Gallery Cards Section II Page 4

Gallery - Cards Section II
Page 4, 2005 Prime Patches by Donruss Playoff
When I heard that MLB™ had decided against giving Donruss Playoff a renewed baseball license - I was thunderstruck. This was the second time that the Donruss Brand had been forcibly "taken out" of baseball. And I was then, and continue to be, deeply saddened and angry. DP had continued a wonderful tradition of producing some of the coolest, most collectible, trading cards ever seen in our hobby. I continue to hope that MLB™ will reconsider their decision. I would like to point out (as of 10/14/06) neither Upper Deck or Topps has yet produced any substantive Frank card this year. Why? Because they're no longer challenged by an innovator like Donruss Playoff constantly pushing a competitive edge.

Game Used Bat Knob End #1/1
One of the bigger prizes from the '05 Prime Patches issue. When I saw a bat knob for some other player hit the market earlier this year - I quietly waited for someone to bust this badboy.

Updated 6.30.08: I researched the question about why this seems to show the number '32' in yellow grease paint instead of Frank's more well-known '35'.

Even though I spent the last two years to obtain an example - the link in Page 1 of "You Asked" references the answer. If I can ever obtain one of Frank's gamers using the yellow grease paint - I'll once again update the link to this wonderful card.

'03 All-Star Game Patch/Jersey Prime #05/20
Definitely a "wow" card. Even for a longtime collector like me. <g>

One of only two (2) known authentic '03 All-Star Game Patches from this compelling issue. There are at least two similar fakes (a.k.a. "Swatch Swapping") circulating the hobby. And no surprise - both came from the same seller.

You can see the fakes here.

Please do not email me claiming it's a fake - it insults my experience both as a graphic designer & printer and as a 17-year collector of Big Hurt material.

Jersey Prime Multi-Colored Cut #20/20
Not exactly sure where on the jersey this is from originally. I think it's from the pants belt loops. Also possible that these are socks. Regardless, this is a really neat card.

Image of Frank's Cap Brim
(see next entry)

Prime Jersey Autograph & Hat Brim #07/12
It's about time.

I often wondered when a manufacturer was going to use Frank's cap brim in an insert. And to the best of my knowledge - this card is the very first example to showcase it. (See image next to this entry) Note: This cut is from the "Away Team" Cap/Hat.

For years I've seen things like infield dirt (you read right - dirt), parts of football helmets, even the hoods from race cars being used in trading card inserts. It always seemed like an awful waste not to include the brim in some kind of chase card.

BTW, I used Photoshop to figure out that the autograph element (Jersey Prime) is upside-down. <g>

Update (11/7/06): I recently obtained a companion to the one seen above, another Jersey Prime w/Autograph - only this one was from his Grey/Away Jersey. You can see it here.

Final Note: To see other versions of Frank's hand-numbered cap brim - see the Sporting News Portraits in the Gallery Portraits section. Look carefully and you'll see he does that with all his caps.

UPDATE!!! 10.23.07: I believe I have just located an earlier version of a genuine Frank hat brim cut. Check it out!