... Joe Bonsall R.I.P. ...

 

   Life's Soundtrack ... 

   There are 5 Musical Groups / Artists who I can be linked to under the "Superfan" banner.

1. ZZ Top

2. Elton John

3. Def Leppard

4. The Oak Ridge Boys

5. Ronnie Milsap

   ZZ Top and their mystical vids. Bought an Elton John album at age 5. Def Leppard adding power to 1988. The Oak Ridge Boys and their chart dominance beginning the Summer we moved to South Carolina. Ronnie Milsap whose chart run began around the time the Lil' LanceR here started turning up the radio. Great music, talented. So much talent. I was so fortunate to be in a household in which all music was listened to. Hee Haw, Lawrence Welk, Gospel on the radio. The Midnight Special and Soul Train. So lucky was I. 

  

  Joe Bonsall, the incredibly gifted Tenor of The Oak Ridge Boys and lead singer on many of the groups biggest hits passed away due to ALS recently. A disease that can only be described as horrific. Known by most as Lou Gehrig's Disease. As a longtime Oaks fan I knew when Bonsall removed himself from touring in early 2024 that something was seriously wrong. Joe was the Energizer Bunny of the Oaks. 

   The Oaks Country Chart Hit career spanned roughly 1977 - early 1991. My age 7 - 21 years. I basically grew up during their peak. What a peak it was. 

      63 Singles

      17 Number One hits

Inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2010

Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015

 Help me wiki link: The Mighty Oaks  😇

               A solid resume I'd say. 

Love all their work. But I'll take a crack at narrowing it down to 8 favorites.

8. "Elvira". Ahh, novelty song. Love it. Sterban crushes it.

7. "Up On Cripple Creek". Cover of The Band's standard.

6. "Everyday". Mid 80's upbeat - uplifter.

5. "Little Things". From the underrated "Step on Out" LP.

4. "Y'all Come Back Saloon". First Top 10 hit in 1977.

3. "Touch a Hand, Make a Friend". The Staple Singers original version from the 70's is a classic. The Oaks harmonies with the guitar and synth sounds add an up-beat and when Joe Bonsall's Tenor takes over. Wow. Country magic.

    My 2 Favorites are on a different level for me.

2. "I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes". Songwriter Randy VanWarmer. Who penned the song following the death of his father. It is a melancholy tune. The lyrics can hit hard. The past is gone for good. Like waves breaking, they aren't coming back. 

"You try and hold on to the moment but time won't let you stay
But for every step you take you lose something on the way
You can't look forward to tomorrow and still hold on to yesterday
Oh I hope that you can hear me when I'm saying"

   The Oaks, with Bonsall's Tenor leading, took this to #1 in May 1984. VanWarmers lyrics cannot be complimented enough. His version, available on his album "Beat of Love" is powerful as well. If there's a definitive Joe Bonsall lead on an Oak Ridge Boys tune, this is it in my opinion. The Boys did great work on this song. 

1. "I Wish You Could Have Turned My Head (And Left My Heart Alone). Written by Sonny Throckmorton who also released it as a single that ddn't crack the the Top 40. Also recorded by the legend Conway Twitty. Summer of 1982. Fun Summer. This hit #2 on the charts. William Lee Golden and Duane Allen play dueling lead vocals. Sterban's Bass enters the fray then Bonsall's "yeah-yeah-yeah.." and then a horn section!! I so love this song. It's short verse wise but still clocks in at 3:25 of pure musical heaven to my ears. Far and away the best version of this tune.

   A part of my past passed on with Joe Bonsall's passing. A case of someone, or a group, affecting ones life though they may never know it. The Oak Ridge Boys music was always around for me. And I can still listen to the Oaks belting the tunes out anytime I wish. Proud to be a fan 🤙

                  Thanks for the music and memories ... 

Act Minus One ... Rack Packs ... Kmart ... Rickey Henderson ...

 

  

      

... #4 ... 

Rickey Henderson

Talk about falling into my lap ... But first ... 

