Another One Two in the Books

 Or, perhaps more accurately, the binder.

This is the last card I needed to complete the 1958 Topps baseball set.

And this is the last card I needed to complete the 1973 Topps football base set. I still need two more unnumbered team checklists but I've been working on this for over 4 years and I feel like this is an accomplishment. I'll probably just scope out eBay in the next few days and knock those two checklists off. 

Now my focus will be on three sets:  

• 1972-73 Topps basketball - I only need 23 cards to finish and none of them are all that expensive.  I've been working on this since late 2018, so 5 1/2 years. Time to put it to bed.
• 1970 Topps Football - I am a little short of 70% complete on this, but have pretty much all of the valuable cards. The only star card left is the Jan Stenerud rookie card.  Everything else is commons with a few minor stars sprinkled in.
• 1967 Topps Baseball - Ugh.  I am making some progress on this set and am almost 75% complete.  However, 2/3 of the remaining cards are in the sixth and seventh series, so this will be slow.  I expect it will probably be another 2 years at a minimum.

It is supposed to rain tomorrow, so I may try to knock out another signed 1961 Fleet post.

What I am listening to:  Things Change by Dwight Yoakam

New Year's Review

Today is the last day of 2023 and I suppose it is time for reflection on the year and to make some promises to myself for 2024. Logically, there is nothing magical about January 1 with regards to self-assessment and new resolutions.  But, I live a fairly busy life and having a lot of down time at the end of December does give the opportunity to look back...and then forward.  I won't bother you with the personal, though it was generally a better year for me after two lousy years in '21 and '22.  I will stick to the hobby stuff that you are here for:

Overall, 2023 was a good year hobby wise if a bit scattered. I managed to complete two sets during the year:

• 1955 - I started building this set in earnest in 2013, so this was 10 years in the making.  As I reported earlier, the last card I needed was a common, Gale Wade. The second to last card was Jackie Robinson. 
  
  
  
  
  
• 1969 - I wasn't planning to finish this set in 2023, but I discovered that my bank has rewards program for debit card use and I was able to convert over a years worth of points into a nice pre-paid VISA card.  The last card was Al Downing.
  
  
  

So, the other highlights of 2023 were:

• Fleer Autograph project - I started the year with 15 signed cards from 1960 and 62 from 1961. I will close out the year with 16 and 70.
• Started both 1966 and 1967 Topps baseball - I haven't mentioned it here, but I bought a large stack of 1966 and 1967 baseball commons in low to mid-grade for about $0.02 a card. I am planning on working on 1966, but after I sorted through the stack and separated out the cards in G condition or better, I found that I had about 20% of the 1966 set and 35% of 1967. know I said I would probably never build 1967 as the design doesn't interest me, but 35% is pretty far along. So, I may need to hold my nose and build the set. Hopefully, the high numbers are affordable in G to VG condition.
• Added a few cards to my Paul Blair and Johnny Antonelli collections.  The only one I was actually excited about was a 1960 Topps Venezuelan card of Antonelli that I got dirt cheap.
  
  

What does 2024 portend? I have 5 sets I would like to complete:

• 1958 Baseball - with only 25 cards to go, I am going to prioritize getting this one done.  Having started in 2012 when I bought the Mantle, 12 years is long enough.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 1972-73 Basketball - I started this set in 2018 and have 33 cards to completion.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 1973 Football - I started this set in January of 2020 and have 24 to go towards completion.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 1974 Topps Baseball - Wait, what?  I've said that I've completed the entire Topps run between 1968 and 1979, so what gives?  What gives is that I need one card (599 - San Diego Small Print) to finish the master set.  I rarely see that card for less than $30-$40, which seems excessive for what is essentially a common.  But, I am close enough to completing the master set that I just need to hold my nose and get one.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 2009 Tristar Obak - I started the three Obak sets in 2011.  I finished 2010 and 2011 long ago and only need 7 short prints short of finishing 2009.  They don't come available all that often and when they do, the prices are generally unreasonable.  So, I probably should just be happy to make progress.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Beyond that, I will just let the hobby tide carry me and look back in a year to see what else happened.  Though, I would like to post more of my signed 1961 Fleer cards.  The last I posted was 39 and I have 70, so 31 to go.  I won't get through all of them, but one a month seems doable.

Happy New Year to you.  May your 2024 be your best year yet.

What I am listening to:  Auld Lang Syne by The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin

Coming Up for Air

 So, it has been 5 months since we last talked. My last day on my job was Thursday, so I am officially unemployed.  I only half-heartedly looked for a new job over the last few months. I've decided I want to shift from in-house roles to doing contract consulting and I have already aligned myself with one consulting firm and am starting the process to sign up with a second.  Additionally, I have an introductory interview this week for in-house roles with a third consulting/business intelligence firm.  So, while I am a bit unbalanced about not having a job, I am moving forward and, hopefully, something will pop up soon.

My hobby activity has been curtailed significantly over the last year, once I knew I would be moving on.  While it hasn't stopped, it has become more focused and I've gotten a few things accomplished that I might not have otherwise.

