Random and Pointless

 I am really struggling with my next post in the series about my signed 1961 Fleer collection.  The subject of that post is (supposed to be) Bob Feller.  It is easy to write about players that, while they were big names in their time, are mostly forgotten now.  I get the opportunity to learn about them and invariably I find interesting things to write about. But, legend like Feller?  How do you write about them without regurgitating what people already know. I am trying to think of an interesting angle, but haven't figured it out yet.  Thoughts?

So, I'm going write a post about a couple cards that showed up today.

2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams was an interesting concept for a set, but poorly executed.  I give my unvarnished opinion in the middle of this post. Also in that post I list out the six variations of each card.  Since Paul Blair has two cards in the set, there are a total of 12 cards* to collect.  The Bronze parallel above brings me up to 9. I still lack 1 of the Signature Golds (# to 5) and both Signature Platinum (1/1)  This is the 170th unique item in my Blair player collection.  I organized this collection at the end of 2024 but have updated the want list since and the last handful of acquisitions haven't been placed in their proper location yet. So, it is probably about time to organize again and assess where I am against known cards.  

I mentioned a while back that I was building the 1970-71 Topps Hockey set.  It is a weird set. But first, some context.  When I build my want list, I always have the Beckett book value next to each card number.  Mind you, I don't pay book value (except for 1967 high numbers. Grrrr) but usually look to be around half for high grade raw cards and a third or so for mid grade.  The 1970-71 hockey set is odd in that my experience so far has been that commons sell for more than book value and stars for less.  I have no idea why. Maybe my experience is wrong what with small sample sizes and all. But I am making steady progress on the stars and only occasionally picking up commons.

Anyhow, the two most valuable cards in this set are the Bobby Orr above and Gilbert Perreault's rookie card and I have the Perreault on its way.  Of the ten most valuable cards in the set, I have 8 with the Gordie Howe and checklist cards to go.  

Us set builders can be fussy about how we go about business. In the case of this hockey set, I have to state that I have a few OPC mixed in with the Topps. This doesn't really bother me. It probably should, but it doesn't  I am considering, when I am done here, building the OPC-only part of the set (cards 133-264)  When I get closer to completion (I'm 2/3 of the way there), I will start scouting out those OPC cards and see if they are reasonably affordable before making a final decision.

* Paul Blair also appears on a multiplayer relic card, but they are so dang expensive I am not interested in chasing it.

What I am listening to: All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow

New Blair Item

 After my little hissy fit about cut signatures a few months ago, my player collections went into early hibernation and I resigned myself to only adding new cards once a year or so.  In particular, with my Paul Blair collection.there isn't much left. It breaks down mostly like this:

Topps Flagship (unsigned)     3
Topps Flagship (signed)       13
OPC                                        1
TCMA                                    1
Various Buybacks                 11

That actually looks like a lot, but the two flagship categories are, to a certain extent, filler. I have the complete run of Topps flagship Blair cards, but thought I would put together both signed and unsigned versions just to have something to do with this PC.  However, since making that decision, I have done exactly nothing to make it happen.  So, was it really decision?  Trees, forests, etc.

There actually is two other categories not mentioned above. The first is regional and team issues from the late 1960s that I have never seen in the wild and (enjoy the contrast) 2004 Upper Deck Timeless Team parallels.  

2004 UD Timeless Teams is a confounding set.  It covers the significant team or teams from between 1964 and 1995. Great concept and I love the design. It is a set I would want to collect. Except that the execution is horrible.  You would think they would have the one dominant team for each year and perhaps the dominant team from each league for each year. Makes sense right?  However, there are no teams represented from 1971, 1989, 1990, 1993 and 1994.  But, there are three teams for 1969, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1986.  There are 11 players each representing the 1969 and 1970 Orioles (the same 11 players mind you,) but only 3 players representing the 1987 and 1991 Twins, and the 1992 Blue Jays. 1977 and 1981 had both the Dodgers and the Yankees, but 1978 was the Yankees only.  

See what I mean?  A complete mess.

Anyways, there are 6 versions of each card:

1. Base
2. Bronze (# to 50)
3. Gold (# to 5)
4. Signed
5. Signed Gold (# to 5)
6. Signed Platinum (# to 1)

I have a saved search on eBay that I scan daily for new items, but I have probably failed to find Blair cards I needed from this set because I scan quickly.  However, at this point, I have 8 of the 12 Blair cards. Of the 4 that I am missing two are, not surprisingly, the 1/1s.  I will need to do a better job of looking for the other two (1 Bronze and 1 Gold).

I am starting to wake up out of 4 month hobby slumber.  I have a new (to me) signed 1960 Fleer card being delivered tomorrow. Hopefully, I will be able to whip up a post about it on Tuesday.

What I am listening to:  Outlaws and Mustangs by Cody Jinks

Fleer Autograph Project and More

I feel like things are getting back to normal.  Well, not really, but I am getting back to a less moribund level of hobby activity.  I am still not looking at going to any shows any time soon, so I am concentrating online.  This week saw a few things arrive,

This Frank Howard card was the card that was stuck in the Los Angeles distribution center for two weeks. It finally arrived and is the second to last card I need for my 1970 Topps set and for the complete run of Topps baseball sets from the 1970s.  The final card I need is Johnny Bench, which has been selling for prices way beyond what I was comfortable paying.  Granted, I was only looking at trusted sellers, who will command a premium.  I'm going to have to get a bit more serious about this one. I'd love to get that '70s run complete.

A new addition to my Paul Blair PC: 2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams Auto Gold. As best as I can tell, there are 7 versions of this card (4 base and 3 autos at varying levels of scarcity/serialization) and I now have 3 of this card.  There is a second Paul Blair card in this set related to the 1970 team and I have 4 of those.  Since there are Platinum base and autos for each card that are 1/1, I don't expect I'll ever get all 7 versions of each card.  In fact, the serialized versions of these cards come up on eBay so rarely, I doubt I'll ever even get close to 6 out of 7.  Not a problem since that is what the chase is for, no?

Finally, I added two new cards to my signed 1960 through 1963 Fleer project. Since both Lloyd Waner and Marty Marion were prolific signers in their retirement, I was able to add these at a reasonable price.  To a certain extent, as it relates to 1960 and 1961, I am still bottom feeding. I think I am getting to the point that I am going to have to start opening the wallet a bit wider to add more.  Which will conflict with my set building. So, I expect this to slow down (not that it was ever fast to begin with.)  I do have a goal to get over halfway before the end of the year. Which raises the question as to where I stand.  Glad you asked. Here is my progress:

I have exactly one more card to add in the next 4 months to get to that goal.  I have not decided yet whether that will be another low cost addition or if I should splash out a bit more.  Stay tuned!

What I am listening to: Got the Time by Anthrax (a cover of the Joe Jackson original if you can
believe it):