Bulk Buy Surprise

 

Last year I picked up a bulk purchase from someone looking to offload a couple bins of cards.  My progress sorting through these bins has been slowed by other more important distractions like card shows.  I skipped out on the card show this weekend, looked over the pile of boxes and pulled this box off the top of the heap.

When I got these bins home, I wasn't too keen on a keeping a 1990 Bowman set.

But when I opened it, 1990 Bowman was no where to be seen! Yep that's right it was full of 1979 Topps BK Yankees.

There were probably a couple hundred BK cards in here.

And there are O Pee Chee cards too!  My first 1978 and 1981 O Pee Chee cards!

I actually opened this box up long ago, then set it aside and forgot about it.  I had only checked the BK cards, so the O Pee Chee cards are a nice bonus.  Unfortunately the sets are not complete so I've got more projects on the horizon.  But there is one project I no longer have to worry about thanks to Bo, of Baseball Cards Come to Life! fame.

Bo sent these last two needs to complete my 1979 Burger King Yankees set.

If you're a fan of these odd small sets like I am, then you'll also enjoy looking for variations.

The BK Ron Guidry should look familiar because the same photo was used in the Topps regular issue for Guidry's record breaker card.  His card from the base set is the middle card.

Tommy John's BK card also varies from the regular issue.  Tommy John was a free agent and signed by the Yankees in Nov of 1978.  Apparently Topps already had the printing presses for the 1979 set running by then.

El Tiante was also a free agent and signed by the Yankees in Nov 1978.

Juan Beniquez was traded by the Rangers to the Yankees in Nov 1978 in a multi-player swap.

If you want to read more on the Beniquez or El Tiante cards, I found that The Shlabotnik Report did a write up of these two a long, long, long time ago.

And if you're interested in a partial 1979 Topps Burger King set, I have a few available for trade, perhaps for some O Pee Chee?