After school

If you grew up in the Chicagoland area in the 60s thru the late 80s (basically precable and OnTV), you had two choices when you got home from school. If it was April-June, or early September, since they never played beyond the first week of the 9th month, you could usually find a Cubs game on channel 9 WGN. Otherwise, you flipped on WFLD Channel 32 (a Kaiser company!) to watch the block of children's programming. With choices like Hanna Barbara, Tom & Jerry, the Monkees, Woody Woodpecker, the Brady Bunch, the Partridge Family, etc..... you were set to not move from in front of the boob tube until after 6pm.

I'm sure my knowledge of a lot of these cartoons and their time frame on television puts me at the higher end age wise for some of the bloggers here. I'm fine, cuz that was a great time to enjoy characters like Magilla Gorilla, Squidly Diddly, Blabbermouth and a host of other unique personalities. But don't call me gramps around here.

But still, stay the hell off my lawn!

I had planned to get this post up yesterday, but my time was really tight. So I thought I would have some fun with a Ricochet Rabbit type of post. But since I ended up having to rush out to get my wife over to the rehab center to visit her mom, I didn't get a single letter typed. Being that it's early AM and I have time, I think we will Deputy Droop-a-long this post now.

Good ol' Night Owl dropped a package to me a week or more ago. You know when the address is from upper NY, there will be goodness within, and as usual Greg did not fail. Since I already had that Squires in my DP binder, that dupe will now go in with the throwbacks. And Bippings are permitted when you are missing the card from your collection.

Glossy Fleers. Love love love the Spring Training background behind Durham.

Vintage is a guarantee in a Night Owl envelope. As are minis. I figure, at this rate, I should have a complete White Sox '75 mini set in about 2 years without purchasing a single card. Those 9 would make for a great envelope as always from Greg. And then these came out.

A beautiful 1/10 silk of Dye is pretty sweet. First silk A&G in my collection. And look at the miscut of Pinson. The joy of it is seeing that the card below it was printed 180 degrees on the sheet. Anyone with their mad skills know which Yankee pitcher that was below Vada?

Want to put just one card in a envelope and make it a great card? AJ from The Lost Collector did just that with this Bowman Chrome Crede. I lost out on this very card two weeks ago on Listia. Now I have it. Umm....did you outbid me, AJ?

For my complete lack of any knowledge on college sports, I seem to do okay when Kerry runs his contests at Cards on Cards. I didn't win the March Madness bracket challenge, but I finish tied for 2nd, which netted me a couple nice cards from Kerry's collection. He picked out this sweet SportFlix Thomas and a swell Sale that went right to the throwback binder. If that blue was just a little darker, it would really work with the navy of the uniforms. That's ok.

Lastly, John from Johnnys Trading Spot sent over a group of cards. I had won the letter "D" in a random draw, so I got a nice load of ChiSox players with the last name of D. I love that framed Durham in the upper right. But then John slipped one more card in the envelope.

There is not a D to be found on that card. And that is a good thing, cuz you would have to deface it to get one on there. Man, that is an amazing piece of vintage, and the condition is incredible. Plus that old Yankee Stadium background seals it.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday, and watch out for gangs of 10 year old girls in go go boots.

Hawks and autos

But not Hawk autos.

Lately, my Blackhawks cards have been given a boost from recent envelopes that have arrived at my door. I did a lot of hockey collecting in the early 90s, but only get a pack here and there lately. There are not a lot of hockey releases that get me excited. Plus, there are not a lot of hockey dime boxes at the show I hit. However, they must exist based on what I have received over the past week or so.

My buds Chris and Kyle from Old Foul Cardboard must have the greatest Chicago themed card shows in their area. They find all the really good stuff that my binders need, like this trio of Blackhawks cards. But that is just the start of this envelope.

Sure, it's not a Blackhawk or a White Sox, but Chris ran a little contest and I was able to snag this sweet auto he gave away.

But here's the real treat they sent. Like I said - awesome themed ChiSox card shows in upper NY. I cannot get enough of those blue swatches. Thanks as always, guys.

Matt from Bob Walk the Plank took a liking to my trade bait page and offered a few White Sox autographs. I have been hoping to add a McCarthy auto for some time now, so I was quick to say yes. I miss Boone Logan being in Sox pinstripes - he was a decent setup man. And that great Iguchi for my player collection. Thanks a bunch, Matt!

