The 1986 Topps set is a 'tweener as far as 1980s baseball cards go. Nestled between two seasons, 1985 and 1987, that brought collectors some of the decade's most pursued rookie cards, the biggest and ...

As part of our Memorabilia and Collecting week, we reached out to Brad Balukjian, author of The Wax Pack. He graciously allowed us to run two excerpts of the freshly-minted L.A. Times best-seller. The ...

Brad Balukjian’s concept for his first book — tear open a pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards, chomp the ancient pink rectangle of gum-ish substance, then hit the road to unwrap the post-baseball lives ...

NEW YORK — Brad Balukjian tore open a pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards, chewed the stale, brittle bubblegum and then planned a road trip most sports fans could only dream about. The college biology ...

I still can see myself shuffling through a pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards while breaking my baby teeth on the stick of gum. Moose Haas. Jerry Don Gleaton. Cesar Geronimo. Bob Knepper. Didn’t know ...

Brad Balukjian was sitting in the upper deck at an Oakland A’s game a few years ago, when a mixture of adventure and nostalgia sent him down an unexpected path. He ordered a pack of 1986 Topps ...

Three years earlier, collectors were ready to give up on the fledgling baseball card producer out of Memphis, Tennessee. In 1986, however, Donruss was on top of the baseball card world. Had the ...