Paying Too Much

I'm the last guy who should be weighing in on the current state of the hobby but since when has that stopped me from opening my mouth? I see tweets and read blogs about guys sitting in lines for hours, not for COVID vaccines, but to buy boxes of cards at Target. I'm guessing they are trying to hit it big on shiny stuff. 

I used to buy a pack here and there, baseball and football mostly, just to see what the companies were up to. Then I stopped seeing anything on the shelves. One thing leads to another and card prices are way above where they were just a year or so ago. Where this leaves the hobby, how it affects kids trying to collect...I don't know. I have opinions but as someone who doesn't care about new cards my opinions aren't worth much. 

What does mean something to me is that the 'bubble' has tricked down and elevated the prices on almost everything. Pre-War cards shot up and not long after I noticed the prices of the cards that interest me, mid-50s thru late 70s stuff, followed the upward trend. I saw it in the cost of the 1967 Topps high numbers I am lacking. Run-of-the-mill raw cards in that group went from about $15/$18 to $27/$35, sometimes much higher, for anything better than VG-EX. I wish I had been more aggressive when I began the set because now, unless I get lucky with a bid group, I grab anything under $25 that doesn't have a chunk missing. 

Even the prices for 1962 Post Cereal cards, those that were 'short printed' (issued on the backs of unpopular cereals) have risen quite a bit. It kills my soul to spend big bucks on cards that appear to have been sliced off the boxes by seven-year-olds with a butter knife. But I'm too close on this set (and the '67T) to turn back or abandon the build. So here we are.

For the Post set I'm long done with the easy cards. Most of those are still available for 79 cents to a few dollars. But the ones in this post were somewhat tougher. That's why I was okay with paying for the Jerry Lynch card up top even with the penciled-in team change. Lynch, btw, was traded from the Reds to the Pirates in May of 1963. So either the box was on the shelf awhile or some kid liked updating his cards.

This Joe Amalfitano card was, believe it or not, the better of the two available on SportsLots. I've blocked out of my memory what I paid for it. LOL It's hard impossible to read but the card has a notation that he had been drafted by the Houston Colts.

Marty Keough had a younger brother and a son who played big league ball. At nearly 87 years old Marty has outlived them both.

 Then there's this Early Wynn. His card is a 'tweener', somewhat tough but not crazy overpriced. I'm always impressed by the fact that Wynn pitched his first big league game in 1939 and his last one in 1962. The card mentions that he's 'Seeking the charmed circle of 300 major league victories... He hit that goal in July, 1963 in his second to last career start. He was 43 that year and had a nice season overall with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.175 WHIP in 20 games (5 starts).

Wynn was also a pretty good hitting pitcher with a .214 average and 17 career homers. here is his Hall of fame plaque. He was elected in 1972 with 301 of 390 possible votes.

But back to my rant...I've been able to throttle back my usual urge to complete sets as soon as I can. I'll get these two done when I get them done. The '67T, in particular, will take some time because I'm going to wait out the bubble I think. 

And I doubt I'll start another set chase anytime soon.

Stuff on my desk, Pt 2

Here are some other things I've had kicking around that I'm scanning today before they go into the right binder.

This c. 1963 Jim Rowe produced postcard of Billy Pierce was on eBay and pointed out to me by Jeff Wilk. I have a copy of this but I'm happy to have added a signed one for just a few dollars.

I spent more of my fantasy football winnings on some '67s. Those are on their way. Meanwhile here are some that came my way a week or two ago.

Bobby Tolan was among the last of the non-high numbers I was lacking. His is one of those cards that seem to command a premium for no apparent reason by a certain number of dealers while the rest list him at common prices. It's an odd phenomenon I've seen with other sets like the '61 T and '62T.

Fergie officially finished off the low numbers.

When I went to my first in-person Houston SABR chapter meeting I got a very 'cliche-ish' vibe. I felt like an outsider honestly. But I ended up sitting across the table from Larry Dierker and he was very friendly.

Now, something different.near the end of 2020 I bought a stack of twelve or so 1958 Atlantic Oil Film Stars cards from someone on NET54. Rather than cherry pick what he had I just grabbed the lot. Or at least what he had left after someone else had taken a few. Happy to add Janet Leigh to my Hollywood collection but the main draw for me was Ingrid Bergman.

Ava Gardner was a nice bonus.

I don't think Gregory Peck ever gave a bad performance. I scanned Lana Turner's card with a mosern card to show the size difference.

I've been adding to my SSPC Baseball Immortals set with the later-issued Hall members. I still need a few. Fun little set.

I also added to my '75 Topps mini build. Not sure I've mentioned that before. But it's a slow build that I may or may not ever finish. I had most of the Orioles and a few others before I bought a starter set years ago and just let it sit in a box. If you have some dupes lemme know. I'd love to trade.