For example, I finally finished my 1968 Topps set in December.

The last card was, unsurprisingly the Nolan Ryan rookie card.  I had made no progress on this set for over 2 years because of how expensive that card was. I could never find a card that was both within my budget and condition requirements.  However, I finally found one in an auction that met both criteria.  I ended up paying a bit over $330 for it. While it was the third most I have ever paid for a card, it was a steal at this price.  The main issue was fading on the left side of the card due to exposure to sunlight.  But, it has great eye appeal, so I am tickled to death to have it.

In January, I finished my 1960 Topps set.  The last card was the Chicago Cubs team card.

Since then,  I went the OKC show in February, the Dallas show in March, then nothing until this weekends OKC show.  In those shows, I've worked on the Topps sets from 1958, 1969, and 1973 Football. I chose 1958 since I bought the Mantle card years ago before prices went nuts, 1965 because I am down to 6 cards to complete, and 1969 as it is the most affordable of the remaining 1960s sets.  

Anway, I had a good haul at this weekend's show:

My wife collects mid-century modern barware and asked me to stop at a local flea market to check out something and I found that big box of junk wax for $10.  What can I say?  I would bet the main value of the box is as kindling, but I am pretty sure I can get more than a sawbucks worth of fun out of it.

What I am listening to:  One More Night by Micahel Kiwanuka

Favorite Cards of 2013 - Part 3

4. 1958 Topps Sandy Koufax

I have a informal goal to pick up playing-days cards of some of the greatest ballplayers ever.  This is the first and, so far, only Koufax card issued during his actual career that I own.

3. 1956 Topps Hank Aaron

I bought this at the same time I got the Koufax above, but this is more than just picking up a card of a all-time great. I already have several Aaron cards in the 1970s sets I am building.  This is more important as it represents one of the big dollar cards in 1956, which I am slowly working on.

2. 1952 Bowman Roy Campanella

This card is special because it was issued right after Campy won the 1951 MVP Award. It is part and parcel with the next card.

1. 1952 Bowman Yogi Berra

Like the Campanella above, this card was issued after Berra won the 1951 AL MVP.  Two have the cards for two great catchers from the year after they both won the MVP is pretty special.

Coming up next: A review of my 2013 goals and how I did against them.

What I am listening to: Close Your House Down by Cordero

July Card Show Haul - MOJO!!!!

So, it isn't really MOJO! in the sense that I found some shweet Steven Strasburg Bryce Harper Yasiel Puig cards. But, for a vintage collector, such as myself, it felt like it.  And, yeah, I spent most of my cash on 4 cards. I really should have pocketed it.  Next weekend, my wife is flying off to San Francisco on a long planned cousins weekend. Going to one of the local LCS to work on my 1973 set would have been a great way to spend some time.  But, that plan is out the window. With the four cards below, I am officially tapped out until August.  So, what did I do?

You may have noticed I have a real hard time not picking up cards of major stars when they are offered at a price that is a fraction of what they would cost me at an LCS or on Ebay.  And Bill from Wichita is always making me such offers.  So what did I end up getting for a bit over a C-note?

Three more cards towards the 1956 set and all Hall of Famers.  I now have 51 cards from 1956. That is only about 15% of the 340 card set.  But, I am probably at the point where I need to put together a formal want list and work on building the set, albeit still slowly. So far, I have been haphazardly working on it by getting cards in the G to VG range and I think that is probably where I need to stay. Anything of higher quality would be way too expensive.

Oh, the fourth card? Behold:

1958 Sandy Koufax. Although there is no visible water damage, the card does feel as if it might have been damp at one point.  But the colors are still bright and there is no creases,bends or stains/marks, so I am quite pleased to get this card.

So now, with empty pockets, I am going to have to focus on producing some original content. I've got the preliminary research done for a couple more "Every Dog Has His Day" posts, I just need the time to sit down and write them.  I also have a whole mess of pictures from the KC-NYY game I went to in may, but I need to work through them and decide which I like.  Stay tuned!

Favorite Cards of 2012 #8 - A Cliche, of sorts

As we continue the countdown of my favorite cards of the year, we come to this 1958 Mickey Mantle card.

This card didn't make it higher on the list because of how Topps has overdone Mickey Mantle.   Every year since 2005, card #7 in Topps Flagship has been Mickey Mantle.  Indeed, if you go to the search by player page at BaseballCardpedia, and plug in Mantle's name you will get 5,232 results.

Here is the breakdown by year of the number of Mantle cards issued (more text follows):

Year	Cards
1951	1
1952	5
1953	4
1954	5
1955	6
1956	5
1957	3
1958	5
1959	4
1960	9
1961	9
1962	14
1963	9
1964	14
1965	5
1966	3
1967	9
1968	4
1969	4
1970	1
1971	1
1972	1
1973	2
1975	2
1976	5
1977	3
1978	2
1979	2
1980	6
1981	1
1982	15
1983	7
1984	6
1985	4
1986	19
1987	3
1988	3
1989	25
1990	11
1991	19
1992	32
1993	2
1994	56
1995	8
1996	147
1997	93
1998	29
1999	15
2000	22
2001	122
2002	71
2003	73
2004	67
2005	109
2006	1980
2007	1092
2008	695
2009	36
2010	70
2011	78
2012	179
Grand Total	5232

Did you catch that?  Of all those cards, only 114 were issued during his playing career.

