Monday, August 28, 2017

A Fistful of Dodgers From Bo's Box

Aloha, everybody, 

As you may remember, I'm showing off some samples from the large box of cards that Bo sent over to me. We're down to the last couple of posts, so let's get started. 

Here come some great Dodgers cards from the shiny and creative '90s and beyond. Leading off are a few Beltres...


Now some shiny (and new!) Nomos...



Tribute reprints that came off very nicely...


I wonder how many reprint versions of that Steve Garvey All-Stars card are out there? This is my third different one. 

Let's get modern with some Diamond Kings...


These DKs work just as well on the backside. I like stats on the back as much as the next guy, but I'm also a big fan of the snippets I can read that give me context...


Takeshi Saito didn't get on a lot of cards back then, but boy, I'm glad he made it onto this cool blue Spectrum specimen...


I don't think there's another ex-Dodger who's cards make me feel sad, like Pedro's...


This Mondesi card has a nice textured surface to go along with the shiny stars...




I wonder if we'll ever get sparkly, glittery cards again...


Let's close with a couple of lights-out pitchers...



As always, THANKS for these cool cards, Bo! 

Aloha! 

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Mo From Bo

Aloha, everybody, 

Sorry I've been away for a few days too many. Just a few life things getting between me and my beloved blog. I'm happy to say I'm back now...so let's get back to checking out some more cards that came to me from that big feeder box I received from Bo. 

Leading things off today are some cards inspired by the old "Play Ball" set. This Bobby Doerr is slightly smaller than the others. I'm guessing because it's being true to the size of the originals. 



These cards are real beauties. I'm showing off a few that some of you out there might enjoy. 







Here's a World Series card reprint...

Bo sent a bunch of the "Legends of New York" set...



He also included a bunch from these very attractive 2001 Upper Deck Pinstripe Exclusives inserts...




How about this fistful of cards from the 2002 UD World Series Heroes set...



Those will mix in well with the small handful that I already had. The set is 180 cards strong, so I'm not close to completing it, but I've got a great starter set now, thanks to Bo. 

Here's what they look like individually. I dig the Americana design and World Series feeling...




A look at the backside...



Next time: Some Dodgers! 

Aloha! 

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Bo Lowered the BOom and Hit Me with a Cardboard BOmb

Aloha, everybody, 

I recently received a behemoth of cardboard from Bo, the man behind Sportscards Brought to Life. Bo came upon a whooooole lotta cards and he was generous enough to share the wealth with his fellow collector/bloggers. I was lucky enough to join in the fun and Bo was cool enough to fill a big ol' box and send it to me. 

 Check this out: 



Upwards of 650 cards of Dodgers present and past, World Series Heroes, Hall of Famers, scrubs, tributes, RCs, cards to share with you all....and more. Wow! 

I wish I could just pass the box to you as if you were sitting in the room with me, and we could both enjoy every card inside, but that's not possible, so let's enjoy some highlights.



I really enjoy these tribute cards of the early players and HOFers. I've picked up a few cards from these sets here and there, and Bo's box really expanded my collection. 



These are beautiful tributes. Great photos on classic designs...



And simple backsides with career stats. 



I had a few from this (also beautiful) set, and always wanted more. How did Bo know? 



Josh Gibson, Hoyt Wilhelm, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson. What a start. AmIright? This is just a scratch of the surface. 

I'll be presenting the different segments from this box over the next few posts, so stay tuned and we'll check out some more next time. 

THANKS for the cards, Bo. I really appreciate them all. 

Aloha! 

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Big Sunday BFG Pack Rip

Aloha, everybody, 

It's time for a pack rip! It's always time for that, right? 

Here are three more packs from the big box o' fun that I won in JBFs Big Fun Game. 



Let's see what we pulled. We'll start off with Fleer '90. I was surprised to find this guy with the same name - Jose DeLeon - as that of a prized (at least, to me) Dodgers prospect who was recently traded away to the Rays for that hole in the lineup, Logan Forsythe.



 RIP Bobby Welch, World Series Hero. 



Next up is 1991 Topps. This first card is Rene Gonzalez, the son of a close family friend. A local kid who went on to play for the Angels and O's. 



