A Little Show Diary and some Vintage

Made it out to the card show on Saturday. The result was a mixed bag but it was mostly positive. First things first.....I got my '58 Mantle. It was a bargain but came with a caveat that I'll save for my '58 Topps blog when I get around to posting Mickey.

The show, as are most TriStar events, was pretty well attended. But again, like most TriStar events, most of the folks in attendance were there for the autograph signings. They always have an impressive lineup of guests and this time was no exception. There was even a Phi Slama Jama 'reunion' with nearly all the players from that early 80s era high-flying Houston hoops squad signing. I bumped into my brother and my nephew who came to get a few items signed by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Looking at the prices they were getting it made me wish I had thought to get them to sign for me back when I was working in the athletic offices and they were just a couple of guys hanging out.

I griped before I went to the show about the cost of parking and admission. Well, that turned into a bad news/good news proposition. Parking at the NRG complex was $12 which was higher than I expected and I find it outrageous. But as I walked towards the box office to buy my show admission ticket some random guy handed me an extra he had, Saved me $9. Thanks random guy!

I spent more time at this show than I usually do. I found Darrell, my dealer friend who puts on the hotel shows, and hung out at his table. He always has great cheap vintage baseball and football cards in boxes that range from a quarter to a buck or two. The 61's in this post came from his table.

I spent another hour or so wandering the tables looking for other cheap vintage boxes and that's when I found the Mantle. I also got lucky and sniffed out a few dealers with inventory similar to Darrell's and made some purchases that are going out in packages this week. I wanted to get more but I only have a limited amount of  'bend over a box with a wantlist' time in these old bones.

Another dealer I've known for awhile recruited me to help him tear open some blaster boxes of 2017 Topps. I welcomed the chance to just sit, shoot the hobby breeze, and rip open packs. He threw a few goodies my way for my time.

I hit up some tables with mostly football and hockey pins and stopped at one more vintage card dealer's table on my way out. All in all it was a productive but tiring day.

I've just realized that I haven't mentioned the cards I have posted. I'm really on the fence when it comes to the prospect of chasing the 1961 Topps set. It doesn't get much love in the hobby that's for sure. I have a sentimental attachment to it as I can recall going to the Korvette's store near our home in suburban north Jersey with my Dad and him buying me cello packs of it.

I already own the MVP subset and most of the All Star one, plus the Orioles and some assorted star cards. But I don't think I'm quite ready to tackle another set quite yet. And I sure won't crank up another set-specific blog anytime soon.

But in the meantime I'll continue to add cards from it that I enjoy. I've casually collected Vada Pinson and Mudcat Grant cards over the years. And although he was a Yankee I've retained a soft spot for easy-to-like Bobby Richardson. I picked up a few more nice vintage cards but I'm debating whether or not to send them out to someone so I won't post the scans. I like to surprise folks.

For a couple of bucks I nabbed the Lenny Moore card above. I don't care much about relics and such but for $2 a Memorial Stadium seat card of one of my favorite BALTIMORE Colts stars was impossible to pass up.

Here are the pins I picked up. The Colts one says 'Since 1953' on the bottom so I'm including it in my collection. I bought the Super Bowl pin for $5 because I have pins from the previous two Houston SBs.

All in all it was worthwhile day at the show. My only regret is that by buying the Mantle I've blown my hobby budget for the month so this coming Saturday's hotel show will be a 'chat' session rather than a 'buy' session. Oh well.

Obligatory 2017 Topps Card Post

I got a lot of great stuff at the TriStar show on Saturday. None of it is in this post.

I haven't been in a Target or a Wal Mart to see if the 2017s have arrived out here in the boonies. So I picked up three loose packs at the show. A few packs to start the card season is my modus operandi these days. I'll pick up individual cards for my fantasy baseball binder as the season progresses.

So how did I do and what do I feel? We'll start with the first card out of the first pack. I like it. Nice picture, The Pirates have nice colors. I thought Matt Joyce was the name of the ump who blew the perfect game call at first base a few years ago but Google tells me it was Jim Joyce. What everyone says about the design is true. I've seen better, I've seen worse.