So, while Mantle was a great player, and I do love this card, I think his cachet has been devalued by Topps' insistence on adding him to every freaking set they issue.  The value of this card for me was that it was the card that made me realize that I could own great vintage cards if I bargain hunted and, in retrospect, was the catalyst for my decision to finally eschew collecting virtually all modern cards.

Finally...with a Bonus

So, I drove up to Al's Sportscards mini-show to pick up the most expensive card I ever bought. Although, even at a C-Note it was a smoking deal. Check this out:

Now look at the same card over at COMC.  Granted, those are only asking prices and not completed sales, but I still think this card could sell for at least twice what I paid for it.  But, I had some additional good luck today. The same guy sold me the following card for $25.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out what the circles on the card are for. At first, I thought it was categories where Mantle led the league that year, but a quick visit to Baseball Reference killed that idea. It might be intended to be his career highs in each category, although the person who did this got hits wrong.

The day did end with one bad note.  The one seller who I have bought a lot of 1971 Topps from wasn't there.  When I mentioned it, I was told he was gone.  I asked "Gone as in passed away?"  The response came back "No, gone as in 5 to 10 with time off for good behavior."  Doh! 

Trade with Vintage Sportscards

I have a confession to make. I hate Bryce Harper.

Okay, I don't really hate him. After all, I don't know him and you cannot judge a man you don't know. Even if that man, at the tender age of 18, got a signing check for more money than I will see in my entire life. No, what I hate is the current state of the card collecting hobby. I've been back in the hobby less than a year, so it may seem odd to have such a visceral reaction, but I do.

When I first got back collecting again, I went looking for discussion forums and found one that will remain nameless. I quickly soured on it. It was virtually indistinguishable from a stock picking board. It was all "buy/sell/hold." If that is the style of collecting you enjoy, more power to you. It is, after all, about enjoying the hobby. But, it isn't for me. My niche, if you will, is set collecting and, in particular, vintage set collecting.

So, I kept looking around and eventually found a website that seemed to be for a collector like me. Or, perhaps more accurately, it was a site for the collector I would like to be. I found Old Baseball Cards. I spent some time looking around and reading some articles. Then I found the member list and, lo and behold, they post their want lists. Scanning down I found a familiar name, Chris of 1973 Topps Photography and Vintage Sportscards. These are two of the blogs I visit regularly. If you aren't familiar with them, you should be. They are informative and well written.

So, I took a look at Chris' want list and was surprised to find there were several things I had that he needed. I had a small stack of 1978 Burger King Yankees that I found mixed in with a lot of 1978 Topps I bought off Ebay when I first started collecting and there was 4 or 5 Chris needed. I also had acquired a 1969 Ken Boswell Rookie Cup card through the Diamond Giveaway site that he needed. Finally, I was pleased to see that he also had some modern set needs and that I had a handful of 2010 Topps cards he was looking for as well.

So, I contacted him to work out a trade. It took a little while to work out the details, as Chris was in the process of moving to a new home and I was doing a little work-related traveling. But, it eventually came together and off those cards went to their new home. A short time later, a package from Chris came in the mail with my cards. And what cards they were!

My collecting process is to work one set at a time, start to finish. Only after I have completed (or substantially completed) a set do I move on to the next. My first set that I worked was 1978, followed on by 1974. I am now working 1977, and expect to be working that, plus 1976 and 1975 over the next year or so. So, Chris sent me a stack of cards from those years...........plus an added surprise.

So, enough of my tortured prose. Let's take a look at a sample of what I got, shall we?

I got a couple of cards from 1977 that I needed for that set, including this gem:



There was a bunch of 1975s, including Chicken:



And this World Series Game 1 card featuring the great slugger Reggie Jackson:



The surprise was this trio of cards from 1958, which are officially the oldest cards in my modest collection:







I love cards like this. I hope some day to be able to put together sets from that era, but expect I'll be an old man before I work my way that far back in time. So, having these in my collection is very special. My only quibble, having nothing to do with the cards themselves, is that I keep wanting to call the last player Bucky rather than Ray.

And, now, the piece de resistance. The most iconic card in my collection:



Yes! Score! As the scan shows, this card is well-loved. But, seriously, it should be. A 1976 Oscar Gamble Traded card should not be pristine. It should have been owned by a series of 9 year olds who take the card out often to look at that fantastic coiffure. I hope I can maintain interest when it comes time to put together the 1976 set, since the first card to go into my 1976 binder will be the best. Yeah, I heard there is some guys named Eckersley and Aaron in that set that are supposed to be good. But, can they top Oscar? Only time will tell.