Gonzalez's experience with the O's must have been bittersweet. Although his career was blocked by being the backup shortstop to Iron Man Cal Ripken, he experienced first-hand the historical run of the Iron Man, sitting in the Orioles' dugout as Ripken chased and broke Lou Gerhrig's record. 

Here's an All-Star Rookie Cup. 



 Speaking of All-Stars, it's always good to pull a Rickey. 


Last, and sorta least, is 1988 Score. This pack was full of scrubs. I managed to pull a Dodger. 




These Score packs always have a "remember when" card. 



This one recalls the ML debut (and end) of 3' 7" Eddie Gaedel's career. His single at bat was a publicity stunt that became legend. 



I recently attended the Shrine of the Eternals Induction Ceremony, and the president of the Eddie Gaedel Society was there, as he always is. The society annunally remembers Gaedel's day in the sun with a party in a local St. Louis watering hole. If interested, look them up online for more info. 

This is a pin from the society that I picked up at the induction ceremonies.  



Pretty cool, right? 

Aloha! 

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Wills was Paid to Steal Bases, and I Paid to Steal a Maury

Aloha, everybody, 

Do you remember the Fun-at-a-Time book exchange that John from Summer of '74 and I started? Back when I was looking for books to offer from my end of the exchange, I came across a book that was an awesome surprise and I thought would be fun to share with you all. 

Full disclosure, I showed this off here once before, but it was a long time ago. I'm figuring I have a new crop of readers now, who didn't see that post way back then. Besides...I was happy to pull the book out and I'm happy to show it off one more time. 

Back in the day I grew my library by hunting used book stores and library sales. It was a poor man's way to pick up valuable literature on the cheap. One day while perusing a library sale, I came upon this...


The Maury Wills story. Well-loved, but not beat up, and a bargain at fifty cents. 

Then I opened the cover to find this...


Yup, that's Maury Wills' sig, in all it's glory. SOLD! 

I suppose folks stumble across signed books all the time. It's not such a rare acheivement. But this is different - to me. 

A Dodgers and baseball legend signed this book that probably began as a personal item. It eventually made its way into the library system, and was read by who knows how many kids forced into writing book reports and by true fans who wanted to know the story of a sports hero? It was days away from the scrap pile when I came across it in a "last chance, take it or we'll dump it" book sale. 

Now it happily rests in its final home. 

Aloha! 

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Parlay Vous Oh-Pee-Chee?

Aloha, everybody, 

Good ol' John from Johnny's Trading Spot recently sent me a fistful of cards that filled out some missing Dodgers team sets from the 90's, and some fantastic Oh-Pee-Chee cardboard. Let's have a look.

First up is Score '96, led off by the Dodgers lead off batter, Brett Butler. Ex-Giant, sure. But LA came to love Brett as a guy who played every inning of every game, and did it pretty well. 


That guy way in the back is Delino DeShields. The scrub the Dodgers got in exchange for Pedro Martinez. 

Here's a bunch of Score '95. Front and center is Pedro's big brother, Ramon. Big head in the back is the scrub. 


Final team bunch is '96 Upper Deck Collectors Choice. The photos on these are great, including the rear photos. The blue borders work well with the team colors also. 


Shawn Green, Diamond King. Details Bonus: Dodger Stadium 40th Anniversary patch on the uni. 

Now I'm thinking of Adrian Gonzalez's 2017 cards as "sunset" issues. 


You will never go wrong dropping a brushback Don Drysdale card in for me. 


Call me out of touch. I have no idea who this EDM DJ (or whatever he is) is, and I don't care. He did get my binder page of first pitches at Dodger Stadium one step closer to completion. 

I'm aware enough to know who these youngsters are. I may not know EDM, but I sure do know RBIs...



And now, le piece de resistance (sorry, can't figure out how to make fancy accent marks on my laptop) of the trade. Le Oh-Pee-Chee. 


Note the bilingual text. Monsieur Garvey is le 1st But. 


Le lancceur tragique. 

Here's a look at the backs in case you haven't seen these before. How do you say "awesome" in French?




Tres bon, Johnnie. Tres THANKS! 

Aloha!