Fleer Autograph Project - Part 49

What I am listening to: Over the Top by Motörhead

Fleer Autograph Project - Part 48

Today, the card below arrived and becomes the 48th card from the 66 card 1963 Fleer baseball set that I have autographed.

 I found this card by chance when I did a Google search for "1963 Fleer Autographed."  It had just been added to inventory at an online retailer named Mickey's Cards out of Arizona. I was able to get this for less than $20 delivered. I consider that a bargain given that Donovan died 18 years ago, in 1997. Naturally, I have now liberated it from the plastic jail you see above.

This project is going to slow down considerably from here on out.  Of the 18 cards I yet to have in autographed form, only 4 have living subjects (Willie Mays, Al Jackson, Rich Rollins, and Bill White.)  I thought I had Mays last year, but the signing was delayed several times and finally never happened.  I have plans to get Jackson and Rollins. White is harder.  I understand he doesn't do autographs through the mail anymore, so I'll have to wait for one to come up at auction.

Of the 14 cards of deceased players, I have no clear idea how it will go. For every reasonable Dick Donovan, there is a Gene Oliver.  There was an EBay auction a short time ago for an autographed '63 Fleer Oliver that closed at $111.50.  That is way too rich for my blood at this time.

 So, in summary, I have line of sight to 50, but not beyond.  I feel pretty good about this given I started this project on a lark a few years ago.

What I am listening to:  Children of Children by Jason Isbell

Card Show Haul - Closing Bookend

And, so that is it. My card show haul.  I had been there about 2 hours when I got a text from my wife asking "Are you still at the show?"  That was my cue to leave and, since I was done anyways, I headed home.

So, here is the closing bookend:

The first is, as I understand it, is from Jeter's third to last game on September 25, 2014.  It captures the image of Jeter after he hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth against Baltimore.  The second image is, I believe, from his final game three days later when he hit an RBI single in the top of the third inning and was promptly pinch run for by Brian McCann. That is the image of Jeter walking off the field for the final time in his playing career.

What I am listening to: You Got to Me by James McMurtry

Various Player Collection Additions

Recently, I added a couple new items to my Johnny Antonelli player collection.   This 1958 Hires card was an EBay win.  I actually already have this card, but bid on this one because the tab was still intact. My previous Hires Antonelli didn't have the tab

This next Antonelli card I did get at the show for the exorbitant price of $1.  This is my second 1961 Johnny Antonelli.  There was actually two versions of this card.

This version is card number 142B, showing Antonelli with the SF Giants.  Version 142A shows him with the Cleveland Indians.  What is odd is that he was traded from the Giants to the Indians. You would expect, chronologically, the Giants card would be A and the Indians B.  But, it is the reverse.

What I am listening to: 24 Frames by Jason Isbell

Card Show Haul - Vintage Sets

The show ended up being quite fruitful with regard to working on vintage sets.  Two of the three main vintage sellers were there and I made a little progress on a lot of sets.

I managed to pick up 8 more cards towards my 1979 set; leaving me 17 to go to completion.

I managed to find this 1978 TCMA The 60s Sandy Koufax in a dollar box.  I have a good deal of the 293 card set, with about 40 to go to completion.  This set, and other 1970s TCMA and SSPC sets, are what I intend to work on during the long dry spells in the quest to finish pre-1973 Topps sets.

I found 3 1975 Topps cards, leaving me only 6 to go to complete the set.  The Munson however, is not one of the three.  The scanning process doesn't make it obvious. but it is actually a mini. I don't really intend to ever collect the 1975 minis, but how could I pass up acquiring the card of one of the Yankee's iconic players for a mere buck?

I found five more 1961 Fleer cards leaving me 6 to go to completion.  The Ross Young is one of the more expensive cards in the set with a book value of $40.  Why? I'm not sure, but the best explanation is that it is the last card in the set, and like the 1952 Topps Andy Pafko, it is hard to find in good condition because of damage from the rubber bands that held stacks of cards together back in the day.  Alas, two of the remaining cards I need are Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, which both come in at a $120 book value.  I'm hoping to find both for under $30, so it will probably be a long search.

I picked up four more cards from 1961 Golden Press, leaving me 12 to go. It is just a small 33 card set that, as I understand it, came together as pages in a book; explaining the perforation chads along the edges.

I picked up this 1956 Al Kaline for $5.  I am not sure why the seller (who tends to price high) had it for such a low price.  It appears to be a little off color, but the discoloration is uniform and the card has great eye appeal.  The seller had a large number of 1956 cards with him and I could have made significant progress on my set.  Except I managed to leave my 1956 want list at home. However, that didn't turn out to be a major issue.

Since I couldn't work on my 1956 set, I decided to have the seller put together a 1972 starter set for me.   I now have about 235 cards towards the 787 card set.  Among the cards he pulled for me are the 4 cards above, which includes the infamous Billy Martin card. (If you don't know why it is infamous, please look closely at his hand.)  This set will undoubtedly be a long haul to completion, with over 260 high number cards.  I expect that it will take a minimum of two years, since I'll only be able to get small groups of high numbers at a time....when I can find them.

So, that was the bulk of my card show finds. I did get one card towards a player collection, but will save that for a PC specific post.

Card Show Haul - Modern Cards

I didn't make huge progress on the various modern sets I am working on, but I did take a small chunk out of the remaining cards (all inserts) that I need to complete my 1994 Ted Williams set.

This card is the last card I needed to complete the 500 home run club insert set.

The next three cards didn't complete the Locklear Collection insert set, but it did leave me with only one to go.  I like this insert set real well. It is the nicest "painted" card set I have ever seen.  A lot of people like the Donruss Diamond Kings cards. I didn't, but I can't see how anyone could disagree that these are better looking.

This card is part of the 17 card Milestones insert subset.  It is, believe it or not, the first card from this insert set that I have.  I should have looked at the odds of getting these various inserts when I busted the box a while back. I have to assume these are the inserted at the longest odds.

With these five cards, I am down to 21 needed to complete the set; all but 5 of which are from the Milestones insert set.

I also picked up a few other modern cards that caught my fancy.

I really don't have much need for contemporary sets. With limited funds,  they just get in the way of my vintage sets.  But, if there was a current set I would collect, it would be 2015 Stadium Club. I really like this image.  The first African American to play for the Chicago Cubs getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom from our first African American President.  What is not to like about it?

 This card, a Bowman reprint card of Warren Spahn, plays to my love of black and white photography. Although, I have to admit that Spahnie looks kinda creepy in the picture.

Last, but not least, a single from a set I will likely put together: Swell Baseball Greats. Actually, this set is the second of three Swell sets issued between 1989 and 1991, comprising of 420 cards total.

So, that is pretty much it for the modern cards I got at the show. And that is also it for this post.  I'll move on to the vintage in the next post.

What I am listening to: I Wanna Be Rich by Jenny Kerr

Card Show Haul - Opening Bookend

There was a card show this weekend up in Oklahoma City. Normally, I wouldn't go since it is so close to the holidays, but December of 2015 is a magical month.  I get paid every two weeks, which means 26 paydays a year.  This December is one of two months I get three paychecks.  Since we budget based on two checks per month.......free money!  Now most of that extra check is put towards more mundane matters, but I did take some a little of that and drove up to the show.  I made some progress on about 6 different sets I am working on, started another set, and picked up a handful of cards that caught my fancy.

So, let me throw up a bookend to hold this set of posts together:
 

 Now, I will grant that this 2012 Triple Play Derek Jeter is a silly card, but it made my smile and it cost less than a dollar, so I bought it.