Top 5 St. Louis Cardinals Autographs/Relics

Back in September, I attempted to create a new series of posts here on the blog, but the idea never really came to fruition. I designed the series in order to revive common interest in the relic card, the popularity of which has declined steadily in recent years as the autograph has become far more desired.

However, after writing just a few posts for this series, I soon learned that sticking solely to relic cards would prove to be problematic. Among other issues, I didn't necessarily have 5 relic cards from each MLB team that would be worthy of this kind of post. 

I wanted to reserve the top 5 relic cards post for standouts, not relics that simply blended in. Alas, haven't written one of those posts in over 6 months, and it wasn't until today that I had the idea to revive the series.

In order for these posts to work, I feel obligated to expand the criteria from just relic cards to both relics and autographs. Not only does this give me more options for the list, but the top 5 cards that I eventually come up with will be a lot stronger than if it consisted solely of relic cards.

Albeit, it is a little disappointing that I won't be able to give as much attention to the relic card, but I still plan on including at least 2 of them per list. Today's post, in fact, features 1 relic and 1 autographed relic card in the top 5 as well as an additional relic as the cover card for this post.

To get the ball rolling once again with this newly-revived series, I'm starting today with the St. Louis Cardinals. Featuring a strong balance of different cards, I felt as if the Cardinals would be a nice pre-cursor into what's to come from this series that should include 1 post every 10 or so days.

#5 2005 Fleer Tradition Diamond Tributes Materials Albert Pujols

Today's relic cards from Topps Flagship and Heritage might not hold tremendous value, but there was a time when a bat or jersey card featuring a superstar player was a highly sought after card. An Abert Pujols relic produced today aren't super valuable, quite a departure from the future Hall of Famer's days with the Cardinals.

I've always had a number of these relic cards in my collection thanks to my Dad who purchased a ton of them around the time of Fleer's declared bankruptcy. What I appreciate most about the Diamond Tributes relics is the hand-painted backgrounds, something you rarely see on relic cards or autographs.

#4 2002 Topps 206 Autographs Bud Smith

I honestly don't care that Bud Smith isn't a major name, especially when compared to some of the other players on this list. That being said, it's the design itself that usually piques my interest when it comes to relic cards, not necessarily the player.

Framed relics/autographs is a concept that usually works out, and this card really isn't an exception to this notion. The mini features some beautiful artwork and the designated section for Smith's signature combined with the Topps 206 frame makes this card look like it belongs in a museum. 

#3 2014 Topps Tier One Acclaimed Autographs Lee Smith

Either my Dad or I purchased this card long before Smith was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame via the Veterans Committee, for I remember having this card in my collection for a number of years. 

Even though I prefer seeing Lee Smith as a Cub rather than a Cardinal, this high-end signature is one of the most beautiful autographs that I own. I'm not extremely familiar with the Tier One product, but whoever was behind this card clearly put in a lot of effort to format everything perfectly. 

Like I mentioned earlier, even though I would've preferred a card of Smith on the Cubs, it's pretty difficult to fault this on-card autograph, featuring the Hall of Famer reliever on the St. Louis Cardinals.

#2 2018 Panini Chronicles Rookie Cornerstones Granite Parallel Jack Flaherty

Yet another on-card autograph to make the list, I actually pulled this Jack Flaherty card myself from a pack of 2018 Panini Chronicles at a card show a few months back. If this were any other team, this gorgeous quad relic autograph, featuring 2 patches, would've earned the #1 spot. 

I realize that I've discussed my love for the 2018 Panini Chronicles set before, but that's only because it's an absolutely insane product. In particular, the Cornerstones base cards and autographed relics are absolutely stunning. Needless to say, I'll be cheering on Jack Flaherty for the rest of his career.

#1 2007 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Signatures Bob Gibson

After announcing my plans to attend the 2019 NSCC during yesterday's post, it's very fitting that I chose this card for the #1 spot on my top 5 Cardinals autographs/relic cards post today. After all, this is one of the many cards that I brought back for the 2018 National and one of the biggest bargains of the show as well.

The text doesn't scan all too well, but this card is serial numbered out of just 50 copies. Although the black background makes the text somewhat difficult to read, it's a nice homage to the SP Legendary Cuts base set. 

I'm even willing to look past the fact that this is a sticker autograph; that's how much this card impresses me. Not only that, but it brings back so many memories from last year's National, and that makes me even more ecstatic for what's to come at the end of July this year.