It's taken me a while to accept it, but I've decided there's no use beating around the bush anymore: there are just some things that I'll never truly be able to experience, no matter how many hours I spend outfitting my Delorean with time-traveling capabilities.
One such event was a certain brainstorm at Donruss HQ. You know the one I'm talking about. The one where they decided that the time was finally right to take the Glamor Shots phenomenon out of the malls and share it with an audience as yet unaware of its glory. And hell, the hobby was practically a perfect storm; no one would have noticed had it flopped.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm talking about the day Donruss sprung Studio on the world. And despite the fact that you may be able to take Glamor Shots out of the mall, no matter how you dress them up, you can't take 'the mall' out of Glamor Shots. And yet, this set was a hit. Because really, how could it not be? First of all, we're talking about 1991 here. If it was an air of quality that you were trying to exude, black and white photography set against a cross-hatched resume paper backdrop was de rigueur.
A limited checklist helps too. As does a metallic ink border (red copper, anyone?). Oh, and don't forget slapping big-time rookies right into the set instead of quarantining them as inserts. Who can forget Sammy Sosa's hair soufflé (even if they've spent the last 17 years trying)? One more thing helps distance this set from the rest: no inserts. And no bullshit.
Alright, a little bullshit. But in a good, Steve Lake-with-a-cockatoo-on-his-goddamn-shoulder senior superlatives way. That was what this set was known for; it was what separated it from the pack. Nothing wrong with that. Don't try to be more than you are, I say. Never mind that this was the first real, honest to God set that didn't use one color photo in 31 years (1960 Leaf had been the last). And while the return of black and white was somewhat of an accomplishment, the real hero here is the evolution of photographic equipment since 1960. Instead of a set of deer-in-the-headlights major leaguers, Studio could have been stray photos from a hairdresser's idea book: fades, mullets, crewcuts, feathered, layered; practically every style was represented.
It's too bad this set didn't exist in the late Seventies. Professionally-shot Avedon-esque portraits of guys like Oscar Gamble and Sammy Stewart. Can you imagine how great a set like that would be? I guess the closest set to Studio were the SSPC sets from 1975 and 1976, though the photos were taken at the ballpark. What can I say? I'm greedy. And disappointed that I'll never know what Willie Montanez's favorite TV show was.
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- 1990 - 1994 Countdown: #7. 1994 Score
- White lined sphinx video
- Altered photos
- Porch record for sphinx moths
- New sightings on the porch
- How Much Is My Card Worth?
- 1990 - 1994 Countdown: #8. 1990 Donruss
- Link of the Day
- Beach walls
- Punk Baseball Cards!
- Glacier Country
- Baseball Card Game: Casting Agent
- 1990 - 1994 Countdown: #9. 1992 Topps
- A few last odds and ends
- Desert mysteries
- Jonquil Jog 5k
- Generosity, Non-Violence & Non-Cooperation
- Gorilla Round Up
- Playlist - 26th April 2008 - Baked Goods
- ET's eat cheeseweed?
- More mantids hatching
- Beleaguered in Bombay
- Desert bees and wasps
- Kakapos: Pictures of Chicks
- Examiner.com & Some Other New Stuff
- Illuminated
- More from the desert
- Lizards from our desert trip
- Three Gorges Dam - 3D model for Google Earth
- eBay sues Craigslist... no really
- Drawing for a children's playroom
- $720 for 720 Mountain Gorillas - Update
- Mantis Hatch
- BREAKING NEWS: Mantids Hatching Now
- Komodo Dragon bites like a pussy cat
- Melbourne Art Festival
- Mantis Monday for 4-21-08
- Aphids and syrphid flies
- Desert isopod
- Nalgene Bottles, Bisphenol A and REI
- Thomas B Hildebrandt clarifies Northern White Rhin...
- Siberia Valley
- Home With Maya - 2 Weeks In
- TV: Silverback Titus to star in PBS Nature specia...
- Not one...not two....
- Desert walking stick
- Playlist - 19th April 2008
- Vanishing Land
- Two more Kakapo chicks! We're at 92 Kakapos!
- Cloning of Northern White Rhino seen as last hope ...
- Some beetles from last week
- Beach Dock
- Review of 'The Last Real Season' by Mike Shropshire
- More desert mantids
- Gravel-hoppers
- 1990 - 1994 Countdown: #10. 1991 OPC Premier
- I was on the longest streak. The streak was shooti...
- The dreaded bottle
- Florida Tree
- Steve on Resonance FM
- Name that monster
- Balloon buddy
- 1990 - 1994 Countdown: #11. 1991 Studio
- Playlist - 12th April 2008 - Funkology
- Seamour comic 59
- Dialogue
- 1990 - 1994 Countdown: #12. 1992 Pinnacle
- Bunjeeee!
- Life
- Streetlife
- Some Thoughts on Card Trade
- Lake Morton
- Desert greetings
- 1990 - 1994 Countdown: #20. 1992 Topps Kids
- Maya's Birthday Box o' Beer
- An illustration for Oskar
- An American Scene
- Maya's First Night at Home
- Jumping Spider
- Blue pollen
- Playlist - 5th April 2008
- Maya's First Day Home
- The grass tree
- Twizel
- Funnel Web Fright
- A Morning at Elephant Junction
- A Baby Story...
- cuckoo-o-tron
- 24 hours in...
- Walk
- Who is Maya Named For?
- Introducing... Maya Simone Saxe!
- 1990 - 1994 Countdown: #13. 1994 Fleer
- Dub Review - April 2008
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