Fleer Autograph Project - Part 50

This was happenstance:

I woke up one night in the middle of the night and, for whatever reason, fired up EBay on the IPad. This had just been listed as a Buy-It-Now. Which is exactly what I did. I bought it right then and there

I've bought several other PSA authenticated cards as part of the project. To date, I always bust them out of the case and put them in an UltraPro page and slip the PSA label in behind it. In this case, I think I am going to leave in in the case.  The card has some dinged up corners and the signature looks as if it was made using a dying pen.  If Bill White signed cards were more common, I wouldn't have even look twice at this one. But, I jumped at this because I haven't, in my recollection, seen any others.  I'll likely keep an eye out for an upgrade. Should I find one, I'll probably just sell this one off, which will be easier if I keep it in the capsule.

So, there it is. Number 50 (out of 66.)  I hope to have one more TTM going out this weekend to Rich Rollins, the last living subject of this set, other than Willie Mays, that I need.

What I am listening to:  Bad Luck by Social Distortion

January Mini-Show Haul

Last Saturday, I drove up to Edmond to go to the monthly mini-show at Al's Sportscards.  I was up in the neighborhood to buy horse feed and hadn't seen one of the main sellers I deal with since summer, so I stopped in to say hello.  I didn't spend much, but was productive nonetheless.

I actually found a box of 1979s in Al's inventory and was able to get 16 more cards, leaving me a mere 4 to complete the set.  I really like the JR ultimately redeemed character.

I managed to find two more cards towards completion of my 1975 set.  This also leaves me 4 cards from completion.  My intent will be to finish both 1975 and 1979 before the end of February.

I found another 1961 Golden Press card. I also bought 6 cards for my 1956 set, but managed to forget to scan them.  The seller of the 1956s was rather proud of them, asking around $7 each for cards I would normally pay 4 or less for.  But after taking up space at his table, I felt like I needed to buy something.  I left at least 20 cards I needed behind as there is a limit to my generosity.


What I am listening to: Ghost of Highway 20 from the upcoming Lucinda Williams album of the same name (skip forward to around 2:00 if you just want the music:)

Fleer Autograph Project - Part 49

What I am listening to: Over the Top by Motörhead

Fleer Autograph Project - Part 48

Today, the card below arrived and becomes the 48th card from the 66 card 1963 Fleer baseball set that I have autographed.

 I found this card by chance when I did a Google search for "1963 Fleer Autographed."  It had just been added to inventory at an online retailer named Mickey's Cards out of Arizona. I was able to get this for less than $20 delivered. I consider that a bargain given that Donovan died 18 years ago, in 1997. Naturally, I have now liberated it from the plastic jail you see above.

This project is going to slow down considerably from here on out.  Of the 18 cards I yet to have in autographed form, only 4 have living subjects (Willie Mays, Al Jackson, Rich Rollins, and Bill White.)  I thought I had Mays last year, but the signing was delayed several times and finally never happened.  I have plans to get Jackson and Rollins. White is harder.  I understand he doesn't do autographs through the mail anymore, so I'll have to wait for one to come up at auction.

Of the 14 cards of deceased players, I have no clear idea how it will go. For every reasonable Dick Donovan, there is a Gene Oliver.  There was an EBay auction a short time ago for an autographed '63 Fleer Oliver that closed at $111.50.  That is way too rich for my blood at this time.

 So, in summary, I have line of sight to 50, but not beyond.  I feel pretty good about this given I started this project on a lark a few years ago.

What I am listening to:  Children of Children by Jason Isbell

Card Show Haul - Closing Bookend

And, so that is it. My card show haul.  I had been there about 2 hours when I got a text from my wife asking "Are you still at the show?"  That was my cue to leave and, since I was done anyways, I headed home.

So, here is the closing bookend:

The first is, as I understand it, is from Jeter's third to last game on September 25, 2014.  It captures the image of Jeter after he hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth against Baltimore.  The second image is, I believe, from his final game three days later when he hit an RBI single in the top of the third inning and was promptly pinch run for by Brian McCann. That is the image of Jeter walking off the field for the final time in his playing career.

What I am listening to: You Got to Me by James McMurtry

Various Player Collection Additions

Recently, I added a couple new items to my Johnny Antonelli player collection.   This 1958 Hires card was an EBay win.  I actually already have this card, but bid on this one because the tab was still intact. My previous Hires Antonelli didn't have the tab

This next Antonelli card I did get at the show for the exorbitant price of $1.  This is my second 1961 Johnny Antonelli.  There was actually two versions of this card.

This version is card number 142B, showing Antonelli with the SF Giants.  Version 142A shows him with the Cleveland Indians.  What is odd is that he was traded from the Giants to the Indians. You would expect, chronologically, the Giants card would be A and the Indians B.  But, it is the reverse.

What I am listening to: 24 Frames by Jason Isbell

Card Show Haul - Vintage Sets

The show ended up being quite fruitful with regard to working on vintage sets.  Two of the three main vintage sellers were there and I made a little progress on a lot of sets.

I managed to pick up 8 more cards towards my 1979 set; leaving me 17 to go to completion.

I managed to find this 1978 TCMA The 60s Sandy Koufax in a dollar box.  I have a good deal of the 293 card set, with about 40 to go to completion.  This set, and other 1970s TCMA and SSPC sets, are what I intend to work on during the long dry spells in the quest to finish pre-1973 Topps sets.

I found 3 1975 Topps cards, leaving me only 6 to go to complete the set.  The Munson however, is not one of the three.  The scanning process doesn't make it obvious. but it is actually a mini. I don't really intend to ever collect the 1975 minis, but how could I pass up acquiring the card of one of the Yankee's iconic players for a mere buck?

I found five more 1961 Fleer cards leaving me 6 to go to completion.  The Ross Young is one of the more expensive cards in the set with a book value of $40.  Why? I'm not sure, but the best explanation is that it is the last card in the set, and like the 1952 Topps Andy Pafko, it is hard to find in good condition because of damage from the rubber bands that held stacks of cards together back in the day.  Alas, two of the remaining cards I need are Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, which both come in at a $120 book value.  I'm hoping to find both for under $30, so it will probably be a long search.

I picked up four more cards from 1961 Golden Press, leaving me 12 to go. It is just a small 33 card set that, as I understand it, came together as pages in a book; explaining the perforation chads along the edges.

I picked up this 1956 Al Kaline for $5.  I am not sure why the seller (who tends to price high) had it for such a low price.  It appears to be a little off color, but the discoloration is uniform and the card has great eye appeal.  The seller had a large number of 1956 cards with him and I could have made significant progress on my set.  Except I managed to leave my 1956 want list at home. However, that didn't turn out to be a major issue.

Since I couldn't work on my 1956 set, I decided to have the seller put together a 1972 starter set for me.   I now have about 235 cards towards the 787 card set.  Among the cards he pulled for me are the 4 cards above, which includes the infamous Billy Martin card. (If you don't know why it is infamous, please look closely at his hand.)  This set will undoubtedly be a long haul to completion, with over 260 high number cards.  I expect that it will take a minimum of two years, since I'll only be able to get small groups of high numbers at a time....when I can find them.

So, that was the bulk of my card show finds. I did get one card towards a player collection, but will save that for a PC specific post.