A few weeks back, I posted a flow chat based on DimeBox Nick's mini collections. I realize, though, after getting a package from Corey at Tim Wallach that I made a small error. Let me correct that chart here.

That's more like it. Like everyone (including you if you have not started), I put any and all Wallach's aside and send them to Corey from time to time. Never care if I get anything back, but Corey has been super nice a couple times with a return package.

Hendry did not turn into the defenseman we expected. Those other two guys pictured, though, did ok.

No idea why my shinies always scan blue. Kopecky is a good 4th line grinder now in Florida. I was glad they got Versteeg back this year - he has some good talent. And there's that Toews kid again. If only he would do something amazing once in a while. Corey threw a few White Sox in as well.

Refractor chrome Heritage of Sale on the right. Pretty. Thanks again, Corey.

Alright - tonight I'll be at the Cell Comiskey to catch the Sox and the Rays. Minosa mini statue giveaway tonight, so I hope I get one. Maybe I can see that Abreu kid do something amazing, too.

Throwback Thursday - 04.24.2014

Every Thursday, I post a card showing a ballplayer wearing a throwback uniform from my collection. Hopefully, he will be wearing it well, with proper pants blousing. I'll try not to duplicate a uniform. The picture may be from the front of the card, or the back. Enjoy the uniforms from years past.

Carlos Beltran - 2001 Fleer Ultra - Kansas City Monarchs

Scanner working overtime.

My blogging has slowed down a bit lately. It has little to do with desire and a crapton to do with time. I am being pulled in a few hundred directions (it seems) and I am not even close to clearing anything off the list. Here's just a minor rundown of my list for the next couple weeks:

1) replace brakes/rotors front and back on my mom's car
2) pull codes of the same car to figure out if we have electrical issues
3) replace the catalytic converter on my wife's car so it can pass emissions
4) find the radiator leak on my daughter's car
5) lawn/garden work
6) sort through about 2 dozen bins for a garage sale

And in with all that are your standard cleaning, cooking, laundry, bills.....

At least I tackled some of my desk, scanning a lot of cards so I could put them away. My scan folder is pretty loaded, and I have been lack in thanking many of you for the greatness you have sent me. Let's start some spring cleaning.

Bert from Swing And a Pop Up took part in my Christmas giveaway. And while I said no one had to send me anything in return, since the cards already arrived, I guess I will keep them. Bert sent a lot of White Sox at me, and so much of it was late 90s and early 00s, very lean time in my box. It's great to add nice cards like this group of Fleer Emotion cards. I think I bought one pack of the release and didn't get a ChiSox, so all these are needed.

Fleer Flair was represented in Bert's package as well. Such a simple, but pretty set.

Five new double play cards made the binder. That Vizciano is very early in the year, with the dead ivy weeds in the background. Love seeing Sojo knock the base out of the ground.

I was also able to add 7 cards of players dropping a bunt. Dig that pitcher at the plate, Nick. Bert also included two cards for my throwback binder. Man, those things are getting full.

Bert could have stopped there (hell - he didn't even need to start), but then these were hidden in the middle of each team bag.

Two Magglio bat relics and a Carlos Lee jersey swatch. Very, very nice!!!! I cannot thank you enough, Bert, for the unnecessary, out of the blue package. You rule!

Newer blogger Keith at The Homerun Apple happen to hit my blog when I had up a Trade Me Tuesday (side note: that will return next week. See time issues mentioned above). Keith snagged a grouping of Starquest cards I posted, and also made an inquiry about a couple relics on my trade bait. His offer - GQ and A&G needs. Oh heck yeah! Trade bait exists to create trades. I'll talk about almost anything for what I have available. 

I have needed that Ruiz CATP since...well....2012. The Infante is a need for the bunting binder.

Keith cleared out ALL my 2009 A&G needs bar one card: #152. I was forced, yet again, to alter my Sportlots shopping card and pull out all the '09 A&G I had in there and replace with other cards. First world problems.

I know that feel, hun.

Thanks Keith. Now let me give my scanner a day off. 

Sometimes it takes a while

This past Saturday was my LCS pack wars night. It was a sparce turnout, mostly from the Easter weekend. I had no luck in the raffles, and in the $20 and $50 rounds, I only managed one hit...

