Cal Ripken, Jr., 1994 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #240

This has long been one of my favorite Cal Ripken, Jr. cards, and finally the truth behind the photo is known. ESPN.com's Jim Caple featured the card in an entertaining article about "The Weird, the Bad, and the Ugly" of baseball cards. He went straight to the source, and Cal explained that it was general manager Roland Hemond's phone, and that even in 1993 it was comically oversized. The Iron Man picked up the phone mockingly, and Upper Deck's photographer was in the right place at the right time. A few other great O's cards made the cut, though Caple has no further details on them. But I'd recommend giving it a read. You'll also get some insight into other collector favorites, like Lowell Palmer's sunglasses and Orel Hershiser's chunk of sod. What more could you want?