The $1.99 Goodwill Grab Bag

The other day I was out thrifting and I hit up one of the Goodwill stores in town.  In addition to finding some all-timer hip-hop CDs that never show up at thrift stores (Biggie, Gravediggaz, Brand Nubian), there were several bagged stacks of cards hanging on a rack near the checkout.  The usual suspects were there, none of which were worthy of coming home with me, but there was one bag that had me intrigued.

Initially it was the 1970 Topps Scratch Off that caught my eye, and the reduced price sticker ($1.99, a buck less than usual) was what drove it home.  Let's see if there was anything interesting inside.

First, the Jim Spencer Scratch Off.  Really rough shape, but the presence of the black residue suggests that this was once part of a bigger pile of these, and there might be more inside.

 

That's a big nope.  No more were to be found, and the game had been played to its maximum.

Next up, a pair of 1982 Fleer.  I actually have a list going for this set, but I didn't need either of these guys.

There were exactly four 1982 Topps cards in the bag, two of Ed Romero and two of Randy Lerch.  Some home cooking, I see.  They'll go into the Brewers box next June, where there are likely a few more just like them.

 

We saw Joe Niekro from outside the bag, and there were a bunch more 1981 Topps.  I already have the whole set, and there's nothing special here, but I do like the ink smear on the Sees-toh Brewers card.

For the rest of the package we stay in the early '80s with a pile of 1982 Donruss.  Got some top-tier Diamond Kings, a few more than once.

The only problem with these is a flaw with the upper left corner on the back of most of them.  Probably the result of some improper storage techniques over the last 40-plus years.

Here are the rest of the base cards from the same set.

Not many standouts here, either.  This foursome is probably the best of the bunch.  Gene Tenace is included for absolutely killing it during the 1972 World Series, and Jerry Augustine makes the cut because not only was he a Brewer, he was also the head coach of the UW-Milwaukee baseball team in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  He even got the team into the NCAA tournament, which doesn't happen often in this northern climate.

It was a good grab bag of cards whose status could improve depending on how things shake out once I get the Donruss sorted.  I'm just glad I didn't get Bipped.

But I came pretty damn close.