Player Collection Roll Call

Much of my collecting focus this year was geared toward building and completing sets. However I think I've hit a wall there. Every TCDB trade option has been exhausted - aside from maybe some 1994 Fleer Ultra baseball singles, there's nothing else I can acquire with what's left of my tradelist. 

I've made 15 separate purchases on Sportlots in 2023(which has become my go-to sports card site, eclipsing COMC) plus a couple from TCDB (shoutout supergajit and RSmith1217). And I made a lot of progress! My two-page wantlist shrunk down to two-thirds of a page, and even with four new projects added it's still much cleaner than it was eleven months ago. 

With my team collections nearing capacity and new sets not really thrilling me (except for 2023 Topps Archives) it was time to turn my focus to player PCs. I added a bunch to my TCDB wantlist and began boosting those numbers. So here's an update on some of the players I collect and where my count stands with four weeks left in the year:

Robin Yount

Current Count: 130 (8th overall, 1st among non-Red Sox in my collection)
Incoming via TCDB: 20
Notes: Even with my meager trade bait it's not hard to reel in overproduction-era singles of a Hall of Famer with over 9,000 unique cards. There are some 2000s singles (Fleer Greats, Legendary Cuts) en route as well.

Kris Bryant

Current Count: 68 (19th, 1st among active non-Red Sox)
Incoming via TCDB: None, but not for lack of trying.
Notes: I didn't add Bryant cards to my wantlist and I've wavered on keeping him on my PC player list. But he's one of few active players I like and his cards always look sharp - especially this one:

I asked for this in a potential trade and the user removed it in his counter, so I declined and bought one on COMC - for well under a dollar.

 

 Eric Dickerson

Current Count: 57 (12th, 2nd among non-Packers)
Incoming via TCDB: 2
Notes: The last time I was able to purchase a football repack from the Shop Rite vending machine I pulled an '84 Topps Dickerson (In Action, not the true RC)

Dan Marino

Current Count: 92 (6th, 1st among non-Packers)
Incoming via TCDB: 2
Notes: Marino has over 14,000 different cards. He'd have crossed the 100-card milestone in my collection long ago if there were more football card collectors on the blogs and TCDB.

Christian McCaffrey

Current Count: 42 (21st, 1st among active non-Packers)
Incoming via TCDB: none
Notes: CMC used to be easy for me to collect, since he's an injury prone non-quarterback. It's been a bit tougher now that he's on a more glamorous team - not just due to the abundance of 49ers fans but also because my dislike for the team. This is the only SF McCaffrey card I have to date, and I acquired it in a recent TCDB trade.

Art Monk

Current Count: 45 (20th, 6th among non-Packers)
Incoming via TCDB: None from TCDB; one incoming from COMC
Notes: Some recently completed trades brought in a few of Mr. Monk's early '90s issues I was inexplicably missing. I should be able to add a couple more before I run out of trade bait.

 

 Hakeem Olajuwon

Current Count: 72 (2nd among all NBA players)
Incoming via TCDB: 12, plus one incoming from COMC
Notes: TCDB counts multi-player team cards, like this. I only count them if the player is specifically mentioned, like this:

...which TCDB does not include in my Hakeem card count, for some reason.

Reggie Miller

Current Count: 75 (1st among all NBA players)
Incoming via TCDB: 2
Notes: The race to 100 is on. Hakeem is pulling ahead. and will take the lead from Miller once all these TCDB trades arrive (even when you factor in their wacky accounting). I've been trying to find an affordable Finest or Chrome refractor of Reggie and it just isn't happening. Although I did manage to pick up his Fleer RC for my set build.

Damian Lillard

Current Count: 34 (19th, 1st among active NBA players)
Incoming via TCDB: None
Notes: My Lillard PC was in danger of shutting down this summer as the Portland legend tried to maneuver his way to Miami. When he ended up in Milwaukee instead(my de facto favorite team) I revived my interested in acquiring more Lillard cards, and I'm looking forward to adding my first Dame card as a Buck. 

