2, 4, 6, 8... pocket pages

 I've got a whole mini-album full of two-pocket pages:

And another mini-album mostly filled with 4-pocket pages:

Those pages share space with seven 6-pocket pages:

And now, finally.... I have some 8-pocket pages!

I had a handful of oversized cards like these 1988 Topps BIG Baseball singles stored in top loaders, but I wanted the oversized top loaders for more important cards. So these are now in the mini-binder, along with...

My 5-card set of 1953 Bowman reprints and some random 1989 Bowman cards. I'm going to take that Walter Alston card out and put another '89 Bowman in its place:

This is the most random card to have a unique personal memory, but I remember opening a pack and lingering on Austin Manahan here. I told myself to remember this card, this was a significant card. I was eight years old. I probably didn't know the meaning of the word 'significant', but I knew why this card mattered:

Holy crap! This guy was born in 1970?!? I'm getting old. Someday I'll see a card of a player born in 1980!! 😳

Next time I'm on Sportlots, I'll risk two dimes on this single. It will probably arrive damaged and shoved in a taped-up top loader, but that's okay. 

Back to the Walter Alston. Remember those Greg Morris auctions I was watching? Yeesh:

LOLno. 

Damn Dodger tax.

Better, but still too much.

Ugh. Nope. I got none of 'em. Instead, I rolled the dice on a different Alston:

The price was right, but the faded scan was a concern. This seller also had a Don Bessent, but I was too hesitant to pull the trigger on both. 

Alston arrived today:

Oh, nice. It's not faded it all. It's crisp, clean... 

....and creased. 

Ah well. It's not visible unless you look at it under light. But this is why I buy graded cards. Not a bad deal though, certainly can't complain since it was $100 less than the ungraded Alston that Greg Morris was selling. 

****** Bonus Starting Lineup Showcase mini-post! *******

I like to window shop on eBay for SLU figures around my birthday and Christmas. Makes me feel young. There was a sealed Marcus Allen figure that looked clean, and the price was good, but I didn't have any personal connection to it. 

For about the same price, I picked up four loose pieces: two childhood faves and two that are brand new to me:

I had that Dan Marino once, and the last place I saw it was it was in the backyard of my sister's house. I went to look for it when she moved, but it was long gone. I've never owned a Buffalo Bills figure but the seller had Cornelius Bennett for a few bucks and I thought it would look cool to have a division rival rushing Marino. (Bruce Smith would have been too expensive!) 

Hakeem Olajuwon was only $5, and even though I have a sealed Olajuwon figure from 1994 I couldn't pass up his '88 figure. The only other first series basketball figures I have are an open Larry Bird from Jon Pennysleeves and a sealed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

Marcus Allen did make me curious to search out other Raiders, and Todd Christensen was an easy choice. At $12 it was the most expensive piece in the lot, but well worth it for a tribute to Travis James:

Dress a Barbie, Max. Lmao. 

Thanks for reading!





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