   Trips to Northwoods Mall and Kmart(or your favorite mall/store) back in the day were actually big deals. Likely never to be understood by younger generations.  We had a great Kmart. Mego, Star Wars, Remco, G.I.Joe, Big Jim etc. action figures were always stocked. Spring of 1980 something else caught my eye in the Hot Wheels aisle. Topps Baseball Cards. Not in wax packs, but rather in Rack Packs. Example pic, not mine:

  Those and the Topps 5x7 Supers took up a small area. Snagged quite a few rack packs that Spring. I had just started following MLB in late 79 so I loved getting cards of guys like Schmidt, Garvey, Brett, Lance Parrish, Rice etc. Racked up, no pun intended, nearly all the stars except for 3 notable misses. Dave Winfield. Nolan Ryan. And the man with the best rookie card in 1980: Rickey Henderson. Though in 1980 I had no clue what a rookie card was, and Rickey was playing at the time for a sorry team in Oakland that I had never seen play  😂.  Plus, this is 1980. Pre card collecting, but into the comic books pretty good. A Collecting Act Minus One I suppose 😉. 

   Rickey Henderson may very well be the best MLB player of the last 45 years. Depending on how people view Barry Bonds among positional players and Roger Clemens among pitchers.  Among all time rankings he solidly places in the Top 25 all time when including pitchers. Top 20 if sticking with positional players. As a young fan I became very aware of him by the 1982 season. Helped in part by our area finally getting cable tv in June 1982  😇

    

Intermezzo

  Meanwhile, 40 years ago this month  

    ...   okay ... Nice look Jax ... But stay focused ...  😂😂

  By 1985 I was fully aboard the Henderson train. Don Mattingly had a huge 1985. Crazy stats across the board. Won the 1985 AL MVP. A solid choice with some dissenting views. Rickey's 1st season for the Yanks as Don's teammate was 1985. Rickey played a large part in Mattingly winning the MVP.  Rickey would have been a solid choice as well. It was the perfect marriage so to speak.  Finally snagged a Rickey Rookie in May 1987. Though it was only with me for three years before I sold it 😖

What, it happens 😏

  Rickey was a bit ... mercurial during his nearly four and half seasons in the Bronx. Things got a little tense near the end of his Yankee run in June '89. Yankees were a tire fire at that point. Rickey was shipped back to Oakland for three players who provided little to the Yankees. Rickey back home in Oakland however, was Great Rickey again.  ALCS MVP award in 1989.  AL MVP in 1990. Career Stolen Base MLB record in 1991. A Career Stolen Base World Record in 1993. Stacking hardware.

             The Hired Gun ... 

   In 1993 A quick stopover in Toronto didn't produce much for the two months of regular season work. An injury nick here/there.  Nothing eye popping in the 93 ALCS or World Series but his contributions did help Toronto win a second consecutive World Series. Rickey's second ring as well. 

  Back to Oakland ... then San Diego ... then Anaheim ... Oakland again ... Mets ... Seattle ... San Diego again ... Boston ... Dodgers. With the Dodgers being the final stop. Rickey bounced around a bit. I wanted him back with the Yanks at various times from 96-00 but alas ...  

  

   His great years in the rearview mirror, Rickey did play long enough to become the All Time Runs Scored leader and get the 3000 hit plateau. A first ballot Hall Of Fame induction in 2009 with 94.8% of the vote. Along with the unofficial title of Greatest Leadoff Hitter of All Time. A legendary career. Though he's not everybody's cup of tea. 

   By complete accident. I got a real good deal on the Rickey Rookie pictured a few paragraphs above. 

   Rickey with the Red Sox ... what the ...  😂

    Glad to have Rickey in the AcesN8s here. Helps the credibility of the collection having that level of legendary player in house. Inner Circle Hall of Famer and a true great.

   Links ...  

Rickey's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Career Stats

A few Rickey's

  

         

          Later ...  Always remember. Have fun. Be unique and eclectic

            

  

Johnny & Janie will send us out ...  😎

 

... CFL Card Spotlight ...

