Aloha, everybody,

I hit the card show last weekend, and after scooping up a few cards for my Perfect Game Project, I started scanning the binders and boxes on the dealers table for any other available gems. Here's what I came up with...

I grabbed this '72 Topps Willie Davis - without remembering I already have a copy. There's so much groovy going on in this card that I just couldn't walk away from it - well-loved or not. 

I love cardboard with World Series Heroes doing World Series shite, so I jumped on these...

 That's Johnny Bench about to drop the Big Red Hammer. I swear I can hear the roar of the crowd when I look at this card. 

Another WS card, another appearance from Bench. 

Brooks Robinson on Tattoine. What an image! 

Everybody knows BobWalkthePlank is Pirates HQ, but there's always room in my collection for the Sarge on a great card. 

I grabbed some cards to add to my "Defunct Teams" PC...

Bonus: Defunct, highly insensitive/probably racist, team logo. 

Chuck Stobbs, 1955 Topps

Here's a couple of suggested taglines for the back of Stobby's card: 
"Stobbs was one of baseball's first bonus babies." and "Southpaw Stobbs once had a 16-game consecutive losing streak."  

Willie Davis wasn't the only Dodger I found in the binders...

I added one more card from my favorite Brooklyn southpaw, Johhny Podres. 

And I grabbed this for a buck. Overpaid? Not in my mind. 

Finally, this little slice o' cardboard that didn't really fit any themed page in my binders, but I hadda have it. 

Monobrow stare? Check.
Funky name? Check. 
Too bad ol' Zup wasn't repping a defunct team, I woulda had the trifecta. 

Aloha! 

Rediscovered Vintage - The Other Teams

Time to show the other cards I found in that forgotten shoebox. 

As you know, although my primary collecting focus is on my beloved Dodgers, I also collect Hall of Famers and vintage that is just plain irresistible to my collector's eyes.

So let's take a look at a few more goodies that were hidden away in that old shoebox...

Leading off is this 1953 Topps absolute beauty - on a few levels. 

First of course is that Norman Rockwell-ish portrait of Sid and the great stadium tiers complete with flying flags behind him. I also dig the old-timey logo for the Braves. Finally, although off-center, the card is in pretty good shape for a '53. 

 I've never heard of Gordon, but his Wikipedia page says Sid hit a home run in every stadium he played in - for three straight years.

Next up is 1954 Topps.  I must be attracted to that Braves logo as it's here on another card, but I'm not a big fan of the pea soup. 
 

Another beauty, this time from 1956 Topps.  I remember picking up this card because of the stadium backdrop. This card also fits the Games Played On Tatooine subset.

Next up are a couple from 1964 Topps.
 

  
Aparicio was the measuring stick for shortstops in the '60's. He's on MLB's All-Century Team. Never mind those scratches, they're on the plastic holder, not the card itself.
 

Back in the days I was gathering these cards (the early 90's), one of my collecting goals was chasing rookie cards of HOFers. Of course, that can be impossible without Donald Trump money, so I would often settle for the next best thing - their second year cards. 

I couldn't afford a Stargell RC, but his second year issue was right in my wheelhouse.  Furthermore, Stargell shares his RC with three other rookies, and this card features a great solo shot of Pops.

It's amazing how much the price can drop from RC to second-year issues.  It drops even further for third year cards.  IMO grabbing second year cards is a great strategy.  

That's all for today, folks.

 

Next time: The final installment!

 


 

I'd Walk The Plank For Cool Cardboard

Hey everybody,

This might be my favorite trade of all that resulted from ATBATT's recent "Grand Salami of Trade Bait" campaign - at least up to this point.  I posted up a fistful of Pirates cards, and through a plug from Zawkin of Plashke fame, I met super cool Matt from Bob Walk The Plank , and a fantastic trade was born.

One of the cards I offered up was a beautiful bat relic, numbered to 99, of the great Willie Stargell. Matt said that got the ball rolling for him to trade, and the final card we'll see later, is the one that sealed the deal from my end.  If you've got some Pirates stuff, I highly recommend trading with Matt.  

Let's check out the highlights of the awesome Dodgers cardboard that came from deep in Pirates country over to me...

My son and I were huuuuge Shawn Green fans during his stint with the Dodgers.  He put up incredible power numbers while wearing Dodger Blue and more than held his own against the steroid freaks that surrounded him all around the leagues.

The coolness factor of this card is upped when you flip it around and see the rear of the bat slice as it's encased in a clear window on both sides.  Did I mention the card is numbered 5/10?!  

Some like-a the bat cards, some like-a the jersey cards.  One jersey card, coming up!

How about this Rafael Furcal bat card....

I loved when Rafi was with the Dodgers.  He played solid defense, always got on base, and almost always stole the next base. I especially dig this card because Furcal's in a bunt posture.  Nobody could pull off the drag bunt for a base hit like good ol' Rafi.

From past Dodgers to the everyday second baseman, Dee Gordon, in a beautifully designed card featuring my favorite color...

PUUUUUUUUUIIIIIIIGGGGGG!!!!!!!