I'll post a few of those and a handful of other odds and ends in the next week or so if we all don't go to hell in a hand-basket before then.

Fantasy Football Pays Off

 

The biggest stumbling block to my 1967 Topps chase arrived today via Fed Ex. The Seaver/Denehy rookie is now the biggest hobby purchase I've ever made. By far.

Tom Seaver's death in 2020 forced a bump in the price of an already super expensive card. It was rather discouraging to look at the prices asked in auctions and on eBay. I gave a few thoughts to backing out of my pursuit of the set but I was really too far into it. I was past the point of no-return. I guess I could have sold off what I had put together but I'd have lost money on the graded cards I'd broken out of their holders and the work involved in selling cards just isn't something I find enticing.

Then something happened that changed my way of looking at the last leg of the chase. I won two of my fantasy football money leagues and was the runner-up in the third one. I had a pretty healthy PayPal balance a day or so after Christmas and it was back to eBay for me.

Over the last few months I'd made a few half-hearted attempts at some low-end Seavers but lost out on all of them. As I've done with all the expansive cards in my sets builds I kept my eyes out for graded cards I would accept and raw cards from very well established dealers I trust. Two targets popped up last week and I made an offer on one PSA 1.5 which was turned down and then on this one from a dealer I hadn't bought from before but who had 100% feedback with many, many thousands of sales. He counter-offered,  I thought it over and bought it. The cost was a bit more than I had hoped to pay but still within reason. 

The corners are decent, there's a scuff along the bottom edge a a stain on the back but considering the $1000+ examples I had been seeing I am more than happy with this one. It puts me at 40 high numbers away from the finish. That includes the spendy Carew rookie. But that one isn't as bad as the Seaver. 

I'll get there. Finishing this thing and maybe my '62 Post set are my 2021 hobby goals.

Mas 67s

Here are a few more from my spending spree. I meant to spread the super-duper stars out a bit but whatever. Still some pretty nice cards.

Lotta power in these smiling Pirates. 

If there was anyone on the '69 Mets I liked it was Donn Clendenon. Probably because he'd been a member of the original Expos, even if for only a few months. I'd latched on the Expos as my NL team. I have always had an affinity for expansion teams in baseball. I'm not sure why. I dug the original Padres as well. 

I remember what an interesting time it was. Clendenon had refused to report to the Astros earlier that year after the Bucs dealt him this way.

Lou Brock. All Class. RIP

Denny McLain recently had a big garage estate sale of much of his memorabilia. He invited people to browse through his house and promised refreshments. I didn't have to wonder if Pepsi was on the menu. He served hot dogs as well.

Bob Uecker sure got a lot of mileage out of a six-year stint in the majors.

Got some team cards as well. Damn scanner cut off the right side but these are already in the binder so I'm not rescanning. One of these is not like the others. Hmmm.

The Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966. Maybe...well, I have no idea why that would make Topps use the shot they used. and not crop out the background. 

Some good news...after just north of four months, today I received an email from COMC...my order from the first of July is being shipped. Glory be. 

'67 Star Power

I've had this post on hold as I gathered a few cards for my '67 build. Everything in this post came via eBay or Net54 buys. But not COMC which is where I've spent about 75% of my hobby money over the last few years.

Four months after I requested shipping I got an email from COMC that they were packaging my order. That was two weeks ago, and nothing since. I've hated to criticize any business during this time but COMC had the time and resources to send multiple emails a day touting their latest auctions. Once I get this last order in hand I am requesting a transfer of the money I have there (and it's a lot) to be sent back to my PP account. 

Enough of my bitching, let's look at cards. Yaz' signature look like a few I've seen from 90-year-old former players. Neat card though.

 

 

Here's a relatively young Pete Rose. This set is such a nice one. I can't believe I waited this long to work on it. OTOH...those high numbers will be the death of me.

I scanned the back of Pete's card for some reason. Maybe just to remark on how these backs contain almost everything...vitals, cartoons, a write-up blurb, and yearly stats. Not complete stats by any means but these were the numbers we cared about back then.

The Hammer makes an appearance.

As does Ernie Banks. I love everything about this Banks card.

And the late, great Bob Gibson. I wish my scanner treated these 67s with the respect they deserve. It likes to cut off borders.

Finally it's Vern Law. He's not a star of the magnitude of the others in the post but that shot in Forbes Field!! That's the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning Tower in the background. That's whats lacking in a lot of modern sets...fun backgrounds.

I mean just look at that card. I have a friend who grew up in Pittsburgh and attended many games at Forbes. I always tell him how jealous I am of that fact.

Here's a shot of that building. I just learned that the Pirates sold Forbes to the university who wanted more space to expand their graduate program.

