PWEs from Fuji and Jon

Quick post today because I'm planning a much longer one for Friday and I still haven't returned to regular commenting.

I've been scouring eBay looking for that big piece to add to my collection and so far I've been much too cautious. The prices are higher than I expect (which usually happens with auctions) and the one card I really want hasn't come back down to the price it was before i had the money to buy it. 

I saw a nice Pee Wee Reese 1956 Topps card just before I left work yesterday. I added it to my watch list, but by the time I got home someone bought it. It's just as well. I probably would have delayed a decision on it until it sold - like I've done with the Hank Aaron and Willie Mays cards that were on my watch list. 

You know what would be great? If there was a major sports card and memorabilia convention nearby with both high end and low end cards that I could purchase all at once without paying tax or shipping fees. Sigh...


Thankfully I've been perked up by a pair of PWEs from two of my favourite* bloggers.

 This Kevin Youkilis mini is one of 15 Red Sox cards in the latest care package from Fuji.

This PWE was full of neat inserts and parallels. 

Some Han-Ram here, and a purple refractor of blogger favorite Henry Owens.


Here are some cards I picked from Jon's Free Stuff Friday offerings:

Williams, Chesbro, and Bonds will go into my All-Time Teams binder (I'm rebooting that series when the 2020 baseball season starts -- assuming it starts on time.) I used to have a bunch of those Brett Favre NFL on Fox booklets and it's nice to have it back in my PC.

Thanks for the cards fellas, they were a nice surprise when I definitely needed one.


*Today is Canada Day, ya hosers. Here are some Canada-centic memes that made me chuckle.

Thanks for reading, eh.



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Free Stuff and TCDB Stuff

I'm hoping to have the Washington Nationals All-Time Team posted tomorrow. This young stud didn't qualify, but he's already made his mark on the franchise:

The Juan Soto Atomic Refractor you see here is the only recent card I received in a TCDB trade with Base Card Hero. I sent Ryan 21 dupes from 1992 Fleer Ultra and three from 2016 Topps.

The cards I asked for (besides the Soto) were 1983 Topps singles. These were the biggest names. Fergie might be my favorite of the whole lot, it's really sharp and the colors pop.

Some lesser-known players here, though you may know Randy Moffitt as the younger brother of Billie Jean King. Larry Milbourne is interesting to me; while I was researching the Mariners All-Time Team I discovered that he's the most accomplished major leaguer from my wife's alma mater.

These cards were selected with an eye toward the All-Time Teams franken-set (more details next week). Originally I had asked for a 1983 Topps Simmons but Ryan no longer had that card. I asked for the '81 as a replacement, and any of the next three cards as a backup.

He sent them all, since the Simmons is off-center and the Smith is bleeding pink ink. Nettles and the Phillies are clean. Ryan, thanks for the trade!

I sent another five dupes from 1992 Fleer Ultra baseball along with ten dupes from three other sports to TCDB user Sheepboy in exchange for 14 cards.

 

A couple set fillers here. I'm down to 27 needs for the 2018 Stadium Club set, and that should be below 20 once my Cardbarrel order arrives. The iconic Craig Ehlo brings me to 70% completion of the 1993-94 Ultra set.

I also acquired a couple of upgrades for my 1986 Topps football set. They're plentiful and affordable enough for me to request in trades without needing to know what condition they're in:

Bobby Butler seems to be questioning this strategy, but most of my '86 Falcons cards are a mess.

I also added some team favorites to the trade. Thought I had the Freeman Leaf and the Newsome but it turns out I had other versions of each. This is my first Aaron Ripkowski card; he was the Packers' fullback after fan favorite John Kuhn and before Dan Vitale (who has the same name as my nephews' father.)

When a PWE arrived yesterday I assumed it was the third and final TCDB trade, but it was a care package from Jon, originator of the Free Stuff Friday trend (yes, it's a trend now!)

