The Other Half of a 1992 Topps Frank Thomas

Frank Thomas 1992 Topps #555
Frank Thomas 1992 Topps #555

I found this card in the playground of my elementary school back in 1992. At the time, I had already been collecting baseball cards for 4 years and Frank Thomas for 2. I don’t think I had this card yet though since as I recall it was only shortly after 1992 Topps Baseball was released that I found this fragment sitting outside on the ground by the swing sets and big yellow slide. I was just a kid at the time. I had already acquired a variety of his cards from 1990-1992. I remember knowing that the 1992 Topps Gold card would be the one I’d need to finish the 1992 parallel run. It wasn’t until years later when I’d discover that there are two versions of the Gold parallel, the base Gold and the Gold Winners. Even later on down the line, I’d discover a variety of versions of the 1992 Topps card.

Anyway, there I was in my elementary schoolyard. I found this card and it’s been stored in my doubles box all these years. I couldn’t bring myself to toss it in the trash (which is the obvious next step in its life) because it features my favorite player. So the question becomes, why was this card torn in half? Maybe two kids shared their collections with one another one day and one got jealous because the other had this baseball card and the other didn’t so he grabbed this card and tore it in half. Maybe the kid that had this card was picked on by his peers for his interest in baseball cards so to prove a point, he tore it in half… with remorse immediately following. The bends and creases make me think that this card endured significant hardship prior to being torn in half. Perhaps it was the case that the person who had this also had a much cleaner example that replaced this one so it made sense to deface it. No matter the case, I’ll keep an eye out for the other half.

What’s one card you remember being popular from the 1992 Topps Baseball set?

To see what’s currently on eBay from 1992 Topps, click here.

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