The first pack (amazingly given my track record) yielded my first Orioles card. But my first Oriole isn't even an Oriole. OK, he was one once upon a time but Dewey was retired after one year in Charm City when his 1992 Topps card was new. This is a stamped buyback, correct? My first thought...I hope I get a real Orioles card. I was, very predictably, going to be disappointed. Again.

Let's move on past some cards of just guys that I didn't scan.

Mickey Rooney!! Oh, wait...who the hell is this guy?

Leslie Jordan? The card tells me he's an actor who won an award for a show I never saw. Whatever. Unless I'm throwing out the first pitch, or it's a card of a supermodel wearing shorts I just don't see the point. In Minute Maid Park at Astros games I've seen three 'first pitches' before a game. If someone needs this LMK.

Kris Bryant. I'd go into a long monologue about how much I dislike horizontal base cards like this because I don't use any in my binder but nobody would care and most of you would roll your eyes and figure (correctly) that I'm an old fart that likes griping. Nevermind. It's cool to get a Kris Bryant even though I can't use it in my fantasy binder.

Chris Sale. The design and colors looks pretty good on this one.  My third favorite card of the bunch I got.

Question for the group. This card has a shiny and Butler is sort of 3D-ish. Plus it clearly says Series 1 in the bottom right hand corner. What does all this mean?

For just one nanosecond I got all excited when I got a tiny glimpse of this card coming out of pack #2:

Topps ad card, dammit. I really want a real copy of this. Then again, who doesn't?

The only other card of note in this pack was this one....Bryce Harper 5 Tool insert. You'd think I'd be all over these this year. You'd be wrong. Looks cooler in hand than they did when I first saw these posted. I thought they were too 'busy'. Maybe it's the fact that I have liked Harper since my Nats spring training trip in 2015 but I'm digging this one 5 Tool in  particular.

I really like the design of this special card of Ian Kinsler. Yes, there is wasted space but that's OK. I'm booting my 'Kinsler as a Ranger' card out of my binder for this one. Second favorite card from my packs.

Orioles team card. It's an Orioles card but it doesn't count really.

This is probably my favorite card of the bunch. Carlos Correa a.k.a. Baby Jesus. It goes in the binder, even over his rookie card that is in there now. Weird how this design looks good to me on some cards, lousy on others.

I didn't scan any card backs except the Mickey Rooney card because they've been discussed to death.

There is is, my 2017 Topps post. I'm looking forward to posting some of the vintage I got at the show. And waxing philosophical about how shows have changed over the years.

Ending the War

A few months back I made a flurry of buys on eBay and COMC to try and close out this 1962 Civil War News set. I scoured the sites until I had dug up every needed card available in decent shape and at a good price. Then the well went dry but that's to be expected. When you run the same searches day after day for a set like this it doesn't take long to reach a point of diminishing returns.

I jumped back in a couple of weeks ago and in the course of a half hour or so I was able to knock out my wantlist with some pretty sweet cards. I paid a bit more than I had for most of the rest of the set but I tend to do that as I get close to finishing off a goal. 

The General Lee card above looks a bit washed out in the scan for some reason. It's better looking in hand. The original art isn't as vibrant as some of the others for sure.

'Death' and 'Dying' sure pop up on a bunch of these.

Here are a couple more that portray close range gruesomeness.

I remember being fascinated by the idea of a Civil War era submarine. I think I went and found a book about sub and marine warfare of the time in St. Mary's School's meager library.

I was also interested in Stonewall Jackson. I think I still have an old bio of him on my shelves somewhere. I poked around to check on the accuracy of this card. The date on the front is May 10, 1863.

Jackson was shot (yes, by his own men accidentally) on May 2. He died on May 10 and that fact was generally reported on May 13 or thereabouts. So if I was grading this as a history teacher might grade a report I'd give the Topps writer a "C".

So this ends my quest for this really cool (and nostalgia filled) set. I have two upgrades en-route and there may be another card or two that I'll look at eventually but now it's time for a different challenge.

As soon as I post this I'm headed over tot he TriStar show in Houston. It'll be good to get to a show for the first time in months. I won't even mind paying $10 to park and another nine to get in.*

My goal: a 1958 Mantle in 'f/g' shape for the price of a 'poor' one.

*= #alternativefacts. It's gonna piss me off royally to drop most all of a twenty before I even see one table.