I claimed a couple cards here and there, including some Packers:

 

According to his note, seven of the nine cards in the nine-pocket page were claims. I think these color-matching parallels pre-date Free Stuff Friday but I can't be certain:

Jon has sent me tons of basketball over the years, and he knows I like to collect Milwaukee Bucks (I sure hope they're able to complete this season because I'd love to see a Bucks-Lakers final.) 

He also knows I have very few Nikola Jokic cards. As in.. three. This is now my fourth 'Joker.'

Bringing it back to vintage-ish cards here including a Sonny Siebert high number(!) and a card commemorating the 1981 AFC title game. Why did I claim this card? Because I am fascinated with the story behind it. The San Diego Chargers advanced by defeating the Dolphins in Miami the week prior. It was 76 degrees at the Orange Bowl, with 80% humidity in January. At the end of the Chargers' OT victory Kellen Winslow looked like a boxer who had just gone 12 rounds with Muhammad Ali:

San Diego's reward for surviving this epic clash in brutally hot weather? A trip to Cincinnati - where the weather was historically cold. Football can be so cruel.

Jon, thanks for the great cards! I hope I'm able to return the favor soon.

Thanks for reading!


 

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How blogging has influenced my collection

As I continue with the never-ending quest to catalog my entire card collection, I notice that my collecting habits have significantly changed since I began blogging about the hobby nearly three years ago. The following is a partial list of habits I've picked up, along with the blogger(s) who influenced these new interests:

I have a new appreciation for low-end treasures found in dime boxes, thanks to Nick.

I'm more aware of players who share my birthday, thanks to Doug. 

Gavin's collecting interests have rubbed off on me in a couple of ways. I'm more focused on player collections and plan to post a list of 8-10 player PCs on this blog once I'm ready to trade again. I'm not going to steal his 100-card club "limit" but it will be a goal of mine. (perhaps I'll create a bronze/silver/gold/platinum tier of PCs depending on how many cards I have.)

I've also purchased more cards of attractive women, something that was always in the back of my mind but was never seriously considered. Part of that is because the selection of celebrity singles relative to team sports issues is pathetic. (But Gavin and his customs solve that problem!)

Before I started blogging, I'd never heard of a "Franken-set"..now I've completed one!

Billy has inspired me to utilize TCDB, catalog my cards, and scan every new addition to my collection. (I'm about 3/4s finished but I feel bad that it's taken me away from blogs) He's also helped boost my basketball card collection, along with Doug and others. 

But the biggest reason for my renewed interest in NBA cards is Jon, who is the single biggest contributor to my growing basketball card collection. I'm now working on five sets, and he's helped me with at least three of them, including 1989-90 Hoops..

..and 2014-15 Panini Prizm. I'm now just 32 cards short of completing this 300-card set. This Larry Bird was one of about two hundred cards he sent me - or about 190 more than I sent him!

Jon also contributed to my brand-new Bucks collection (which I officially started thanks to Kerry.)

These were somewhat random wants; as I was cataloging my basketball card collection I compiled a wantlist of cards that looked interesting from all of the years and sets I'd missed. I had all but forgotten which cards I added until a dozen from 1999-00 Topps Gallery were included in the box Jon sent me.

If I did that for baseball and hockey I'd never finish my TCDB lists. 

Jon also contributed to collections that pre-date my blogging life. I'm nearly finished cataloging my Red Sox cards, and this Nomar will be added to the over 2,600 I've accounted for to date.

Which is just slightly more than the 2,540 Packers cards I've cataloged - including the latest eight from Jon.

I'm expecting my Devils card collection to top both of those. It will take quite a while for me to catalog all of my hockey cards, and since I've been lousy at leaving comments lately I might just hold a contest/giveaway once all the teams are set for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Until then I've got to get back to TCDB and COMC, but I will be making the rounds this weekend. Jon, thanks again for all the great cards..and thanks to all of you for sharing your card collecting interests and preferences. I've learned so much from everyone here and I'm happy to incorporate some of your ideas into my own collection.


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Lousy Smarch Weather

I'm already sick of this stupid month.

