October Card Show Haul - Vintage

Last weekends card show was also fairly productive with regards to my main collecting focus, vintage cards.

I found three 1978 TCMA The 60s cards I needed for my set, including the smiling Ernie Banks above.  This was a minor coup, as I rarely see these cards out in the wild. In fact, these were the first cards from that set that I have seen in nearly three years. I have seen an eBay seller that has a you-pick-them Buy it Now listing, but have never pulled the trigger because I've always had bigger fish to fry. 

Speaking of which:

I found the last three cards I needed for my 1972 set, including Carew. The 1972 Topps set, that I began working in earnest on December 19, 2015, is now complete.

Eleven more cards for my 1970 set, which leaves me 124 to go for completion.  This will still be a challenge, since 76 of the cards I need are in the semi-high and high number series.  Thankfully, the only major stars I still need are Clemente (#350), Banks (#630), and Kaline (#640).  Now that I have, generally, exhausted the local supply of cards, I expect that most of my progress from here on out to completion will come from eBay. So, if history is any tell, this will probably take at least another year to finish.

Twelve more 1968 cards, leaving me 113 to complete the set.  Unfortunately, with this set, I need most of the major stars, including the outrageously expensive Nolan Ryan rookie card. In fact, the *only* major stars I have for 1968 are Mickey Mantle, and the Aaron and Rose cards above. Even though I need less cards to finish 1968 than I do for 1970, I expect that this set will take closer to two years to finish because of the lack of star cards already in my collection.

Woo-hoo!  I completed a second set at the show. Granted, it was only the 33 set 1968 Topps Game, but I got the last card I needed for it.

 Nine more cards for my 1965 set, including Mr. Koufax.  I have a total of 105 cards so far for this 598 card set. Is that number high enough to say I am officially working it?

Lastly, I encountered a new seller at the show who had some of the oddest discount boxes I have ever seen.  They were, in many ways, your usual discount boxes in that they were full of modern parallels, short prints and no-name relic/autograph cards.  But, then you would find the occasional gem that really had no place in a discount box.  I found a Don Newcombe stadium pin in a dollar box which I sent off to Night Owl.  I also found this nice condition 1938 Churchman boxing card.  I don't have much interest in putting together the whole 50 card set, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add an 80 year old card to my collection.

So that is about it.  There won't be another local show until December and I have plenty of farm projects to keep me busy until then.  I may trawl through eBay to work on some of my sets, but I don't expect much activity in the next two months.

What I am listening to: Rock the Casbah by The Clash

August Local Show

Within a few days of my arrival back home from  my trip to the National show, I had an unexpected windfall. Well, it shouldn't be unexpected, inasmuch as it is an annual occurrence. So, it is more accurately categorized as an unremembered windfall.  But, it doesn't really matter, does it? Some money dropped in that I wasn't expecting.

After putting much of it in savings, since we are going to have a new loafing shed/storage building put up on the farm in the next couple weeks, I held a bit back to hit a local card show that took place the weekend after the National.  I made progress on a few of my sets and captured a little of the serendipity that was missing from my National visit.

I picked up 17 more of the remaining cards I need for my 1972 set, bringing me down to 9 cards left for completion.  The rookie card above has eluded me for quite a while. I've bid on it numerous times, but have never won as it always sell for more than I am willing to pay.

Since I am so close to completion on 1972, I decided to look back and figure out when I started it.  While I had cards prior to the date, my history shows that I really started the set in earnest at a card show in the middle of December of 2015. It is my intent to finish this set by the end of the year, so it will have taken approximately 3 years to complete.  When I first got back into collecting by building sets from the late 1970s, I was able to finish 2 sets a year.  However, once I worked my way back to 1973, it got harder since those sets were issued in series with the later series available in smaller quantities and at much higher prices. I don't think I'll finish a set in under a year again.

I found 4 needs for my 1970 set.  Still a long way to go on this one, with 139 cards (out of 720) still to go. And, of course, 109 of those are semi-high and high numbers.

Four more cards for 1968.  I need 125 more to complete the 598 card set.

Now for the moments of serendipity:

I have never owned a Red Heart dog food issue before. In fact, I don't ever recall seeing one in person.  That is now over with the addition of this 1954 Hank Sauer to my collection.  It is a small set at 33 cards, but has some serious names in the checklist. See for yourself. 

A 1949 Bowman. I really like the design of this set and I would consider building it if it wasn't for the Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige rookie cards that have a high book value of an eye-popping $3000 each.  The 1956 Mantle that I recently got only books at half that, and I was sweating some buying that.  I have a hard time imagining laying down the cash needed, even if I could afford it, to acquire even poor condition versions of those two cards. (Good Lord, I tortured that last sentence within an inch of it's life, didn't I?)