                                        Damon Allen

    1986 JOGO CFL. Damon Allen Rookie Card. A print run of 700. PSA has graded 5 Allen's, none higher than PSA 8. I would not be confident enough to say there will never be one graded higher than PSA 8. The chances of a PSA 10 manifesting itself however after nearly 40 years from release date with a low print run are pretty low. But not zero. I do like black bordered cards. Though every flaw seems magnified. The card itself is very basic. Even for 1986, it's bare-bones. We're talking no bells, whistles or frills. But I like it. As for availability upon release, tough. Complete sets only for JOGO in that era. And only 700 total sets. Card stock was slightly thinner than Topps or O-Pee-Chee at the time.  Many of the cards were offered to CFL players first. So who really knows how many of these are in the wild.   

  The player himself, Damon Allen, was outstanding. His brother carved out a decent career also.

  That's serious talent. Marcus could do it all. Mr. Davis may, who knows, have went a little too Machiavellian during Marcus' last few years as a Raider. But in a way it may have extended Marcus' career. Far be it for me to question someone elses Machiavellian reasoning and tendencies 😂. Though not maximizing the talents of Marcus from 1987 - 1992 was a huge mistake.

  Damon, inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 2012,  is arguably the Greatest QB in CFL history. Taking everything into account, I think he is. His Rookie Card is easily one of my favorite pickups. While not a hot or in heavy demand card, it's still a very significant card. And it deserves recognition. 

   Damon, and older brother Marcus are both class guys. Good men. With some staggering stats.

     Damon Allen stats

     

     Marcus Allen stats

          Later ...

June typically delivers. For better or worse.

         

     I believe we're starting off with a flashback ...  To the mic ...

   "Indeed...A quick shout out to one of the all time great masked wrestlers in pro wrestling history. The great Don Jardine. The Spoiler & Super Destroyer himself."

       He came off legit and credible. Protected his gimmick very well. Spoke his mind. Knew it was business. Only saw Jardine, as The Spoiler, briefly. In GCW from January 1984 - Black Saturday July 1984. To the WWF in August 1984 - November 1985. Mostly house shows / TV squashes.  A short run in World Class in 1987, where he taught the future Undertaker a thing or two, wound up the career. Masked Superstar remains my favorite masked wrestler. The Spoiler is a strong second. 👍

       

       Music break ... 

"The Greatest Show on turf"

                                

           Reverend Ike ... 

       The Greatest Show on Turf. The Rams from 99-01. Maybe 99-03. Talent on offense was overflowing. Warner, Faulk, Holt. And another WR. Isaac Bruce. Isaac Bruce was a near perfect WR for the Vermeil/Martz Rams teams.  He worked hard to make himself into a great player. His route-running was sharp, precise. Near, in my opinion, the level of Jerry Rice's route-running. Great hands. Sudden off the line, sudden on cuts. Send him in motion and get isolation on LB'S or Safety's and he would make the defense pay.  

                        His Career Numbers

          1024 Receptions    15,208 Yards    91 Touchdowns

    

  More importantly, the man himself. All class. On and off the field and post retirement.

Becoming the first Memphis Tiger elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.

                        His 1994 Bowman Rookie Card. Great look. 

   Has some great looking Ultra issues

Various Ike's

Off into the wild till later ... 

Jim Cornette's Collecting ... Munchos are great but $2.99? ...

 

                Love Munchos but c'mon, lets get more in the bag. 

                          Having said that I would still be open to Munchos sponsorship 😁

                 The Louisville Slugger ... 

    Jim Cornette. Wrestling Manager, Booker, Promoter, ran his own territory, pro wrestling historian. To say the man loves the business is an understatement. A brilliant mind for the business. Willing to drop a F-Bomb when called for. Big into pop culture also. Comic books, trading cards, posters.

            "So, collector like us but with more knowledge and money"

                       Not really the point ... but ... yeah

    Alright back on topic. Vice TV can put on some pretty good programming as it relates to Rasslin'. They do good work. The Vault at Cornette's Castle during one of the episodes really stood out. 