 I'm seeing the words "the most hated man in baseball" being attached more and more to Yasiel.  Really?  I guess being inside the Dodger bubble I really don't hear too much about that hate business.

Sure, we get frustrated with his wyld stallion style on the basepaths and in the outfield, but we don't hate the guy.  What makes him so hated?  Is it the batflips when he should be running out off-the-wall doubles?  I prefer to think he's just giving the other team a chance to try and get him out before he bolts all the way to home on an off-the-wall double.

Matt sent over a slew of these beautiful Prizm cards.  The above Kershaw is my favorite of the bunch.  What's better than a chromed up, shiny card of the best pitcher in baseball wearing the Red, White and Blue for Team USA ?

Better or not, this next one is very cool also.  Opening Day did a great job with the 3-D effect... 

 Almost finished, here's the star card of the deal for me. When I saw this baby, I knew this trade hadda happen. 

This guy is one of my heroes from the Brooklyn days, and even though most other Dodger collectors probably have multiple autos from him, and his auto can be found pretty easily on the Bay, I still didn't have one in my collection.  This was my chance...

Presenting Johnny Podres, World Series Hero, on a beautiful, refractory, well-designed card.  The auto is clean and easy to read, and it's numbered to 199. Awesome.

Podres was the World Series MVP in 1955.  He mowed them evil Yankees down and pitched a shutout in Game 7, to lock down the only championship the Brooklyn squad ever won. 


But that's not all! Beyond the cards, even the trade package had something cool...

Sweet baseball stamps of some great HOFers.  Nice touch. 

THANKS for the great trade, Matt.  Looking forward to the next one.  

Grand Salami Of Trade Bait: Pittsburgh Pirates

Hey everybody,

Jumping from the shakin' west coast over to the freezin' east coast.

Here come the Bucs...

BOOOOOOOO !!!!!!

BOOOOOOO !!!

"It's all about the 'stache."

Prizes, Trades and Gifts Are What Makes The Cardboard World Go Round

Hey everybody,

Gotta get in a post about more great cards that graced my mail lately...

First up is a thanks, (but no pics this time).  HUGE THANKS go out to Patrick, the mastermind behind The Card Hobbyist.  If you like a blog that also features cool games with da shite prizes, Patrick's place is definitely in your wheelhouse.  As a matter of fact, I'm happy to say this is the second time I won a contest over there.

But why no pics?  Two reasons:

1. I won basically the same A & G Dodger cards in a box break at Tribecards a couple of weeks ago and I've already  posted them.  Yes, they were essentially doubles, but they were also doubly great because they were 2013 Dodgers, and they contained a second Puig RC!

2. Since they were doubles, I gave the cards from Patrick right over to my son, who was stoked to have his own Puig rookie.  Thus, those particular cards were not scanned are now stashed away securely in his binder. No pics, but double thanks for the great prize, Patrick.

The next batch does have pics. These are the result of my first trade with Nate, who is kinda new on the blogs.  Nate's site is Big 44 Sports Cards.  Nate's a stone Pittsburgh collector, so that means, you best have some Pirates or Steelers for trade.  But no Penguins, Nate?  To each his own.

Heck, I don't collect hockey myself, but here's a note for all you hockey collectors out there. I would love a hockey card from one of the baddest L.A. Kings to ever wear the uni...Tiger Williams.  I grew up on Tiger in the days the Kings wore the Purple and Gold of the L.A. Forum.  Did you know Tiger holds the all-time record for most penalty minutes?  Yeah, back in those days, the Kings were doormats of the league, but Tiger wasn't one. Tiger was bad- ass personified.

So I shipped some black and gold Pirates to Nate, and he sent over some cool stuff to me...

You can never go wrong with golden sparkle Kershaw

And you can't ever go wrong with Cobb on cardboard.  Here we get a fantastic portrait of the Georgia Peach. That sly glance of Cobb's says everything, but reveals nothing.  Also, limited number.  Sweet card that I hadda have.

Finally, comes a great gift I received a while back.   A gift - unexpected and out of the blue.  This was no simple PWE.

Supercool Bert, from Swing And a Pop-Up, came through once again and sent me another fistful of cardboard from the 1987 Hy-Grade "Baseball's All-time Greats" set.  Bert has now helped me to get the chase to under 10 cards.  I can't believe it!  Just 9 cards to completion.  Check my "What I Collect" page if you have any extra Hy-Grades lying around.  You just might have those final 9.

This Hy-Grade set is very cool.  It's big limitations are the simplified green border and cardstock thinner than Topps.  But the upsides are a checklist of baseball history and royalty, and the photography is mostly great.  It features quality early color photo technology and lots of close up photography.   In addition, the players are often shown in their primes and we get more than a few legendary stadiums in the background. 

Since the Dodgers are opening a 4-game series against the ELIMINATED team from the bay, let's start off with a Dodgers/Giants face off.

 You're gonna feel like you're walking down a wing in the baseball Hall of Fame...

How's about all that cardboard?  Pretty good, thanks to my fellow collectors.