Anyways, that is about it for now.  I've got my fall vacation coming up in a few weeks and with the holidays coming soon behind, I expect my hobby activity will slow down. I'd like to finish both 1956 and 1972 before year end, but I don't have any plans beyond that.

What I am listening to: Aretha Franklin

The National Show - Distractions

As I explained in the previous post, my goals for the National were to add some autographed 1960-1963 Fleer cards to my collection. I was primarily interested in finding one of the three remaining 1963 cards I don't have in autographed form (Clemente, Boyer, and Farrell.)  I didn't find any of them and the only 1960-61 I saw that I would have been interested in was a 1960 Jimmie Foxx.  But, autographed Foxx cards generally sell for between $1000 and $1200. That was beyond my show budget, so I moved on to my second priority of knocking off some of the high value cards I needed to finish my 1956 set.  My focus would be mainly on the Mantle and hopefully having enough left over to add a few of the commons and team cards I still lacked.

However, I got a little distracted. In fairness, it is easy to do at a show that large.

I managed to find a seller who wasn't too proud of their inventory and was selling 1972 cards at a price I consider reasonable. My rule of thumb for buying cards is I am willing to pay up to 33% of book value for NRMT cards and 25% for EX+.  My unscientific survey of the show was that many sellers were well above those price points. Even factoring in that they always deal, there wasn't a huge pool of dealers that I would be buying from.

I managed to find 17 reasonably priced 1972 cards, including the several above.  That Buckner card has eluded me for quite a while. I would guess I have bid on it on eBay set breaks at least a half dozen times without success. Glad to finally have stricken it from the want list.

I went into the show needing 43 cards to finish 1972, so if my math is correct, I ended the show needing 26 to finish the 787 cards set.

The Math Seems To Check Out! GIF from Thehouse GIFs

Should I have gotten a bunch of 1972 high and semi-highs when I wanted to focus on 1956?  Probably not, but no regrets.

Ten Records

The godfather of baseball card blogging, Night Owl, threw down a challenge earlier this week: to name 10 albums that were significant to you and tie it to baseball cards.  This is my effort.  I've gone a little further and added videos of songs from the albums (with one exception) and tied the cards to the song.    So, here we go:



1. Styx - Cornerstone

Why this album: This album changed my musical tastes.  Prior to buying Cornerstone, I listened to the worst of 1970s pop music, like The Village People and KC and the Sunshine Band.  The song Babe was what drew me in, but it was the rock power anthems on the record that converted me over to rock music.

Why this card:  Well, I am nothing if unoriginal.  Babe is the song that introduced me to Styx.  And what other baseball player to show?  Sure, there were many ballplayers with the nickname babe.  32, according to Baseball Reference.    But, none are greater than Babe Ruth

2. AC/DC - Back in Black

Why this album:  This album, bought at the KMart in Chili Center, NY really led me into the hard rock world and away from the (sometimes forced) theatrics of Styx.  A lot of Styx music sounds dated now.  Back in Black, at 37 years old, still fits into the modern music landscape.  Plus, I remember driving to Buffalo in a blizzard to see AC/DC as a college freshman.

Why this card: What Do You Do For Money, Honey?  Don Money?  Like I said, I don't pretend to orginality.

3.  Sammy Hagar - Standing Hampton 

Why this album: The first concert I ever attended was Sammy Hagar (with Aldo Nova opening) at the Rochester Auditorium Theater in my junior year in high school.

Why this card:  Well, standing hampton is a NSFW slang.   Look it up and you'll understand.

4. Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood

Why this album: I remember hearing a cut from this album, SRV's debut, on the radio during my senior year in high school and being completely blown away by it. The cassette tape was pretty much on loop for me the summer between high school and college.

Why this card:  Well it is Curt *Flood* and he was born in Houston, Texas.

5. R.E.M. - Reckoning

Why this album:  I first heard this playing on the store sound system as I wandered about The Record Archive in Rochester during college. It blew me away and I bought it immediately. It was my entrée into alternative rock.  The video is a bit of a stretch. I really spent some time thinking about this and never got anywhere.  I finally googled "R.E.M. " and "baseball" and found out two members of the band formed a group called The Baseball Project and released two baseball themed albums.  So, I went in that direction instead of beating my head on a wall trying to tie Harborcoat to baseball.

Why this card:  Well, the song is called Harvey Haddix.

6. Metallica-S&M

Why this album:  This brought me back to heavy metal after a long time away. I don't have an extensive metal library, but I do appreciate watching people that are really good at what they do.  And Metallica is that.

Why this card:  I defy anyone to come up with a different player.  Enter Sandman played whenever Mariano Rivera came in from the bullpen at Yankee Stadium and Metallica played at his final game.