The Prodigal BALTIMORE Colt card appears

Back in 2015 I did a long series showcasing the history of BALTIMORE Colts cards and related items. It was the most fun I've had writing this meager blog. Chasing what I needed was a challenge and researching the cards very rewarding. I still lack a few odds and ends and those are listed on a wantlist page linked over in the sidebar.

As I was putting the Colts cards together I had an invaluable tool, a checklist I bought from this company. It was pretty thorough although I found a few small errors which I brought to the attention of the author. As advertised I was sent a free updated list a few weeks ago.

I figured double-checking my cards against the new list would be a good idea. Sure enough, before I even reached the bottom of the first column I hit a snag. My 1955 Bowman Colts group was a card short. I was lacking Tom Keane, card #30.

This card had been left off the original list. I immediately hit eBay and found this copy for $3. And as of Monday all is right with the world, my Colts card collection is back in order.

I love the 'Fake Reverse from Double Wing' play that graces the back of the card. Looks like something we ran at Nutley High in 1965.

Tom Keane attended both Ohio State and West Virginia, played football at both and squeezing a Naval stint in between. From Wikipedia:

Keane was a third round selection and 18th overall pick in the 1948 NFL Draft. He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams. He played four years with the Rams, where he won the 1951 NFL title. He left the Rams to go play a year for the Dallas Texans. Due to injuries, he started one game at quarterback for the Texans. He then played two years with the Baltimore Colts and finally ending his career with the Chicago Cardinals in 1955. During his career he was selected All-Pro twice and played in the 1953 Pro Bowl.

He later went on to coach for many years in the NFL with the Cardinals, Steelers and Dolphins. He was on the staff of the undefeated 1972 Dolphins squad.

Although he is pictured with Baltimore Keane was already with the Cardinals when this card was issued. I'm glad he's on a Colts card though...it's one more look at the wonderful old school logo that just screams BALTIMORE Colts to me. I'm glad the team that uses this team name in Indiana didn't carry over this sweet logo.

Star Wars Stickers...yes, I actually typed that

I bought these last summer on a trip to Dallas for a coaches convention. I was in a Target looking for baseball, or football or anything to rip as I recall. I bought these and a pack of Topps baseball stickers. Why I chose a pack of Star Wars stickers I'll never know. Because it was there I guess. And I think it was marked down. I've already shown the baseball pack.

I know squat about Star Wars other than it's the biggest movie franchise in the US. I saw a couple of the early films but I never really followed the plot line so I was more and more lost as it spun by. No matter. I can appreciate the near universal love it's gotten over the last 40ish years. And watching Carrie Fisher in that outfit was nice even if I didn't know wtf they were all talking about.

Anyway the pack had five stickers. Having scanned this first one but not having it in front of me is a problem because I don't know what it is other than someone or something dragging a sled.

Next...it's Yoda!!!

And then .....Stormtroopers. (<---according to Wikipedia that is the correct spelling) Hard to imagine how much work went into all the costumes for these movies. You've got to be pretty confident that you'll have a hit in order to invest that much. These guys are the coolest things about the movies to me.

Well this was disappointing. A narrative sticker. I suppose if I had the whole set in the album I could follow the story with these but I'd rather have more Carrie Fisher stickers.

This one scanned poorly btw.

This is the best one by far. It's a bigger, sparkly Darth Vader. Pretty cool, no?

All in all not a bad way to spend 79 cents. My wife does academic testing and she uses stickers a lot to bribe kids to behave motivate kids. So these will be put to good use.

I did it anyway

I had promised myself I wouldn't resort to digging through old boxes of hobby 'stuff' to find posting fodder. And I really wasn't intending to do it for this post but here we are.

I went looking for somethings I intended to send out to another blogger and pulled a plastic storage box from my hobby closet. Remarkably what I was looking for was actually in the box! You'd really be impressed by that fact if you saw my hobby closet. But there were also a bunch of cards I hadn't seen in awhile and some of them sparked my interest and immediately I saw a post might come from them. A timely one at that.

