Who Got Cards? We Got Cards!

Aloha, everybody,

Before we go any further...drink this in...

Do you all remember that scene from the movie Goodfellas? I'm referring to the scene where Ray Liotta (playing gangster Henry Hill) pulls out a stack of money because the wife asked for some shopping funds. 

He asks her, "How much do you need?" She responds by making a rather large letter "C" shape with her thumb and forefinger. It's not about a specific amount, it's a measurement of how high a stack of money she wants. 

THAT'S how thick the stack of cardboard was that I received from the King of all Card Bloggers, the venerable Night Owl.  

N.O. doesn't do PWE's like many of us who send a few cards in a measley envelope and call it a bombing. No sir, when N.O. sends you cards, he is sending serious numbers, team bags and stacks. 

Best of all, if you're lucky enough to be a fellow Dodger fan, just about all of that cardboard is of the wondrous Dodger Blue variety.

 Since N.O. is so beloved and respected in the blogosphere, people from all around the country are constantly sending him cards galore. That means his overflow and extras are passed on to his fellow Dodger collectors in huge stacks full of cardboard gems. Aint life grand?

Here's a great example. This shiny Flair Showcase features a great photo of Nomo at bat. The kid could hit, and he even displayed occasional home run power. 

Here's something else I love about this Nomo card - it's the outstanding backside, featuring a washed in blood, obvious tribute to the master of mayhem, Japanese film director, Takashi Miike,

  
Another blogger named Greg, from Plashke, Thy Sweater is Argyle is the biggest Russel Martin collector I know.  He probably had this card long ago, but it's my first time to come across this awesome PATP with a crashing Yankee? White Sox? Anyway, the guy looks out to me.

What would a package from Night Owl be without some vintage Dodgers?

Sometimes I think Tommy Davis is the only Dodger on this checklist, or they double-printed Tommy's cards, because his is the only Dodger card that I ever seem to come across from this set. 
 

 Good ol' Bobby Castillo was a local boy from LA, and seemed to have settled somewhere close to my neck of the woods, because almost every year at my sons' PONY baseball opening day, he would show up in his Dodgers jersey (which still fit well) and toss out the honorary first ball of the season. 

Here's World Series hero Charlie Neal. The Dodgers appeared in 1959 Topps in photos that were shot at the Los Angeles Rams' new home for the 2016 football season, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 

Many LA Ram fans probably thought the Rams always played in Anaheim Stadium, sharing the confines with the Angels, but us old-timers remember they played in the Coliseum before moving out to Orange County.

Welcome home, Rams. 
 

Apparently someone along the way decided to scratch out the word "outfield" under Ron Fairly's name. Perhaps Fairly dropped a can of corn and lost a critical game, causing some irate ten year-old to angrily scribble out the word with a hearty, "Yeah, right."

It's getting late now, and I'll have to stop here if I want to hit the Publish button before I sleep. We'll have to break this post up into a two-parter. Most recaps of cards received from N.O. take up two posts anyway. It's par for the course. 

I've probably already lost the west coast red eye readers, so perhaps only Night Owl will see this late night post. That's just fine with me, because it'll simply be two Dodger goodfellas, talking about tall stacks of cardboard. 

Up next: Part 2

Aloha!