Scan Dump 1

I've been accumulating stray cards here and there over the last couple of months. Sometimes I'll add cards to an eBay order to take advantage of reduced shipping or a multi-card discount. Sometimes I just pull cards I don't really need from discount boxes at card shows or buy stuff from Net54 guys on an impulse.

I've scanned a bunch and figure that now is as good a time as ever to post them, with or without comment.

This signed Bobby Thomson is from the 1982 G. S. Gallery set about which I have very little knowledge. I've seen references to Gallery being a dealer and that may be the case. The set had 24 cards of some of the bigger names from the 50s and 60s on its checklist.

Looking at the reverse side I was reminded that Thomson spent about three weeks with the Orioles in July of 1960. They were his last couple of appearances in the majors. Here he is with O's catcher Clint Courtney.

This early 60s Dutch Gum card of Bob Dylan came from a Net54 purchase. Seeing him in concert last fall was a kick.

This signed Billy Pierce phone card is the second in my collection. It was a Sox giveaway item.

The other Pierce phone card is from 1996 and I posted about it back in 2014.

And finally here is a rarity in my collection...a Topps Now card. I bought it from a reseller which is the only way to go with these things.

LOL...my man Crush Davis. I'm not really sure what prompted me to grab this other than my giddiness at him ending that sad hitless streak. As I think I posted (or tweeted back then) he is too good a guy to have had to endure the foolishness that came along with his futility.


I've got more scans but that will have to do for tonight. I need to go pick out my attire for this weekend's Orioles visit to Houston. 

Oh, and here is Bob Dylan along with the late, great Tom Petty doing Knocking on Heavan's Door live in 1986.  One of my very favorite songs.

Beatles Exhibit cards

It's Saturday morning and I'm busy getting ready for a vacation trip so I figured I'd toss up a few scans I've had kicking around for awhile. These Beatles Exhibit cards are pretty common (and pretty unattractive) but I was a big fan back in the day and these are a nice, cheap, career contemporary memorabilia piece of each of the Fab Four.

They are blank-backed as are most all Exhibits. The stat-back sports versions being the notable exception. 

Maybe it's me projecting but it seems that these cards catch the four of them as the teen public saw them back in the 60s. George is bemused, Paul sort of dreamy, John is serious .....

..and Ringo, well Ringo is morose and maybe befuddled. In other words he was looking like Ringo.

The Exhibit Supply Company that produced these things just took whatever pics were available, in this case some sort of publicity stills, and made the cards rather haphazardly. Thus the sigs are cut off on these and every other example I've ever seen. Speaking of the Beatles and Saturday mornings....Joe Shlabotnik made a Beatles' 'FrankenAlbum' with a fun series of Saturday morning posts about a year ago. If you are a Beatles fan and somehow missed it you can click that link. And speaking further of the Beatles and Saturday mornings.... they were the stars of a cartoon series that ran for several years beginning in 1965 I think. The four 'moptops' (haven't heard them called that in a long time) looked like this:

 

YouTube videos of the cartoons tend to come and go apparently due to copyright issues with the music that was included. But as of now there is a full segment available. Enjoy.

 

R.I.P. Possum

He Stopped Loving Her Today

Written by R. V. Braddock and C. Putman, Jr. 

He said I'll love you 'til I die
She told him you'll forget in time
As the years went slowly by 
She still preyed upon his mind

He kept her picture on his wall
Went half crazy now and then 
He still loved her through it all
Hoping she'd come back again

Kept some letters by his bed
Dated 1962
He had underlined in red
Every single I love you

I went to see him just today
Oh but I didn't see no tears
All dressed up to go away
First time I'd seen him smile in years

(Chorus)
He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they'll carry him away
He stopped loving her today

(Spoken)
You know she came to see him one last time
Oh and we all wondered if she would
And it kept running through my mind
This time he's over her for good

(Repeat Chorus)

--GEORGE JONES

Legendary country music star George Jones died today at the age of 81. He was (and always will be) my absolute favorite musical artist. He had no peers in his field. His voice was unmistakable. I can't count the number of times I saw him perform since the first time I attended one of his shows in 1973. It was at a big ol' dance hall/bar in northside Houston on bad-ass Airline Drive called the Cedar Lounge. It's still there.

After that show I saw him all over Texas, sometimes a friend and I would travel to take in a couple of shows around southeast Texas on consecutive nights. And even when he was a bit 'off his game' he was a treasure to listen to. From bars to dance halls to concert halls I never regretted going to a George Jones show. Even when he was less than sober he could make chills run down your spine and bring the women in the place to tears. My friend, who was also my boss back then, had grown up near Saratoga, Texas around the time Jones was starting out. That's how I was lucky enough to meet him a time or two.

I don't have much music memorabilia. Just a few cards (which I posted here), some ticket stubs, and a few pictures like the one above. But all of it is George Jones memorabilia.

"If we all could sound like we wanted to, we'd all sound like George Jones."- Waylon Jennings

I Like Music

It's not all about sports for me. I enjoy music just as much. Nowadays, maybe more. I have no talent personally although I did try (with mixed results) teaching myself to play the drums on my son's set after he moved to college. 

And I like all kinds of music. Classic rock, country, electronic, Ranchera, R & B, opera, pop standards, whatever. I listen regularly to Andrea Bocelli, Waylon Jennings, Frank Sinatra, Pink Floyd, Vicente Fernandez, Ray Charles, Daft Punk, Merle Haggard, the Beatles, David Gray (my favorite), Whitney Houston, Gary Allen, the Leningrad Cowboys, Moby and Marvin Gaye to name a few. 

And my wife and I love live music.  We recently found ourselves in Austin and made our way to Stubb's where we listened to a ska band. I didn't know much about that sort of music but we had a great time! At 60 I was easily twice the age of anyone else in the place but I didn't care. It was fun.

Today is rodeo parade day in Houston. I don't care much for the rodeo and I hate venue like Reliant Stadium for concerts because the stage is out in the middle of nowhere. But there is usually a fair roster of acts coming through town and this year we'll see Gary Allen. This time of year brings me back around to country music. Contemporary country sucks but the classic stuff never gets old.

My favorite artist is country legend George Jones. He's the only singer I know that can make the word 'you' come out as three heartbreaking syllables. I've seen him live countless times, from small seedy clubs to Gilly's famous (though now defunct) venue to concert halls. When he's sober (and he has been for all but one or two shows I've seen) he's just a marvelous performer. 

These two autographed cards are my only actual pieces of music memorabilia other than some concert programs, pictures, ticket stubs and my old vinyl collection.