In one of my earlier posts I hinted that I might have a bit of personal news. At my mother's urging, I followed up on a job application I submitted and sure enough, I got called in for an interview. The woman who called was having a busy week and said I could come in that Friday afternoon or the next Tuesday. I chose Friday afternoon. March 2. The day of the big "bomb cyclone" which slammed the east coast with blizzard-like snowfall and hurricane-force winds. 

I got there early for my 2pm interview. By the time it ended around 3pm the roads were covered in snow. Traffic was a nightmare because nearly everyone left work early, and the high winds were knocking down trees and power lines all over town, causing at least four detours. 

On a clear day it would have taken me 15 minutes to get home from that interview. On that day, it took me three hours. 


Amazingly, we did not lose power, phone service, or internet service. We did lose our rusted metal shed that had been in the backyard for about 40 years. The wind somehow picked it up and blew it into the big pine tree in our backyard. I didn't notice it until going to bed that night, when I heard the howling wind banging against the metal of the displaced shed. 

Last Wednesday we got another snowstorm. This was more of your standard variety snowstorm - 6-8 inches of heavy snow. No major wind. No big deal. 

That's when our internet/phone line went out. It took Verizon a week to repair the line. Good thing I'm not waiting for any potentially life-changing phone calls or e-mails, eh?



Anywho..while I was off the grid for a whole week I was able to scan a bunch of cards for future Sports Card Tour posts. And I received three trade packages in the mail, which I am delinquent in acknowledging due to said snowstorm-related outages.

The first is a one-card PWE from Henry, author of the blog Cardboard Greats. Henry is a fellow Red Sox fan and offered up some nice cards to trade, including this Clayton Kershaw Atomic Refractor from 2017 Bowman's Best:

I gave him a list of my duplicate Red Sox cards and he picked a handful he needed, including a Craig Kimbrel card for his growing collection. If you've got any Kimbrel cards to trade (or even if you don't) stop by Henry's blog. 

Speaking of collections, P-Town Tom of the Cubs-centric blog Waiting 'til Next Year has been sharing the wealth of cards from The Collection he recently acquired. I jumped on some 1963 Topps cards, which Tom shipped more than a week before the post office delivered them to my door. Here's a six-pack of '63 Sox featuring Frank Malzone:

  
Some semi-stars and others I chose for no particular reason:

Matt over at Diamond Jesters is doing a Time Travel swap meet thing based on the One Red Paper Clip trade string. I'm planning to offer up one or more of these in the near future:

Tom padded the mailer with some extra goodies, and a nice note wishing my team good luck this season.

The third trade package I received while isolated from the (online) world wasn't technically a trade package. Jon, author of the blog A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts has been beefing up my basketball collection for over a year, and had been on the lookout for some 2015-16 Donruss cards I needed. He didn't find any, but the mailer he sent was loaded with great stuff:

Shaq, Dirk, and Steve Nash are players I collect; Jon added a pair of Laker legends to the mix.

I'm so bummed that the Packers cut Jordy Nelson. Football can be cruel sometimes. And by sometimes.. I mean all the time.

 Pedros! Sooo many Pedros! Moments & Milestones was um..unique, to say the least.

A mini Ted and a Cooperstown card of the only other home the Red Sox have ever known. Up from Third Base to Huntington....they sang another victory song!

Henry, Tom, Jon...thank you all so much for the great cards! I can't think of a better way to take my mind off the crippling snowstorms, internet outage, and nearly killing myself for a fruitless interview. 

Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on all of your blogs by the end of the week. And then possibly publish the Chicago post that I started teasing two weeks ago. Unless another snowstorm slams us before then...

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A Veteran's Day post and some other randomness

I've had a few topics I've wanted to write about on this blog but haven't had the time due to work stress, life stress, and spending too much time on COMC challenges. I just got home from celebrating my wife's birthday (which is tomorrow) and my mother in law's birthday (which is today) and so this post is a lot later than I wanted it to be.

