Father’s Day last year and pulled a Ty Cobb RIP card … our 1st RIP card in A&G!

This is the video of that hobby box rip: Father’s Day A&G Rip! We then shot an exclusive Ty Cobb RIP card unveiling in a separate YouTube video: Ty Cobb RIP card ripped!

Last year at the 2018 National in Cleveland, we bought 1 box of 2018 Topps A&G and another 2 boxes of 2017 A&G chasing another Topps Employee SSP auto /10: Susan Lulgjuraj. We’ve met Sooz a couple of times at the last 2 Nationals & the Industry Summit so pulling her card would be fun! We plan to rip into those boxes this weekend LIVE via our Facebook page SpartyHawk Cache LLC and Periscope since YouTube recently changed the subscriber requirements to use their LIVE feature.

One thing we will definitely look forward to next year is getting into the Crackin’ Wax Annual Charity Topps A&G Case Break to help them raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America! It will be another fun day of watching Chris and LQ tear into A&G while supporting a great cause!

In closing, our 2018 A&G box was definitely less than exhilarating, but moving into 2019 it looks like entrepreneur extraordinaire, Gary Vaynerchuk, has taken the hobby community by storm over the last several months culminating with Gary Vee actually setting up as a vendor at this year’s 2019 National (40th Anniversary) in Chicago, IL! Let’s see what kind of hype he generates next week in Chicago. In conclusion, retirement from the Feds is a possibility in 15-16 months so advice from this social media guru might pay some dividends down the road or at least we may get a uniquely inked collectible for our PC! (Comment below if bronze, gold or green ink would look best!)

And oh yeah … we will definitely pick up a hobby box or two of 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter at The National to take home and tear into with the kiddos at later date! #NSCC19

TCB-

Marlin

(SpartyHawk Cache)

July 24, 2019

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