Two non-1/1s off the Gomes wants list—last was in 2022

[LWMM]

Note: If you have an idea of where a 2015 Topps Heritage Lance McCullers blue back might be, please let me know (explained below).

Over the last decade, my Jonny Gomes non-1/1 wants list has been exceptionally short—presently down to 9 or 11 cards, three of which may not even exist. (The discrepancy comes from two post-playing career cards that I only just discovered (https://www.blowoutforums.com/showpost.php?p=19745377&postcount=22).) The last ten years have seen only two substantial pickups: the 2006 Upper Deck Special F/X blue in 2022 (https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1540919), and the 2013 Topps Silver Slate Sparkle Wrapper Redemption 1/10 in 2016 (https://www.freedomcardboard.com/forum/threads/jonny-gomes-collectors-thread.149561/#post-2361662). That left the following list:

2002 Just Prospects Prototypes #JPP.17 (might not exist)
2004 Skybox Autographics Prospects Endorsed Dual Jonny Gomes/Andruw Jones (probably never produced, looking for a redemption card)
2005 Upper Deck Platinum #412 /5
2006 Bowman Originals 2004 Bowman Chrome Refractors /2
2007 Fleer Ultra Autographics (probably doesn't exist)
2014 Topps Acetate #146 /10
2014 Topps Heritage Black Back #135 (WS Game 4)
2014 Topps Heritage Black Back #274
2015 Topps Heritage Blue Back #572
2022 Epoch JRFPA Decomori signature gold #24 /5
2022 Epoch Authentic Autograph black gold #AA-JG /5

With the posting of the 2025 goals thread (https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1601147), I set my #1 goal as to add one of the nine cards from 2002 to 2015; though noting that this would be tough, it became the inspiration to dig into my notes on auctions I missed out on years ago.

Back in 2015, a Topps Heritage collector working on the 2014 black backs and 2015 blue backs had hit the BIN on a Gomes blue back before I saw it. Reaching out to him a decade later, he was up to around 350/500 of the black backs, and an incredible 199/200 of the blue backs from 2015 High Numbers—the missing card is the Lance McCullers rookie, hence the above note. It also turned out that he had the 2014 Gomes black back, which I had never seen. Assuming that the 2015 Gomes was untouchable, I asked if he might be open to parting with the 2014.

In an extraordinary act of generosity, he simply asked for my address, and sent the cards my way—thereby sacrificing his progress to help mine. (He didn't even ask for me to pay for shipping, let alone the cards.) Just like that, two of the last non-1/1s got knocked off my list: about as much progress as over the preceding decade.

Including the two 2022 cards, this takes me to 588/597 (98.5%) of Gomes's non-1/1s; with 1/1s, the numbers are 725/904 (80.2%). I also know the location of one of the remaining non-1/1s—the 2014 acetate /10—which is currently locked up with a team collector.


2014 Topps Heritage Black Back #274

https://www.thepclist.com//images/players/149/f-25312.jpg https://www.thepclist.com//images/players/149/b-25312.jpg

2015 Topps Heritage Blue Back #572

https://www.thepclist.com//images/players/149/f-25514.jpg https://www.thepclist.com//images/players/149/b-25514.jpg

[bbteamw]

That's a great story.

Kudos to that set collector for being a decent human being.

[theplasticman]

Amazing! Congrats on the additions.

[volblorx8634]

Congrats on those additions, I guess you can take a break until next year! But seriously, two of the few missing cards together...as a gift, is incredible. Love to hear of collectors helping other collectors, I feel like you never hear about this sort of thing happening, so it's very refreshing. Kudos to both of you!

[mattglet]

As a player collector, there's not much more satisfying than checking off a box for those cards you've been looking for all this time. Congrats!

[LWMM]

Thanks, guys! Truly above and beyond from the Heritage collector.

volblorx8634, at the pace of pickups I may as well take a break until 2028. Kidding—kind of. The acetate is probably the most likely to show up those remaining (excluding the 2022 cards, for which I'm holding out a decent amount of hope), in no small part because it's an obvious parallel. As discussed here (https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1598837) (starting at post #15), however, it suffers from being part of a widely sold set. Who knows how many of these were pulled by casual fans and put away in a shoebox.