I Just Hadda Go Back (to the Card Show!)

Aloha, everybody, 

You might recall I dashed out to the the ol' card show a couple of weeks ago, where I attacked some specific PC wishlists. They run that show twice a week, every week - so it's been calling me back ever since. Despite the fact there's really only one dealer's table worth my time, I heeded the cardboard call, and here's some of the loot I picked up.

I love the vintage World Series highlight subsets. These are courtesy The Sporting News and 1970 Topps... 

This little set features The Amazin' Mets vs the Orioles. I was able to grab Games 1, 3 and 5. 

Tommie Agee made two great catches in Game 3. Much like Sandy Amoros' 1955 WS catch for the Dodgers, Agee's catches will stand forever in Mets WS history. 

Agee later went on to play for the Dodgers. 

Now I just need Games 2 and 4, plus the Champion Mets card. How about some more World Series cards...

These WS sets are great (and inexpensive) ways to catch vintage Hall of Famers doing what made them HOFers.  Here comes Johnny Bench trotting home another run...

I picked up some defunct Washington Senators cardboard...

After deciding to collect cardboard from defunct teams, I quickly decided that I can't just collect every card from every player. That's not exactly where I want to spend my limited collecting budget. I'll have to be discriminating in my choices. 

I chose the above Cox card because of the great action shot (unknown stadium). Below is a triple play of Senators...

Manager Cookie Lavagetto was a hero in the 1947 WS for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sievers and Lemon were mashers who combined to be the biggest home run hitting combo in Senators' history. 


Believe it or not, this is my first 1967 Topps Dodger...

Dock Ellis In Action. The alternative facts version of "high" heat... 

Defunct team and logo? Check
Great name and posed action shot? Check
Dirt cheap vintage? Checkeroni! 
Get inside my binder! 

Finally, a Pirates great dressed as a banana. I just couldn't walk away from this one. 

I get the feeling it won't be too long before I'm back to the show for more. 

Aloha! 

Binder Page Heroes - Vintage New York Yankees Edition

Aloha, everybody, 

I'm home sick today, battling a very annoying head cold. Most annoying, perhaps, was this condition forced the cancellation of tonight's poker game. 

Now that I'm home sick, with nothing to do and nowhere to go, I figure I'll make myself useful and get a blog post up. 

As a Dodger fan, I certainly don't have much love for the damn Yankees, but as a collector, I've got plenty of love for timeless players captured on cardboard.  

Presenting more Binder Page Heroes, led off by my very small PC of Yankees legend, Thurman Munson. 

I love vintage "in action" shots. There's something about that old-time film processing vs today's digital shots that grabs a different part of my collecting heart.

 The tools of ignorance in full splendor, with optional New Yawk style sideburns. 


Coming up, one of the best baseball cards, ever...
 

 Once again, it's the grittiness of the photo that delivers the impact on these old slices of cardboard. The past becomes an almost tangible element of the card as well. 

How about an oddball Yank?

 This here is a 1984 Fun Foods pin of a very young Don Mattingly. Speaking of the quality of photography, this image looks like it was lifted from videotape. 

Some might not consider the medium, but the player to be the oddball...

But how can you not love good ol' Dock, the holder of a baseball accomplishment that will most likely never, ever be repeated?

Nor should those shark sideburns fading into the fu-man-chu style mustache ever be repeated either. 
 

I love it when two classic players share such a great looking card. 

The following Yankee single-handedly stopped almost every single Dodger rally in the 1978 World Series. At least, it felt like it at the time. I hate the guy, but his awesome World Series play earned my respect and a place in my collection...
 

Did I mention my love for timeless baseball figures captured on vintage cardboard?

 1959 Topps Casey Stengel and Don "Perfect WS Game" Larsen.

I don't know about Larsen, but had I pitched a perfect game in the World Series, I would have worn a permanent smile on my face for the rest of my life - even while sleeping. 

Aloha!

Visiting the Baseball Reliquary - The Gifts (Part One)

Aloha everybody,

It's a sad day in Dodgers Nation today as another fan (and team)  favorite - Juan Uribe - was unceremoniously dumped....errrr, traded...to the Atlanta Braves. I want to like my team, but those new front office guys seem to think nothing of shipping off fan favorites (Matt Kemp, Dee Gordon, and now Papi).  *sigh* 

On a brighter note, my recent visit to the Baseball Reliquary (Institute for Baseball Studies) also included some awesome gifts from good ol' Terry. Let's get right to them, shall we? 

We begin with another uncut sheet of baseball cards. These are from a tribute set of the infamous Black Sox. 

One new thing we learned about Terry from our last visit was Terry used to produce baseball cards - back in the junkwax era. These uncut sheets and cards are from one of those past endeavors.  

The blur is from the sheet being too large for my scanner.

 If you should ever visit the Reliquary, ask Terry to tell you about his past limited edition autographed sets of the top high school players in the country - and his great gets of young high school phenoms Derek Jeter and Manny Ramirez. 

Back to the Black Sox. In addition to the uncut sheets, Terry also gave us complete sets of the cards. Here's the back of card number one...

Note: Produced in an edition of 5000, by our hero.

Here are a couple of sample cards and backs. I absolutely dig this set.
 

Terry tossed in more limited items, programs from the past ceremonies to induct folks into the Shrine of the Eternals. Here is a look at two of them...

 The program from 1999 is from the first year and the first class of Eternals. I chose to show the 2006 program because of the Roy Campanella stamp. 

Speaking of stamps, I want to also point out the special postmark the Pasadena Post Office made for the Induction Day. Terry designed these special baseball-themed postmarks that changed every year. 

Here's a look inside the 1999 program...

Dock Ellis' page...

Hey, ol' Dock was born in L.A., just like me!

Here's one of the back covers. I chose it because of the Brooklyn connection. Note the emcee for the night was Elayne Boosler, and they had legendary Dodger Stadium organist, Nancy Bea Hefley. Wow! I'm sure sorry I missed that night.

That's all for now, folks. Part Two will feature more cards and something special for you fans of vintage basketball. 

BTW - I didn't even notice my previous post was Number 500! Wow.  That makes this one just another, but apparently I'm now on my way to post number 1000. 

Aloha!