There were a boatload of my Pro Set football dupes from '89-'92. I'm posting two from the 1991 set. Up top is the Whitney Houston Anthem card, #350. It shows her National Anthem performance at Super Bowl XXV earlier that year. That was an anthem for the ages. Oddly just this morning I came across a story that ran in USA Today on Thursday concerning that performance. It makes for an interesting read, especially if you remember that goosebump-inducing few minutes.

Next is the '91 Bill Belichick. Back then he didn't look like a guy you'd cross a downtown street to avoid.

1989 Marion Butts for no other reason than the fact that it was the best football card in the box. Oh, and I had Marion Butts for a couple of years in my fantasy league. He seemed to have his best games on the weeks I didn't start him. I always said "Marion Butts makes me nuts."

Now on to a few baseball cards. A K-Mart Cal Ripken from some long forgotten boxed set. Back when we first moved out here there was not much around. A K-Mart served as 'big box' retailer for the area. I bought lots of their boxed sets. I gave away most of the cards but kept the Orioles

Here's brother Billy on his 1992 Stadium Club card. I seem to recall being some sort of charter SC member and getting small boxed sets in the mail. Or maybe I'm imagining that. I know I have SC cards marked Charter Member or words to that effect. This isn't one.

I'm posting this Dave Parker for the same reason I posted the Marion Butts. I think it's the best baseball card I dug out of the box. It's from the 1991 SC set which I think was the first. I have absolutely no recollections of Parker with Milwaukee. He's a Pirate to me, or a Cincinnati Red. But his BR page reveals a very solid season with the Brew Crew in 1990. I hadn't thought about him with the Athletics either until I looked at his page and remembered him playing in the World Series.

I'll show the card back because it includes his awesome 1974 Topps.

"Any Spahn card is a cool Spahn card" ©

I've said that a million times it seems. And even this 1992 Ziplock Spahn fits the bill. Spahnie is all angles,... his cap, nose, grin, and eyebrows. I have no idea where I got this card. There were only 11 different ones issued and supposedly they came on boxes of the plastic bags. Heaven knows we used a lot of sandwich bags back when my kids were in school so it's possible I actually got this from a box.

And one more card....

A 1990 Payne Stewart. He, along with Fred Couples, was a favorite of my sons and me. My boys loved him because he always acknowledged them at the Shell Open. They would stand between the 11th green and 12th tee and wait to say hello to every golfer that passed by. Stewart never failed to smile and high five them no matter where he stood on the leaderboard.

I was a fan because he had (like Couples) an exceptionally smooth, fluid swing. It was something that back in my frequently golfing days I was always trying for but never close to achieving. His affiliation with the NFL also makes this an appropriate card to post on Super Sunday.

Here is a bonus. It's Whitney Houston's Tampa SB performance. It is and always will be the best Anthem performance ever. Enjoy!

Civil War News Nearing Completion

This past week I picked up three more cards from Topps' 1962 Civil War News set. These bring me within reach of completing it this year. I lack three two (wantlist is over in the sidebar) with one or two more that desperately need to be upgraded Set complete as of February 4. Now only upgrades remain to be found.

I've gone on and on about how much I enjoy this set. There is definitely a large measure of nostalgia involved with it. My friends and I loved these when they were issued. This set as well as the Mars Attacks set were as much a part of our childhood as baseball and football cards were.

I've already posted many of the others and did some research into the set's background, artwork and historical inaccuracies and the parallel set put out in England. This link will get you to the previous posts.

Getting down to the final 12 or 15 cards I needed changed my approach to aquiring them. I decided that I'd pay a bit more for those I needed than I had for the bulk of them. I think my average cost per card was under $3.These were five dollars each but they are in better condition than

As with many of the cards these feature some pretty graphic artwork. Card #48 Smashing the Enemy (above) features Union soldiers being vaporized by Confederate cannons at close range. And as with many of the cards the details are 'close' but not exact. The actual battle was fought on May 16, 1863 not July 4th as stated twice on the card. And the hill involved was Champion Hill, not 'Champions'. This page at civilwar.org is has a lot of information.

On the other hand the Topps writers got the Battle of Cedar Creek right, at least as far as the date is concerned.

But the cardback doesn't really reflect what is written about the fight on that same civilwar.org.

I don't really make annual formal 'goals' for my hobby endeavours but I'd love to finish this thing off sooner rather than later.