Aloha, everybody,
The Dodgers have sealed up their shot at the playoffs, and today's final game of the season is pretty much a throwaway, so I figured this would be a good time to show off some football cards that I recently picked up at the card show.
The Rams are back in LA, and I'm giving them my allegiance since they were my team before moving away. That said, when the Rams left LA, I became a Raiders fan.
The Silver and Black remain my number one team, and theirs are the cards I'm collecting. Of course, my favorite Raiders are the squad that brought a super bowl win to Los Angeles. That day at the show, I decided to pick up cards from that group, and even better if I could get the LA Coliseum as a backdrop.
The Raiders had a few great QBs over their long and storied history. Unfortunately, they had some of their worst when they were in LA. They also had my personal favorite QB, Jim Plunkett.
Speaking of personal faves, here's my vote for the greatest RB of my generation. Mr. Marcus Allen. What a joy it was to watch this man run. Through my binocs, I watched Marcus squeeze through holes that I didn't think a mouse could get through.
I wonder if there are any "Air Marcus" cards out there. I've got to get me one of those!
Timmy Brown. Nuff said.
And now my all-time favorite Raider. The man who's jersey I wore to every Raiders game...
The Legend...
...and his equally capable counterpart on the other end of the field.
While I wore Howie's jersey, my cousin (RIP) always wore Matt Millen's...
Unsung hero...
Finally, another legend...
Bo wasn't with the Super Bowl Raiders, but of course, he's gonna be in my collection. Boy, he was something to see in action as well.
I saw very few of Bo's baseball games, but watched him just about every time he was on the football field. I was at the Coliseum when he suffered his career-ending injury. What a shame.
Bo never seemed bitter or resentful that his playing days were cut short, so I'm sure not going to be. I'm just glad I had the pleasure of watching the man play.
Aloha!
Aloha, everybody,
My friend and long-tiime trading partner, Gavin, from the fantastic blog Baseball Card Breakdown, and I had a potential trade percolating. It was just waiting for the right final pieces to fall into place.
That happened when I won a bronze replica of Roberto Alomar's RC. It's a cool enough piece, but it fit better into Gavin's collection than mine, so a trade was born.
Let's check out what Gav sent over to me. Leading off are a cool couple of customs from Gavin's workshop:
Of course, blame my lousy scanning skills for the cut off card. Than ignore that, and revel in the goodness that is two of the game's young superstars together on one card. Bonus: reading left to right, Bellinger is first! :)
Next up is Belli going solo in old school Upper Deck style:
Well-chosen photos of Cody adorn both sides of the card. I love seeing hard-luck story, Andrew Toles there in the dugout. Injury ruined Tolesy's 2017 season before it could begin, but I'm looking forward to him returning in 2018.
Great customs! Here come the cards the original trade was built around. Vintage is the watchword here.
My first RC from the famed Dodgers infield of the 70's. Welcome, Mr. Lopes. It seems I have a new project. Now I have to rope in 1970 Bill Russell, 1971 Steve Garvey and the Penguin's RC from '72 Topps.
At least I can be satisfied for now with this 1971 Lou Brock...
...and a foldable 1971 Richie Allen with a vintage Dodger Stadium backdrop...
Sweet stuff from down south Gavin. THANKS for the trade, buddy! BTW, I noticed you put up some trade bait from the Legends of New York set. I'm down for those. If nobody has claimed them yet, set them aside for lil' ol' me, and let's get our next trade piles started!
I have an honorable mention: Recently, mi hermano Wes, sent a surprise package out to me. Trouble is, I sorted those cards into my general card population before I scanned them. Thought I scanned 'em, but I didn't.
Unfortunately, it's going to take some detective (and de-sorting) work before I can figure out what all cards came from where. So I just want to send a shout out to Wes and say THANKS!, but it may take a while before that post can go up. My bad - and I feel appropriately bad.
Life goes on. Aloha!
