1979 Stickball Champ

I thought about this particular card quite some time ago but held off due to a personal technicality.  I like to create cards of different pop culture type things that Topps or the other card brands didn't make cards for back-in-the-day.  Technically Topps did have a couple of cards of Sly playing stickball with the neighborhood kids in their 1979 Rocky II card set.

I really got an itch to make this card so I reasoned with myself that Topps' card is a movie scene card and mine would be specifically a stickball card, almost like Rocky was in a stickball league or something.  That was enough convincing for me and I figured there is room for both my card and card number #3 and #4 from Topps' Rocky II set.

Most of the design for this card is pretty self explanatory.  I used the 1979 Topps baseball inspired template and the colors that went with the Phillies' player's cards that year.  I replaced the baseball illustration with that of a stickball ball and retro'd the older Topps logo with PCb. mock up.

By Request

The following couple of cards were suggested by two followers to the Phantom Cardboard Instagram account.

The first is Nacho from Nacho Libre.  This was pretty straight forward.  Find a cool photo and plug it into the 1985 Topps WWF set I've been using for fictional movie wrestlers.  I'm a fan of Jack Black and I thought Nacho Libre was decently funny.

It was asked if I've ever done cards from the 1979 movie Breaking Away.  The answer at the time was no as I'd never even seen the movie.  That was rectified in short time with another follower to the page hooking me with with his extra copy of the movie on VHS.

This card is done in the style of the 1979 Topps baseball set. I opted to freestyle a team card rather than make a card four each of the four Cutters.  The movie was released in 1979 with the Little 500 race set in 1978.  I know that from seeing a promotional picture of the Dave Stoller character holding a trophy with the year engraved on it.

Waarrrriorrssss ...

I don't remember at exactly what age I first saw The Warriors, but I do know that I knew instantly that it was the type of movie I dug.  I'm definitely a 'cult classic' movie guy.

These cards were some of the earlier customs I did.  I was telling a guy I worked with about my custom cards that I'd started making and he suggested doing one of the Baseball Furies, and it was kind of a "duh" moment.  Of course that would make a kick ass baseball card.  They're done in the style of the 1979 Topps to coincide with the movie's release.  It was a good template for me to recreate at the time because it was not all that complicated.

I was super excited to get Mr. Hewitt's card back in short time.  But, why stop at the Furies?  Here's a look at my other through the mail successes from this set so far.

I actually got a chance to meet James Remar at the 2017 Motor City Comic-Con.  He was really kind to me and even threw in an additional signed "Ajax" picture because he liked my card.

Thomas G. Waites has an acting school in New York and is super kind and appreciative of his fan.

For director Walter Hill's card I used the movie's poster.  I've expressed my affection for vintage poster art in previous posts and The Warriors movie poster is right up there with the best for me.

This is what I got back from Terry Michos -- who is now a newscaster in Wappingers Falls, New York.  Now I'm not really one to try and put someone "on blast", but I just found this to be pretty lame.  So, he can completely fill up a Post-It with his fee schedule but can't simply sign his name to a card for my personal collection even when supplied the Sharpie, a self-addressed stamped envelope and a free card for himself?  Not to mention he wants ...$40?  The Warriors is really the only acting role of note for Mr. Michos. I think think he could have done better than this for a fan.

Before too long I want to revisit these cards and add more from the movie's other gangs.