My father in law passed away earlier this year. He was 70. I wrote about it on my other blog, so I wont repeat myself here. But he was a Vietnam war veteran - and a modest one at that. He never thought his two years of service as a plane mechanic with the Air Force  was anything to brag about. One of his sons bought him a Vietnam Veteran's hat as a gift one year, and he wore it every day until it had to be replaced, but he never would have bought himself anything like that. He never took advantage of any medical benefits that were given to vets, and the only 'perk' I remember him taking advantage of was a free meal at a local steakhouse.

Pop was a Detroit Tigers fan, and followed the team on the radio through their championship season in 1968. My wife met Denny McLain at a card show about ten years ago and got his autograph for her dad. She said he was in Vietnam the year they won, and when she thanked him for the autograph he thanked Pop for his service. 

Since this is a sports card blog, I should mention that his 1968 Topps team set is currently ranked #19 on PSA. I haven't asked for it, but my wife has said more than once that she expects her mother to give it to me one day. I told her that if she did, I would never sell them - or the 2011 Topps Diamond Dig cards we collected together. He must have bought 400 codes through eBay that year, and ended up with 5 or 6 special edition factory sets, about 30 Diamond Die-Cut cards (including some black parallels #d/60) and the 1984 Topps Tigers team set. He also won an unopened pack of 1977 Topps - which he opened (the best card he got was Ken Griffey, Sr.)

As a birthday gift one year, I bought him a set of 2007 Topps Distinguished Service cards:

I do wish I had those in hand, just so I could scan them up and discuss them today. 


Pop was also a big New Jersey Devils fan, having turned in his Rangers fandom in 1982 when the Colorado Rockies moved here. He didn't have too many Devils cards - my wife and brother in law were the hockey card collectors - but he loved going to the games. He bought two tickets to a late-season game against the Bruins for Di's birthday way back in 1992. Just so happened that a kid named Martin Brodeur made his NHL debut that day. He saved the ticket and asked me to send it to PSA for grading. It came back an EX 5.

One year we attended a Devils draft party, where he won an autographed stick signed by every Devils player including Brodeur. My mother in law has a picture of Stan Fischler presenting him the stick. (Another thing I wish I could scan and show off here.)

However, I do have something Devils-related in hand. Fuji sent out a Santa-sized stack of mailers recently, and I was on his 'nice' list. I got some great Scotts and a pair of autos from the Devils' decade of dominance.

 Thanks very much Fuji! The Stadium Club Chrome Gomez is really cool (I never knew he wore #54) even with the corner ding. My wife met Carpenter at a Dinner with the Devils event for season ticket holders. He asked her who her favorite player is and she said... Trevor Linden. "Linden?" he replied, expecting her to name a Devil. "Why?" 

Di explained "He's the iron man." Then, as she tells it in a whimpering voice, Carpenter replied "I was the iron man."

I've acquired so many cards over the past six months that I would have loved to share with my father in law - such as my 2017 Topps Heritage set build, the hundred-plus 1956 Topps cards I've bought (both of those lists have been updated, btw) and this card just added to my COMC order thru ePack:

Pop never got to see the Devils draft Nico Hischier (the last time we spoke he said "what's going on in hockey?" and if someone hadn't interrupted I know he would have asked me if the Devs were going to draft Nico or Nolan Patrick.)  This card depicts the exact moment that Hischier's NHL career began - and even though I dislike the idea of "instant" cards, I had to fork over $3.99 for this card - plus $0.99 for the obligatory "with purchase" purchase, plus $0.25 to COMC for shipping.

Speaking of COMC, Jon of the excellent blog A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts is running a Black Friday contest in which the winner will receive $15 in credit to spend on COMC. The contest is open until Wednesday November 15th, so if you haven't entered yet, hurry over to his blog and add your name to the list. Good luck to all who enter, and thanks for the contest Jon!


I hope you're all having a great weekend - and if you know a veteran, or even if you see one in passing, be sure to thank them for their service. 


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