7. Pine Valley Cosmonauts - The Majesty of Bob Wills

Why this album:  I came across this album in the music section of the late, lamented Borders Bookstore.  They had headphones along the rows of CDs that would allow you to listen to selected albums.  This album was one such selection.  It introduced me to Western Swing music, an amalgam of country and jazz most popular in the 1930s and 1940s.  It is still around, most notably by the Austin band Asleep at the Wheel.  Bob Wills is in both the Rock and Roll and Country Music Halls of Fame.

Why this card:  Well the song above is about the Alamo, which is in San Antonio. Cliff Johnson, a player on the Yankees teams of my youth is from San Antonio.

8. Social Distortion - Social Distortion

Why this album:  I really like the SoCal punk sound here.  And, when I found out that there was a fair amount of crossover between the SoCal punk scene and the classic country and Bakersfield sounds (typified most recently by Dwight Yoakam), I was hooked.

Why this card: Well, Casey Stengel wrote a book titled "Casey at the Bat: The Story of My Life in Baseball."

9. Slaid Cleaves - Broke Down

Why this album:  I don't rightly recall if this was my introduction to Americana music, since that is a fairly broad label that encompasses a number of other genres, like folk and alt-country. I will say that, after hearing this song on a locally produced radio show, I did go right out and get the CD and it did contribute to a new direction in my music listening.

Why this card:  Well, what else is the baseball equivalent of one good year other than the one year wonder.  And Joe Charboneau falls into that category

10. Metamodern Sounds in Country Music by Sturgill Simpson

Why this album:  Sturgill Simpson is the man.  Along with Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell, he is saving country music.  Much to the chagrin of Nashville's Music Row. But screw them. They are peddling crappy pop and bro country. If you haven't seen his performance on Saturday Night Live recently, you should.  Go here and here.  While I expect that Beyonce's "Lemonade" will win, I'd love Simpson's "A Sailor's Guide to Earth" to win the Record of the Year Grammy.

Why this card:  Okay, this is a stretch. I admit it. But, I do need to show some faint glimmer of originality. Turtles all the way down is a colloquial expression of the infinite regress problem in cosmology.  It is also considered an example of the Anavastha concept in Indian philosophy.  So, here is a card of two Indian natives who joined the Pirates minor league organization in 2009 as part of the reality show, Million Dollar Arm. Dinesh Patel only hung on for two years, both in Rookie ball.  Rinku Singh made it 4 years, getting as high as A ball.  He resigned with the Pirates in November 2015 and managed to pitch one scoreless inning in rookie ball during the 2016 season.

Hello World with a Package from Night Owl

Gathering from how much dust is laying around here, I am guessing it has been a while since I posted.


*looks at blog home page*

Yup, 13 total posts this year and none since May 11.  While I haven't been completely inactive on the hobby front lately, I didn't have much going on.  The adult world has taken the forefront the last couple months. On the good side, I finally upgraded my commuting vehicle from a 2006 Honda Civic (with over 210,000 miles) to a 2015 Ford Fusion.

On the bad, one of our horses passed away last month. It is said, for us humans, that a large portion of our medical expenses are incurred during the last few months of our lives.  The same is apparently true for animals, as well. 

Obviously, this isn't why you are here, so I will dispense with the elegy, though I could go on for a while about my old friend, Jack.

Some time back, I sent some cards to the Dean of Baseball Card Bloggers, Night Owl. I don't often send cards to him because my collecting focus and process doesn't lead to me having a lot of duplicates. But, when I can send some I like to do so. I cannot begin to state how much pleasure I get from reading what NO writes.  Sending a meagerly filled bubble mailer his way every once in a while is what I consider small recompense for the service he provides.

That said, he asked what he could send in return.  My main collecting focus right now, such as it is, is 1972 Topps. That is a set NO is also working on and is further along than I am.  I didn't expect him to have many to send.  I am not much of a modern era collector, with most my focus on pre-1980 Topps sets. So, I offered that I also like throw-back type sets that feature old timey players.  Any modern sets that catch my fancy tend to fall into this category, like 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game and (to a lesser extent) the 2009-2011 Tristar Obak sets.

A bit over a week ago, a bubble mailer appeared in the mailbox. I wasn't expecting anything, so I was a little surprised when I saw it was from Night Owl.  As my memory isn't what it used to be, it took a moment to remember our last conversation.  Anyways, the package did not disappoint. It included a bunch of cards from the throwback sets I like.

