John Ryan Murphy finally gets it right

John Ryan Murphy apparently doesn’t like to be called JR.

I’m not sure who started the nickname for the New York Yankees backup catcher, but I noticed this season he’s constantly been referred to as John Ryan. When I asked about it, I was simply told he didn’t like it.

That kind of sucks since nearly all of his baseball cards refer to him as JR.

His first cards appear in 2009 in Donruss Elite Edition. His first Bowman cards are from 2010. They all say J.R. Murphy, and even his autograph looks like it's written as JR.

Why didn’t he tell anyone with the card companies that he wanted John Ryan instead of JR when he signed the cards? He still had cards coming in 2011 Topps Pro Debut and 2013 Topps Heritage Minors, which still list his name as JR. Even 2014 Bowman has it that way.

It wasn’t until 2014 Topps Archives came along that his name is finally the way he wants it with John Ryan Murphy completely written out for the baseball card world.

Inspiration from more than 100 years ago

We all go through ups and downs when it comes to collecting. One week, you’re buying every blaster at Target and the next you’re throwing your base cards in the fireplace.

Right now, I’m on a down swing. I haven’t gone as far as starting a fire yet, but I don’t feel a pull toward the card shop lately.

HOWEVER … Yes, there is an exception.

I fell in love with two inserts this year.

The first came in Gypsy Queen. The N174 are beautiful. It doesn’t matter the player, these cards look fantastic. The origin of these cards took a bit of research. They’re associated with the Gypsy Queen cigarette brand.

Goodwin Co., a New York-based tobacco brand, released a number of cards and photos in the late 19^th century. They featured actresses, flowers, dogs of the world, and baseball players. But this specific issue of photos highlighted prizefighters, according to The American Card Catalog, and are extremely tough to find in any condition.

These are several versions of the N174 cards, which have been used in previous GQ releases such as the image below. I did find a checklist listed on this site, but not sure how accurate it is. I think there are still new cards that are added to the checklist every couple of years.

These vintage inspirations always get me.

The other card that I love is the 2014 Topps Archives Deckle Edge, inspired by the 1969 cards. Again, the vintage look and feel makes this one a must have for me. Although, I don’t have any of the newer cards on hand, I do believe the 2014 Archives card is a mini.