 

 

And here's the view Pitt students had from the top looking down at the 1960 World Series.  "Hey, is that Clemente on second...or Smoky Burgess?" 😏

I'm rolling right along with the set. I'm about 100 cards short, give or take. About a third of them are from the lower numbers but most are from Series Seven. The list is link over on the right. If you have a spare Seaver rookie you don't want cluttering up your desk, hook me up, OK?

Card Show Report*

Well, the asterik should tell you how the 'show' went. Honestly, Darryl, the show promoter, did a good job with it. He mandated masks for everyone, reduced the tables by eliminating all but the ones around the walls of the room, and limited to crowd to 20 (or at least he tried). He told me that when he opened he had 45 folks waiting to enter. It's been a long time since we've had a show in the area so i was kind of expecting that. I waited until 10:30 to arrive.

 

And I only ventured about three feet into the room. That's not unusual for me. I normally only hit Darryl's tables and sometimes one or two others that have vintage stuff. Yesterday I poked my head in, Darryl handed me his 1967 Topps boxes, and I spent about two hours at a table in a corner the hotel  sorting through them. I'd finally gotten around to getting my 67s organized and correctly checklisted. I had my wants and needed upgrades listed and I went to town on those boxes. I came away with about 130ish commons which knocked a real big hole in my wantlist.

Some of those commons filled holes in that page I've posted above. I randomly picked it to scan and I'm glad I did. It contains a number of players I was interested in during the mid- to late 60s. Ron Fairly, Sonny Siebert, Art Shamsky (until October '69), Rich Rollins and Bobby Murcer all fit that bill. Of course Mike Cuellar is an all-time favorite of mine. 

And then there's Ray Washburn. He's the guy who told my younger brothers to 'go to hell' when they asked him to sign a program for them in the Astrodome. From a previous post I made:

In the 60's and 70's the Astrodome had a restaurant they called the Domeskeller (sp?). It ran along the outfield wall under the bleachers. They had picnic style tables tables and wire windows you could watch the action through. Before games fans (mostly kids) would congregate there during batting practice as pitchers did their running on the warning track. They would sometimes sign through the opening in the wire. 

Anyway, one Sunday afternoon in 1968 my younger brothers asked Ray Washburn of the Cardinals to sign their program. He clearly and loudly told them (and me) to 'go to hell'. We told my folks when we got back to our seats. My mom was pretty upset as I recall but I think my father was more amused than angry. Either way Washburn's career slid off the rails after that season. Karma.

Even with my limited view it looked to me that the dealers in the room were doing good business. Darryl likely lost money on the room by having only half as many dealers but he's got another show scheduled for next month. I think he's undecided on going through with it. We'll see.

That's all I did at the show. Darryl himself had hardly anything on his table (he usually has several full of vintage) but he was too busy policing to sell anything anyway. I sure hope things get better soon. This (very much needed) mask and distance business is getting old.

Second Thoughts

 Despite appearances, I'm not intending to turn this into a '67 Topps blog. In fact, I'm wondering if I should really attempt the set at all. That Seaver rookie is reaching astronomical price levels and I'm just not sure I want to drop that much on a card. I'll have to give it some thought. Most likely I'll seek out a low grade copy and try to keep the cost down that way. We'll see.

Meanwhile, here are a couple new-to-me '67s that arrived over the last few days.This Mays card, IMO, is one of his better ones. I like the portrait shot here for sure. This is actually an upgrade over a battered copy I've had for as long as I can remember.

 These next two are both Mets and were purchased as a way to fill out an order on eBay. I bought six or seven cheap modern baseball and football cards from him to fill some fantasy sports binder needs. He offered both a % discount and free shipping with a ten-card order so I filled it with these two and a couple others I found of University of Houston alums. 

 I just recently posted Ed Bressoud's 1960 Topps card over on that blog.  He was with the Cardinals when the '67 set was issued and it was his final season as a big-league player. He only had 75 at-bats. He later became a minor-leagie manager and dod some scouting.

 

 

I liked Cleon Jones...right up to the second he caught Dave Johnson's fly to finish the '69 Series. Now, every time I hear his name that moment returns to me and I'm just a little sadder. Good ballplayer, though. And this '67 is a sweet card, made even better with that Topps Rookie trophy.

Now I'm gonna go cheer myself up by watching some football. My primary fantasy team is a monster!

Mickey, A Day Late

OK, so yesterday was supposedly Labor Day. Honestly, ever since I retired, every day is a holiday. But to the point of this post....

 

...growning up in North Jersey Labor Day marked the last day of summer. School was going to start the next day. More often than not there was a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium and my father and I were there. That usually meant seeing Mickey Mantle. But with his injuries, you couldn't count on it. Lots of great memories from those times.