Alex Ovechkin

Current Count: 180 (1st among active NHL players)
Incoming via TCDB: 5; plus one from COMC
Notes: Ovi's Gr8 chase toward Wayne Gretzky's NHL goals record is slowing down (he's 67 goals away and only has 5 this year) but my Ovechkin collection marches on. I should be able to reach 200 different cards before the end of 2024.

 

There are plenty of other players I collect, but these ten have been my main focus. 

 

Have you acquired any notable cards of your  favorite players lately? What are your hobby goals for 2024?


Thanks for reading!


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COMC Christmas Cards

I had hoped to post part 2 of The Young Guns Chronicles this week, but work has been exhausting. It's easier for me to clear out some of the 'to be posted' cards in my latest COMC order.

 

Merry Christmas! I never thought I could afford a Panini Flawless relic, not even an unlicensed one. This Robin Yount 12/25 popped up during a round of COMC challenges and I added it to my watch list just because. When the seller asked for a very reasonable $25 I was psyched. And then I made an offer, which got this down to $21.75. With this and the PSA 8 RC, I consider my Yount collection complete. (there is one more on the way from Cardbarrel though.)

 

Here's another low-numbered relic from a high-end, unlicensed product. Immaculate is my favorite of these brands, and you know I won't pass up a Papi. This 15/15 dual (red parallel) cost just $13. Slap a 'B' on his hat and it's probably twice that.

 

I picked up this thick Chronicles single for $1 hoping to flip it for a small profit. Then Fernando Tatis Jr. got busted for PEDs. Guess I can make room for it in my thick base/relic card box.

 

Couldn't pass up this David Montgomery patch for $2.25. I'll have to update my Immaculate Collection list soon.
 

Stumbled across this 2001 Donruss Classics Hashmarks insert with actual turf from Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. COMC had a Brett Favre and a Bart Starr single for sale, but I went with the cheapest Hashmarks card on the site and picked up Donovan McNabb for $5.13.

Another football relic that looked interesting. This Mark Brunell (#/d to 550) cost $2.25.

True or false: I was inspired to pick up a Signature Premium Materials patch auto because it resembled an older Upper Deck insert set. These beauties are not cheap so I chose Alexander True, who was chosen by the Kraken in the Expansion draft but barely played. At $10.25, there was only one lower-priced card from this set on COMC. Interestingly, three of the five cheapest offerings on the site are San Jose Sharks cards.

It was a mission of mine to find some high-grade vintage hockey during the sale. J.P. Parise was the only recognizable player that fit into my budget. He's a big reason why his son Zach left the Devils to sign in Minnesota, and he tried to murder a referee in the '72 Summit Series ... but I like this card anyway.

Don't get me started on the Summit Series, lol

I'll get to a couple more groups of purchases in my 2022 wrap-up post, but here's a few more for today. My basketball box is now full (I may be able to squeeze in five singles or so)  I mentioned my affinity for '87-88 Fleer before. Terry Tyler was not a name I recognized but the price was right (58 cents) and that powder blue Kings uniform called to me. A Bismack Purple Prizm for 75 cents and a Giannis Mirror Blue ($5.85) round out my hoops purchases.

The Harvey Martin RC was an impulse buy. I had some spare change left and had grown tired of scrolling through the COMC site so I grabbed it for $1.20 and called it a day. Cowboys cards are lacking in my collection and helmet less cards are hit-or-miss for me, but a smiling rookie card of a Super Bowl MVP and borderline Hall of Famer isn't a bad way to spend some challenge credit.

I dislike On-Demand sets in general (and I've never heard of Steve Aoki) but I won't pass up a colorful David Ortiz card for 77 cents. The Pink Prizm Judge was a failed flip and potential tradebait, especially since he re-signed with the Yanks. Oh, but I thought no one wanted to play in New York or California because of all the taxes and crime? God, Twitter is stupid. On a lighter note, since there are no logos and the card only says "New York" we can pretend he signed with the Mets :D

Hey, it's a Young Guns card! I had to pick up a John Marino RC since he was key to the Devils' early-season success.