   

    Not the greatest pic as I juggle three tasks at once here but you can get the gist of what we're talking about. The sloped V ceiling with event posters. Shelves lined with memorabilia. A random floor fan. White longboxes with programs, magazines and comics. 
 

                Intermission. Cue the Sax ...

       Now that's a great alternate mix. What a talented foursome  😎 😍

Levi Stubbs. Helluva voice though. Alright, jumping back in

      From complete sets of programs over the years from territories such as Paul Boesch's legendary Houston promotion to Georgia Championship Wrestling and programs owned by the great Gordon Solie. Jim's collection is stout. Impressive. When discussing his collection, be it on tv or his podcast, it's quite easy to recognize the pride he has with what has been accumulated over the years. 

    He also understands from a practical point of view it's simply impossible to accumulate it all. It can't be done. What you can do, however, is pick up a program from say Los Angeles when pro wrestling was at the Olympic Auditorium. An autographed event poster from Don Owens' Pacific Northwest territory. You can get a piece, or two or three pieces, from every old territory. 

   I can appreciate that strategy. I employ it with sportscards. As much as I would like to have every 1999 Topps Finest Die Cut Gold Refractor of every player in my collection. It's not feasible. So, you pick and choose...

      No Trevor is not for sale. 😁

        Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, yeah I borrow heavily from Jim Cornette. The occasional full set of something, or a piece of this, that or the other.

                   It creates a uniqueness.    

       Link to Cornettes YouTube channel

Cornette

    Till later ... 

Shenanigans ... An Honorable Mention ...

       "Wonder how many folks remember The Book Exchange and Book Bag at Evanston Plaza on Dorchester Rd. Circa 1977-80? Peruse the old comic books at the Exchange, grab a Wrestling Mag at Book Bag. Cool, innocent times."

                     Can't beat living in the good ol' USA 😎

 Indeed. 1977 & 1978 were in particular quite fun. I'll revisit The Book Exchange and it's underrated brilliance in the future. 

         

                         Scott Stevens

     In late 2012 when I made the calculated decision to take up an old hobby. I knew I needed a Hall of Famer in one of the Big 4 sports to focus on for a PSA Registry.  Being under something resembling, though obviously smaller scale, the SMU Probation/Death Penalty days, within the budget. 😂. Learning experience, trust me  😆 Never try to be Robin Hood.

    NHL Hall of Famers is where I gave a eye to. Chris Chelios, Patrick Roy, Pat LaFontaine, Dale Hawerchuk and Luc Robitaille intrigued me. But didn't excite me. Just a couple years removed from my buy and flip experience knowing I had bought and sold all the rookies of those greats. Too much been there, deja vu etc. 

    One player not on my list of five was Scott Stevens. The Caps - Blues - Devils great. No Registry sets of Stevens existed. I could ground floor it. That did interest me. So did the player.

    Scott was the quintessential if he's on your team you love him player. If he ain't, you may heavily dislike him at best, rage hate him at worst 😂  My boys, the Habs, didn't meet up with any of the Stevens led teams in money(playoffs) games all that often. Devils killed Montreal in the '97 Playoffs is one example I recall. But Stevens himself, well, the highlights are out there. A serious presence during The Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

    Easy call. The chance for a Registry start up 😁 and I loved the way Stevens played. He played to win. He could be ruthless.

 

        His Registry Sets, my creation.

Stevens Basic

Stevens Master

Stevens Basic & Collectors

Stevens Basic OPC

Stevens Master OPC

Stevens Basic Topps

Stevens Master Topps

            Scott Stevens was added to my collection in February 2013

As an all time great, these needed creating.  My adds to the sets have slowed. Tweaked my collecting doctrine a tiny bit since 2018. I'll deep dive again eventually. 

Stevens PSA

                       

                     Till later

     

              

             

... Days of Cheerwine, Doritos and.... Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling?

