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

October Mini-Show - Cheap HOFers

The nice thing about not building modern sets is you have some cash free for getting some nice vintage cards without having to plan in advance.  Walking into the mini-show last weekend, I didn't have any expectations regarding what I might find or what I wanted to find.  Sure, I had my 1971 want list with me, but with a larger show coming up next weekend, I didn't mind if I walked out empty-handed.  As it turns out, I didn't.

One seller, who always has a binder or two of 1971, wasn't there.  But, an older fellow out of Wichita, who always has killer deals was and I bought six cards from him.  I am not sure what his deal is. I gather that he was a banker and even though he appears to be retired, still helps putting large financing packages together.  In short, I don't think he sells sports cards for profit. I think he does it for the sheer enjoyment.  This is reflected in his prices.  He had a 1960 Stan Musial when I first walked in that  I wanted to buy, but someone else snagged it before I worked my way back to his table.

What did I get?  Some seriously cheap 1969 Hall of Famer cards and a couple of 56s.

Okay, so Sparky isn't in the Hall of Fame, but this is his rookie card.  No mention of his love of birthday cakes, though.

I think I spent around $60 on these cards and 2/3rds of that was on the Rizzuto. I'm pretty stoked about the two 1956s.  I am actually starting to move forward on that set. Sure, I am less than 20% complete, but I do have around 60 cards from the set, including Scooter and Billy Martin. There are plenty of (very) expensive cards to go, including the Mantle, but I don't plan to get hung up on quality for this set, so maybe in 4 or 5 years, I could actually finish this set.

This seller offered me a pretty killer deal on another card that I walked away from because it was  more than I had ever spent on a card.  But, after some thought, and consultation with my wife, I called him back and closed the deal.  I'll pay for it and pick it up at the larger OKC show on the weekend of October 20.  But, I am going to hold back on saying anything until I have it in hand.