Ever since I boasted about Jersey's team leading the NHL with a 21-3 record, the Devils have lost five straight and only earned a single point. Trash-ass franchise #FireLindy.

Let's end with a 1953 Bowman Willie Mays.

I found an Al Kaline from this "Bowman Cards that never were" set at a card show and forgot to look for the other singles in the set until I saw this beauty. Not sure how these were distributed (appears to be a VIP promo at The National) but this one was just $1.71, so it shouldn't cost more than $10 to round up the rest - Ernie Banks, Ted Williams, and Jackie Robinson. I think '53 Bowman is my favorite vintage design - which is saying a lot since I'm collecting the '56 Topps set. More on that project soon.

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

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10 x 14 = 8 (an eBay trade)

For reasons that should be clear to most collectors, I decided to divest myself of many Brett Favre items in my collection. Why it took me this long to do so is a whole different discussion.

I listed 14 of my 15 Gem Mint Brett Favre rookie cards (held on to the Stadium Club RC) for $500 or best offer. If I'd included the Stadium Club card I probably could have sold the lot for $500. Regardless, I accepted an offer of $376 for these:

 

 

 

 

After shipping and fees I received $332.74 for this 14-card lot. I listed two Fave inserts individually:

The 1997 Bowman's Best Cuts Atomic Refractor sold for $21.49 ($18.27 after fees/S&H) As for the 1999 Flair Showcase Legacy Collection parallel (#d to 99) the auction was won by someone with 1,100+ feedback for a high bid of $48.00. The buyer never paid or replied, so I kept the card.

Fortunately, the winner of the Brett Favre memorabilia lot followed through on payment.

I still have an autographed jersey and career timeline print, along with a stack of magazines that didn't sell. This lot sold for $235.99. After shipping and fees I pocketed $203.69. 

Offloading a significant portion of my oldest and largest player collection earned me a grand total of $554.70.

So what did I receive in this eBay "trade"? 

Two cards.

The first one was the Jack Hughes Young Guns RC mentioned in my previous post. 

This beauty set me back $188.57. [programming note: the Young Guns series will debut next week.]

With the balance, I was able to purchase a card that had been missing from my collection for far too long. The one affordable vintage single that always eluded me due to price or condition issues, or both.

I've looked at dozens of Robin Yount rookie cards in the past and even owned a couple copies. But I could never find a PSA 8 to pair with my George Brett RC. Until now.

This copy was well-centered, and the 'blue puddle' is not present. And I almost nit-picked myself away from it. There's a red print line to the left of the 'B' at the top of the card:

And a little bit of wood grain residue on the card back:

After much deliberation I decided to purchase the card, with the assumption that I wouldn't find a better example of a PSA 8 Yount in this price range. $366.09 after tax and shipping was less than most 8s sell for. The red line on the front is barely visible in-hand; I doubt I'd notice it if I hadn't seen it in the zoomed scan.

These two cards cost a total of $554.66, which left me a balance of...

 cents. Perfect. 

Thanks for reading!

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Ten Bucks

I am not from Wisconsin. I've never been to Wisconsin, and I don't think I've ever met anyone from Wisconsin (my grandmother might have been born there. we're not sure.) That said, the lack of tangible ties to the badger state hasn't kept me from developing an affinity for their sports teams.

Robin Yount was one of my favorite players growing up. He signed this 8x10 for me at the East Coast National in White Plains, NY about ten years ago. 

I haven't finished - and in fact I've barely started - cataloging my baseball cards, but I know I have at least 100 different Yount cards. I'd be surprised if that's not the most cards I have of any player who never played for the Red Sox.

You all know I'm a Packer backer. I have nearly 2,500 Packers cards in my collection - though none of them were released before 1977. I've been spending my COMC challenge credit on Brett Favre inserts, Devils cards, and other cheap stuff, so when I spotted this 1961 Topps Jim Taylor I vowed not to buy anything else until I "earned" this first. Red background aside, this is what a football card should look like. 

