Sigh

With my newfound desire to remain laser focused on my primary collecting goals, I headed off to the every-other month OKC show yesterday morning (Saturday.)  My main goal for the show was to see if I could find any of the few remaining cards I needed for my 1968 and 1970 sets, and to look for additional 1960 and 1965 set needs. I took along my 1956 Mantle I won in a recent set break to  see if I might swing a trade for some of the 1955 Topps stars I need.

And that is where everything went off the rails.  I found none of my '68 and '70 needs and the 1960 cards were priced above my target range, so I left them be. There were no 1955 star cards to trade for. However,  I did manage to find one card for my 1965 set at a cost I was comfortable with.

Only 167 cards left to finish that set.  Great progress today.

via GIPHY

So, in the interest of not leaving early, I kept looking and managed to find 8 cards I needed for my 1972-73 Basketball set, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and The Logo.

I also managed to pick up a  few game-used cards for Hall-of-Famers from the early 2000s for a few bucks each, and an autographed Gil McDougal from the Upper Deck Yankee Classics set. I bought a box of Yankee Classics early in my return to collecting and finished the base set.  I only have  few of the autographs, and no real intent to finish that part of the set, but it was only $5.

The Duke Snider seems familiar.  I think I may have traded one to Night Owl.  (If I haven't, NO, and you want it, let me know. I found a two of your 1956 needs and I can send it along for the ride.)

I also found this Wheaties Pete Rose card. I don't know anything about it, as it has a blank back.  I am not a Pete Rose fan, but I thought it was a neat looking card.

Where things really got off into the ditch was when I bought partial set of 1973 Topps football partial set, with 348 out of 528 cards. I really don't need another tangent in my collecting. Particularly a sport I no longer follow.  But, I had a bunch of these cards as a kid and seeing them set off a wave of nostalgia.

I absolutely love that Joe Greene card and Tom Dempsey is quite the model of physical fitness there, isn't he?

But, the piece de resistance, the thing that made the whole day worthwhile, was found hiding in a 400 count box of low grade 1960s commons.

That is a 1922 American Caramel (E120) Joe Harris.  It is bent five ways from Sunday and has a little paper loss on the back, but Beckett says they are worth $30 in poor condition, so I am happy with the having only dropped a $20 on it.  I always drool over pre-war baseball cards, but don't really have the wallet to pursue building those sets. It might be fun to start a type collection where I just find one example from each of the various sets.  I've already got one T206, so I guess I am well on my way! But, I've got enough going on that I am not about to start any such thing until I am getting closer to finishing the Topps 1960s sets, of which I have I have finished exactly zero so far.

So.  Two posts in just a few days.  I haven't done that in forever.  But, it is likely to be short lived.  I'm not planning any major activity until the late April show in Dallas  While there may be a post here or there, and I suppose there is a chance the creative muse hits me, but we'll now return to your regularly scheduled non-programming.

What I am listening to: You're No Good by Linda Rondstadt

Nachos Grande's Autograph Survey

What is the best autograph you own?

I got this at the Diamond Giveaway site:

What is the best autograph that you've ever pulled from a pack of cards?

That is probably a tie between these three:




Notice a theme?

What is the worst autograph you've ever pulled from a pack of cards?

2004 Upper Deck Yankee Classics Kevin Maas.

Do you try to get autographs through the mail? If so, what sort of success (or failure) stories do you have?

No, I do not.

Addendum: I did send some cards off through the mail to be autographed at a live signing, but I don't do any TTM direct to players. I wrote about that signing here.

Who was the subject of your first ever autograph?

I can't remember who it was, only the situation. I got to go to a few Rochester Red Wing games growing up (in the old Silver Stadium) and we used to line up by the dugout to get our gloves signed. The glove, a Wilson Paul Blair model, is long since gone. And even if I had it, I am sure that the autographs would have worn off through use.

Do you actively collect any autographs (certain players, teams, brands, etc)?

Not at this time, although it might be fun to try to collect more autograph cards from the 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game set. Not sure how I would go about it other than buying them individually. Over the course, of a few boxes, I have managed to pull 2 Vida Blue autos. I'd hate to buy boxes and get more duplicates.

Which is better: Autographs or Relics?

Autographs. Unless you are talking some classic player, I think relics are overdone and, consequently, have little intrinsic or extrinsic value. For example, I pulled a Johnny Bench relic out of a Topps Lineage blaster this year that I threw up on EBay as part of my quest to accumulate funds to buy a Greats of the Game box. I managed to only get $10 out of it. Had I known it would go for so little I would have traded it to Nachos Grande (Sorry, guy.)

What do you think of cut autos?

Overall, I don't really care. I am more about card design than whether auto is on card, sticker or cut. For example, this is a lousy cut auto:


This is a nice cut auto:

What is your favorite autograph design (say in the last 5 years)?

Having only been back in the hobby a year, I probably am not the right person to answer, but I do like the 1952 style autos that came out in Lineage this year:

If you could get the autograph of any five people (dead or alive) who would you want a signature from (and why)?

1. Abraham Lincoln - I think he is the greatest President ever, and a fascinating individual. Read "Team of Rivals" some time to get a sense of the man.


2. James Madison - One of the primary authors of "The Federalist"


3. Alexander Hamilton - The other primary author of "The Federalist"


4. Roberto Clemente - A great ballplayer and an even better human being


5. Lou Gehrig - One of the greatest ever

So, there you have my contribution.

Coming Attraction

I was thinking of picking up another box of the first series of the 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game set. When I sat down and looked at it, I still needed 15 of the 80 cards to complete that series and, frankly, I got a charge out of pulling autographed cards in that set. So, I went to the EBay seller that I bought the first box from and he had a listing for something that, as a Yankee's fan, caught my eye.



I looked up the cards on line and, liking the design, changed my purchase over to a box of this, the 2004 Upper Deck Yankees Classics. Well, it arrived in today's mail and the main question is whether I can wait until the end of the work day to start opening the packs.

Added in Edit: I couldn't resist and opened 3 of the 24 packs. There is at least one semi-mystifying inclusion in the set. And, I guarantee that Night Owl won't like it one bit. Not one bit at all.