December 2, 2023:
1995 Donruss #38 Eddie Williams
There's a lot to like about this card. While Williams was an unremarkable player who had an unremarkable career (6 different teams, 8 different uniform numbers, 2 turtle doves, and a career -1.0 WAR), there's an astonishing amount of 1990s goodness from top to borderless bottom of his 1995 Donruss card.
We've got sunglasses worn on the back of a neck attached to one of those rubbery straps. There's an appearance by a Phoenix Suns cap at a San Diego Padres game. And there's dads and sons hugging the rail, black Rawlings on hands, fighting the local first baseman for a pop-up. Just glorious.
The star of the card, however, is the T-shirt worn by the young man closest to Williams. To a person of a certain age, this shirt is easily recognizable as a genuine article Bad Boy Club garment. Up there with Rude Dog, this was the quintessential '90s brand for folks who wanted to project to others that they had attitude, and perhaps even drank Mountain Dew with the can a few inches from their open mouth.
This particular Bad Boy Club shirt is currently for sale on eBay. The design is not named, but the patented Bad Boy mascot is sprouting dreadlocks in what appear to be the signifying pan-African diaspora's red, yellow, and green colors, presumably attempting to cash in on the renaissance of reggae music (highlighted by Inner Circle's "Bad Boys" COPS theme song and Bob Marley's greatest hits album "Legend," which was the best selling catalogue title of the entire decade) going on at the time in this country. Let's just agree to give this shirt the nickname, "No Baseball, No Cry."
If you're a potential buyer, get that shirt while you still can. Lord knows that the millions who read this blog have been tipped off and are getting their clicking fingers ready.
Nice card of Williams. I collect him because he is a Type 1 diabetic. He played a few seasons in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’, not doing much, but broke out with the Padres in 1994.
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