It was high time I added a vintage Packer legend to my collection of Favres, Whites, Rodgerses and Mathewses. And this card was on sale for one day at the low, low price of..$9.07.

$9.07?? Then why is this post called "Ten Bucks?" Also...how was this card only $9.07?

COMC had the condition listed as Good to VG-EX. I couldn't see anything wrong with the front, so I assumed there must have been some writing or paper loss on the back:

Well..technically it's been scratched off, so I guess that counts as paper loss. But I don't mind. It's like the dealer at the Milford card show said to me - this is going in my PC.

I wanted to show this off now, since I don't plan to bring home any of my COMC purchases until after Black Friday. There are six other Packers sitting in my 'to be shipped' inventory..and one Milwaukee Bucks card:

This green Prizm parallel of the Big O is more typical of the cards I've been buying on COMC. Add the 51 cents this card cost to the $9.07 for the Taylor, and throw in another 42 cents for this Brett Favre..

..and you have an even ten dollars. But this isn't a COMC Blaster* post. This is a post about ten Bucks.
 *TM Shoebox Legends

When Kerry (Cards on Cards) rebooted his Guilt-Free Basketball Card Club I was excited to join in the fun, and swap some cards with a very generous trader. Only problem was..I didn't have a favorite basketball team. I'd hinted at maybe becoming a Bucks fan during the Milwaukee stop on my Sports Card Tour, but they were one of a handful of teams I could see myself rooting for. Small-market teams appeal to me, and I've grown tired of seeing the same two teams in the NBA Finals every year (at least Cleveland won't be back.)

I haven't watched enough games to call myself a fan, and I'd feel guilty about jumping on the bandwagon now, with the Bucks sitting atop the standings. But I do enjoy collecting Bucks cards more than most other NBA teams. Right now, the Bucks rank 6th in my NBA collection, due in part to a surprising amount of players I like to collect.

This is the oldest and best Bucks card in my collection, the highlight of my Secret Santa gift from Mark Hoyle. I would have loved to see these two titans of the game run the floor at the MECCA.

Jack Sikma was nearing the end of his career when I started collecting cards. He's one of many former Bucks in the "Hall of Very Good" along with Bob Dandridge, Marques Johnson, and Sidney Moncrief.

Moncrief's Starting Lineup figure was one of those out-of-market pieces that I desperately wanted. (The Sikma SLU is far less appealing. Kenner made him look like a neanderthal) I never did get a Bucks SLU, but I'd like to get a Moncrief card from something other than NBA Hoops.

Hall of Famer Moses Malone succeeded Sikma at center for the Bucks. This card is in my collection, and it features that cartoonish deer I saw a million times in my card piles.

By the time Ray Allen arrived, the Bucks were wearing purple as a primary color. Allen is probably the greatest UConn alum in NBA history, and as such, is a primary reason why I claimed the Bucks in Kerry's trading club. 

Of course there's also the Greek Freak, Milwaukee's franchise star and potential NBA MVP. If he were the only Bucks player I was interested in collecting, chances are I wouldn't have claimed them.

The Bucks also boast Khris Middleton, who shares the same first name (almost) and birthday as yours truly. 

Matthew Dellavedova is another guy I collect. I have a few of his Cavaliers cards but none with Milwaukee. It's a shame that he was squeezed out of the Bucks' rotation just when they were getting good, but he sees to be embracing his role as a leader on the rebuilding Cavs. 

Finally, here's another look at one of the most recent additions to my Bucks card collection: 

I missed out on so many great cards like this Danny Manning during my nearly two decades years away from basketball card collecting.  Even if someone who isn't a regular reader and only comments for the free cards scoops up all the Greek Freak singles I'll be happy with whatever Bucks cards come my way.



So there you have it..ten Bucks. And I didn't even mention Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon, Glenn Robinson, or Michael Redd. (perhaps I should have done a twenty Bucks post..lol.)


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