2013 Allen & Ginter Endangered Animals "polar bear in a snowstorm"

Yup - I pulled absolutely nothing in all my packs. Pretty disappointing. I was going to get a few packs of '14 GQ, but then they started traditional pack war rounds. For those unaware, all who participate buy a specific pack. The man in charge calls out a specific card option (tallest player, youngest, lowest number card, etc...) and then you all open to find what you have. Whoever wins the round wins all the packs, hits included. I figured what the hell.

First round was Fleer Showcase hockey. The winning card - lightest player. I pull a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Winner! No hits, but I did score these nice Metal Universe inserts. 

I pulled the Gretzky, but I did snag the Yakapov from someone. So one for one for me. Next round was 2014 series 1 jumbos. That call - youngest player. I pulled Jurickson Profar to pull out the win in round two. If I didn't feel guilty in the hockey round, I felt horrible in this one.

That Sundberg buy back was in my pack. The Brett is a black framed rookie reprint numbered to 199. The Cabrera is gold, numbered to 99. But that wasn't all.

A Rickey Nolasco auto, plus that Strasburg jersey were pulled by other people and I had to take them from the pack openers. To top things off, when I got home and sorted the seven jumbo packs I won, I found this amongst the cards.

That would be a Puig SP. So instead of buying 4 packs of GQ for $20, I ended up with 13 packs of Showcase and Topps Jumbo ($130 bucks worth of packs). I decided to stop there before everyone hated me.

And then they go and sucker me in for one more round - Panini Certified hockey. Lowest number card. One of the kids at the end of the case calls out "three". I reply "three". And that's a tie. So Jeff behind the counter asked for the highest card in the pack. The kid had 132. I had 167. Four more packs coming to me. And my spoils?

That Nolan auto is card #167 I pulled, so I didn't have to give it up. My buddy pulled that Ovech numbered to 150. I also "stole" that Strasberg jersey from his jumbo pack. That was it - I was leaving before I was killed.

End total - $30 spent. $170 in packs won. I think I did ok.

Pride? I ain't got that.

I make a lot of throwaway comments in and around the blogsphere. Most of them have the purpose to create humor . Sometimes, though, I'll make the comment with the hope that an underlying intention comes to light. That's what happened a month or so ago on a post on AJ's' The Lost Collector blog. AJ was talking about a nice trade with a new blogger that netted some mighty pretty vintage. I had been following a trail of posts from this same trader on a few other sites, so I made the throwaway, but serious, comment of "what do I have to do to get in on this'.

Luckily, Mark read my comment, sent me an email and we worked out a nice little trade. I still think Mark has not started a blog (correct me if I am wrong), but for a place to send all my 1990 thru mid 2006 BoSox cards, and some relics that have been collecting dust on my trade bait, Mark sent some gorgeous vintage.

When I think hockey, this is the year that comes to mind first. I think the 72-73 was one of the first hockey cards I ever purchased. I had a ton of these beige borders in my shoebox, but long ago lost them all. Mark sent a nice selection of my boys for this year.

Plus for the following year of 73-74. Love that shop job on Tallon's jersey. And check out Stash about to tear through the Blues defense.

Quick side note before I head to the rest of the card - Seabrook getting 3 games for the hit on Backes is BS. I expect one, maybe two. Three is excessive for someone with no history of malicious hits. Hell - there wasn't even a call until a few minutes after the play. More proof that Brendan Shanahan is a moron.

Ok - back to Mark's goodies. Vintage Blackhawks were joined in the package with vintage White Sox.

I am still woefully short on early White Sox, so a handful of '72s were a welcome site. Love Bradley's color changing lenses.

Lastly were some '73s. After I finish my 1964 set, I am going after a '73. It's far too great a set of images to forget. I have this Andrews already, but this beaut goes into the double play binder. And Topps really needs to bring back the coaching staff cards. Not just the manager but all the major coaches. Best card in the envelope, however, was this rectangle.

YES!!!! I finally own a Luis Alvarado! I showed this to my wife - she got this look on her face and asks "where the hell are they playing? What's with the barbed wire?" I never really noticed how the shadows/tree limbs give that look about the fence. Or maybe it is barbed wire. But thanks for the trade, Mark. Begging really pays off.

Throwback Thursday - 04.17.2014

Every Thursday, I post a card showing a ballplayer wearing a throwback uniform from my collection. Hopefully, he will be wearing it well, with proper pants blousing. I'll try not to duplicate a uniform. The picture may be from the front of the card, or the back. Enjoy the uniforms from years past.

Yoenis Cespedes - 2014 Topps - Oakland Athletics