I'm slowly meandering my way through the 1967 Topps set. I'm not in a hurry for several reasons, not the least of which is that my main supplier of 60's Topps cards has been my friend Darryl who runs the hotel card shows. Of course, those shows.

Not having those shows meant that every card I picked up probably cost me more than I would have spent on nicer cards from Darryl's boxes. That's all about to end as the hotel shows are returning this month. There are going to be the expected precautions in place, and I'm going to have my work cut out for me convincing my wife that going to a show is a good idea.

But I'll get there. I usually just get a box from Darryl and go sit in the lobby and pull cards anyway. One card I won't need to look for is the Mantle. That one up above arrived not long ago. Perfect for my needs. It is in reasonably nice condition and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Even better I used an eBay coupon for $25 off and I had been gifted with some cash in my PayPal account from the guys in my fantasy league. With the uncertainty of the season being played all the way through I had decided not to charge the usual small fees that cover the league hosting site. draft night groceries (no in-person draft!) and a trophy. But my guys sent some money my way anyway. More than I usually collect.

That made the Mantle nearly free. And free is good. Especially since the '67 set has so many high dollar, high number cards. 

That's a lot of words for just one picture so here's the back:

Those are phone pics, my scanner hates slabbed cards more than I do. Mickey will be able to breath very soon. 

BTW..this is my first time dealing with the 'new' Blogger. It sucks, but it doesn't suck as bad as I thought it'd suck. Thank goodness for small favors.

Finally, here's a gift. Seven minutes of the late, great Mitch Hedberg.

Happy late Labor Day.

NY State Of Mind

I'd gone through a long stretch without picking up any cards until last week. Then my long-delayed COMC and none-too-exciting SportsLots packages arrived. Honestly, I'd been concentrating on some holes in my publication collection and hadn't done much with cards other than the couple of football sets that I posted here.

But I got those boxes and I had a good time filling empty binder slots for a day or so. On Monday (Tuesday?...pandemics tend to scramble calendars) an envelope arrived from Western New York. Yup, Night Owl had thought of me and sent along some really choice material.

The envelope was bigger than the usual PWE that folks use. Here's why:

It's a Tommy Davis Johnny Pro Standup! This was a terrific promotional set from 1973 that was sold through the mail as complete sets (I think). They are die-cut and were intended to be 'punched out' and stood up. They measure just a touch over 5x7 which leads me to tell you why I was happy to get Tommy D. I bought a set many years ago, it included a couple of the variations and was really nice. But I was dumb, and not sophisticated as a collector. I trimmed my cards to fit into those two pocket pages. Wasn't a big trim, but it was a trim. So I've been picking up singles when I find them inexpensively to replace the ones I mangled. LOL

BTW...Johnny Pro also issued sets for the Baltimore Bullets and Philadelphia Phillies. 

And, as I told Night Owl, Tommy Davis is one of my favorite 'oh, hey...he was an Oriole?' guys. That group is comprised of short-term Birds better known with other teams, Eric Davis is another fave. Reggie is one of the group (eye-roll emoji here). Fred Lynn, Jim Northrup, Doug Drabeck are a few more. Let's not bring up Sammy Sosa, OK? Thanks!

Greg included some 1967 Topps in pretty nice condition. I think there were six or seven of them but I was anxious to put them in the right slots and realized later that I hadn't scanned 'em. You can't deny you've done the same. I was able to quickly pull these and I present them for your entertainment now. Nice cards from a very nice set.

Oh, did I mention that every '67 that Greg sent blindly ended up being useful? I think five of them filled open slots. One was a definite upgrade. Then there was Phil Roof.

I had three or four copies of this card. None of them were as good as the one NO sent. LOL.

Mike Ryan and Jimmy Davenport were the two I liked most. I'm pretty sure that's a subway train headed past the Yankee Stadium scoreboard over Ryan's shoulder.

Davenport was one of those guys I saw a lot of when I was living in Jersey. My best friend and his Dad were Giants guys and I went along on their many trips to Shea. Jim Ray Hart and Davenport both played third and became my favorite Giants for some reason. Maybe it was my affinity for third basemen.

Greg also included some shiny Birds of recent vintage. The Hayes card bumped a minor league card of his out of my fantasy baseball binder.

I saw Andrews Cashner pitch last year on Opening Day in Yankee Stadium. Seems like a loooong time ago. Hard to believe that the Orioles win two days later (which I didn't attend) was the last time they've beaten the f'ing Yankees. LOL

Finally here is Hanser Alberto. Yes, he's a big-league player. Heck, he homered last night in an Orioles win. The bad news is that the Orioles likely couldn't win a pennant in a 60-game 'season' even if you spotted them p-e-n-n-a and another 'n'. That's how it goes I guess.

 

Thanks again, Night Owl. Your generosity is much appreciated. Hoping you and everyone out there stays safe!