Sunday, January 7, 2018

A Nice Surprise

A special Christmas gift arrived yesterday.  It is the 14th autographed 1961 Fleer card I've added to my collection. And, it is a doozy. However, since I just published a post on the tenth card yesterday, I still have several posts to go before I get to show it.  This post is not going to move that ball forward.

Friday, as I was helping my wife get ready to host her bunco group,  I wandered out to the mailbox to pick up what was likely bills and junk mail. I was surprised to find a bubble mailer with a return address in Watertown, NY.  It was, of course, from Night Owl.  Before running into town on another last minute shopping run, I quickly opened it up to see what was inside.

There was a small stack of cards, accompanied by a note reading "I don't know if you need any of these, but they seem to be about your speed."  There are two implied questions in the note:  Do you need these? Do you want these?  The answers were "mostly yes" and "definitely yes."

Of the 20 cars in the package, I already had two: a 1991 Conlon and a 1993 Ted Williams.  Beyond that, I needed, and wanted, all the cards.   There were three mid-1990s Upper Deck cards: a 1996 Jackie Robinson and 1994 All Time Heroes cards of Manny Mota and and Bill Mazeroski.


 The All-Time Heroes is a nice set that I would like to build some day.  Alas, unopened boxes are selling for $120 right now, so that is something that will need to wait.

The star of the show, so to speak, was 15 cards from the 1990 Swell set. 




As an aside: is it just me, or is seeing Johnny Podres as a Padre disconcerting?  Not because of the awkward alliteration, but I just always think of him as one of Roger Kahn's Boys of Summer.

Anyways, this is a set I have always liked. I actually have two cards from this set already, both autographed: Johnny Vander Meer and Enos Slaughter. I've always wanted to put it together, but with too many other open books in my collecting, it has never risen above the level of passing thought.  But now that I have over 12% of the entire 135 card set, I guess I am officially collecting it.

Thanks, NO!

What I am listening to: Better Bad Idea by Sunny Sweeney


5 comments:

  1. I ripped a box of 1990 Swell back in the day and set up team breaks through my blog. I you ever find a box for under $20 I would jump on it... you're guaranteed two complete sets if memory serves.

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  2. I've got a box of 1990 Swell sitting on a shelf waiting for me to bust. One of these days I'll eventually let those Baseball Greats breathe.

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  3. Happy to get you started ... and, for heaven's sake, Fuji, open it already!

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  4. I've got a stockpile of about thirty boxes that I've picked up from card shows, flea markets, and Craigslist. I really do want to bust them open. The problem is I don't really have any place to put them once they're opened. Right now they're stacked nice and neatly waiting for that one day when I get some 5,000ct. boxes and have a box busting party.

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    Replies
    1. You have 30 boxes you've never busted? Heresy!

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