1990 Classic Update - Nolan Knows Bo

Garish
Images
Meant to
Mock the
Industry by
Creating
Kitsch crap.

And boy do these gimmicks work! I remember when this was the hot card that everyone had to have. Gimmicks always work the same way. They start high.

Everyone has to have this new thing. Everyone will pay outrageous prices for these things, so they can have them first. Or they will pay for the privilege of having one of an assumed low quantity. Then, the bottom drops out.

This card has a high price of $2.00 on Beckett right now. People were paying big bucks for this card when it first came out. Now, it's almost commonplace. This is the problem with gimmicks. There's only a small window of opportunity, in which to make your money back. After that, you're stuck.

My card came in a set, so I paid under 10 dollars for this card and 49 others in the set. If I sold every card for Beckett high value, I might make my original investment back. Might. Who am I kidding about investment? I was a kid and this was the most talked about set. I wanted my superstars in pictures that would never make it onto a major card companies cards at the time. Yes, I was suckered in by gimmicks too.

Now gimmicks are everywhere. There's no stopping them. There are computer manipulated cards, "pulled" cards, "leaked" cards, one of one cards, red cards, blue cards. It's maddening! Everything is a gimmick now. There can't be a release without a gimmick. It's pathetic.

I can trace the intentional gimmick card back to this card. There have been others before it and plenty since. This is the first instance in which a gimmick card was featured on a gimmick card. My brain hurts just thinking about that.

I am reminded of the Billy Ripken profanity laced bat knob card. I would classify that as a mistake, not a gimmick. I am also reminded of the Bo Jackson 1987 Classic card, which is the card featured in this Nolan Knows Bo card. I call that more of an opportunity, than a gimmick.

This is the card that started the innocent trend of kitschy cards down the wrong path. It led to a path of mayor's involved in a World Series celebration and deceased star players watching from the dugout. It is not a pretty path. It is dark and treacherous. I will respect the card company with the least amount of gimmicks in any given year.