I'm not real jazzed about the 1989 Pacific set that the above card is from.   While I do tend to favor card sets with simple designs, this set is uninspiring.  Gray (sorta) works on 1970 Topps, but '89 Pacific is a snooze-fest.  Plus, it may be just me, but that painting/picture of Lefty Grove is kinda creepy looking.  This is a set I probably won't build.

This is one of three Renata Galasso cards NO sent.  The Galasso set, issued in 6 series between 1977 and 1984, were the first non-Topps sets I completed when I re-entered the hobby back in 2011. I love this set, which borrows it's front design from 1960 Leaf. 

This is from the 1982 TCMA set Baseball's Greatest Sluggers. I haven't found much information about it in my admittedly cursory searching.  It appears that the 45 card set came in multicard sheets, as the card above has perforations around the edge.  I will definitely collect this set, along with the Hitters/Pitchers companion sets.

The All-Time Athletics set was released in 1983 by TCMA. It appears that during the 1970s and 1980s, TCMA released a whole series of All-Time team sets.  Prior to the above set being issued, TCMA has issued sets covering the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, White Sox, Tigers, NY Giants. There were four of 12 card sets in 1983: Athletics, Cardinals, and Pirates, with the Pirates having red and blue frame variations.  Then in 1986, it appears TCMA issued All-Time sets for all the extant teams not covered by the previous releases, including the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners who were only entering their 10th season of existence in 1986. It would be fun to put all those sets together and I think I will.

This card was issued by TCMA in 1985 and is a re-issue of 1947 Play Ball.

Ah, a non-TCMA issue. This is from the 1987 Hygrade All Time Greats, a 102 card set. I like this set as the painting-type images are better done than those in 1989 Pacific and the back is somewhat reminiscent of the 1960 and 1961 Fleer sets.  Hygrade appears to have only existed as a card company for that one year.

This card must have been hard for Night Owl to give up, what with his love of food issues. It appears this is a 33 card set, with 11 cards covering the Golden Era and the other two covering the Modern Era and divided equally between the AL and NL.  Another fun set I intend to complete.

That was quite the haul, but that wasn't all NO sent.

He also sent me 5 really nice 1972 Topps. I had all 5, but three of them, including this Maury Wills In Action were upgrades for me. 1972 is, or should be, my main focus right now.  The problem with it is that it is a huge set with 787 cards and was issued in series.  Series 5 and 6, 130 cards each, are the hardest to come by since they were issued in smaller quantities due to being released late in the season when attention had already turned to football cards.  Series 5 isn't horrible with $4-$6 book value on commons, but series 6 hurts with commons coming in at $12-$15 BV. 

Where am I on 1972?  I need 247 cards to complete the set, with 65 of those from Series 5 and 95 from Series 6. I generally try to target cards in EX  for 1/4 to 1/3 of book value, so it is a slow process. At this point, I am guessing that I am looking at least another year to complete the set.

As I mentioned, there has been a little hobby activity over the last few months that I will try to share in the days ahead.  But, in the mean time: Thanks Night Owl!  A great package!

February Card Show

Yes, I know it is almost April. Sue me. I've been busy.  Work has continued to fill my days, despite the precipitous drop in oil and natural gas prices recently. Spring has sprung in Oklahoma, lawn mowing season has opened, and the list of honey-dews awaits.  But, I figure I need to get this, and another post, done before the April card show.

So, without further ado:

 I picked up 45 cards for my 1972 set, many of which were high numbers.  I like the In Action cards above.  They are among some of the In Action cards that actually show action.  Don't believe me?  Look at the Thurman Munson In Action card.  I suppose it was ground breaking in it's time.  But, I cannot escape the notion that Topps was just padding out the 1972 set with whatever ideas popped into their head.  I mean, just look at the ROY award card above?  Does anyone really like them. I sure don't.  They are boring. But, alas, they are part of the set and I am set collector.

I managed to find six 1956 cards I needed in a discount bin, including the three team cards above. I've been negligent in working on the team cards in the 1956 set.  I've either been working on the high value cards or finding commons for $4 or less.  There is a vast swath of mid-value cards I have been ignoring.

I ran through my money pretty quickly.  1972 high numbers will do that to you.  However, as I was getting ready to leave I saw these on the high-end vintage dealers table.  A complete set of the 1976 Isaly's discs for only $15. I ran to a nearby ATM and got more money, so I could get them.  Impulsive, to be sure.  But I figured why not. My late father-in-law used to manage Isaly's stores in central Ohio.  Isaly's doesn't exist anymore, but it's legacy lives on as part of the Unilever brand of products.  Specifically, the Klondike Bar was created and sold by the Isaly Dairy Company of Ohio.  So, what would you do for a Klondike Bar? Or Isaly's discs?

What I am listening to: In Bloom by Sturgill Simpson (Note this is a cover of the Nirvana original)