     

       June 18....Memory trigger! 😁

On this date in 1977, on Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling

     Taped June 15, broadcast June 18. The vid is clipped, sadly. In our area that was 11:15 Saturday Nights. Our first couple of years after moving from N.C. to the lowcountry the shifts my Dad worked at the old Standard Warehouse always allowed us to watch that program every Saturday night. The Cheerwine, Mr.Pibb and Sun Drop flowed like a river 😂.

         Not sponsored by Mr.Pibb. But, we're open to the idea.

     "Bro it's called Pibb Xtra these days..."

Alright back on topic.

       The complete card for that MACW episode:

Dino Bravo & Tiger Conway Jr. defeated The Hollywood Blondes

Masked Superstar defeated Big Bill Dromo

Steamboat defeated Flair, wins the TV Title

Jerry Blackwell & Kim Duk defeated Frankie Lane & Sonny Rogers

Rick McGraw got a DQ win over Greg Valentine

      Historical episode, with Steamboat getting his first MACW singles title. The good old days, and those memories are cherished. 

        Regularly scheduled programming returns with the next installment. Scott Stevens, Reverend Ike, Rickey Henderson and more!

      Boz leads us out...

  

   No dancing with the Super Heroes man c'mon. Rules.

                                                     😁

        

... Random Stuff... Because I like random stuff ... And #5 ...

 

"Randomness and chaos make Lance's world a little more balanced"

   First up, endorsement time. Mega Pawn in North Charleston S.C. Family owned and operated. Solid, good, honest, hard working folks with integrity. In business for years. Link below pic.

Mega Pawn

     Hop in, to 1990 we go....

               Frank Thomas ... #5

    "Ahh 1990...Sunshine...No Bills...No worries..."

    

          Big Frank. The Big Hurt. 1990. Intriguing year personally. "We learnt a few things".  Card collecting by the Summer of '90 featured three prospects everyone wanted. Frank Thomas, David Justice, Kevin Maas. Frank I had been aware of for a couple of years, same for Justice. Maas was a touch older, wasn't as highly thought of. One card maker, after a year of producing no cards, Leaf, was back. With a great design, a rolodex of stars and prospects, and an overall premium product. It was better than Upper Decks original 1989 offering. A beautiful set:

      I still say Griff and Prime have never had better looking cards than their 90 Leaf examples.  Frank's 90 Leaf rather quickly became the card to have. Had a few in Act I. Have 3 now. 2 ungraded, which are nice. But my favorite of the 3 I have is a PSA 5 (Yeah I know 😂) that I plucked off eBay:

    

   It is a gorgeous PSA 5. For longtime 1990 Leaf collectors, you can guess what the issue is on the reverse of the card that drops it from a 10 to a 5  😏  Beautiful display card, is it not 😍          

    

  Frank would go on to a Hall of Fame career. From his call-up in August 1990 through the 1997 season he was the best hitter I've ever seen play. Seven and a half seasons of pure offensive excellence.

Stats link:

     

The Big Hurt

  Frank would have one more "Vintage Frank" season in 2000:

           .328BA .436OB .625SLG  43HR 143RBI  115R 

  Bonkers stats.

  Injuries, off field interests and age related decline brought an end to Frank's historic seasons and stats.  Though he did fashion a couple of really good slugger-esque, gonna pull the ball more,  seasons in Oakland and Toronto. My guess is Frank knew the best way he could be productive as a DH at that point for Oakland and Toronto was less walks, willing to swing at pitches out of his zone more, and he certainly became more of a pull hitter. There's an argument to be made that Thomas was deserving of the 2006 AL MVP (he placed 3rd). In some ways he had two careers. The best Right Handed batter I've seen play, Frank was a generational player. 

    Frank found his way into my current collection in October 2014. 

A few Frank cards link:

    Frank Thomas

          

          Intermezzo

Here's Faith No More with their Top 10 hit, Epic, from the Summer of '90

         

 Not sponsored by Jack Daniels. But we're open to the idea. 😎

           Till later.....

   

#6

...Still need a DaLancRo private jet and Board of Directors...

