I went to a card show today! My first in over a year! It was held at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds and was the biggest show I have attended here in Oklahoma. It was huge, but it included Pokémon and TCG and I expect it was dominated by those sellers. To be honest, I barely got inside the doors. Two of the sellers I buy from at every show were set up next to each other right by the entrance. I never got past their tables.
Overall, there was nothing I would consider a noteworthy pickup. It was all set needs. Mostly commons, but with a few minor stars and a couple of HOFers that aren't particularly popular in the hobby. I did manage to find a few 1967 high numbers, which was a pleasant surprise. Overall, it felt good to attend a show again.
However, this post is about something different: mail deliveries!
As long as it has been since I went to a show, it has been even longer since I added something to my Johnny Antonelli player collection. And I added two this week.
I found this 2009 Heritage buyback on Ebay for less than $20 and I grabbed it immediately. I have a complicated relationship with buybacks. I don't consider that the foil stamp conveys any transformative effect to the card. This is, and will always be, a 1960 Topps card. But the online resources consider this different, so I will continue to add them provided the price is reasonable. I've seen other Antonelli buybacks, but prices in excess of $50 are not reasonable. So, this is my first buyback card in this player collection.
This is the real star of the two. It is a 1971 House of Jazz card. These were issued by the House of Jazz record store in Glenside, PA as a store promotion. There are 35 cards in the set and it boasts an impressive checklist for an unlicensed set. There isn't a lot of information on the store, though a quick Google Maps search shows that the address is now home to a counseling service and a community development organization. The checklist itself is dominated by East Coast teams but seems to lack any thematic organization. It includes all-time greats, stars, and utility players (Peanut Lowery!)
The set itself would be fun to build, but the rarity of the set makes that a non-starter. I have only seen the Antonelli a few times, certainly less than 4, over the years and it normally sells in excess of $300. I can only imagine what the Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson would sell for. When I saw this on eBay for $99, I mashed that But-It-Now button immediately. This is probably the second most rare Antonelli issue behind the 1958 Packard Bell (of which I have only seen once) To say I am stoked is underselling it.
What I am listening to: Life During Wartime by The Talking Heads
I still haven't been to a card show this year. I ended up skipping the March show as it was the same weekend I was leaving for the CONEXPO-CONAGG trade show in Las Vegas and I needed to get some things done at home before I left.
I didn't take a lot of pictures this year as the trade show was huge and I had specific things I wanted to achieve. But, I couldn't pass up the opportunity take a picture of this Komatsu WA700 loader staged as if it was dumping a load into an (also Komatsu) HD605 70-ton haul truck. The company I work for predominately uses Caterpillar products in our operations, but we do have similar Komatsu equipment in our fleet. Anyways, on to the main topic.
It is only a quarter of the way through the year and I've already completely messed up one of my goals for the year, though not necessarily in a bad way. One of my goals for the year was to almost finish the 1967 Topps baseball set. Almost in that I wanted to get the set complete except for the high number Tom Seaver rookie card. However, in a turn of good fortune the company I work for gave out bonuses and, for once, I didn't have any adult obligations laying claim to the windfall. So....
I won't deny that I was a bit sick after placing my bid as it was for a price that makes the third most I have ever spent on a card. The centering is off, but I've never been a centering absolutist. As long as there is border all the way around, I am fine. It isn't obvious from the image, but there is border along the bottom. I put it at 80-20 centering top to bottom. I probably won't change my goal from almost completing the set. I need 53 more cards and 51 are from the sixth semi-high series and seventh high number series. Lately, they have been getting really strong prices, and I am not confident that I can pick up more than one or two at a time. But, I am pleased to have this one out of the way.
What I am listening to: Blind by Korn (Believe it or not, I had this teed up before it went viral as Mason Miller's entrance song)
I am struggling to get back in the swing of collecting again. It isn't anything financial even though my dishwasher just died and I had to get a new one. I think it is more a case of having lost my muscle memory, as it were. There is a card show in OKC at the end of the month, and I currently plan to attend. It is the same weekend I need to fly to Las Vegas (Ugh!) for CONEXPO, an every third year conference combining the aggregates, ready-mix concrete, and construction industry. If I do get to the card show, it will be a week short of a year since the last show I attended.
In the meantime, I looked over my want list and decided to knock off 1970 Topps football. I only needed 7 cards, mostly commons. I overpaid a little bit, but I really wanted to get something done. I was thinking of doing a post of my favorite card fronts and backs from the set and even went so far as to go through the set noting the likely candidates. The time needed to scan and write looked to be more than I had available. Then I noticed that the same card was on both lists. So, here it is: my favorite card from 1970 Topps Football.
I have no idea what is up with this image, but it is glorious.
Grayson had numerous business interests' post-career, so I have to assume he wasn't working as a carhop. I haven't been able to find much information to fill in any blanks, but there is enough information out there to see that he was an interesting fellow.
Originally undrafted out of college due to his small size, he was signed briefly by the Dallas Cowboys in 1961, but Tom Landry didn't think he was large enough for the NFL. On the recommendation of Gil Brandt, Hank Stram signed him to the AFL Dallas Texans.
He played 4 years with the Texans and their successor organization, the Kansas City Chiefs. During those 4 years, he made 3 Pro Bowls and 2 AFL All-Pro teams.
In 1961, he returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown against the New York Titans. He was also a kick returner, and, in 1963, he returned a kick 99 yards for a TD against Denver.
In 1965, he was traded to the Oakland Raiders for cornerback (and later actor) Fred Williamson. It is with Oakland that he really came into his own.
In 1965, his first season in the Bay Area, he intercepted 3 passes returning two for touchdowns. In 1968 he intercepted 10 passes and scored 1 TD. The following year, he picked off the opposition 8 times and contributed 1 touchdown.
He retired from football after the 1970 season. In 6 seasons with Oakland, he made 3 Pro Bowls and 4 All-Pro teams.
During his 10-year career, he missed exactly one game. That was the first game of his rookie season in 1961. How is that for consistency?
He is the all-time AFL interception leader and was named to the AFL All-Time team. He is the only defensive back on that team that is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He had a number of business interests in his post career life, and his son Dave Grayson Jr played 5 seasons as a linebacker in the NFL for Cleveland and San Diego.
What I am listening to: So Much Trouble in the World by Lucinda Williams & Mavis Staples