     And personal endorsement time

Karen Simmons Lee Real Estate Agent

Honesty and integrity are very important in the real estate world. You'll be hard pressed to find one with more than Karen 

   

   ..."I think they were the Rainbows in 1985"...

     My card collecting of 2024 bears little resemblance to what I was doing from 1983 - 2000. Also known as Act 1. There's no obvious leader of the pack. For Act 1 that started with Steve Garvey, then Lance Parrish and finally Don Mattingly occupied the lead dog role from 1987 - 2000. Short lived flippin' and sellin' Act II 2008 - 2011 is best forgotten. Act III, 2012 - present, is more of a committee. Though I do have six players from four of the major sports (NFL,NHL,NBA,MLB) who stick out from the other 54. 

  Here is number six.... 

  Roberto Alomar is one of the great baseball talents of the last 50 years. A legitimate 5 Tool player. Cerebral, smooth. Calm & cool. Clutch.

   Roberto hit the majors and stuck for good at age 20 just after the start of the 1988 season. Roughly three years after seeing him play locally in the minors here. Back to 1988, the year I graduated high school. So we're both solidly AARP eligible  😂 . He debuted in late April. Robbie was a guy who had "it", from the get. Born into the sport with his father Sandy Sr. a former MLB'er and brother Sandy Jr. a year or so away from the majors himself. It wasn't wrong think to see a big future for Robbie. Though it took a couple years to get there. 

   Had a few Alomar cards back in Act I. Nothing major. He wasn't a huge focus here. By 1992, his true breakout season, in my collecting world he was behind Ryne Sandberg and Craig Biggio. A solid #3.  I had high hopes for Carlos Baerga. Chuck Knoblauch was on the scene. Two prospects, Ray Durham and Michael Tucker, showed promise as well. Damion Easley was on the radar also. A numbers game, monetarily and card wise. The Alomar items I had were sold prior to the 1993 season.

  What can I say, collecting is an inexact science. I did what Alomar rarely did on the field. I made an error. His years in Toronto were legendary. Helping the Blue Jays win the World Series back to back in 92 & 93. During the 1992 - 1995 seasons he was in the discussion, the short list,  as the best all around player in the majors. 

      Intermission....

Here's Aerosmith with an absolute monstrous performance  of Dream On....

     

 1996...

   Robbie signed with the Orioles as a free agent following the 1995 season.  Still only 28. He would put up two elite seasons in 96 & 97 with the O's. Which included two ALCS appearances. Overshadowing everything else during his 3 seasons in Baltimore was the spitting incident in September 1996 involving umpire John Hirschbeck. A reprehensible act for which no excuses or explanations can be made. It's something that will follow Alomar forever. It may have cost him first ballot induction into the Hall of Fame. There's nothing more one can say about it. I do however have beef with anyone who brings the spitting incident up without going into the follow up. Both Alomar and Hirschbeck put the nasty incident to bed. Amazingly becoming closer over the years. That story is out there also. 

  Monster years in Cleveland...

    As an Indian for the 1999 - 2001 seasons, Robbie again was on playoff teams. In 1999 and 2001 he would post elite offensive numbers.

1999: .323 BA, .422 OBP, .533 SLG 138 Runs, 24 HR, 120 RBI, MVP Vote: #3

2001: .336 BA, .415 OBP, .544 SLG, 113 Runs, 20 HR, 100 RBI, MVP Vote: #4

             Those are insane numbers for a middle infielder in any era.

 He bounced around from 2002 - on. Never putting up numbers like those above before calling it a career after the 2004 season at age 36. 

   Career numbers:

Roberto Alomar

A 2nd ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 2011.  

Added to the collection in December 2013. Chosen over Ryne Sandberg, Craig Biggio and Barry Larkin.

I believe he is the best Second Baseman since Joe Morgan. Solidly among the best 7 or 8 2B's in MLB History. One of the Top 100 players in history. A true great. 

Robbie B&C

Robbie Basic

  

   

 Not sponsored by Colt 45. But we're open to the idea. 😎😁

Till later...